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Choosing a School

You’ve decided boarding school may be the best option for your child’s education. Now it’s time to find a school that meets the needs of your family. Determine when your child is ready to attend boarding school, learn why students can benefit from a single-sex education, and get tips on finding data and comparing schools. Discover the benefits of education consultants, explore Quaker schools, and find get expert advice on making an informed decision.

View the most popular articles in Choosing a School:

Choosing a School: Which school offers.....?

Updated March 14, 2018 | by Robert Kennedy

Determining which programs are 'must haves' is an important part of choosing the right boarding school for your child.

As you begin to refine your boarding school search, one of the things you will find yourself doing is circling back to find out which schools offer the programs your child wants and needs. Remember: you and your child need to discuss your wants and needs together. That way you will end up with a child who is enthusiastic about going to private school and feels that she has been involved in the process. Unlike the limited options which you will find in most public schools these days, private schools offer a rich array of programs.

Foreign languages

Mandarin, Spanish, French and Italian are the most common languages offered in private schools. You will find these most often at the high school level but they are increasingly common in the primary grades. If you really want to kick it up a notch, there are several private schools which actually teach everything in French, German and Hebrew, for example. Review the curriculum section of school web sites to determine what language courses are offered. You can find schools quickly by inputting "chinese language" as a search string on this site.

What about classical languages such as Latin and Greek? Latin is still to be found on course lists in many schools. Classical Greek is not as common. If a world view is important to you, then review carefully the language component at the schools which interest you. Being fluent in a language or two is increasingly important.

Science.Technology.Engineering.Mathematics

If STEM is your thing,

Updated December 13, 2018 | by Robert Kennedy

5 Reasons to Start Your School Search Early

Allowing 18 months for your school search process has many benefits. Here are five reasons why it is a good idea so to do.

If you are thinking about sending your child off to boarding school, you should try to start your school search process as early as possible. Finding the right school takes time. The process itself is not difficult; however, it is time-consuming. For example, if you are considering getting your child into school for 10th grade, you should begin the process in the spring of 8th grade. Standardized admissions testing typically will occur in December of 9th grade. Most boarding schools have application deadlines at the end of January of his 9th grade. Schools send out acceptance letters in March of your child's 9th-grade year.

Many parents think that they will have plenty of time to get everything done, but the truth is that the 18-month time frame which I am recommending flies by very quickly. Before you know it, the application deadline is around the corner. With that in mind, let's review why I feel that you need 18 months for your school search.

1. You need time to visit the schools.

Visiting schools is time-consuming. It is not enough to visit the schools virtually, although if you live abroad, that might be the only viable way of visiting schools. You must experience the school. You need to use your own eyes and ears to help you decide whether your child will be happy there for the next three years. Possibly four if he stays for a PG year. You wouldn't buy a piece of real estate without

Updated March 08, 2018 | by Robert Kennedy

Are you wondering whether boarding school is right for your child? Answer these five questions and you will be better able to determine whether it is.

Is boarding school right for your child? Honestly, it probably is. But you will never know until you explore the idea thoroughly. I advise you to tune out the negative things you read about boarding schools. After all, the media tends to focus on sensational stories which hardly show boarding schools as they really are. Go see for yourself. A quick call or an email is all it takes to make an appointment for a visit. The other consideration which keeps many parents from even considering a boarding school education is the cost. Schools have very generous financial aid programs. The admissions staff at any boarding school will be only too happy to explain how financial aid works.

Now that we have those considerations out of the way, answer these questions to help you make that important decision about sending your child off to a residential school.

1. Do you want to stretch your child?

If you are content with the status quo, then boarding school is probably not a good idea. Why? Because by going to boarding school your child will be embarking on an incredible adventure. She will be exposed to all kinds of new ideas and different points of view. She will be able to select academic courses which will enrich and challenge her. She will be in small classes where she cannot hide in the corner. Her opinion and ideas will matter. Her strengths will be expanded. Her weaknesses will be addressed

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Choosing a School: Comparing Schools

Updated April 19, 2018 | by Robert Kennedy

Use a spreadsheet to develop your initial list of schools. Here's how.

At some point in the process of choosing schools for your child, you will have to engage in the exercise of comparing certain criteria. As much as private schools can be compared – for they really can't be compared – you still need to keep track of basic information which matters to you and to your consultant.

This video explains how to use Google Spreadsheets.

Basics like tuition costs, acceptance rate, dress code which matter to you should be part of the spreadsheet you set up to compare schools. We are using three schools for purposes of this illustration. But you probably will want to have as many as 10-15 schools in your first group. Once that is done you can begin to eliminate the schools which don't suit your requirements as you begin to develop a short list of schools to visit and examine more closely.

Where do you get the data? It's very easy to find on this site. On the splash page near the top is a drop-down menu titled Comparisons. Choose any criterion you like. Then click on schools which interest you. All the data you need is listed for you in each school's profile.

Here's an example of what your spreadsheet could look like. We have chosen basic data but you can list whatever criteria matter to you in the first column of the spreadsheet.

Exeter

Andover

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Choosing a School: DO's and DON'TS

Updated December 02, 2017 | by Robert Kennedy

Here are some considerations to ponder whilst choosing schools and when your child is actually away at school.

DO: Visit schools.

Visiting schools takes a lot of time and effort. It is, however, one of the most important parts of the school selection process. Use the search tools on this site to develop a preliminary list of schools which interest you and your child. If you are located overseas, be sure to research flights to major ports of entry such as Seattle and Los Angeles on the west coast and Boston, New York, Atlanta and Miami on the east coast and Denver and Chicago in the western and mid-western parts of the country. If you ever have to make an emergency trip to your child's school, you will understand why this step is so important.

Once you have developed your preliminary list, refine it to a short list of 3-5 schools. Then visit these schools to determine if they are indeed a good fit for your child's needs and your requirements.

Many schools have open houses. These offer you a wonderful opportunity to visit the school, see classrooms, listen to the school's 'story' and meet admissions staff. How do you figure out which schools have open houses in your area? You can look on the school's website. And, you can do a search on this site. Here's how:

Go to find private schools. Choose your state and click on the link for open houses in that state. The number of open houses will vary according to the time of year and the

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