As of early October, Hotchkiss ranks #1 in “Best Private High Schools in America” on Niche, a company that compiles profiles and rankings on prep schools and colleges throughout the U.S. As of this month, the school receives an A+ in five of the six categories—academics, teachers, clubs and activities, diversity, and college prep. In the sports category, the school earned an A-.
Other than the overall ranking, Niche also evaluates schools based on individual strengths including best teachers, diversity, and college prep. Hotchkiss places 5th for best teachers and college prep and 21st for best high schools for STEM.
Niche assesses schools based on their college matriculation/ attendance, school culture, diversity, parent and student experiences, and the student-to-teacher ratio. Each of these factors is weighed differently: ranking of colleges attended by recent graduates take precedent, making up 32.6% of the ranking’s weight, followed by percentage of Seniors attending college at 21.2%. The remaining components listed above are taken into equal consideration. Hotchkiss’ previous best ranking on Niche was second place in 2022. Many prospective students use Niche’s data and search functions to gain insight into boarding schools during the application process.
Sia Reddy ’26 said, “When I applied to boarding school, Niche showed me how strong Hotchkiss’ academics are. There were also a lot of helpful written reviews that gave me more insight on the school’s community and student body culture. Through the data and experiences, I gathered that Hotchkiss was the ideal fit for me.”
To celebrate this achievement, All-School Presidents Dwyer Illick ’26 and Serena Nam ’26 hung a flyer announcing the Niche ranking in the display outside the dean’s wing where the school previously posted honor role rankings.
Nam said, “One of our goals this year is to shift the culture of the school away from competition and academic intensity to having a larger focus on community and uplifting one another. We didn’t see why it was necessary to display the Honor Roll in such a public space. We felt that it spread the wrong message about school’s values and may facilitate a toxic culture, particularly since I used to see students grouped around it, analyzing the names on the list. We wanted to replace it with something more light-heated and fun for the community, so Maddie, our communications officer, proposed that we put our #1 Niche ranking in that spot. Our hope is that it boosts morale and reminds people how incredible Hotchkiss and its people are.”
