5 Tips for a Successful Boarding School Admissions Interview

International Students: Visas and More

If you live overseas and are not an American citizen, and are considering sending your child to a boarding school in the United States, your child will need a student visa to enter the United States.

• Your child will also need to show fluency in the English language as evidenced by passing the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
• The process of applying for a student visa begins with an American boarding school issuing a Form I-20.

The I-20 Form

Not every boarding school is certified by the United States Immigration Service to accept foreign students. Why is that important?

• Always confirm that the school you are interested in is a Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certified school.
• If the school is not SEVP-certified to accept international students, it cannot issue the I-20 form, which is the first step in applying for and obtaining a student visa from the U.S. Immigration Service.
• Once you receive the I-20 from the school you chose to attend, you will pay the I-901 Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) Fee. As of May 2025 that fee is $350.
• The Immigration Service will not allow your child to enter the United States as a student without the proper documentation.

Pay Attention to The Deadlines

Applying for admission to an American boarding school requires staying organized and on top of deadlines throughout the admissions process.

• Hire a professional

A Conversation About Boarding Schools

Here is a compilation of the various concerns and questions I have fielded from readers. Don't hesitate to DM me on Facebook or Instagram with your questions. I will do my best to answer them.

Parent: Tell me about the advantages of sending my daughter to a boarding school.

School: Your child will build a network of friends that she will have for life.

• The demands of rigorous academic studies combined with compulsory athletics and required extracurricular activities will stretch her ways you never thought possible.
• She will build confidence in her abilities as she accomplishes things she probably didn't realize she could achieve.
• You will know that your child is receiving a comprehensive and balanced education that consists of academics, sports, and extracurricular activities.

Parent; How do I know which school is the best one?

School: You determine that by comparing schools.

• So, make lists of schools. Review their websites.
• Watch their videos. Check out their social media pages pages.
• Did you find any that offer the academic subjects, sports, and extracurricular activities you feel are essential for your child?
• Put those schools on another shorter list.
• Visit those three or four schools. The visit and interview will reveal much about each school.
• Apply to the schools that are the best fit for you.

Parent: I want my daughter to have great teachers.

5 Tips for Applying for a Boarding School Job

If you last applied for a job a couple of years ago, be aware of two things.

• First of all, you can do most job applications online.
• Secondly, applying for a boarding school job is similar to applying for a public school teaching job, although there are some subtle differences.

The Application Process

Review the job application process carefully.

Don't assume nothing has changed since you last applied for a job. It has. The most significant change is the online application process.

• Most employers, including boarding schools, will expect you to apply online these days.
• They do this so that they can screen applications efficiently.
• It is also easier to import the data from an online application into a database or spreadsheet.
• Furthermore, authorized staff can access applicant data securely instead of having personal information lying about on a sheet of paper or in a manila folder, as was customary years ago before the advent of computers.

In the past, an administrative assistant or secretary screened snail-mailed job applications.

• That involved opening envelopes and sorting the applications.
• Occasionally, the assistant actually screened the applications, generally to ensure that all requested materials had been sent.
• At some point, the pile of applications and cover letters ended up on the desk of the person charged with filling the job

I applied to teach at a private school in The Bahamas some years ago. During my interview, the head of school noted that I had a degree in Latin and Greek from McGill University. She exclaimed that she had always wanted her students to learn Latin. I looked at her, somewhat puzzled, and asked why she wanted Latin as part of her school's curriculum; she opined that it would help their SAT scores. I remember being skeptical about this claim, but I was more concerned about what the parents would think about having their children study a dead language. So, the head of the school called a meeting of the parents to discuss her proposed addition of Latin to the curriculum. Many parents expressed their concerns, but the head of the school was compelling in her arguments. As a result, I began teaching Latin to students in Grades 5 through 9.

Selecting a Curriculum

My next challenge, of course, was to select a Latin curriculum. Several courses were available, but I chose the Cambridge Latin Course. It enjoyed a good reputation. It was also very well laid out and organized. I made these choices in the 90s, so we were looking at the first or second edition of that particular curriculum. That was back when there was no such thing as a digital edition. Nowadays, the Cambridge Latin Course has a digital edition and a host of resources available on their website.