Academics

Secondary School Placement

Meet the Placement Office

List of 2 members.

Ridley Sperling

Director of Secondary School Placement; DEI Coordinator; Ninth Grade English, WW/Thesis & Ethics

914-244-1257

sperling@rcsny.org
Brooks Eleck

Associate Director of Secondary School Placement, Upper School Humanities, Language Arts/Writing

914-244-1268

eleck@rcsny.org

Every child has their own path to follow. We help them find it.

Independent. Creative. Confident. That’s how RippKids leave Rippowam Cisqua School. It is our mission, and we deliver every time. Our students consistently rise to the top, which is reflected in their high rate of admissions to their first-choice schools, and their ongoing commitment as active, enthusiastic, and supportive alumni.

Matriculation: Where students go when they graduate

By the time students graduate, they can identify, evaluate, and select the school where they will thrive intellectually, creatively, socially, and emotionally. The array of institutions where our students are accepted and that they ultimately select as their school of choice reflects the individuality of each child.

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Where RCS Students Are Accepted for Secondary School

Our students are evaluated alongside a remarkably talented pool of applicants from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut for independent day schools, and alongside an equally impressive global pool for boarding schools. After visiting schools during the admissions season, students often apply to multiple schools to maximize their options. The list below represents the secondary schools to which our students have gained admission for the 2019-20 school year.

Boarding Schools

Avon Old Farms*
Berkshire School*
Blair Academy*
Canterbury School*
Cheshire Academy
Emma Willard School*
Episcopal High School
Ethel Walker School
Hill School*
Hopkins School
Hotchkiss School*
Kent School*
Lawrenceville School*
Loomis Chaffee School*
Mercersburg Academy (PA)
Millbrook School*
Milton Academy
Miss Porter’s School*
Northfield Mount Hermon School*
Peddie School*
Phillips Exeter Academy
Portsmouth Abbey School
St. Andrew’s School (DE)
St. George’s School*
St. Paul’s School
Suffield Academy*
Taft School*
Thacher School (CA)
Trinity Pawling School*
Westminster School*

Day Schools

Archbishop Stepinac High School
Brunswick School
Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School
Fordham Preparatory School
Greens Farms Academy*
Greenwich Academy*
Greenwich Country Day School* (High School)
Hackley School*
Harvey School*
Kennedy Catholic
King School*
Masters School*
Rye Country Day School*
Sacred Heart Greenwich
School of the Holy Child*
St. Luke’s School*
Wooster School

* Two or more students accepted
Where RCS Students Matriculate for Secondary School

Where students ultimately choose to go is as varied as their individual personalities. Some choose their local public school while others choose to travel across the country to attend special interest schools that help them hone skills like horseback riding, tennis, or skiing. Below is a list of schools where students have matriculated over the past five years.
Where RCS Students Go to College

The skills students learn at RCS last a lifetime. Alumni often credit their experiences at RCS as a key influencer in choosing a college. As high school seniors applying to college, RCS students have a distinct advantage over some of their peers as they experienced a similarly self-reflective and complex application process when they applied to secondary schools. Moreover, they often refer to their RCS coursework in their college essays and interviews, and they can count on RCS teachers for advice, written recommendations or general support as they continue their education.

Placement Services: How we help families transition from RCS

Whether your child is considering boarding, public, or day school, a dedicated placement counselor will work with your family to help identify the right school(s) to match your student’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas of interest while complementing the vision, dreams, and plans you have for your child.

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Application Management

Application materials that are the responsibility of the family include: fee, essays, short answers, graded writing sample (if applicable), parent statement, biographical info, photograph, etc. Parents must also send selected SSAT scores electronically to each admissions office.

Application materials that are sent by RCS include: cover letter, placement counselor recommendation letter and form, current English teacher recommendation letter and form, current math teacher recommendation letter and form, optional additional recommendation letter(s), grades, transcripts.

