Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 14:25     Subject: Best private schools in NYC?

Anonymous wrote:We’re talking about middle schools here though. Yes, anyone reasonably competitive at sports when they are younger will go on to boarding school for high school.


whoops, that’s on me. What I can say is that, at least through middle school, where you play outside of school is more important than where you play during school. A good youth team/program is obviously better than any middle school team for a kid who wants to pursue sports.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 14:17     Subject: Re:Best private schools in NYC?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It seems that a lot of folks don’t know or understand Allen-Stevenson. For k-8 it is an exceptional school that offers a great balance between academics, fantastic extracurriculars and an outstanding music program. As someone with kids in multiple private schools, it is literally the best school for boys that want or excel at multiple activities, bar none.

We had admissions in Bernard’s and collegiate and picked AS and would pick it again over those two. My Son excelled in academics, got time to play intramural sports at varsity middle school
(and AS wins most except wrestling where Buckley rules), played a musical instrument, played in an orchestra and and was a
student government leader. AS produces multiple boys like that who immediately excel when they join 7-9th at any TT high school.

Even my son’s exmissions led to pick of choices (all hills schools) and dalton. The TT k-12 schools at high school level have very well defined environments for a certain type of children and they are pretty upfront about it. So kindergarten parents as your kids grow, make your the school is the right fit for them. If your son wants to excel in multiple activities and then find a school like Allen Stevenson, St Davids or Riverdale that supports that.


AS wins most athletics? I watched them lose a soccer game 7-0 this fall and a basketball game at home by a large margin. The other boys schools seemed much sportier. Maybe I just saw a couple bad games?


I think it’s pretty widely known that NYC private schools are laughably horrible at sports. Sometimes they produce stellar athletes, many of whom compete outside the school teams. But, broadly speaking, they are horrible. Anecdote: my best friend growing up was an excellent lacrosse player. When we were starting high school - we were at trin - she decided she wanted to pursue it for college. Through her mom, she was able to meet the dartmouth girls lacrosse coach, who straight up told her to transfer if she wanted to get recruited. My friend didn’t want to go away to school, so she stayed freshman year, but we were so bad that she finally said, screw it, and transferred to choate.


Generally true though there are plenty of exceptions. I know of kids in recent years who have gone to various Ivies for baseball and basketball (including at least one from Trinity). Plenty go D3. Harrison Bader (major league baseball player) went to Horace Mann.

Like you mentioned, there are also quite a few who have gone to boarding school or elsewhere if they really thought they had a future.


Yeah, agreed. Sometimes they produce stellar athletes. Dalton over the past couple years has seen some really good basketball players go to ivies, etc. At trin, we had some super competitive squash and tennis players. My friend at HM was a star soccer player at an HYP, etc. But as a whole, I think it’s pretty safe to say that they’re not the most competitive bunch of students in the world. Which is fine.


When I say this, I mean competitive athletically. We were/are competitive in every other way, for better or worse.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2026 14:16     Subject: Best private schools in NYC?

We’re talking about middle schools here though. Yes, anyone reasonably competitive at sports when they are younger will go on to boarding school for high school.