<p>You are missing the point completely… I am aware that St. Paul’s is larger than St. George’s and Groton, however the point I am making is that SPS, SG and Groton are all CHRISTIAN EPISCOPAL schools and in the ISL (no pg’s and an important sportsmanship creed). These three schools were founded in the english public school vain, whereas Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Taft, Andover, Exeter have pgs, more intense sport teams and were founded to provide excellent educations to the brightest pupils (a more egalitarian mission vs. school to educate the rich under an Episcopalian guise).
Moreover, andover and exeter may have the largest endowment but per student the endowments of SPS and Groton are higher (Groton’s definitely is, I’m not sure about SPS) or very close to andover/exeter.</p>
<p>prepschool9, we’re looking closely at Groton, Deerfield and Andover. Do the Episcopal schools really teach character better than the other schools?</p>
<p>Wild Child got kicked out of a nice Episcopal prep boarding school…:)…I think the one he attended (affectionately known as The School From Hell) didn’t do such a good job of teaching character. Seriously- I think the Episcopal church really sets up some excellent schools, but good character comes from the top and how important this aspect of development is viewed by the administration and the faculty. Wild Child’s current school, while not church-affiliated anymore (began as Presby.) does an amazing job of modeling good character and developing it in the kids.</p>
<p>Your response is helpful. I was wondering what really sets the Episcopal schools apart, other than religion. I guess I can’t assume that a religious school is better at teaching character than the non-religious one. I’m looking for a school for my D that is not only good academically, but also good at teaching values and morals. Maybe that’s too much to ask of one school.</p>
<p>I notice there is a lot of bias in this conference for the big ‘well-known’ schools in New England and the NY Metropolitan area, like Andover, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, and Phillips Exeter. You should know that the Mid-Atlantic Prep League has some really top-notch schools that don’t get as much publicity. Here’s a list of them:</p>
<p>The Lawrenceville School (Lawrenceville, NJ)
The Peddie School (Hightstown, NJ)
Blair Academy (Blairstown, NJ)
The Hill School (Reading, PA)
The Mercersburg Academy (Mercersburg, PA)
The Hun School (Princeton, NJ)
Western Reserve Academy (Hudson, OH)</p>
<p>Lawrenceville is probably the most well known on the list, but as I said thats in big part because it is so much larger than the others. A real gem of a school on that list is The Mercersburg Academy, located in south-central PA near the Maryland border about an hour and a half/45 minutes from DC/Baltimore. It is a small, closely-knit community of about 450 students, and it has a beautiful campus in the Tuscarora Mountains. By the way, the Mercersburg campus had its landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmsted too, so Lawrenceville can scratch that off its ‘unique’ list. The academics are outstanding for such a small school, and the athletics are just as impressive, even more so if one considers the amount of improvement over the last 3 years. Recently we’ve won 2 MAPL titles in Baseball and Football, and have won many more in swimming and wresting, the two most prestigious sports. The school has almost completed its brand new auditorium and fine arts center, the Burgin Center for the Arts, and has recently built a state-of-the-art squash facility and a new tennis center. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in applying for next year, I am very sure the school will be expanding its curriculum a lot because of the completion of the Center for the Arts, and if you have any questions, I will be an alumnus come June 3rd (I’m heading to Princeton University), so just send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:tokyo.revelation@gmail.com">tokyo.revelation@gmail.com</a> or send a message through CC.</p>
<p>Thank you for pointing out this excellent group of schools. Western Reserve is not in the MAPL, though, unless it just joined. It is an excellent school, however.
I have visited most of the campuses and am VERY familiar with the excellent academics and character development at Blair, Hill, Peddie and a few of the others.
Keep the MAPL schools in mind if you want a solid, nurturing prep school experience.</p>
<p>The Hill School is in Pottstown, PA (not far from King of Prussia).</p>
<p>I’m glad you mentioned Hill School. It is a school with a non-denominational chapel program, a beautful stone chapel, and an honor code. It was founded in 1852. I am the mother of daughters at Hill and Groton. Both of my girls wanted schools that had chapel programs, and honor codes, and both love their schools.
I question the critera used to rank schools as 1st tier, 2nd tier etc., as there are various valid measurements that can be used, and which will produce different results. The measurement a parent should use, is which school best meets the needs of their individual child, and which school will best help them develop in mind, body and spirit.</p>
<p>Amen - each school is unique and offers its students its own particular environment, ethos, etc…no ONE school is right for everyone. And I totally agree that a child/teenager needs to focus on more than just academics and getting into an Ivy League college. To grow up right, you need to develop your mind, heart and spirit. Well said.</p>
<p>Any facts now on who became the most selective schools this year, after the record high applications? (in percentage of students admitted)</p>
<p>i don’t think anyone here at lawrenceville actually brags about frederick law olmstead anyway, tokyo. </p>
<p>good post though. most people don’t realize that there are actually boarding schools south of massachussetts.</p>
<p>One of the Schools that should be on the list above is
The Pennington School, in Pennington, NJ. This is also an excellent boarding/day school that is in the Mid-Atlantic region.</p>
<p>I would not recommend Pennington for a boarder- the ratio of day to boarding is too high. I’m sure it is an excellent school, but as a boarder you need a higher ratio of boaring to day.</p>
<p>The world lines up behind Roxbury Latin…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.meehawl.dyndns.org:1080/Webstore/Education/Getting%20Inside%20the%20Ivy%20Gates.html#top100[/url]”>http://www.meehawl.dyndns.org:1080/Webstore/Education/Getting%20Inside%20the%20Ivy%20Gates.html#top100</a></p>
<p>philips andover…</p>
<p>Please beware of putting too much emphasis on getting into HPY as a critera for judging a school (or having a successful life.) Even in the top “feeder schools” it is only a small percentage of students who are admitted to the Ivy schools, and the majority of students aren’t. Those who are admitted are competing for places with other students from that school. There are many factors which contribute to a happy and successful high school life, and an excellent education may be attained without attending HPY.</p>
<p>people who yawn loudly on purpose nonstop.</p>
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I’m an Ivy alum, hoping to send my younger brother along the same track. He’s from Montreal, but a top tier athlete - plays for the city in lacrosse and basketball - and also a very bright kid. His PSAT scores are excellent, although lack of sufficient challenge in the class has made some of his grades… less than respectable. He applied to Deerfield and felt his chances were solid, but didn’t get in. He’s now received offers of admission from both Holderness and Canterbury. Any opinions on these spots? Is he better served to just finish high school in Quebec and then go to an elite college prep program, such as the one offered by Lower Canada College?</p>
<p>He’s also considered repeating a year if he goes south, to give him better exposure for a potential athletic scholarship. However, his grades certainly don’t mandate that kind of move. Could it negatively affect him from an academic perspective?</p>
<p>Thanks all.
ns</p>
<p>I am familiar with Canterbury. The campus is lovely (on a hill) and it has a solid reputation. I am not familiar with Holderness. Repeating a year won’t hurt him at all- my son did the same thing to start as a junior at a prep boarding school. He also wanted two strong years of athletics and academics. If your brother would be more motivated and challenged at the US prep school, then he should come on down!</p>
<p>Why in the hell would you ever want to go to a boarding school or a prep school?</p>