Each school typically requires at least two teacher recommendations. Because our teachers know your child so well, they are able to provide thoughtful, in-depth insights that provide a unique profile of your child and help them stand out from the broader applicant pool.
Guidance and Support

Your placement counselor is available for questions and consultation throughout the year. In addition to parent informational sessions and a monthly placement newsletter, they are available by phone, by email, and by appointment, and they have regular meetings with the students on the application process, conduct, and the social/emotional aspects of leaving RCS.
Interview and Tour Preparation

The placement officers meet with each student privately to discuss the student’s interests as well as to give tips on tours and interviews. RCS also conducts a mock interview with each student, and prior to each school visit a placement officer sends a letter of introduction on the student’s behalf to admissions offices.
SSAT

RCS administers a "benchmark" SSAT to all seventh graders in the spring of their seventh-grade year to provide students exposure to and experience with standardized testing. All eighth- and ninth-grade students take an SSAT Flex test that is administered during school each November. RCS covers the test taking fees for the seventh-grade "benchmark" test and for the eighth- and ninth-grade Flex test. RCS students are invited to enroll in an SSAT prep course to learn test-taking strategies. The test prep course is optional and incurs a separate fee through our partner.

Secondary School Testimonials: What Headmasters and Admissions Officers say about RCS graduates

Admissions officers stress that academic preparation, confidence, intellectual curiosity, and willingness to engage in all areas of school life make RippKids stand out in the admissions process. They are also quick to point out that our students’ ability to demonstrate their capacity for leadership is a real point of difference.

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Berkshire School

Berkshire has been thrilled to welcome so many outstanding Rippowam graduates over the years. They bring a level of excellence and dedication to our classrooms, studios, stages, and playing fields that defines our culture. Perhaps even more importantly, as community members, role models, and school leaders, they help set a distinctive standard for all our young women and men. - Pieter Mulder, Head of School
Choate Rosemary Hall

Choate is fortunate to be the beneficiary of the robust educational experience RCS provides. When I reflect on our “shared” students, I am struck by the many ways RCS alumni have contributed to the Choate community. RCS graduates that have come to Choate have proven to be confident, energetic leaders who embrace the opportunity to become active participants in all aspects of school life. - Alex Curtis, PhD., Headmaster
Deerfield Academy

Bright, inquisitive, and highly motivated, Ripp’s graduates arrive at Deerfield with a commitment to excel and to contribute their talents and strengths in building a strong, closely knit, vibrant community. They seem to understand that it is not enough to do well, or to focus exclusively on self-advancement. In a world facing so many challenges, they sense they have a responsibility to do good -- to transcend narrow personal interests and to elevate kindness, rationality, and inclusion in the world around them. - Dr. Margarita O’Bryne Curtis, Head of School
Lawrenceville School

Graduates from Rippowam Cisqua consistently exhibit qualities that enable them to succeed at Lawrenceville and become an integral part of campus life -- diligence, empathy, and academic focus combined with a healthy sense of balance that we value tremendously. There is little doubt that their educational experience prior to Lawrenceville helped them to develop a solid foundation. - Tom Sheppard, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid
Masters School

We have had a long and positive relationship with RCS students and families. RCS students enthusiastically embrace the Harkness Teaching method and quickly warm to the distinctive culture of The Masters School. RCS families are leaders in our parent community as volunteers and supporters of the School. - Laura D. Danforth, Head of School
Westminster School

Enthusiastic, energetic, curious, competitive, ambitious, and involved, Rippowam graduates embody the attributes Westminster School cherishes. Their names prompt in my mind memories of school leaders, top students, outstanding athletes, and dedicated volunteers as well as performing and creative artists. Perhaps most telling, my memories across three decades of students from Rippowam always include the enduring joy reflected in their warm smiles.- William V.N. Philip, Headmaster

RCS Graduates in Their Own Words

Lower Campus (PreK-Grade 4)
325 West Patent Road
Mount Kisco, NY 10549
phone: (914) 244-1200

Upper Campus (Grades 5-9)
439 Cantitoe Street
Bedford, NY 10506
phone: (914) 244-1250

Rippowam Cisqua School is a PreK-Grade 9 independent day school in Westchester County, New York. RCS offers challenging academics built on innovation, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, wellness, leadership, service learning, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.