A rigorous academic curriculum with an emphasis on character formation is at the core of our School's mission. Students from across the nation and around the globe thrive in a rigorous, resource-rich academic program and a community that fosters independence and integrity. Our Science Research Program provides a limited number of motivated students the opportunity to familiarize themselves with research methods through pilot projects, and then spend the summer engaging in cutting-edge research in a university laboratory.

The individuality, diversity, and quality of Concord Academy's faculty and student body make it an exceptional place to live and learn. Life at this boarding and day school is creative and inquisitive; the people are impassioned and involved. The school is academically demanding. Students participate in a range of artistic, athletic, and extracurricular activities. Large enough to offer 368 students a comprehensive program, it is small enough to provide a caring community. Set in an historic town near Boston, Concord Academy is a vibrant community enhanced by its culturally rich environment.

Deerfield Academy, a coeducational college-preparatory boarding school founded in 1797, is known for its high academic standards and cohesive school spirit. Deerfield nurtures its 630 students’ intellectual curiosity and encourages responsible citizenship through a rigorous curriculum. The outstanding faculty prepares students for competitive colleges and universities, challenging students in an academic program that includes Honors and Advanced Placement courses in nineteen subject areas, an extensive spring term elective program, and domestic and foreign off-campus study. Deerfield also provides over 120 varied athletic and extracurricular offerings. The 280-acre campus provides extraordinary facilities including an arts center and the Boyden Library, housing a broad-based collection of more than 75,000 items. The 80,000 square-foot Koch Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology houses 30 state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratory spaces, dedicated spaces for independent research, and a planetarium. Students, 35% supported by over $6.6 million in financial aid, are selected on the basis of academic promise, leadership potential, diversity of background, and the willingness to contribute to the school community.

One can’t help but be captivated by the enthusiasm, curiosity, creativity, and genuine warmth of the very special group of adults and young people from around the country and around the world who live and learn together in this 100 percent boarding community. In this day and age when we are all grappling with an increasing pace of change, competitive environment, and complexity of our shrinking global community, Episcopal is uniquely positioned to prepare our students not just to excel in outstanding colleges and universities but to take their place as caring and gifted leaders on a local and global level. For more than 175 years our students have thrived in our school’s rich array of academic offerings, embraced our commitment to personal honor, ethical leadership, and spiritual growth, and been guided and inspired by the close and caring relationships they develop with the adults here. Preparation for true leadership in this quickly changing future, however, demands that we offer our students even more. Our school’s innovative approach to curriculum and program that dives deeply into the opportunities and global connections of Washington, D.C., sets us apart and offers our students an educational experience unlike any other.

Set on a beautiful campus less than an hour's drive from Boston, Groton is a small school offering big opportunities to students in grades 8 through 12. The extended family that is Groton shares a deep commitment of one to another and each to the whole. A broad-based curriculum includes particular advantages such as the opportunity to study two languages concurrently or pursue tutorial study of a subject one-on-one with a teacher. A school in the Episcopal tradition, Groton educates the whole person through wide-ranging art, athletic and service programs, the variety of perspectives reflected in a diverse student body and the unique leadership opportunity of the Groton prefect year. 37% of the student body receives $4.7 million dollars in financial aid annually.

Founded in 1891, Hotchkiss strives to develop in students a lifelong love of learning, responsible citizenship, and personal integrity. Our students come from 37 states and 33 foreign countries. Thirty-nine percent are students of color. Over $7.6 million in financial aid is available each year; 37 percent of students receive financial aid. With more than 248 courses, Hotchkiss offers a large-school academic experience with a small-school feeling. The average class size is 12, and facilities include a 97,500-item library, a visual arts center, two theatres, new state-of-the-art athletic and music centers, and a golf course and tennis courts, all on an 827-acre campus. Our athletic teams compete with remarkable success in 19 interscholastic sports, including baseball, basketball, cross-country, field hockey, football, golf, hockey,lacrosse, sailing, soccer, softball, squash, swimming and diving, tennis, track, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. We also offer instruction in outdoor leadership, paddle tennis, rock climbing, spin cycling, and yoga. With a teacher:student ratio of 1:5 and course offerings that total 248, our students have exceptional opportunities for advancing their education and finding mentors on the faculty who will support them in their learning. Students, teachers, and staff members are equally important members in this community based on trust, mutual respect, compassion and shared intellectual curiosity.

