Private School Review Blog

The historic metropolitan Boston area offers a wide range of academic and cultural activities. Just as impressive is the area's selection of private schools which cater to almost every need.

A fine transportation network and the fact that the Big Dig is finally finished make Boston a wonderful place in which to live and go to school. After graduation, there are thirty-seven colleges and universities to choose from. Head north a few hours and you will find excellent skiing in the winter and a host of recreational activities in the summer. Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard to the east and south are treasures in their own right. Boston's accommodations and restaurants are decidedly world-class. Perhaps one of these fine schools should be on your short list.

Private Schools in the Boston Area

• The Advent School, Boston
• Archbishop Williams High School, Braintree
• Arlington Catholic High School, Arlington
• The Atrium School, Watertown
• Beaver Country Day School, Chestnut Hill
• Belmont Day School, Belmont
• Beverly School for the Deaf, Beverly
• Bishop Fenwick High School, Peabody
• Boston College High School, Boston
• Boston University Academy, Boston
• Brimmer and May School, Chestnut Hill
• Brooks School, North Andover
• Buckingham Browne and Nichols School, Cambridge
• Cambridge Friends School, Cambridge
• The Cambridge School of Weston, Weston
• Catholic Memorial High, West Roxbury
• Chapel Hill-Chauncy

Litchfield County, Connecticut is home to a couple of dozen excellent schools catering to just about every need. The setting about 90 miles north of New York City is convenient to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. Picturesque vistas, rolling hills, ancient stone walls as well as quaint New England villages and towns dot the county's landscape. Plenty of acceptable restaurants and accommodations can be found for those inevitable parents' weekends and other family occasions.

Schools in Litchfield County

• Canterbury School, New Milford
• The Glenholme School, Washington
• The Forman School, Litchfield
• The Gilbert School, Winsted
• The Gunnery, Washington Depot
• The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville
• Indian Mountain School, Lakeville
• Kent School, Kent
• Litchfield Montessori School, Northfield
• The Marvelwood School, Kent
• Rumsey Hall, Washington Depot
• Saint Anthony School, Winsted
• Saint John the Evangelist School, Watertown
• Saint Mary Magdalene School, Oakville
• Saint Peter School, Torrington
• Salisbury School, Salisbury
• South Kent School, South Kent
• The Taft School, Watertown
• Washington Montessori School, New Preston
• The Woodhall School, Bethlehem

The number of organizations offering scholarships for private school students is limited. In addition to the list of organizations below, you should also check to see if your state has Scholarship Funding Organizations. Approximately 14 states have SFOs. Most admissions officers will be able to advise you about scholarships available in your area.

Organizations Offering Scholarships

• Abell Foundation, Inc. (MD)
• BASIC Fund (CA)
• Bay Area Scholarships for Inner-City Children Fund
• Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust
• A Better Chance
• BISON Scholarship Fund (New York)
• Black Student Fund (DC)
• Capital Partners For Education (DC)
• Catholic Schools Foundation (Massachusetts)
• Children's Scholarship Fund (TX)
• Commonweal Foundation (MD)
• The Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation (Chicago)
• The Denver Foundation
• The Independent Scholarship Fund
• Inner-City Scholarship Fund (Boston)
• Inner-City Scholarship Fund (New York)
• Latino Student Fund (DC)
• LINK Unlimited (Chicago)
• Maine Community Foundation
• Office of Navajo Nation Scholarship & Financial Assistance
• New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
• Partners Advancing Values in Education (WI)
• Philadelphia Society of Friends
• Prep for Prep
• Rhode Islanders Sponsoring Education
• Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children (NJ)
• School CHOICE Scholarships, Inc. (KY)
• Shepherd Foundation (DC)
• Skillman Foundation (MI)
• Student/Partner Alliance (NJ)
• Tri-County Scholarship Fund (NJ)
• Vermont Student Opportunity Scholarships (VT)
• Washington Scholarship Fund
• Wight Foundation, Inc. (New Jersey)
• YES Opportunities, Inc.

You applied to several schools. But your first choice didn't accept you. Instead, it waitlisted you. What exactly does this mean? And why do schools waitlist applicants? What do you do now?

What does waitlisting mean?

Schools typically offer places to more applicants than they have places for on the theory and experience that they will receive enough acceptances to fill all their seats. Calculating the actual yield from the acceptances which they have sent out is something that experienced admissions officers know how to do almost instinctively. For example, let's say the school has places for 100 students. It could send acceptance letters to 100 applicants. But what happens if only 75 of those families accept the places which have been offered? Having 25 empty seats will wreak havoc with any private school's finances.

That's where the waitlisting comes in. The admissions officers know that if they offer a certain number of applicants over the actual number of places that they have available, that they will receive the necessary yield of acceptances. For example, using our hypothetical 100 places available, the admissions office sends out 125 acceptance letters. The admissions staff know that historically they will receive 90-100 acceptances when they send out 125 acceptance letters. But what if circumstances conspire to produce the number on the low end of the yield scale? Say they only receive 90 acceptances? That's where the waitlist comes into play. The school will send out 125 acceptances. It will make up

Many famous people have attended private schools. Here is a sampling of schools and the famous folk who graced their hallowed halls.

Schools and Notable Alumni

• Ashley Hall, Charleston, SC : Alexandra Ripley, Barbara Bush, Madeleine L'Engle
• Baylor School, Chattanooga, TN : Arthur Golden
• The Brooks School, North Andover, MA : Steve Forbes
• Canisius High School, Buffalo, NY : Tim Russert
• Cardinal Hayes High School, New York, NY : George Carlin
• Choate-Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT : Glenn Close, Ivanka Trump, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jodie Foster, John Dos Passos, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Michael Douglas
• Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, MA : Bette Davis
• The Dwight School, New York, NY : Paris Hilton
• Emma Willard School, Troy, NY : Jane Fonda
• Episcopal High School, Alexandria, VA : John McCain
• Eton College, Berkshire, England : Prince Harry, Prince William
• The Fieldston School, New York, NY : Andrew Litton
• Harding Academy, Nashville, TN : Reese Witherspoon
• Harvard-Westlake School, Los Angeles, CA : Tori Spelling
• The Hill School, Pottstown, PA : Oliver Stone
• The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT : Archibald MacLeish
• Horace Mann School, New York, NY : Eliot Spitzer
• Kent Denver School, Englewood, CO : Madeline Albright
• Kent School, Kent, CT : Ted Danson
• Lakeside School, Seattle, WA : Bill Gates
• The Madeira School, Mclean, VA : Stockard Channing
• McCallie School, Chatanooga, TN : Ted Turner
• Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, PA : James Stewart
• Milton Academy, Milton, MA : Edward Kennedy
• Miss Porter's School, Farmington, CT : Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
• Northfield