Here are the best boarding schools in the USA, 2023, and the ranking is based on reliable sources and experience-based views from students and other independent reviews.
Before we commence this brief article, it is important to list a number of factors that will be helping us know the top boarding schools in the United States.
It has to be best for parents, guardians, and students – to make the most informed decision about their schooling anywhere in the country.
They include:
- The infrastructure/facility
- The student-teacher ratio
- SAT/ACT score
- The overall quality of college
- The student-teacher ratio
- The boarding school ratings, and lost more.
Even those we are focusing on boarding school, boarding is a singular factor in the things that make an entire boarding school, a great one.
To proceed, let us be clear on what you mean by a boarding school.
What is a Boarding School in the US?
A boarding school is an institute that provides educational services to the students on its premises. Boarding schools are great because the students stay within the school and aren’t distracted by activities outside the school.
These schools are equipped with the required tools to house students. And those tools are the feeding plan for students, education, and recreation sites on the ground for its students.
Parents feel at ease when their child’s needs are met in the schools, they enrolled them in.
One additional motivation is that boarding schools in the United States are required to meet up to the standards set by the USA educational and regulations boards.
In the United States, secure and good quality life – and education of the people always stand paramount.
Related Post: 15 Best Boarding Schools in Texas and Location
10 Best Boarding High Schools in the USA
Great boarding high schools produce qualified students. Here is a list of the best boarding schools in the United States:
1. Phillips Exeter Academy
This academy is located in New Hampshire. She is also known as Exeter. They have been supplying the best minds that get enrolled at Harvard. Being a coed school, Philips Exeter Academy has classes for boys and girls in grades 9 – 12.
As a student, you get to choose from more than 450 courses in 19 subject areas in true Exeter style. Their learning is dialogue-based and interactive. The traditional textbooks are tossed aside and a student-friendly learning process is imbibed.
Tuition, room, and board fees: $61,121/per year for boarding students, and $47,739 for day students
Financial aid: Since 2007, the school has adopted to start up a financial aid initiative for families that have incomes below $75,000 or less.
Notable alumni: Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook), Dan Brown (author), and Christopher Kimball.
2. Phillips Academy (Andover)
This great academy is located in Andover, Massachusetts, and here is why it’s amongst the best high school boarding schools in the United States.
Phillips Academy Andover founded in 1778, has been supplying the brightest minds to Yale University. It is also the first private secondary school to establish and implement a need-blind admission policy. They are also known as Andover.
The academy is always in competition with the Phillips Exeter Academy. Andover is composed of highly qualified staff as 80% of them are advanced degree-holders.
They are also known for a wide array of music classes and have a work-duty program where their students participate in.
Tuition, accommodation fees: $48,850
Financial aid: They offer financial aid to 47% of its students yearly.
Some of their notable alumni are George W. Bush, Humphrey Bogart, Jack Lemmon, Julia Alvarez.
3. The Putney School
The Putney School is located in Vermont. They offer education to students in grades 9-12. Students here are placed in a line of thinking and acting actively in their lives by being encouraged to pursue their personal academic interests, as well as to “present their thinking in coherent and compelling ways.”
Their hands-on education manner has helped them produce graduates who have gained admission into ivy league schools like Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Cornell, as well as schools like Oberlin, Sarah Lawrence, and Boston College Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Cornell, as well as schools like Oberlin, Sarah Lawrence, and Boston College.
Aside from the academics, students participate in an arts-based program two nights a week.
Tuition, room, and board fees: $50,8000
Financial aid: They offer financial aid to about 43% of its students.
Notable alumni: Reid Hoffman, Nell Newman, Felicity Huffman.
Related post: 20 Best Boarding Schools in North Carolina NC | Ranking
4. Church Farm School
Church Farm School, was founded in 1918 and is located in Exton Pennsylvania.
The school has an Episcopal heritage and it is loyal to it. Therefore this means that an is attendance at weekly chapel services and meetings compulsory.
Being a student here, you will be involved in a C.O.R.E. (Challenge Of Required Experience) program, which provides opportunities for community service, outdoor experiences, leadership training, and exposure to cultural arts.
Their graduates attend schools such as Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Emory, MIT, Princeton, Rice, Notre Dame, and Penn State University.
Tuition, accommodation, and board: $34,300
Financial aid: They offer financial aid and this is received by 90% of its students.
Notable alumni: Talmadge O’Neill, Chris Raab (actor), Michael Eric (NBA).
5. Episcopal High School
They are located in Alexandria, Virginia which is seven miles away from the white house.
Here is the information you should know about that makes Episcopal High School one of the Best High School Boarding Schools in the United States.
Being located close to the nation’s capital means that as a student you will be involved in the Washington Program, which offers four concentrations: Public Policy, Sustainability, Cultural Awareness, and Entrepreneurship.
Another point worthy of note is that 85% of faculty hold advanced degrees and teach over 140 courses.
They have produced students who have been admitted into William and Mary, Duke, Wake Forest, Washington & Lee, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Sewanee in high numbers.
