Does anyone have rankings for boarding schools?

[Anonymous]

I can't find boarding school rankings on the web. Someone asked me the list of the top ten and I don't know.

[Anonymous]

...still searching

[Anonymous]

there are a bunch of different sources so ranking top schools is very arbitrary. Don't go by one list or some random Wall St Journal ranking. each school has a different feel and fit (some are 100% boarding, some much less, some have over 1,000 students, some much less, some have been around for 300 years, some a little less, etc).

The top schools are usually called HADES or GLADCHEMS, not in any order just acronyms. There is also something called the 10 School Association, but that is nothing more than a band of boarding schools that travels together to help market the schools (but includes many of the top schools).

G groton
L lawrenceville
A andover
D deerfield
C choate
H hotchkiss
E exeter
M middlesex
S st pauls

or

H Hotchkiss
A Andover
D Deerfield
E Exeter
S St Pauls

[Anonymous]

Thanks that is very helpful. Someone with a kid from a boarding school asked me to help them get their kid into an Ivy. I just wanted to see if the boarding school ranked highly...it does. I'm a neophyte when it comes to boarding schools.

[MatriculationStats]

Although it only addresses college matriculation statistics, my website (which has been commented on around here for day schools) does have a page devoted to boarding schools. I don't claim that it's exhaustive, but it does include all the "big names". http://matriculationstats.org/boarding-school-stats

[Anonymous]

Thanks -- I'd never heard these acronyms before and I like them. Are you sure "M" is Middlesex rather than Milton, though?

Anonymous wrote:there are a bunch of different sources so ranking top schools is very arbitrary. Don't go by one list or some random Wall St Journal ranking. each school has a different feel and fit (some are 100% boarding, some much less, some have over 1,000 students, some much less, some have been around for 300 years, some a little less, etc).

The top schools are usually called HADES or GLADCHEMS, not in any order just acronyms. There is also something called the 10 School Association, but that is nothing more than a band of boarding schools that travels together to help market the schools (but includes many of the top schools).

G groton
L lawrenceville
A andover
D deerfield
C choate
H hotchkiss
E exeter
M middlesex
S st pauls

or

H Hotchkiss
A Andover
D Deerfield
E Exeter
S St Pauls

[Anonymous]

Middlesex is old line old school top notch, but Milton may be stronger now. It's just a mnemonic, though.

[Anonymous]

Yes positive it is Middlesex.

Milton is an excellent school, but more thought of as a day school with a boarding option, than a boarding school. Almost like Georgetown prep or St Albans here in Dc which are not usually considered "boarding" schools, though they indeed have boarders.

[Anonymous]

I'm no connoisseur of Northeastern boarding schools, but I'd always understood Milton to be one of them.
Milton = 50% boarders (http://www.milton.edu/about/quickfacts.cfm)
Middlesex = no % on website, but there are references to both boarding & day students

I'm not disagreeing with PP; I'm just surprised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes positive it is Middlesex.

Milton is an excellent school, but more thought of as a day school with a boarding option, than a boarding school. Almost like Georgetown prep or St Albans here in Dc which are not usually considered "boarding" schools, though they indeed have boarders.

You are right--good distinction. Obviously Milton is known for having boarding, but the day component is very significant in quantity and quality of students--in large part bc Milton is accessible to Boston and its suburbs and not the traditional boarding school in the middle of nowhere.

[Anonymous]

Middlesex is 70 percent boarding and very strong academically...as is Milton.

[Anonymous]

I went to Milton and I think the reference to M is Middlesex. I am biased of course but I think Milton is better now. But, I also agree that there are lots of day students. It is the usual haunting ground of the kids of the so-called "Cambridge Mafia" (i.e., Harvard and MIT faculty). If your child's one wish in life is to attend Harvard, Milton has the highest acceptance rates of any school. I went to Harvard. Milton is helpful for Harvard because of several reasons: (i) the old ties; (ii) Milton is a good school and a respected one; and (iii) you end up meeting tons of your friends' parents, who work at Harvard, and help pull the strings that need to be pulled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:there are a bunch of different sources so ranking top schools is very arbitrary. Don't go by one list or some random Wall St Journal ranking. each school has a different feel and fit (some are 100% boarding, some much less, some have over 1,000 students, some much less, some have been around for 300 years, some a little less, etc).

The top schools are usually called HADES or GLADCHEMS, not in any order just acronyms. There is also something called the 10 School Association, but that is nothing more than a band of boarding schools that travels together to help market the schools (but includes many of the top schools).

G groton
L lawrenceville
A andover
D deerfield
C choate
H hotchkiss
E exeter
M middlesex
S st pauls

or

H Hotchkiss
A Andover
D Deerfield
E Exeter
S St Pauls

I like these acronyms, but I'd never heard of almost half of these schools before reading this chain. For prestige accorded by former public school schmucks (as represented by a scientific survey of me), I'd suggest:

G Groton
H Hotchkiss
E Exeter

A Andover
C Choate
E Eton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:there are a bunch of different sources so ranking top schools is very arbitrary. Don't go by one list or some random Wall St Journal ranking. each school has a different feel and fit (some are 100% boarding, some much less, some have over 1,000 students, some much less, some have been around for 300 years, some a little less, etc).

The top schools are usually called HADES or GLADCHEMS, not in any order just acronyms. There is also something called the 10 School Association, but that is nothing more than a band of boarding schools that travels together to help market the schools (but includes many of the top schools).

G groton
L lawrenceville
A andover
D deerfield
C choate
H hotchkiss
E exeter
M middlesex
S st pauls

or

H Hotchkiss
A Andover
D Deerfield
E Exeter
S St Pauls

I like these acronyms, but I'd never heard of almost half of these schools before reading this chain. For prestige accorded by former public school schmucks (as represented by a scientific survey of me), I'd suggest:

G Groton
H Hotchkiss
E Exeter

A Andover
C Choate
E Eton

I like your science, but I am pretty sure Eton is not in the US - Exeter would more likely be the "E"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like your science, but I am pretty sure Eton is not in the US - Exeter would more likely be the "E"

Who limited the list to the U.S.? And Exeter already had its "E"!