Top Boarding Schools with Equestrian Programs

Many U.S. as well as international middle school and high school students are actively involved and compete in equestrian as an interscholastic sport.  As a result, many parents seek boarding schools that support the equestrian-athlete.

Here is a list of top U.S. boarding schools with equestrian programs:

  1. Taft School
  2. Loomis Chaffee
  3. Kent School
  4. Canterbury School
  5. Dana Hall School
  6. The Ethel Walker School
  7. The Thacher School

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director and lead admissions expert at Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group’s Private School Admissions Advisors.   Dr. Lowe specializes in providing exclusive concierge-type admissions advisory services for U.S. and international families and students who are interested in applying to top U.S. boarding and day schools.  Dr. Lowe also helps U.S. and international students gain admissions into their top choice private schools after they have been wait-listed and rejected.

Early Decision and Early Action Dates for 2017-2018 College Applications

It’s Early Decision and Early Action season!  Applicants have already submitted their applications and are waiting patiently for their decisions.  Competition to Ivy League and highly selective college remain high.  Therefore, expect many applicants with high SAT/ACT scores, high grades and seemly perfect applications and personal statements to be rejected or deferred to the regular decision pool.

Here are some early decision and early action notification dates for Ivy League and high selective colleges and universities:

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Colleges with the Biggest Endowments

A colleges endowment is intended to support current and future generations of their scholars with the resources needed to advance knowledge, research, and innovation. As such, endowment funds are used for the school’s normal operations and activities, including education, research, campus renewal, faculty work, and student financial aid.

Here are the biggest endowments (as reported by each college – fiscal year ending on June 30, 2017):

  • Harvard – $37.1 Billion
  • Yale – $27.2 Billion
  • Stanford – $24.8 Billion
  • Princeton – $23.8 Billion
  • M.I.T. – $14.8 Billion
  • U Penn – $12.2 Billion

A published research paper: “Why University Endowments Are Large And Risky” by Professors Thomas Gilbert and Christopher Hrdlicka of Washington University’s Foster School of Business, shows that over the past 30 years, universities have chased higher returns on their endowments, leading them to take greater risks. More than 75% of assets in university endowments are now in risky investments, including but not limited to: equities, hedge funds, venture capital, private equity, non-campus real estate, natural resources and distressed debt.

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network. He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, Ivy League Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to Ivy League and high selective colleges and universities.

Top Colleges and Student Debt

College Financial Aid

Many expensive private non-profit four-year colleges try to keep student borrowing low by giving generous financial aid to undergraduates from lower-income families.  Among highly selective private non-profit colleges, Harvard University was the most successful in keeping federal student-loan debt low for its graduates who took out such loans.  Six Ivy League schools, including Harvard, were among the top 25 on that measure. The list below shows a school and the median debt for its graduates.

1.  Harvard U. – $6,500

2.  Duke U. – $7,500 | Princeton U. – $7,500

4.  Rice U. – $10,228

5.  Pomona College – $11,000

6.  Piedmont International U. – $11,326

7.  Cornell U. – $12,000

8.  Stanford U. – $12,475

9.  Amherst College – $12,975

10.  Haverford College – $13,000

11.  Grinnell College – $13,170

12.  Dartmouth College – $13,462

13.  Yale U. – $13,500

14.  Vanderbilt U. – $14,000

15.  California Institute of Technology – $14,350

16.  Bates College – $14,450

17.  U. of Chicago – $14,500

18.  Williams College – $14,583

19.  Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering – $14,710

20.  Claremont McKenna College – $14,968

21.  Brown U. – $15,000 | John Hopkins U. – $15,000

23.  Georgetown U. – $15,500

24.  Hamilton College (NY) – $15,760

25.  Middlebury College – $15,889

Source:  U.S. Department of Education, National Student Loan Data System

Keep this in mind as you make your plans for college admissions!

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network. He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliate, Ivy League Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to Ivy League and high selective colleges and universities. 

What College Athletic Coaches Are Looking For When Recruiting (Part 3)

Part 3 of a 3-part series.  

