ISEE School of the Week #1: Pingry
In our School of the Week series, we’ll be profiling some of the schools that use the ISEE as part of their admissions package. We hope to demonstrate the enormous diversity of competitive schools in the US, Canada, and abroad.
The first school we drew out of our hat is The Pingry School in New Jersey. Let’s take a look.
A Brief History
It all began in the heady days of 1861. As Confederate bombs buffeted South Carolina’s Fort Sumter, a former minister named Dr. John F. Pingry was planting the seeds of educational revolution up north. Noting the lack of quality secondary schools for ambitious, college-bound young men, Dr. Pingry established a small schoolhouse in Elizabeth, New Jersey. From there, he would educate future movers and shakers of the Tri-State area.
Pingry is now a fully co-ed day school and has moved most of its facilities inland to the tranquil community of Basking Ridge. In a speech at Pingry’s sesquicentennial celebration in 2011, William Beinecke—a 1931 Pingry alumnus—elegantly summed up Pingry’s history and philosophy, saying, “Much has changed at Pingry since Dr. Pingry’s day. But as long as there is a Pingry, the people and the means to make it better will surely appear, as in our time and in the past.” Mr. Beinecke added, “Over the years the playing fields have been substantially improved.”
Fast Facts
- As one of the top private schools in North Jersey, Pingry has a moderately competitive admissions process. Serious applicants should have strong recommendations, and should aim for the 80th percentile or above on the ISEE or SSAT. See Pingry’s full profile here.
- Pingry has a Lower School campus in Short Hills, NJ. Its Middle and Upper Schools are located in the Basking Ridge community.
- Over 1000 students make up Pingry’s total K-12 population.
- Matriculating students often move on to superb colleges such as Harvard and Princeton. Dr. Pingry was a Dartmouth alum.
