Thinking About
High School PRINCETON DAY SCHOOL Opportunities of a Lifetime. Every Day.
UPPER SCHOOL BY THE NUMBERS Upper School enrollment: 420 students
Female/male student ratio: 51%/49%
Number of new students entering 9th grade: 40
54% Number of applicants to 9th grade: 300 Diversity of new 9th grade students:
Average SSAT Percentile of Admitted Applicants, Class of 2021 Verbal: 78; Quantitative: 80; Reading: 73
Upper School students receiving need-based financial aid: 28% Number of Upper School faculty: 59
Faculty holding advanced degrees: 74%
Faculty female/male ratio: 44%/56%
Upper School student/teacher ratio: 8 to 1 Class size: 14 –16 students
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Paul Stellato, Head of School B.A., Hamilton College; M.F.A., Columbia University Lisa Surace, Associate Head of School B.A., Princeton University; Ph.D., New York University Jason Robinson, Head of Upper School & Assistant Head of School for Academic Life B.A., Washington and Lee University; M.A., University of Virginia; J.D., Stanford University Elizabeth Monroe, Dean of Students B.A., Bowdoin College; Ph.D., University of Southern California Sarah Graham, Director of College Counseling B.A., Princeton University; M.A., The College of New Jersey
RECENT ACCEPTANCE TOTALS AT SELECT COLLEGES Bard College: 17 Barnard College: 8 Bates College: 7 Boston College: 20 Boston University: 46 Bowdoin College: 9 Brandeis University: 11 Brown University: 13 Bryn Mawr College: 9 Bucknell University: 30 University of California, Berkeley: 6 Carleton College: 4 Carnegie Mellon University: 15 University of Chicago: 15 Colby College: 14 Colgate University: 8 Colorado College: 6 Columbia University: 9 Connecticut College: 26 Cornell University: 13 Dartmouth College: 9 Dickinson College: 29 Duke University: 15 Elon University: 20 Emory University: 13 Franklin & Marshall College: 31 The George Washington University: 24 Georgetown University: 15 Gettysburg College: 20 Hamilton College: 17 Harvard University: 3 Howard University: 8 Ithaca College: 17 Johns Hopkins University: 22
Kenyon College: 15 Lafayette College: 29 Lehigh University: 36 Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 3 McGill University: 7 University of Miami: 28 University of Michigan: 18 Middlebury College: 9 New York University: 56 Northeastern University: 30 Northwestern University: 9 University of Notre Dame: 7 Oberlin College: 11 University of Pennsylvania: 11 Princeton University: 22 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: 13 University of Richmond: 17 Skidmore College: 27 University of Southern California: 17 Stanford University: 6 Syracuse University: 28 Trinity College: 27 Tufts University: 25 Tulane University: 25 Union College: 12 Vanderbilt University: 5 Vassar College: 9 Villanova University: 40 University of Virginia: 14 Wake Forest University: 17 Washington University, St. Louis: 25 Wesleyan University: 8 College of William and Mary: 12 Yale University: 8
2017 STANDARDIZED TESTING AND ADVANCED PLACEMENT RESULTS • SAT Average Score: Reading/Writing: 650; Math: 650 • ACT Composite Average: 28 • Advanced Placement Results: 63% of students taking an AP exam scored a 4 or 5; 214 students, including seniors and underclassmen, took 379 exams in 25 different subjects. 82% of the class of 2017 took an AP exam during their senior year.
5 -YEAR TOTALS OF
NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION RESULTS • Commended Scholars: 78 • Semifinalists: 18 • Finalists: 18
RECENT AWARDS IN THE ARTS OVER THE PAST 5 YEARS
• Outstanding Achievement in Pushing the Envelope in Academic Theatre, New Jersey Theatre Awards, 2017 • Outstanding Acting Ensemble, New Jersey Theatre Awards: 2013, 2015, 2016 • Outstanding Musical Production, Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards, 2014
THEATER PROGRAM Princeton Day School students have the opportunity to travel with the Performing Arts Department to the annual Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, to perform an original work.