You’ve been playing your sport for 5-10 years and you want to be recruited or at best recruited and receive that four year athletic scholarship from your top choice college. Don’t sell yourself short.

My advice after over 20 years in the college admission business and constantly talking college coaches and Athletic Directors are these additional points college coaches are looking for:

  1. Coach Ability: Coaches want someone who wants to be coached. They don’t want someone who questions what they do and insists on doing something else. A coach has a program in which they have developed an elite team; they want someone willing to fit into that mix.
  2. The WOW Factor: What’s your personal athletic “wow factor” that makes you stand out and get recruited. What do I view as a your “wow factor”?  Your charisma, confidence, motivation, initial-impression, appearance, communication skills, attitude, self-esteem, authenticity, presence, harmony and vibe.  What personal characteristic is truly unique, captivating and exciting about you? And how will you contribute and or passively transfer these characteristics to teammates, to your class and to professors.   It’s a factor that coaches look for as well as discuss with the admissions committee as to the reason why they want you at their school on and off the team.

See Part 1 – Points: 1-3 and Part 2 – Points: 4-6.

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What College Athletic Coaches Are Looking For When Recruiting (Part 2)

Part 2 of a 3-part series.  

You’ve been playing your sport for 5-10 years and you want to be recruited or at best recruited and receive that four year athletic scholarship from your top choice college. Don’t sell yourself short.

My advice after over 20 years in the college admission business and constantly talking college coaches and Athletic Directors are these additional points college coaches are looking for:

  1. Mental Toughness and Sportmanship: Beyond your ability, your academic record and your desire to attend and play, coaches want to know how you carry yourself on the court.  Games between evenly matched players often come down to who is mentally the strongest.  Coaches want to know how you think during a match and how well you understand the game. They are looking for those with “true grit”. How you respond when you are down in a match or get a bad call is important.  Do you lose your temper and focus or are you able to remain calm and adjust your strategy?  And while it may be cliche to say so, being able to win and lose with respect for your opponent and the game is very important.
  2. Team Fit: When coaches recruit a player, they are choosing somebody they are going to spend a lot of time with over the next 4 years. They are looking for students who are nice to be with when traveling and eating together as a team.
  3. Reliability:  Coaches look for students who are reliable and who are going to do what they are supposed to and someone who is going to show up on time, everyday, where they need to be. Being punctual is essential in all aspects of life and for some coaches this is very important.

2018 Top 10 Connecticut Private High Schools

As more Connecticut public school districts face budgetary cuts, increase classroom sizes and social issues in high schools, more parents are choosing private high schools as an alternative.  Additionally, the growing number international families choosing Connecticut private high schools as well as families relocating from Manhattan to Connecticut (primarily Fairfield County) has increased the application pool and competition to gain admissions into coveted slots.

If you are looking for top schools based on college admissions acceptance, Niche released its 2018 Best Private High Schools ranking: Connecticut private high schools.

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools released its latest ranking of the best private schools in the US, specifically highlighting the best schools that prepare students for elite colleges.  By elite colleges, I am referring to colleges parents already know about: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, UPenn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, Duke, and Johns Hopkins.

Here are the top 10 private high schools in Connecticut by rank:

  1. Choate Rosemary Hall
  2. The Hotchkiss School
  3. Hopkins School
  4. Kent School
  5. Greenwich Academy
  6. Taft School
  7. Loomis Chaffee School
  8. Brunswick School
  9. Miss Porter’s School
  10. Westminister School

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network.  He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliates, Greenwich Admissions Advisors and Private School Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to elite private schools in throughout Connecticut.  Dr. Lowe and his team of admissions advisors also visit prestigious and elite schools where they have the unique opportunity of interacting one-on-one with heads of schools, directors of admissions and senior admissions personnel.

