<p>A friend of mine who knows we're considering secondary school here in New England for our S asked me if I knew about the "tiers". As he put it, "Not every boarding school is created equal." He emailed me the following list - I have no idea where he found it. I also have no idea how much credence to put into this, as I know that there is a bit of subjectivity on ranking things like boarding schools. Your comments, thoughts, ideas, etc., please!</p>
<p>First tier:
Andover
Choate
Deerfield
Exeter
Groton
Hotchkiss
St Paul's</p>
<p>Second tier:
Berkshire
Governor's
Kent
Loomis Chaffee
Middlesex
Pomfret
St George's
Tabor
Taft
Westminster</p>
<p>Third tier:
Avon
Brewster
Brooks
Cheshire
Holderness
Lawrence
NMH
Salisbury
St Mark's
Suffield
Williston</p>
<p>Fourth tier:
Canterbury
Cushing
Gould
Gunnery
Hebron
KUA
New Hampton
Portsmouth Abbey
Proctor
South Kent
St Johnsbury
Tilton
Vermont</p>
<p>thats true but there are a lot of schools that are in the middle of two tiers, such as taft is in between 1st and 2nd so you also have to realize that
it also leaves off a lot of schools</p>
<p>I’m not big on these rankings, but I saw a things I disagree with so I’ll chime in: Several of the schools he has listed in the 3rd tier should be in the 1st or 2nd tier, or somewhere between 1st-2nd. (Brooks, NMH, St Mark’s) Also, Berkshire, which he has in 2nd tier is a school that offers great learning support and has a mix of ability levels and has more cross over applications with the schools he has listed in teh 4th tier. Cheshire probably belongs there too. I’d move Portsmouth up to 2nd or 3rd tier since they don’t offer learning support nor do they take kids who have had academic issues, as the other schools in his tier 4 do. that’s my view… </p>
<p>and for another take on all this, it’s really the Tier 4 schools that help the kids the most and make the biggest difference and biggest change in a kid’s life. A kid going to Choate would have been bright and successful wherever he went, but a struggling kid going to Vermont Academy can really have a life changing experience that will put him on track to college again.</p>
<p>Middlesex and Taft are more first tier…Loomis Chaffee could be in that group as well…Middlesex was actually ranked higher than both Andover and Deerfield in Boston Magazine’s Best Private Schools in Massachusetts. MX was ranked #3…Groton was ranked 2…</p>
<p>I bought into tiers when I applied, but now that I am here I’ve realized that the schools overlap in so many ways that outsiders can’t see and can’t interpret which schools clearly “outclass” others. </p>
<p>Like how Kent’s math team beat Hotchkiss, LC and is tied with Taft at the moment for #1 in Connecticut(Or Prep CT I think). Or when Berkshire’s students win multiple writing competitions over Choate, Deerfield and Kent students?. Can you really say that Kent and Berkshire are tier 2 schools if they beat tier 1 in math competitions or writing contests? (I’m not sure about Berkshire in writing competitions, but I know that their writing program is innovative and supposedly really inspiring.)</p>
<p>Where are Milton and Taft? First tier is pretty clean cut because there is a lot of information about those schools out there, but the second/third tiers (and there is 4th tier?) are hard to determine. Who knows about so many schools to make a sound judgement anyway? But I think OP’s friend was just trying to give OP a ROUGH idea about “tiered schools”. Just don’t take it too “literally”.</p>
<p>Once you start digging into the facts and talking to current parents, students, and administrators, it doesn’t take long to sort out the rough order.</p>
<p>1st tier
SADGE
Milton
Hotchkiss
Lawrenceville
Middlesex
Choate
Cate
St. Andrew’s
St. George’s</p>
<p>2nd tier
Thacher
UWC USA
Taft
St. Mark’s
Loomis
Peddie
Episcopal
Emma
Porter’s
Blair
Kent
NMH
Hill</p>
<p>3rd tier
Governor’s
Tabor
Asheville
Westminster
Brooks
Western Reserve
Webb
Lake Forest
Madeira
Pomfret
George
and so on.</p>
<p>So called 2nd and 3rd Tier schools are all truly outstanding learning institutions as well.</p>
<p>Focusing on “tiers” is largely a waste of time for prospective studnets and parents. Focus more on fit and what makes each school different. The schools do have important differences that need to be considered.</p>
<p>For the OP, don’t get hung up on the tier level issue / debate. IMO: Suggest visiting the BS websites and reading what they have to offer. The schools put a lot of time, effort and money in their websites which are full of useful information. Visit the schools, have the interviews. What can be considered number 1 for one kid will not be the same for the next kid. As I keep reiterating, it comes down to the right fit. When your child says the place is awesome and excels academically, athletically and all around happy, you know you found the right school. It is not an easy process, not every kid is really happy where they end up. Everyone hopes the student will adjust and adapt quickly to a particular school and soak up all that that it offers. What I’ve said is easier said than done, one really needs to utilize their perceptive abilities, know their kid and the schools. So many of the boarding schools of today are so much better prepared then 35 years ago. There simply is not enough room to put all the willing and able prospective students in those schools that maintain a consistent record of notoriety.</p>
<p>This information can be helpful for “starters”. There are too many schools out there. If you don’t have any idea what tier a school roughly belongs to, you may end up wasting a lot of time digging out information on schools you shouldn’t consider in the first place.</p>
<p>I myself said “not taking it too literally”, but something’s sticking out in your lists. What’s special about St. George’s to be in the top tier? And why are Cate and Thacher not in the same tier?</p>
<p>didn’t mean to criticize, i just never thought about the lower tier schools in that way and it made me think it is such a shame that these schools are the ones with the smallest endowments, support, etc.</p>