Anonymous
01/21/2026 17:55
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Off topic, but if you had a sibling accepted/rejected by a school, how did they let you know? Just through Ravenna on the decision date or is there a more informal process?
Accepted is the same as unconnected. Not accepted, apparently the school calls you and it’s a conversation so you’re not caught off guard.
Thanks for this. Would they have called by now? Or is it closer to the date?
Anonymous
01/21/2026 17:37
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Thank you! Very interesting that Fieldston has got fewer free periods for homework than some TTs.
Anonymous
01/21/2026 17:03
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Fieldston isn't even remotely top-tier but for what it's worth, the homework was similar to what other posters are saying but there were a lot fewer free periods (just 2 per week, and you sacrifice both of them if you do their engineering elective). So in some cases you could end up with more homework to actually do at home there than you would at a TT school.
Anonymous
01/21/2026 16:46
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Same for my middle schooler who is at Spence (I know, I know, not everyone considers Spence top tier, don’t come at me). They offer free periods throughout the day and she goes to study hall to meet with teachers as well. Maybe 30-45 minutes of homework every other day? Nothing crazy. High school may be different.
Anonymous
01/21/2026 16:07
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Chapin has a 34% ivy acceptance rate over for years which is also great…. That’s just scooting to ChatGPT so that is very unofficial. LOL
Matriculation or acceptance? That percentage seems really high considering their performance in the last 2-3 years
Finally someone sane. I am blown away by the recent comments - choosing K based on Ivy acceptance stats? Focus on where your child will thrive as a person, become a good human, and be happy. Academics are of course important but the majority of these schools will prepare your child academically.
To be fair, the thread is about “best private schools in NYC based on college acceptances” (according to OP on the first page).
Some parents I know tend to go for local non-TT schools for elementary and make a switch to TT for middle or high school when academics becomes more important. I am currently thinking whether I should look into changing schools for DD. There are cons (separation with friends, longer commute) so I am wondering whether the additional academic rigor and extra workload are indeed worth it.
Perhaps, I can also ask a question - how many hours a day do TT kids spend on homework in middle and high school?
It depends on the kid. My middle schooler (Trinity) is very efficient and uses the built in work time in the school day wisely. Often comes home with little/no homework minus studying for a quiz/test or working on a long-term project or paper. Do peers follow suit? Some, not all.
Anonymous
01/21/2026 15:39
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Chapin has a 34% ivy acceptance rate over for years which is also great…. That’s just scooting to ChatGPT so that is very unofficial. LOL
Matriculation or acceptance? That percentage seems really high considering their performance in the last 2-3 years
Finally someone sane. I am blown away by the recent comments - choosing K based on Ivy acceptance stats? Focus on where your child will thrive as a person, become a good human, and be happy. Academics are of course important but the majority of these schools will prepare your child academically.
To be fair, the thread is about “best private schools in NYC based on college acceptances” (according to OP on the first page).
Some parents I know tend to go for local non-TT schools for elementary and make a switch to TT for middle or high school when academics becomes more important. I am currently thinking whether I should look into changing schools for DD. There are cons (separation with friends, longer commute) so I am wondering whether the additional academic rigor and extra workload are indeed worth it.
Perhaps, I can also ask a question - how many hours a day do TT kids spend on homework in middle and high school?
Anonymous
01/21/2026 15:22
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Chapin has a 34% ivy acceptance rate over for years which is also great…. That’s just scooting to ChatGPT so that is very unofficial. LOL
Matriculation or acceptance? That percentage seems really high considering their performance in the last 2-3 years
Finally someone sane. I am blown away by the recent comments - choosing K based on Ivy acceptance stats? Focus on where your child will thrive as a person, become a good human, and be happy. Academics are of course important but the majority of these schools will prepare your child academically.
For a k-12 it would be silly and irresponsible not to consider what the high school is like as well (and that includes college matriculation as you would when looking at any high school). Sure you might move your kid out, but you might not (especially if they like it), so why not take it into consideration. The pearl clutching is a bit much.
Anonymous
01/21/2026 15:05
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Off topic, but if you had a sibling accepted/rejected by a school, how did they let you know? Just through Ravenna on the decision date or is there a more informal process?