Tuition, room, and board: $49,700
Financial aid: they offer financial aid to their students. Only about 32% of its students receive this aid.
6. St. Paul’s School
This beauty of a school was founded in 1856 and is located in Concord, New Hampshire. The school is an all-boarding school for students from grades 9-12.
Classes are interactive and rigorous as they follow the Harkness method. This has helped them produce minds that have gotten admitted into Georgetown, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, and Harvard.
Tuition, room, and board fees: $52,200
Financial aid: They offer financial aid to its students whose household income is $80,000 or less. This aid is received by 33% of the students yearly.
Notable alumni: Secretary of State John Kerry, John Jacob Astor IV, Judd Nelson.
7. Asheville School
Founded in 1900, the Asheville school is located in Asheville, North Carolina.
Asheville is a private coed boarding school that offers classes to those in 9-12 grades. Here the students are taught to challenge themselves personally and academically.
As a student in this school, you will be required to write papers with chosen topics and be involved in 40 hours of service to an organization. This is what makes Asheville be amongst the best high school boarding schools in the United States.
Tuition, accommodation, and board fees: $47,375
Financial aid: they offer some form of financial aid to 30% of its students.
Notable alumni: Dr. D. Ralph Millard (plastic surgery pioneer), Edward Gaylord (media mogul), Pete Dye, Jr. (world-renowned golf course designer), Jennifer Phar-Davis (fastest hiker through the Appalachian Trail).
8. Shattuck-St. Mary’s School
Shattuck-St. Mary’s School was founded in 1858 and it is located in Faribault. Here are some of the reasons why it is on the list of best high school boarding schools in the United States.
The school offers classes to those in 6-12 grades and has imbibed a unique blend of tradition and innovativeness in her students. Academically your child would get a sound education here because the school offers experiential programs that train and build up your child into a great leader.
The school has also produced minds that attend universities such as Penn State, Boston University, University of Washington, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Due to the school’s episcopal background, it offers weekly chapel services, classes in religion, and the saying of grace before lunch.
Tuition, accommodation, and board fees: $45,425
Financial aid: Shattuck-St. Mary’s School offers financial aid to its students. About 100% of its students receive such aid.
Notable alumni: Townes Van Zandt (poet, musician), Brent Musburger (sportscaster), Jimmy Chin (National Geographic photographer and mountain climber), and numerous NHL players and Olympians in ice hockey.
9. St. Andrew’s School
St. Andrew’s is located in Middletown, Delaware. They offer educational classes to grades 9-12. Here the students are offered family-style meals during the week, this creates a close relationship between the students.
Academics are innovative and rigorous. They produce minds that attend Ivy League schools such as NYU and Vanderbilt. The school imbibes the spirit of the Oxford tutorial method into its students.
St. Andrew was featured amongst “The 30 Best Christian Boarding Schools.”
Tuition, accommodation, and board: $53,500
Financial aid: The school offers financial aid to about 47% of its students.
Notable alumni: Erin Burnett (CNN journalist), Loudon Wainright, Jr. (Life magazine columnist), Eric Boateng (basketball player).
10. The Thacher School
The Thacher School was founded in 1889 in Ojai, California. It is the oldest coed boarding school in the state.
Being a student at Thacher means that you are taught to value good hard work through the Horse Program. This develops their self-esteem along with problem-solving skills and responsibility.
They offer both Day and Boarding options to students, so as a parent you get to pick one.
Tuition for boarders: $58,920
Tuition for Day Students: $40,970
Financial aid: None
Notable Alumni: Howard Hughes (aviator, filmmaker, and industrialist), Thornton Wilder (writer), Noah Wyle (actor).
Do well to review the school website for the Boarding High Schools in the USA that interests you. Also, feel free to ask questions as we are available to tender useful answers.
Frequently Asked Questions About Boarding Schools in the US
Why Should I go to a boarding schools
Here are some interesting facts about why kids are sent to boarding schools by their parents:
- Parents want to give their children a better academic (or athletic) education
- Some parents want to start training their children on how to live independently
Fun fact: Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, the founder of the world’s largest social media network Facebook, went to a boarding school.
Things to look out for before enrolling in a boarding school
- Will the boarding high school prepare me or my child for the future?
- Can my child have the best education there?
- Is the school affordable?
These questions should be on your mind because knowing the answers will help you secure your child’s future by placing him or her in the best school.
People also ask about the most affordable boarding schools in the US and that will make the next question/answer.
What is the cheapest boarding school in the US?
- St. Bernard Preparatory School Photo – The Abbey church is located at the center of campus. …
- Camden Military Academy Photo – A proud family!
- Excelsior School Photo.
- Saint Stanislaus High School Photo – Mr.
- Southern Preparatory Academy Photo – Alabama’s Military School for Boys – Since 1898.
Are there free boarding schools in USA?
Answer: There are not many free boarding schools in America. It is also important that those which are free will always have lower acceptance rate, when compared to the number of competitive applicants.
Most of the free boarding schools in the United States are funded by the governments – so, it may really matter based on your state ( where you are eligible).
