<p>I'm considering going to boarding school. My dad went to Berkshire but a lot has changed since then and I don't know what schools to consider. I'm naturally drawn to schools that might be out of my league... I'm used to being one of the top in my class at a fairly good public high school. I'm in all advanced and honors classes. I think my top choices now are Deerfield, Choate, and Hotchkiss. I will apply to Berkshire also but as more of a safety school. My overall average hovers around a 96, so I'm not sure if like i said... these schools are out of my league. Please give me suggestions on what schools you think would be best for me. I'd like to stay in the northeast. I do a lot of volunteer work, I have an internship, and do a lot of extracurriculars. I do sports, but I'm not too big on them. I am very involved in performing arts, and would like to start photography, so any schools with decent programs would be nice. Also, how hard is the SSAT? I haven't taken it yet. I will be going to prep school for the 2012-2013 year. Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>Hi. It sounds like you should be right in the mix for boarding schools, depending on how well you tie in your ecs to what you can offer the school (strong leadership, excellent theater experience, etc.). You didn’t mention what grade you are going into, but I hear that can make a difference, in terms of getting in.</p>
<p>I would like to give you my two cents about considering Berkshire, as a “safety,” though. The school is in an up and coming mode. The headmaster came over from Taft a few years ago and I understand that the school has made great improvements to the academics, especially in the sciences, since then. At the revisit day, the head named off many of the accomplishments of the kids that were in attendance that day, and it blew my mind how diverse and successful the kids that were revisiting were. I think he also said that there acceptance rate was around 25%. I only heard it once, and I can’t find anything on paper that repeats it, but you should know that even some of the lesser known and less prestigious schools are also quite competitive. Given that you have a highly competitive list of schools, I might add a few more that are slightly easier to get into, but are still terrific schools. (If I remember correctly, this year Hotchkiss, Deerfield and Choate all had acceptances in the teens.)</p>
<p>I am not sure about photography, but some other schools we looked at and really loved were Loomis Chaffee, Taft and Westminster. You can also look at the hidden gems message board. Tons of great schools are listed there.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help. I’ll definitely look into those schools. I forgot to mention that I’d like a nondenominational school and I’ll be going into 10th grade for the year I am planning on going. Also, I’ll reconsider Berkshire as a better option.</p>