<p>What are the best all girls boarding schools? What makes them the best? THANKS!!</p>
<p>Hockaday (Dallas). Best success at getting girls into Ivies and major colleges. Outstanding school. Accepts day students as well.</p>
<p>Go to boardingschoolreview to research schools. The following list was from an advanced search, using the criteria: “all girls” and “ssat required”. </p>
<p>Much depends on what you “value” in a school (academics, athletics, etc). If academic rigor is important to you, you can look at average SSAT and SAT scores, number of AP/advanced classes offered, etc.</p>
<p>After you narrow the list further, you can check out the individual school websites, and look at matriculation data if that is important to you.</p>
<p>Your List of Schools:
- Indicates Boarding Grades Offered
Boarding School
Type
Grades*
Location</p>
<p>The Bishop Strachan School All-girls 7-12 Toronto, Canada
Chatham Hall All-girls 9-12 Chatham, VA
Dana Hall School All-girls 9-12 Wellesley, MA
Emma Willard School All-girls 9-12, PG Troy, NY
The Ethel Walker School All-girls 9-12, PG Simsbury, CT
Foxcroft School All-girls 9-12, PG Middleburg, VA
Garrison Forest School All-girls 8-12 Owings Mills, MD
Grier School All-girls 7-12, PG Tyrone, PA
Havergal College All-girls 9-12 Toronto, ON, Canada
The Hockaday School All-girls 8-12 Dallas, TX
Linden Hall All-girls 5-12, PG Lititz, PA
The Madeira School All-girls 9-12 McLean, VA
Miss Hall’s School All-girls 9-12 Pittsfield, MA
Miss Porter’s School All-girls 9-12 Farmington, CT
St. Margaret’s School All-girls 8-12 Tappahannock, VA
Saint Mary’s School All-girls 9-12 Raleigh, NC
St. Timothy’s School All-girls 9-12, PG Stevenson, MD
Salem Academy All-girls 9-12 Winston-Salem, NC
Santa Catalina School All-girls 9-12 Monterey, CA
Stoneleigh-Burnham School All-girls 7-12, PG Greenfield, MA
Westover School All-girls 9-12 Middlebury, CT</p>
<p>Other factors you might want to consider:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Percent Boarding: Hockaday is a fantastic school, however only 17% of students board according to boardingschoolreview. This would definitely provide a different experience than attending a school like Miss Porters, where 67% of students board.</p></li>
<li><p>Percent International Students: some schools have a very large percentage of international students. Some schools have adopted the strategy of accepting a large number of full-pay international students in order to provide more financial aid for domestic students. Be sure to ask lots of questions - are most of the kids from just a few countries (China? Korea?). How many of the international students are fluent in English, or are there real “cliques” in the school due to language barriers?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I second the suggestions to peruse the various all-girls boarding schools’ websites and to check out the Boarding School Review website to compare stats such as school size, average class size, percentage of girls who board, etc. The perfectly manageable number of schools at issue makes these endeavors reasonable investments of time and effort. So far three all-girls schools appear on the CC “Hidden Gems” thread. Of those three, I’ve learned enough to recommend Chatham Hall and Emma Willard School. Both are sterling in many regards. The other is Westover School, about which I’ve heard wonderful things but don’t know much myself.</p>
<p>If you are considering applying for entry in fall 2012, look for rolling admissions, but don’t be deterred merely by admissions deadlines. Contact schools that might interest you and ask if they consider applications received after the announced deadlines. Good luck.</p>
<p>My daughter goes to Westover School and I can not say enough good things. It is rigorous, nurturing, and overall a great place. She’s had opportunities there that some of her friends at larger schools (boarding and/or day) have not had. She’s a senior and the college acceptances of the senior class are quite impressive.</p>
<p>I go to Emma Willard so I highly suggest looking there 
It’s the best school ever, super challenging but also a really close-knit fun community. Feel free to PM me any questions if you’re interested!
I also suggest the idea of looking at boardingschoolreview.com, it helped me a ton.</p>
<p>Miss Porter’s immediately came to mind.</p>
<p>My daughter is attending Westover School next year and we will continue to post about her experiences. We are embracing the all girls option.</p>
<p>My daughter also goes to Westover. In many ways - so much better than the experience my son had at Exeter.</p>
<p>My daughter is graduating from Saint Mary’s School in Raleigh next month. While she was a day student, about 50% are boarders. We’ve been very pleased with her academic experience, the close knit relationships, her college options, and the faculty. If she had younger sisters, there would be no question for us that SMS would be seeing more family members. Highly recommend you check it out.</p>
<p>I go to Linden Hall and love it. There are some negatives, the most prominent is the high percentage of international students. But overall the people, teachers, class sizes, and general climate at Linden Hall make up for it easily. If you want to know more about LH send me a private message.</p>
<p>Hello,
I am looking Miss halls, Westover and Emma for my 8t grader. Miss Halls is closest and she could be day, which she would prefer. I like the idea of Emma bc it is a bigger and will have more to offer. She may not want to board till sophomore year. So… do you have any idea of what the typical girl is for each school? Tough question i know. How is troy? Safe?</p>
<p>I went (and recently graduated from) Miss Porter’s. I got so much out of my experience there and had so many opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Now in college, I feel like I am far better prepared than I would have been had I not attended Porters.</p>
<p>We almost didn’t look at Emma because of its location in Troy. Boy am I glad we did. Our dd is now a freshman there and is truly happy. The girls are warm, diverse, engaged… I don’t know that there’s a “typical” girl, except that the school makes it clear they value openmindedness, and that has been our dd’s experience so far.</p>
<p>The school location is in a fairly suburban part of town, on Mt. Ida. Emma has excellent security, no “incidents” in anyone’s memory, and the girls can safely walk to local stores (always in pairs or groups, a school rule). Opportunities abound for practicum (Emma’s term for independent study) at local colleges like RPI and Sage, as well as area businesses and organizations. </p>
<p>Troy itself is a fairly down-at-heels place, like many former industrial towns. It has a reviving, and quite nice, if fairly small, downtown—and one of the best music venues (Troy Savings Bank Music Hall) in the country. Nearby Albany offers some interesting outlets, both cultural and consumer, and the school seems to make it a point to provide opportunities for any girl to pursue her academic or creative passions. </p>
<p>Rennsalaer County, where Troy is situated, is a mix of urban, exurban and truly rural. Emma Willard itself is a true oasis of calm and beauty. The campus is at once stunning and impressive and warm and intimate. Certainly worth a visit—there is no substitute for actually being there!</p>