Prep Schools.

At the beginning of the twentieth century America's leading college preparatory schools, although few in number, wielded an impressive influence in American life — particularly in the northeastern United States, where most such institutions were concentrated. The prestige of these preparatory, or "prep," schools — Hotchkiss, Exeter, and Groton, to name a few — derived largely from the distinguished accomplishments of their graduates, many of whom, especially in the Northeast, became community, state, and national leaders. In 1900 a song from the Choate School summed up the notion that these elite prep schools were the training grounds for future leaders. The song was sung to the tune of "Jingle Bells."

Let us now explain
What we mean to be.
That boy there will be a judge
And that one a M.D.
That one's a Diplomat,
To London he'll be sent,
And the one who's...