The 50 Best US Boarding Schools in 2020

 

Why do parents view boarding schools as the unparalleled schooling preference for their children? Boarding schools offer an educational environment similar to that of a university, while also creating a tight-knit community where classmates and teachers are in constant contact, allowing for more interpersonal growth and development between classes.

According to research conducted by The Association of Boarding Schools, TABS, students who complete their studies at a boarding school are 14% more likely than private day students, and 21% more likely than a public school student  to obtain an advanced degree. Here’s a curated list of the top 50 US boarding schools in 2020 compiled by TheBestSchools.org. Schools were ranked based on a multitude of different criteria that provide the very best in education:

  • signature, specialized programs that proactively emphasize whole person development 

  • rigorous academic programs 

  • matriculation into top tier universities

  • percentage of students boarding, to create a tight-knit school community (Only schools that board 50% of more of their students were considered)

  • tuition cost, as affordability allows for a more diverse student population socio-economically and multi-culturally

 
 
 
RankingSchool NameStudent to
Teacher Ratio
International
Student Ratio(%)
Average
SAT Scores
Interesting Facts
1.Phillips Exeter Academy58.21430The unofficial feeder for Harvard
Harkness Learning
Alumni: Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook)
2.Phillips Academy (Andover)5121480The unofficial feeder for Yale
Alumni: George W. Bush
3.The Putney School623%1240
4.Church Farm School515%1180
5.Episcopal High School5131295
6.St. Paul's School5171395Alumni: John Kerry (US Secretary of State)
7.Asheville School5161310
8.Shattuck-St. Mary's School729n/a
9.St. Andrew’s School5161315Dead Poets Society
10.The Thacher School6121390
11.Deerfield Academy5121400Alumni: Henry W. Kendall (Nobel
12.Choate Rosemary School6181394Alumni: Michael Douglas, actor
13.Woodberry Forest School6101280
14.Western Reserve Academy8151370
15.Verde Valley School6521220
16.The Taft School5201356Alumni: Mary Chapin Carpenter
(Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter)
17.The Orme School4421230
18.Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School8251210
19.Miss Porter's School6141240
20.Foxcroft624n/a
21.Trinity-Pawling6201210
22.Blair Academy6191330Alumni: John Bogle (founder of the Vanguard Group)
23.The Hill School7201340
24.Peddie School6191360
25.Miss Hall's School6371291
26.Berkshire School417n/a
27.The Holderness School6151253
28.Portsmouth Abbey School7181400
29.Milton Academy5121379Alumni: Robert and Ted Kennedy
30.Suffield Academy5181360
31.The Hotchkiss School6151435
32.The Webb Schools(CA)6201400
33.The Salisbury School641224
34.The Governor’s Academy5141355Alumni: Samuel Phillips (founder of Phillips Andover Academy)
35.Groton School4131450Alumni: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
36.The Storm King School4401220
37.The Loomis Chaffee School5161348
38.Middlesex School4141410Bill Richardson (former governor of New Mexico)
Steve Carrell (actor)
39.Tabor Academy6191277The School by the Sea
Alumni: Paul Fireman (Reebok CEO)
40.Northfield Mount Hermon6231295Alumni: James McLamore (founder of Burger King)
41.Kent School7261333Alumni: Lana Del Ray (singer-songwriter)
42.Emma Willard School6231322The first Fair Trade certified high school
43.Lawrenceville School8181490Feeder for the New Jersey Ivy
Alumni: Malcolm Forbes (Forbes magazine)
44.Pomfret School620n/a
45.Westminster School5161330Member of the Founders League, an athletic league
46.South Kent School5n/a1140
47.The Williston Northampton School7201280
48.Cate School5181350Alumni: Conrad Hall (cinematographer)
49.The Ethel Walker School7181250
50.Wayland Academy7401310
 
 
 

Top Boarding Schools in the US 2020

 
 
 
Marketing Team