CaliMo

I'm thinking of looking around some these private schools. If anyone has any experience or knowledge of them i'd really appreciate your input. I know this list is long, but i intend to narrow it down! As you can see i've grouped them into areas. Thanks!

Berkekey Carroll School
Brooklyn Friends School

British International School of New York
Riverdale Country School

Portledge School
Waldorf School of Garden City

Hackley School
Rye Country Day School

Wardlaw & Hartridge
Montclair Kimberley Academy

kateinbrooklyn

I know people who are at Brooklyn Friends. Nice down-to-earth racially diverse school, but very tough admissions policy. I've spent some time in the corridors of Berkely Carroll (my daughter has a Sunday class there), and it looks nice and cheerful, very PC (gender neutral bathrooms) and liberal/left-leaning. Again, probably hard to get into.

rpjs

Hackley is up in Tarrytown. If you’re not planning to live within driving distance of it be aware it is quite a schlep from Tarrytown station, not walkable (there is a public bus that runs infrequently, dunno if the school runs any connection). It has a good reputation locally though.

Nutmegger

The thing to remember about all these schools is that they have strict admissions policies (with applications often required many months in advance of the start of the school year) and set class sizes. Unlike the public schools, which will always find a place for a child, these schools usually have waiting lists for children who are worthy of a place, but for whom there is no room. It seems this factor would make it very difficult to choose your town of residence based on a school, when you will have to wait to find out the result of an application. Better to find a town with a good public school system, then ensure that you rent within the appropriate school's catchment area.

penguinsix

Many schools use standardized tests which you can see on sites like niche.com and greatschools.com Just search for the schools to get some more information on the numbers that come back and occasionally some reviews from parents or students on the culture.

DXBtoDOH

What is your background?

Are you finding the school first then the place to live near the school? Because that's a very broad geographical region encompassing just about all of greater New York.

If your goal is finding the most suitable private school and then organising your life around it, then the next step is to decide whether you want a liberal/progressive environment or a more traditional environment? The Westchester and NJ schools as well as Portledge look to be classic American prep schools, buttoned up, preppy, more conservative than progressive.

The other schools will be progressive with everything that comes with it. Riverdale probably is the most neutral. And it's also the most well regarded and prestigious of the schools on your list.