SELECT 16: THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS BOARDING SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES
The Select 16 is an informal term applied to sixteen of the most prestigious boarding schools in the United States. The term was first coined in 1964 by the social commentator E. Digby Baltzell in ‘The Protestant Establishment‘. Further research in 1986 by authors Peter W. Cookson, Jr. and Caroline Hodges Persell in their book ‘Preparing for Power: America’s Elite Boarding Schools‘ explored the relationship that those select schools had with Ivy League colleges. The term was devised to illustrate that select group of schools that had presented the highest number of students for matriculation into the Ivy League colleges and other elite institutions across America. The schools in the Select 16 have long-been considered amongst the most selective and exclusive boarding schools in the United States with famous alumni and large endowments.
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The term, “Select 16” has since entered common parlance as a means of identifying the leading schools in the country and as a byword for academic exclusivity. The schools that comprise its’ informal membership are widely known nationally and internationally and are considered to be the top-tier of private schools in North America. They are amongst America’s oldest schools with a selection of traditional puritan academies and Episcopal schools in the English Public School tradition. With the exception of Woodberry Forest and Episcopal High School, all are located in the Northeast. Many of the member schools are also members of the prestigious and exclusive Ten Schools Admission Organization and the Eight Schools Association or are incorporated in other informal groupings (including the Elite Eight, St. Grottlesex, HADES, GLADCHEMMS etc). These member schools often work closely with one another with respect to best-practice, admissions and management.
Its’ membership is not formal and sometimes people include various schools that were not initially included in the list identified by Baltzel, Cookson and Persell. The original group included: Andover; Choate; Deerfield; Episcopal High; Exeter; Groton; Hill; Hotchkiss; Kent; Lawrenceville; Middlesex; St. George’s; St. Mark’s; St. Paul’s; Taft; and Woodberry Forest.
MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES
CHOOSE LIST VIEW FOR A SIMPLE LIST OF ALL LISTED SCHOOLS. ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN SELECT SCHOOLS USING THE MAP BELOW.
CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL
CHOATE
333 CHRISTIAN STREET, WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT 06492, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
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DEERFIELD ACADEMY
7 BOYDEN LANE, DEERFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 01342, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
ABOUT
EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
EHS
1200 NORTH QUAKER LANE, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, 22302, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
FAITH SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
ABOUT
ESTABLISHED 1839
FEE-PAYING
BOARDING
CO-EDUCATIONAL
AGES 14- 18 (GRADES 9 – 12)
EPISCOPAL
GROTON
282 FARMERS ROW, GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS 01450, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
FAITH SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
ABOUT
ESTABLISHED 1884
FEE-PAYING
BOARDING & DAY
CO-EDUCATIONAL
AGES 13- 18 (GRADES 8 – 12)
EPISCOPAL
HILL
THE HILL SCHOOL
860 BEECH STREET, POTTSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA 19464, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
ABOUT
HOTCHKISS
THE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL
11 INTERLAKEN ROAD, LAKEVILLE, CONNECTICUT 06039, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
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KENT SCHOOL
KENT
1 MACEDONIA ROAD, KENT, CONNECTICUT 06757, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
FAITH SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
ABOUT
ESTABLISHED 1906
FEE-PAYING
BOARDING & DAY
CO-EDUCATIONAL
AGES 14 – 18 (GRADES 9 – 12)
EPISCOPAL
THE LAWRENCEVILLE SCHOOL
2500 MAIN STREET, LAWRENCEVILLE, NEW JERSEY 08648, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
ABOUT
ESTABLISHED 1810
FEE-PAYING
BOARDING & DAY
CO-EDUCATIONAL
AGES 14 – 18 (GRADES 9 – 12)
MIDDLESEX
MX
1400 LOWELL ROAD, CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS 01742, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
ABOUT
PHILLIPS ACADEMY ANDOVER
ANDOVER
180 MAIN STREET, ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS 01810, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
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PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY
EXETER / PEA
20 MAIN STREET, EXETER, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03833, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
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ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL
372 PURGATORY ROAD, MIDDLETOWN, RHODE ISLAND 02842, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
FAITH SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
ABOUT
ESTABLISHED 1896
FEE-PAYING
BOARDING & DAY
CO-EDUCATIONAL
AGES 14 – 18 (GRADES 9 – 12)
EPISCOPAL
ST. MARK’S SCHOOL
25 MARLBORO ROAD, SOUTHBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS 01722, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
FAITH SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
ABOUT
ESTABLISHED 1865
FEE-PAYING
BOARDING
CO-EDUCATIONAL
AGES 14 – 18 (GRADES 9 – 12)
EPISCOPAL
ST. PAUL’S SCHOOL
SPS
325 PLEASANT STREET, CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03301, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
FAITH SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
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TAFT
THE TAFT SCHOOL
110 WOODBURY ROAD, WATERTOWN, CONNECTICUT 06795, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
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WOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL
WFS / WOODBERRY
898 WOODBERRY FOREST ROAD, WOODBERRY FOREST, VIRGINIA 22989, UNITED STATES
HIGH SCHOOL
BOARDING SCHOOL
BOYS SCHOOL
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL
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