• Educational Impact Award, Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards, 2014 • Outstanding High School Theatre Program, Northeast Region, Stage Directions Magazine, 2014 • Scholastic Art & Writing Regional Awards: More than 150 awards in 2016 and 2017
ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM Our graduates have enrolled at top college architecture and engineering programs, including Cornell, Washington University, Carnegie Mellon, Notre Dame, and Tulane.
GLOBAL STUDIES PROGRAM The Global Studies Program is comprised of three tenets: globally-focused daily curriculum; school exchange programs; and international travel programs. These include the School Year Abroad (SYA), Chewonki Semester School, Semester at High Mountain Institute School, School for Ethics and Global Leadership, the Conserve School, school-sponsored travel to China, India, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom.
ACADEMIC OFFERINGS Advanced Curriculum by Department: • Mathematics: AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Statistics, Advanced Topics in Math • Sciences: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C Mechanics • History and Religion: AP Comparative Government, AP European History, AP US Government and Politics, AP Art History, AP Human Geography • Classic and Modern Languages: AP French Language, Advanced French Literature, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Literature, Chinese V, AP Latin, Ancient Greek • English: All English elective courses for juniors and seniors are taught at the advanced level. Many of our juniors and seniors sit for the English Literature AP exam. The STEAM Initiative: An ambitious new STEAM initiative at PDS includes a revitalized interdisciplinary curriculum with courses in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics as well as a new STEAM facility.
• The Arts: AP Music Theory, Fine Arts Major, Fine Art Photo, Photojournalism, Media Major, Ceramics Major, Furniture Design, Architecture III Students have the opportunity to take classes at Princeton University.
ATHLETIC OFFERINGS Athletic Teams Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Fencing, Field Hockey, Figure Skating, Golf, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Squash, Tennis, Volleyball Recruited Athletes from the Past 5 Years Have Attended the Following Colleges Amherst College, Bard College, Boston College, Boston University, Bowdoin College, Brown University, Bryant University, Colby College, Connecticut College, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Dickinson College, Duke University, Emory University, Franklin and Marshall College, Gettysburg College, Goucher College, Hamilton College, Harvard University, Howard College, Kenyon College, Lehigh University, Long Island University, Middlebury College, Massachusettes Institute of Technology, Muhlenburg College, New York University, Oberlin College, Princeton University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Skidmore College, Swarthmore College, The George Washington University, Tufts University, University of Chicago, University of Miami, University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, Vassar College, Villanova University, Wake Forest, Washington and Lee University, and Williams College
GUEST SPEAKERS TO UPPER SCHOOL STUDENT ASSEMBLIES INCLUDE:
Author Ben Mezrich ’87, Scholar Dr. Cornel West P’18, Professor of Animal Science Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Deane Marchbein of Doctors Without Borders, and Author Jeffrey Eugenides P’17
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Peer Leadership: Two of the many peer leadership opportunities at Princeton Day School include Peer Group, where a group of selected seniors mentor 9th grade students; and Bridges, where a group of selected seniors mentor students in the 7th grade. Community Council: The student governing body of the Upper School. Clubs: There are more than 40 clubs, many for which students are selected or apply for leadership positions, including Mock Trial Team, The Spokesman (student newspaper), Model UN, a capella singing groups, Science Olympiad Team, and Student Ambassadors. Peer Tutoring: Staffed by hand-selected juniors and seniors, the Writing Center and the SiMS (Success in Math and Science) Center are available to all Upper School students.
PDS: BEYOND ACADEMICS Advisor System: Every student in the Upper School has a faculty advisor with whom they check in daily. This primary contact guides the student on both academic and personal issues. Weekly meetings occur with agendas covering academic and social life in the Upper School. Class Deans: There is a dedicated 9th grade dean. Starting in the 10th grade, the same dean follows each class the remaining three years. Learning Support: Each Upper School student has access to a Learning Specialist and Counselor.
Photos: Michael Branscom, David Bremer, Christine Cantera, Matt Pilsner
For more information about the Upper School, please visit www.pds.org PRINCETON DAY SCHOOL 650 Great Road Princeton, NJ 08540
Connect with Us