The mission of the Lawrenceville School is to inspire and educate promising young people from diverse backgrounds for responsible leadership, personal fulfillment and enthusiastic participation in the world. Through our unique House system, collaborative Harkness approach to teaching and learning, close mentoring relationships, and extensive co-curricular opportunities we help students to develop high standards of character and scholarship, a passion for learning, an appreciation for diversity, a global perspective, and strong commitments to personal, community, and environmental responsibility.

Critical thinking, dynamic classrooms, and a spirited community all define Middlesex. Students pursue academic excellence in small, challenging, Socratic classes. An 18,000 square foot, state-of-the- art math and science building opened recently. A modern theater arts complex supports a deep commitment to the arts, and an expansive athletic center enhances a competitive athletic program. Middlesex's unique location encourages its students and faculty to draw on the extensive opportunities of a major urban center. Financial aid is awarded to over 30% of the student body. Students came from 32 states and 16 countries in the 2010-11 academic year.

Milton Academy, engages faculty and students in intense and challenging preparation for college and for life, in an environment that stimulates and supports extraordinary intellectual and personal growth. Day in and day out, in and out of class, faculty connect vitally with students – setting sights high, bringing opportunities to light, tackling big questions, affirming students’ individuality, and building their confidence and skill. Not only do they succeed at the most competitive universities in the country, Milton graduates' awareness, creativity and competence empower them to fully commit themselves to meaningful endeavors of all kinds, throughout the world. Milton Academy is located just eight miles south of Boston.

With a beautiful campus and a distinguished history dating back to 1864, Peddie has long been recognized as one of the nation's finest boarding schools. Noted for its distinctive programs dedicated to academics, athletics, arts and residential life, Peddie provides a rigorous academic experience mixing tradition with innovation while focusing on the education of the whole child. Peddie's faculty is recognized for encouraging and inspiring bright and enthusiastic students to reach for new levels of achievement in an unusually friendly, genuinely supportive and remarkably diverse community.

Students come to Andover to join 1100 smart, engaged, passionate students from around the world; to work with brilliant, accomplished teachers; to have access to unparalled resources; and to feel a sense of limitless opportunity. Education Week calls Andover "the quintessential boarding school [which] has remained true to its mission of building character while preparing students for college."

Founded in 1781, Phillips Exeter Academy originated the Harkness philosophy of teaching whereby 12 students and a teacher join in classes around an oval Harkness Table. Students from 44 states and 29 countries enjoy a rich curriculum of over 350 courses. More than $15 million in financial aid supports 48% of Exeter's students. An endowment of more than $800 million supports Exeter's commitment to academics, excellence in teaching, a diverse student body, a wide variety of co-curricular opportunities, and state-of-the-art facilities including the new Phelps Science Center and the Academy Center.

Age Quod Agis: Whatever you do, do it well. St. Mark’s School motto has guided our community for more than 140 years. Founded in 1865 as an intentionally small residential community, the School challenges its students to develop their particular analytic and creative capabilities by both inspiring their academic and spiritual curiousity and kindling their passion for discovery. Small seminar-style classes, a challenging curriculum and strong connections that students and faculty make in our classrooms are distinctive features of our academic program. Our community strives to maintain diversity amongst its students and faculty as refelected by their backgrounds and interests. Affiliated with the Episcopal Church and rooted in that tradition, St. Mark's embraces the rich diversity of the many faiths and nationalities of our students, faculty and staff. Our close proximity to Boston allows us to take advantage of rich cultural offerings. St. Mark's graduates leave with superior academic knowledge and confidence in their personal worth, strengthened and informed by a heightened sense of purpose, integrity, and citizenship. We value cooperation over self-interest, and we encourage each person to explore his or her place in the larger world beyond our campus.

Set on 2,000 wooded acres in New Hampshire's capital city, St. Paul's is one of a few U.S. schools that remains fully boarding, both for students and faculty. SPS is committed to the three essential elements of adolescent development – mind, body, and spirit. Students encounter rigorous academics and the highest levels of college preparation, with a new mathematics and science building opening in 2011. An expansive athletic center, two climbing walls, two indoor hockey rinks, two boathouses, and a 2,000-meter rowing course speak to the School’s emphasis on sports and fitness. The Episcopal tradition supports students of every faith, encouraging open discussion of spirituality in the modern world. Close adult-student relationships are at the core of SPS community life, with its emphasis on personal responsibility and service. Over $7.6 million in financial aid is awarded annually to support 37% of students.