Accepted is the same as unconnected. Not accepted, apparently the school calls you and it’s a conversation so you’re not caught off guard.
Anonymous
01/21/2026 14:36
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Off topic, but if you had a sibling accepted/rejected by a school, how did they let you know? Just through Ravenna on the decision date or is there a more informal process?
Anonymous
01/21/2026 14:21
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Chapin has a 34% ivy acceptance rate over for years which is also great…. That’s just scooting to ChatGPT so that is very unofficial. LOL
Matriculation or acceptance? That percentage seems really high considering their performance in the last 2-3 years
Finally someone sane. I am blown away by the recent comments - choosing K based on Ivy acceptance stats? Focus on where your child will thrive as a person, become a good human, and be happy. Academics are of course important but the majority of these schools will prepare your child academically.
LOL. I hear you. I think what is stressful is that it is so difficult to change schools at middle or high school, yes there are slots but much less so. Kids have to have straight As and minimum 7,8 and 9s on ISEE to even be considered for very few slots so NYC parents go crazy during the K process.
Anonymous
01/21/2026 13:12
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Chapin has a 34% ivy acceptance rate over for years which is also great…. That’s just scooting to ChatGPT so that is very unofficial. LOL
Matriculation or acceptance? That percentage seems really high considering their performance in the last 2-3 years
Finally someone sane. I am blown away by the recent comments - choosing K based on Ivy acceptance stats? Focus on where your child will thrive as a person, become a good human, and be happy. Academics are of course important but the majority of these schools will prepare your child academically.
Anonymous
01/21/2026 12:59
Subject: Re:Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think if you are missed on school visit and they want to see you
Ours is at a UPK. Everyone has been very nice to us throughout the process. We get nice responses to thank yous. Both our tour and interview went twice as long. Everyone was nice at the diversity night event. After her playdate the admissions team said nice things to us. We'll see.
The admissions team emailed you after the playdate?
Anonymous
01/21/2026 11:44
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Agree, but also I think that Brearley selects girls like this through their process. Our PD told us they are looking for girls who are pushy/bossy.
In Kindergarten? Yeesh, making an entire school full of Veruca Salts.
My DD is there and is a very shy kid, bordering on meek when she was in K, so I have no idea where this comes from as it’s not true for many of the kids in my DD’s class. I love all the rumors though. Kinda funny.
Anonymous
01/21/2026 11:38
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Agree, but also I think that Brearley selects girls like this through their process. Our PD told us they are looking for girls who are pushy/bossy.
In Kindergarten? Yeesh, making an entire school full of Veruca Salts.
Anonymous
01/21/2026 11:34
Subject: Best private schools in NYC?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So much talk about college placements and rigor but how do the TT schools rank in terms of happiness? I would never send my kid to a HM or Brearley because of the horror stories I hear about stress. Is Chapin or Riverdale best in that sense, because you get academics without kids working themselves into a frenzy over homework, etc?
The recent tragedy at Chapin did give me pause in this sense, but not sure it's representative of a climate of anxiety/stress. Maybe just a horrible situation specific to that poor child.
When we went through the middle school application process, our favorites were Riverdale and Chapin because they seemed to offer a nice balance of academcis and healthy social dynamics. The kids just seemed so happy to be there. Our kid was lucky enough to get into Horace Mann and Chapin and we went with Chapin. We're also a downtown family and didn't want her. traveling so far uptown so there is that.
Opposite for us. Chapin girls seemed miserable when we toured. Happiest seemed to be Marymount, and then Spence and Brearley pretty equal after that. We liked Nightingale as well. We thought Horace Mann and Riverdale seemed similar as far as how the students seemed, and neither was right for us. [/
Biggest bully in my daughter’s grade is a Brearley girl who steals her best friends crushes. Followed by a Horace Mann girl. These choices are so individual and making sweeping generalizations from one tour would be folly. I do understand it’s all the access we get, however. Chatting with the parent and community really helped us make our decisions.
Agree, but also I think that Brearley selects girls like this through their process. Our PD told us they are looking for girls who are pushy/bossy.