“Prep schools are highly selective, academically challenging, and largely independent of state and local controls. The existence of such controls, which are a primary defining characteristic of public, government-operated, elementary and secondary schools, have contributed to the support and growth of prep schools, because these controls are widely viewed by preparatory school proponents as an unacceptable burden on the educational process, and on student outcomes such as university matriculation. Parents of students in the top tier of preparatory schools pay fees that are comparable to tuition at Ivy League universities. Among the principal benefits of preparatory schools is a very low student to teacher ratio, resulting in much smaller class sizes than in most public schools. The tuition money allows the schools to hire highly qualified teachers and to retain them for long tenures. These schools often have significant endowments which finance scholarships that allow for demographic heterogeneity and financial aid.

Preparatory schools place a strong emphasis on sports. In many private schools students are required to participate in one or more of the school’s sports teams. University-preparatory education is also often associated with the preppy subculture.”

Personally I think prep schools are awesome, I’m going for my senior year at Berkshire School this fall! Phillips Academy in Andover or Exeter is supposed to be the best but there are so many good ones.