The Best Boarding Schools in the U.S.

Boarding schools immerse you in a challenging academic environment. The top boarding schools also boost the odds of admission for college-bound graduates.

The best boarding schools stand out for their academic excellence, focus on student learning, and dedication to community service. Many top-ranked boarding schools feature a strong track record of college admissions at selective schools. Boarding schools also offer financial aid packages to help families cover the costs.

This page ranks the top boarding schools in the U.S. Families considering these schools can use this information to find the right fit for their student’s needs.

More commonly known as Exeter, this New Hampshire school has been the unofficial feeder for Harvard for decades, serving boys and girls in grades 9-12 (post-graduate year available).

You can choose from more than 450 courses in 18 subject areas in true Exeter style: the Harkness method, the plan that calls for dialogue-based learning. The one-of-a-kind math curriculum focuses on problem sets and seminar-based learning, tossing traditional textbooks aside in favor of student-owned learning processes. More than 90% of the faculty are advanced degree-holders.

Since 2007, Exeter has implemented a financial aid initiative that provides a free education to any student whose family income is $125,000 or less. This makes a truly wealthy, world-class education available to anybody who qualifies for the rigorous course of study.

Phillips Academy was founded in 1778 and is the oldest incorporated boarding school in the United States. Andover, as it is universally known, was an original feeder school for Yale. Like its rival, Exeter, Andover is rich in tradition.

The school, which also uses the Harkness method, prides itself on a small 5-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio and intense interactive classes. It offers 300 courses, eight world languages, 150 electives, and a wide array of music classes.

Beyond academics, all Andover students participate in a work-duty program and are assigned different jobs throughout the year. Andover is also the first private secondary school to implement a need-blind admission policy, meeting 100% of a family’s demonstrated financial status through grants.

Founded in 1935, the Putney School in Vermont offers a progressive, rigorous, hands-on education to students in grades 9-12. You are encouraged to pursue your academic interests through project-based learning, work programs, and leadership training.

Putney boasts a 600-acre campus with a 2-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio and a five-to-1 student-to-cow ratio. You participate in an arts-based program two nights a week and contribute to the community in various jobs to instill a work ethic not generally found in the classroom.

Graduates of Putney commonly gain entrance to the very best schools in the country; they attend Ivies like Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Cornell, as well as famed liberal arts schools like Oberlin, Sarah Lawrence, and Boston College.

The Church Farm School (CFS), located in Exton, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1918 as an independent college preparatory boarding school for boys in grades 7-12 on a historic campus. Loyal to its name and its Episcopal heritage, the school requires attendance at weekly chapel services and meetings.

At CFS, you participate in the co-curricular C.O.R.E. (Challenge Of Required Experience) program, which provides opportunities for community service, outdoor experiences, leadership training, and exposure to the cultural arts.

CFS offers a 5-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, and 70% of faculty hold advanced degrees. It also has 30 athletic teams and a 100% college acceptance rate. Graduates frequently attend top schools such as Brown, Cornell, Emory, Princeton, Yale, Notre Dame, Penn, and Johns Hopkins University.

Located just seven miles from the White House, Episcopal High School is a private, coeducational school that boards 100% of its students, contributing to a thriving campus community. The school has a religious affiliation, and all students must attend chapel three times a week.

The school offers a signature Washington Program with four concentrations: public policy, sustainability, cultural awareness, and entrepreneurship. Sophomores try all concentrations, select one the following year, and engage in a year-long project and externship during their final year.

Around 80% of faculty hold advanced degrees and teach over 180 courses. In recent years, Episcopal graduates have matriculated at top institutions including the University of Southern California, Sewanee, Georgetown, the University of Virginia, William and Mary, Washington and Lee University, and Duke.

Founded in 1856, St. Paul’s School is an all-boarding school for students in grades 9-12 and an optional post-graduate year. Students and faculty live on campus, promoting a close, spirited campus community. You are also assigned a “big brother” or “big sister” to ease the transition to campus life.

Rigorous classes use the renowned Harkness method. Rather than offering physical education classes, St. Paul’s requires you to play sports. You’ll also be required to attend chapel services four days a week.

To increase accessibility, St. Paul’s offers full tuition support for students from households with an income of $150,000 or less. St. Paul’s recent graduates commonly attend top universities, including Princeton, Dartmouth, MIT, Yale, Stanford, Harvard, Williams College, and the University of Chicago.

Set in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, the Asheville School is a private coeducational boarding school founded in 1900 for grades 9-12 students. You learn to challenge yourself academically and personally. For example, as a first-year student, you go on a three-day wilderness camping trip complete with a high-ropes course.

Academics cover a four-year sequence and include 20 advanced and 14 honors courses. You must also complete 40 hours of service for one organization and submit an essay about that experience to the headteacher.

Once you’re a senior, you must give “Chapel Talks” to hone your oral presentation skills and write a series of papers on a chosen topic before defending it to a faculty panel. In addition to Ivies, graduates attend UNC-Chapel Hill, George Washington University, and Purdue.

Founded in 1858, Shattuck-St. Mary’s (SSM) is an independent coeducational boarding school for grades 6-12, with an optional post-graduate year. SSM provides a unique blend of tradition and innovation to its students.

The school maintains its traditional Episcopalian identity and offers weekly chapel services, religious classes, and the saying of grace before lunch. For graduation, you must also fulfill a community service requirement.

Academically, Shattuck-St. Mary’s offers signature multi-year, experiential programs through their Centers of Excellence in bioscience, engineering, sports (notably ice hockey), or a self-designed major.

