Hackley School Seeks to Raise Its Profile (Think of It as a Riverdale Campus School with a Slightly Longer Commute)

Rumor has it that Hackley School is seeking to expand its pool of applicants to include more students from Manhattan.  The school wants more full-tuition and diverse candidates.  Given that Hackley is already one of the two  most competitive private schools in Westchester, the New York school is clearly looking to increase its selectivity and profile.

Currently, many Westchester families apply to Hackley and the Riverdale campus schools.  In my experience, when they get into both, they always choose to go  to Riverdale.  It makes sense that Hackley would like to change this situation, while tapping into Manhattan’s overflowing private school applicant group.

We have heard so much lately about for-profit private schools like Avenues avidly courting New York City applicants—fascinating that the “not-for-profits”  have the same goals in mind.

The name of the game, whether with New York City private schools or colleges, is raising admissions selectivity.   The more competitive the school to get into, the more power the school has and the more money it can raise.