2018 Top 10 New Jersey Private High Schools

In New Jersey, the competition to gain admissions to top private high schools is heating up.   As more and more parents discover the major challenges in suburban high schools:  (a) large class sizes, (b) not much flexibility when it comes to cirriculum (c) they are under more bureaucratic red tape when it comes to regulations and rules, (d) larger school counselor-student ratio;  they are willing to forgo public school education (and pay tuition), which increases the application pool and competition to gain admissions into coveted slots.

If you are looking for top schools based on college admissions acceptance, Niche released its 2018 Best Private High Schools ranking: New Jersey private high schools.

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools released its latest ranking of the best private schools in the US, specifically highlighting the best schools that prepare students for elite colleges.  By elite colleges, I am referring to colleges parents already know about: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, UPenn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, Duke, and Johns Hopkins.

Here are the top 10 private high schools in New Jersey by rank:

  1. The Lawrenceville School
  2. Newark Academy
  3. Dwight-Englewood School
  4. Princeton Day School
  5. Peddie School
  6. The Pingry School
  7. Rutgers Preparatory School
  8. Delbarton School
  9. Kent Place School
  10. The Montclair-Kimberly Academy

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network.  He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliates, New Jersey Admissions Advisors  and Private School Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to elite private schools in Manhattan and surrounding areas.  Dr. Lowe and his team of admissions advisors also visit prestigious and elite private schools where they have the unique opportunity of interacting one-on-one with heads of schools, directors of admissions and senior admissions personnel.   Dr. Lowe provides parents with the knowledge they need to decide where there children should attend and the admissions strategies they need to be admitted into their top-choice school.

2018 Top Ten Westchester County Private High Schools

As a housing crunch continues to grip neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Westchester County is becoming an attractive area to raise families. Additionally, because of large classroom sizes, more Westchester County parents are looking at private high school as an option to public high schools.  If you are looking for top schools based on college admissions acceptance, Niche released its 2018 Best Private High Schools ranking: Westchester County private high schools.

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools released its latest ranking of the best private schools in the US, specifically highlighting the best schools that prepare students for elite colleges.  By elite colleges, I am referring to colleges parents already know about: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, UPenn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, Duke, and Johns Hopkins.

Here are the top 10 private high schools in Westchester County by rank:

  1. Hackley School
  2. Rye Country Day School
  3. The Masters School
  4. French-American School of NY
  5. EF Academy
  6. The Ursuline School
  7. School of the Holy Child
  8. Iona Preparatory School
  9. Thornton-Donovan School
  10. The Harvey School

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network.  He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliates, Westchester Admissions Advisors  and Private School Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to elite private schools in Westchester County and surrounding areas.  Dr. Lowe and his team of admissions advisors also visit prestigious and elite schools where they have the unique opportunity of interacting one-on-one with heads of schools, directors of admissions and senior admissions personnel.

2018 Top 10 Manhattan Private High Schools

In Manhattan, college admissions planning starts in pre-K.  Parents seek out the best schools because, year after year, many graduates from elite Manhattan high schools gain acceptance into elite colleges.   If you are looking for top schools based on college admissions acceptance, Niche released its 2018 Best Private High Schools ranking: Manhattan private high schools.

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools released its latest ranking of the best private schools in the US, specifically highlighting the best schools that prepare students for elite colleges.  By elite colleges, I am referring to colleges parents already know about: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, UPenn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, Duke, and Johns Hopkins.

Here are the top 10 private high schools in Manhattan by rank:

  1. Horace Mann School
  2. Trinity School
  3. Collegiate School
  4. Regis High School
  5. Riverdale Country School
  6. Dalton School
  7. The Chapin School
  8. Poly Prep Country Day School
  9. Friends Seminary
  10. Packer Collegiate Institute

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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network.  He and his team of admissions advisors, through the admissions affiliates, Manhattan Private School Admissions Advisors and Private School Admissions Advisors help students gain admissions to elite private schools in Manhattan and surrounding areas.  Dr. Lowe and his team of admissions advisors also visit prestigious and elite schools where they have the unique opportunity of interacting one-on-one with heads of schools, directors of admissions and senior admissions personnel.