SSM also has a unique pre-conservatory program if you’re interested in attending the nation’s top music schools. Graduates have attended top-tier colleges including Brown, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Penn State, Georgetown University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Committed to its Episcopalian identity, St. Andrew’s is an all-boarding, coed private school for grades 9-12 students founded in 1929. St. Andrew’s is known for its community and values, though it also gained recognition for being the filming location of the 1989 filmDead Poets Society.

St. Andrew’s prioritizes family-style meals during the week to build a close-knit community on campus. You are required to participate in a chore rotation. Attendance at chapels and Sunday services is required.

Academics are rigorous, with a 5-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio and an average class size of 10. As a senior, you’ll take reading and writing-intensive tutorials in the spirit of the Oxford tutorial method and then defend an original thesis to the English Department.

Graduates attend Ivy League schools and other top-tier colleges like NYU and Vanderbilt.

Founded in 1889, the Thacher School is California’s oldest coed boarding school. Campus community life is built around formal dinners four nights a week and seven-day-long camping trips each semester.

Academics encourage responsibility and critical thinking, with seniors developing, researching, and presenting a senior thesis. Over 70% of faculty hold advanced degrees and the school boasts a 6-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio.

The school also features a unique horsemanship program that helps you develop self-esteem, problem-solving skills, and responsibility. You’ll get a single room during your first year at Thacher and will participate in the mandatory Horse Program, where you learn all the basics of caretaking and riding horses. You also take at least one overnight horse-packing trip during the year.

Thatcher students have been accepted to and matriculated at Stanford, Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, NYU, Tulane, and UPenn.

Founded in 1797, Deerfield Academy is an independent, coed boarding school for students in grades 9-12 that offers an optional post-graduate year. An impressive 70% of the faculty hold advanced degrees in their subject areas, and nearly all (98%) of the faculty live on campus, creating a vibrant campus learning community.

Deerfield Academy emphasizes cultivating personal interests and a sense of community with traditions like sit-down meals and the singing of Evensong. You must participate in a co-curricular activity each term to develop diverse skillsets.

Deerfield’s academic focus is joy in learning, helping you prepare to continue your education at top institutions like Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Georgetown, UVA, and Middlebury College.

Deerfield offers generous financial aid packages, with US families making up to $150,000 paying $0. Families who earn over $150,000 won’t pay more than 10% of their income per child.

Founded in 1890, Choate Rosemary Hall is a private coed boarding school for students in grades 9-12 with an optional post-graduate year. What sets Choate apart is its extensive course offerings. You can choose from more than 300 classes, eight signature programs, and six languages.

You can also focus on unique programs like the interdisciplinary environmental immersion program, Middle Eastern studies, or the arts program. You work with your advisors on a capstone project within a concentration, a rigorous course of study culminating in the final term of the senior year.

Choate graduates attend top universities, including NYU, University of Chicago, Yale, Columbia, Georgetown, Northeastern, Cornell, Brown, and UPenn. Choate covers 100% of the costs for students with demonstrated financial need.

Woodberry Forest is an all-boys, all-boarding school founded in 1889 and set on a beautiful 1,200-acre campus. An impressive 78% of faculty hold advanced degrees, and the small 6-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio ensures personalized attention.

Woodberry’s academic courses are designed to empower you to take risks, discuss new ideas, and work with your hands. Woodberry Forest requires 60 hours of community service before graduation. Half the hours must be “spent in direct contact with those benefitting from their service.” Additionally, you are required to enroll in a leadership development program.

Woodberry Forest graduates attend the Ivies, Washington & Lee, UNC-Chapel Hill, the College of William & Mary, and the University of Richmond.

Founded in 1828 as the “Yale of the West,” Western Reserve Academy (WRA) is a private, coed boarding school serving students in grades 9-12. It also has an optional post-graduate year. Support is close by, as 77% of faculty live on campus and 86% hold advanced degrees.

WRA prides itself on long-standing traditions. It still requires you to adhere to a strict, formal dress code. Other traditions include Friday study breaks that celebrate the coming of the weekend and Wednesday sit-down, family-style lunches with the entire faculty.

In place of Saturday classes, WRA extends learning to the Saturday Academy, a time allotted for in-depth subject study or class meetings. Graduates have attended Ivies and other top colleges, such as the University of Chicago, Northwestern, Duke, Georgetown, NYU, and the U.S. Naval Academy.

Founded in 1948, the Verde Valley School is an independent, coeducational boarding school for students in grades 9-12. As an International Baccalaureate World School, Verde Valley focuses its course content on IB courses. With only 100 students, the school creates a small, unique community.

Verde Valley emphasizes a life lived with curiosity and connection, strong academics, impressive outdoor adventures, and extraordinary competitive sports seasons. You are also required to complete daily morning dorm chores, a weekly job program, and several community work days throughout the year.

Graduates attend many top colleges, including Cornell, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Vassar, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, and Claremont McKenna.

These schools just missed our cutoff of the top 15, but are still among the best boarding schools in the U.S.

Choosing a boarding school for yourself or your child is a huge decision. The faculty, culture, academics, and extracurricular activities will all shape educational outcomes and integration at the school. Key considerations include cost, location, and your specific goals.

Boarding schools can be a life-changing, positive experience for many students, but negative experiences are not uncommon. There have been reports sexual abuse, financial impropriety, and other scandals dating back decades. However, most graduates claim boarding school gives them a valuable head start, setting them up for life after school.

Ultimately, boarding schools are neither intrinsically good nor bad. When deciding whether to attend or send your child to boarding school, consider personality, comfort zone, goals, and the school’s alignment with your family’s values.

And do your research: look into the school’s reputation, culture, and community, and whether graduates have reported positive experiences. All of these elements can deeply impact your student’s overall boarding school experience.