<p>I cannot speak to all the schools on your list, but can offer some limited insight and suggestions.</p>
<p>The need for FA does hinder you. Even at those schools that have huge endowments (and give automatic generous aid as needed to those admitted) it will sometimes make a difference between acceptance and the wait list, or rejection. In other words, they will not admit you if you need aid as they only admit those whose need they can fully meet, and they have to pick and choose. (Although there are certainly a host of other factors, I am 95% certain that FA was a big factor in my son being waitlisted at a few schools.) Being strong in two sports will give a leg up, so if your son is an A/B student it would not rule out any of the schools on your list. That said, places like Choate and Loomis remain very hard to get into. My son was WL at one and rejected at the other. (My son was well qualified for almost any school, with a mid 90’s SSAT, an attractive demographic profile, straight A’s, many interesting extracurriculars, etc. He applied to a wide range of schools and he could have enjoyed himself and thrived at any of them. His acceptances, WL and rejections did not follow any real predictable pattern, although the need for FA likely played a big role.)</p>
<p>KUA might be a very good match for your son. They have very strong sports and their facilities are nice. Despite appearance, given their endowment, schools like this will offer very nice FA packages to pull in the students they want. Everyone I know who was accepted here and who needed aid was offered at least as much as their need.</p>
<p>Proctor is another school with strong academic, strong academic support, and strong sports. They are much more of a skiing school, but do offer hockey and lacrosse. If you are visiting KUA visit Proctor as well as it is quite close. Their academics are quite strong, and their overseas opportunities are excellent (and included in the normal tuition, I believe). </p>
<p>A strong A/B student would stand out in the applicant pool at Proctor, KUA, Avon, Canterbury, etc., and perhaps garner more interest than the same student applying to Choate, Loomis, Kent, St. Marks, etc, where s/he might be less of a standout. It does seem to me that you are have a very healthy and diverse list. </p>
<p>Another school not on your list that you should consider is Holderness. This is another athletically oriented school that has very good academics. Very nice campus as well. Other good schools (meaning schools I like, would recommend, and would not have a problem sending my child to) with both hockey and lacrosse are Pomfret, Vermont Academy and Williston Northampton. For various reasons we struck Pomfret and Vermont from our list early on, but Williston, although not high on the list for us, remained a very attractive contender. </p>
<p>We did not like Canterbury or Avon very much so did not look as closely at them. They seem like OK schools, but were not a good match for us and none of us could see our son there. Berkshire, Brooks, St. Marks and Kent we looked at more closely, but they fell off our list for various other “fit” reasons. Although I think our son would have fit in OK and done well, in the end none of these had the specific supportive community feel he sought. Portsmith Abbey and Trinity-Pawling never even got on our preliminary list so I cannot speak to them.</p>
<p>I will not give a plug for Blair, as they do not offer hockey. If you are willing to forego hockey there are great schools such as Blair in the MAPL which are as close or closer to most parts of NY as are the eastern NE schools. “Upstate” can mean so much, but judging by your travel times I am guessing you are further north or west than the Mid-Hudson Region. </p>
<p>In terms of the academically elite or too sports oriented issues, most schools offer enough of a balance that any well motivated student who qualifies for admission can do well. Most schools will offer two or three levels of core classes, and proactively monitor your child to make adjustments as needed. The same with sports, as the expectation is usually simply that everyone participates and stays physically active. The specific requirements vary, but the gist is the same.</p>