Known for academic rigor and close faculty-student relationships, Taft fosters personal responsibility, honor, and an achievement ethic in all areas of school life: intellectual, artistic, athletic, and extracurricular. Our 220-acre campus features: 59,500-volume library; Lady Ivy Kwok Wu Science and Math Center; Sony Virtuoso Language Lab; Mark W. Potter Art Gallery; 2 theaters; 18-hole golf course; 2 ice hockey arenas; 16 tennis courts (4 indoor); 8 squash courts; six-lane, all-weather track; 11 playing fields; 200-course curriculum. A diverse student body from 33 states and 27 countries is supported with $6.6 million in aid.

Berkshire School is a co-ed college preparatory boarding school offering a rigorous academic course of study. Pioneering programs—such as Advanced Math/Science Research, Sustainability and Resource Management and Chinese language—coexist with advanced sections and AP offerings in all disciplines. With a range of artistic and athletic offerings, a state-the-art academic building, a brand new 117,000-square-foot athletic facility, and national recognition for its efforts in environmental conservation, it is an extraordinary setting in which students are encouraged to learn, in the words of the school motto, “not just for school, but for life.”

Founded in 1848, Blair Academy is a dynamic, coeducational boarding school in northwest New Jersey, located 65 miles from New York City.Amid a caring, vibrant community, 460 students pursue a superior college preparatory education and explore their passions through myriad co-curricular activities.Strong faculty-student relationships lead to exceptional learning and empower students to become persons of great accomplishment and character.Blair graduates distinguish themselves at top colleges and as leaders in their professions and communities.

Brooks provides a co-educational, college preparatory program on a 250-acre campus overlooking Lake Cochichewick. Small classes allow students to work closely with teachers, fostering a relationship that is at the core of the warm, close-knit community. Brooks also offers opportunities to study abroad in Europe and Africa. A summer science program places juniors at labs at MIT and Harvard and on the coast of Canada in Labrador. Visual and performing arts are an integral part of school life, while on the athletic fields numerous teams have won New England or league championships in recent years.

The Cambridge School of Weston has been at the forefront of educational innovation since its inception in 1886. Our progressive pedagogy is built upon the student-centered philosophy of John Dewey, who advocated active, experiential learning within a curriculum designed to accommodate the interests and experiences of individual students. In Dewey’s eyes—and ours—the purpose of education goes beyond the acquisition of content and skills to the realization of one’s full potential and the ability to use those skills for the greater good. With teachers as guides, students take ownership of their learning and their lives, preparing them to become informed, engaged and effective participants in a democratic society. Our dynamic program develops students’ ability to explore and engage with ideas—and people—with curiosity, courage, self-awareness, discipline, open-mindedness and a sense of personal responsibility. Purposeful classroom experiences and assessments allow students to develop and practice independent thinking, critical analysis, imaginative problem-solving, productive collaboration and constructive risk-taking. Our curriculum incorporates primary resources and multiple perspectives, and emphasizes our commitment to human rights and social justice. Creativity is intrinsically infused into every corner of our curriculum, from class projects to the studios to the playing fields. Teachers challenge students to push beyond perceived limitations and to make all of their work personally meaningful. Our students are skilled in making connections—across disciplines and between people—and are already engaged in their community and the globalized, complex world they inhabit. Through participation, leadership and service, they develop a sense of who they are and what they can accomplish.

Located one mile from the ocean, in the foothills of Santa Barbara County, Cate School is a coeducational college preparatory boarding school. Founded in 1910, the School delivers a demanding academic program resulting in a breadth and depth of scholarly inquiry. Cate School seeks students with the capacity to handle a demanding college-preparatory curriculum, with the curiosity to engage in our student-centered small classes, and with the compassion and character to be active and caring members of our small community. The student body of 265 students (83% are boarders) comes from 22 states and 19 foreign countries and is both academically talented and remarkably diverse (41% students of color). In an intimate setting, students and teachers together pursue high ideals. Cate's mission statement reads: "Through commitment, scholarship, companionship, and service, each member of the Cate community contributes to what our founder called "the spirit of this place...all compounded of beauty and virtue, quiet study, vigorous play, and hard work."