Requesting Information

As a common first step in the boarding school search, requesting information is a crucial part in deciding what boarding school is right for you. Boarding schools spend thousands of dollars each year hiring the best graphic designers, photographers, and writers to portray their school as best as it can be. When information is requested, a view book, formal application form, and testing instructions are often sent. While view books can be very helpful, it is very important to visit the school if possible to make sure it is a good fit academically, athletically, and socially. While your first priority should be the quality of education, think about other factors such as size, dress code, facilities, location, extracurricular activities such as music, sports, art, and clubs, diversity, resources, etc. My next post will be about the importance of visiting boarding schools.

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Beginning the Search

Since most boarding schools do not have applications available until the middle of September, most students are in the process of researching the schools they are interested in applying to. Some really great sites to visit are:

www.boardingschoolreview.com

PROS:
Excellent reviews from current students and alumni
Pictures
Videos
Search function to narrow down your list based on size, location, athletic offerings, etc.

CONS:
Some of the information is not accurate, particularly regarding average SSAT scores.


http://www.petersons.com/pschools

PROS:
Usually more accurate than BSR
Gives information about how many new students are accepted into each grade
Search function

CONS:
Much of the information could be found on the school's website, so it is not very personalized.
No pictures
No videos

http://www.boardingschools.com/.

PROS:
Accurate
Detailed
Search function, particularly when searching for certain classes or sports

CONS:
No pictures
No videos

In addition to using these search websites, make sure you go to the schools' websites to request information. The viewbooks are usually very helpful and offers insight into the school. Although it may be biased, it is helpful nonetheless. Good luck in your search!

My next post will be about testing. Please leave a comment if you have any specific questions.

Applying.

The season of prep school applications is finally upon us! Several years ago, I went through the same strenuous process of asking four or five teachers for recommendations, writing several essays, paying hundreds of dollars in application fees and SSATs, sending transcripts, and interviewing. It was all worth it when March 10 came around, though. If you guys have any specific questions about the application process or boarding schools in general, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below. I will be updating this blog weekly with new tips and answers to readers’ questions.

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Benefits of Boarding Schools

While some Americans have skewed views, and usually completely false conceptions of boarding schools, it is undeniable that the benefits of the best American boarding schools are unparalleled. Athletically, socially, and academically, there is no better place for the American teen striving to get ahead in life.

Top boarding schools present athletic opportunities that are simply not available at public institutions, and even private day schools. Living at school saves plenty of time, and given the plethora of opportunities at boarding schools, it is easy to progress in a sport throughout high school. Instructional sports are available, as well as interscholastic opportunities. As for the future, it is much easier to get recruited in a sport at boarding schools. By attending important regattas, hopeful Ivy League students are often scouted by coaches, making getting into a top tier university much easier than at other schools.

Life at boarding schools offer various opportunities pertaining to socializing that aren’t offered at regular schools. By living, attending classes, and participating in sports with your friends for four years make bonds that simply can’t be made in a regular school setting. These students are surrounded by each other literally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is advantageous to networking, as well as overall quality of life by making unbreakable bonds that last forever.

It is no question that the nation’s best boarding schools have the world’s most rigorous academic programs, in addition to top New York prep schools. Students have the opportunities to become fluent in more than one language, take math classes that are usually taken in the last years of college, as well as read the most challenging texts in literature. This immersion in academics is simply inimitable in the sense that it is such an excellent tool in truly learning subjects.

I hope you have gotten useful information from this post, and if you have any specific questions you would like answered, do not hesitate to leave a comment.

Stay tuned for my next post!

Welcome.

Welcome to the world of New England boarding schools. Synonymous with Back Bay preppies, the Upper East Side's elite, and the international jet set, going to boarding school is something required.  However, in recent years, New England boarding schools have opened up to educating not only the rich, but transitioning into a more holistic admissions approach-- admitting students of varied socioeconomic backgrounds, extracurricular activities, and geographic locations.   In the following entries, we will explore the ever changing culture of New England boarding schools, the admissions procedure in which I will be undertaking this fall, as well as profiling both current and hopeful students at these schools. Particularly, I will write about the most competitive and elite boarding schools such as Andover, Exeter, Choate, St. Paul's, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, and Milton.  In addition, we will also look at boarding schools outside of New England in locations including California, New Jersey, Canada, and Europe.   Please follow this blog for up to date information on the admissions process at these schools and inside scoops of students and culture.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

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