<p>So what are the reputations of boarding schools?</p>
<p>..the best?</p>
<p>...the worst?</p>
<p>...the preppiest?</p>
<p>...the smartest?</p>
<p>..hardest to get into?</p>
<p>etc.</p>
<p>As with colleges, the best prep schools are those that fit the needs of the student best and help him/her prepare for the next step in life.</p>
<p>Of course, the usual suspects will be mentioned here--Andover, Exeter etc, but there are wonderful schools to meet the needs of any student.
The benefit to the preps as I see it is the smaller class size, more individual attention to the student, and no oppressive governmental oversight forcing kids to take state standardized tests as a graduation requirement.</p>
<p>When my son was looking at prep/privates, he looked at 6 schools, applied to 5 and got in all 5 (including Andover) but decided to attend a very rigorous day school and I am ever grateful that he is still home with us under our watchful eye. He is thriving in a stimulating academic environment(though his grades are certainly lower than they were at his public HS and he is working much harder), catching the eye of some college coaches in his chosen sports and has grown immensely.</p>
<p>When you look for a school, it is about fit, not simply prestige or name.</p>
<p>I believe Andover is still the hardest to get into, but the top 5 are very close, within a percentage or 2.</p>
<p>Exeter has the rep of being the most studious, nerds if you will.</p>
<p>St. Paul's students are the most perky, upbeat, well rounded preps.</p>
<p>Deerfield's are the preppiest and most athletic prepsters.</p>
<p>Choate has a NYC edge, the most sophisticated prep school.</p>
<p>Exeter's and Deerfield's acceptance rates both dipped below Andovers this year. However, the top five are still pretty much have the same selectivity.</p>
<p>Preppiest- Eton</p>
<p>Smartest- Exeter</p>
<p>Hardest to get into- Milton</p>
<p>i believe they may have been talking about prep schools in the U.S. i've heard that eton is overrated though. (just a rumor!)</p>
<p>What are some acceptance rates?</p>
<p>The Best: That's just an opinion.. </p>
<p>The Preppiest: Andover, Exeter, Groton, etc. </p>
<p>The Smartest: Exeter =)</p>
<p>Hardest to get into: Exeter and St.Pauls this year.</p>
<p>Is Eton better than Harrow?</p>
<p>Eton has a lot more notable alumni. Eton has been around longer I think. Schools that have been around for a long time are often very good.</p>
<p>I know Deerfield had the lowest admissions percentage this year with something absurd like 15% and St. Paul's was very close behind. They cut their incoming freshman class by a lot because of overenrollment in one of the other classes. </p>
<p>When I applied, the perception was that Andover and Milton were the most selective in terms of admissions percentages. Pure admissions rates are harder to compare though because some schools (like Milton) are basically day schools, and others (like Groton) let in a significant number of students before 9th grade. </p>
<p>Here's an interesting article for all you prep applicants that compares some.... less thought about characteristics of prep schools.</p>
<p>xGods Favoritex- that article's a really useful tool for prep school admissions. good find.</p>
<p>Hotchkiss acceptance wasn't far behind deerfield and st paul's either, i think it was at about 18%. It's crazy, admissions to ne prep schools are now more competitive than most top 25 colleges.</p>
<p>15%....I don't know much about prep schools, but that's pretty rigorous. My public magnet has an admittance rate of around 25%, which is well off of that mark. Perhaps prep schools are a lot better than I once thought....</p>
<p>This is from the old forum:
[quote]
HOW MANY STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHTBULB AT:</p>
<p>-ST. PAUL'S: Three - one to screw it in and two to sculpt the old one into a bong.</p>
<p>-ANDOVER: One - He holds the bulb and the world revolves around him.</p>
<p>-EXETER: Twenty - a committee composed of students from every possible ethnic group to screw it in unison.</p>
<p>-GROTON: None - Their butlers do it for them.</p>
<p>-HOTCHKISS: Three - one to screw in the lightbulb and two more to screw him "Hotchkiss Style."</p>
<p>-LOOMIS: Two - One to change the bulb and one to complain about how if they were at a better school the lightbulb wouldn't go out.</p>
<p>-PROCTOR: Three-one to stare at the light bulb in a confused manor, one to run and get his learning skills teacher, and the teacher to call maintnence.</p>
<p>-CHOATE: Seven - One to change the light bulb and six to throw a party because he didn't screw it in upside down this time.</p>
<p>-DEERFIELD: Four - one to change it and three to pick out the perfect J. Crew outfit for the occasion.</p>
<p>-TAFT: Six - one varsity athlete to change it and five of his friends to help him with his geometry homework.</p>
<p>-MILTON: Two - One to screw it in perfectly, and another to kill himself when he finds out that the first guy did it better than him.</p>
<p>-GOVERNOR DUMMER: Twelve - six to hike to the nearest village to buy a new one, six to figure out the directions, and one to plow the fields and feed the oxen while the others are occupied.</p>
<p>-NOBLES: 301 - One to screw it in and three hundred to be really lame.</p>
<p>-LAWRENCEVILLE: They're still working on it.</p>
<p>-SALSBURY: Two - one to screw it in and one to buy an inflatable sheep so they can party all night long.</p>
<p>-WORCESTOR ACADEMY: None -Wooster looks better in the dark.</p>
<p>-MIDDLESEX: 216 - One to steal a bulb from someone else, fifteen to start rumors about who the thief was, and two hundred to have an unsupervised party off-campus.</p>
<p>-ST. GEORGE'S: One - but he tries to do it like the guys at Middlesex</p>
<p>-ST. MARK'S: Seven - one to screw it in and six to talk about how chill it is.</p>
<p>-ST. SEBASTIAN'S: Ten - a female teacher to change it,eight students to look up her skirt while she does it, and a priest so they can go confess their sin the next Sunday.</p>
<p>-WILLISTON: Seven - One to screw it in and six to figure out how to power it on manure.</p>
<p>-GUNNERY: None - Lava lamps don't burn out man!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Also, another saying I always thought was funny: "If you can't get a girl, get a Choatie" -known among boarding schools and restated in "The Official Preppy Handbook"</p>
<p>Is SPS really known for their drugs?</p>
<p>Do a lot of people at SPS and other schools do a lot of drugs?</p>
<p>haha, take these with a grain of salt. they're just stereotypes. school stereotypes and reputations come and go. the choate student body actually isn't that bad. and Deerfield used to be known as "beerfield."</p>
<p>lol..beerfield.</p>
<p>Okay. I was just wondering since someone else told me SPS had a lot of drugs, but all high schools do.</p>
<p>em, from my experience.. drugs are a LOT less prevalent in prep school than most public schools. What you might see a bit of is ritalin/aderrall abuse, dipping, and the occasional alcohol. Prep school kids in general don't get to party much since they're under supervision 24/7 basically. This leads to a lot of kids who don't know how to drink responsibly when they get to college.</p>
<p>Okay.</p>
<p>Thanks for clarifying. :)</p>
<p>The "preppiest" according to The Official Preppy Handbook. Yes, probably outdated......
Cate
Choate
Deerfield
Episcopal
Foxcroft
Groton
Hill
Hockaday
Hotchkiss
Kent
Lawrenceville
Madeira
Middlesex
Miss Porter's
Andover
Exeter
St. Paul's
Woodberry Forest
St. Christopher's</p>