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Narrowing Your List

You’ll find helpful tools and resources to aid in narrowing your list down to the best schools that meet your requirements. Determine the benefits of Quaker education, learn how girls benefit from single sex education and get 5 reasons to start your search early.

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Why Choose a Boarding School in Florida?

Updated July 06, 2016

Explore 13 great reasons to benefit from choosing a boarding school in sunny Florida.

Photo Courtesy of Admiral Farragut Academy

There are many benefits as to why students should attend boarding school, but what does Florida offer that other locations cannot? Well, if you’ve ever been to Florida you may be able to answer that question rather quickly. Here we list 13 reasons that may have you convinced to choose a boarding school in Florida.

In 2015, Florida became the first state ever to welcome more than 100 million out-of-state and international tourists. In addition, more people moved to Florida than California for the first time in nearly a decade. There’s good reason, too. The weather. The year-round outdoor activities. The cost of living. The job growth and opportunities. The sporting events. The cultural arts. The music festivals. The ever-improving infrastructure.

Not only is Florida a great state to visit and live, it’s an incredible place to learn. With 10 college-prep and boarding schools in Florida, the state offers a nice mix to choose from. But why is attending boarding school in Florida better than anywhere else? Here are just a few reasons:

The Weather

Sunny and Tropical

Nicknamed the “Sunshine State,” Florida boasts an average of 361 days of sunshine a year. Did you know St. Petersburg holds a Guinness Book World Record with 768 consecutive sunny days? St. Petersburg is just one of many places in Florida where sunshine reigns supreme. giving students an opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities all year long.

No Snow

There are just 20 states that average less than 15 inches a snow each year. Florida

Updated February 14, 2018 | by Robert Greene, M.S., Ed.S., NCSP

Advice for Athletes Applying to Independent Boarding Schools

Tips for athletes applying to boarding school.

You are considering attending an independent private boarding school as a student athlete. Perhaps you’ve even been encouraged to apply to one or more schools because of your athletic ability. While your family and the admission staff at the schools will help you through the process of applying, remember that you still have your work cut out for you.

You must complete the steps required of all applicants in a timely manner. You should express genuine interest in the school’s athletic program. And most importantly, it is your job to learn as much as you can about each school to be sure that it would be a good fit for you, not only in terms of athletics, but overall. Here are some tips for you and your family as you apply to independent schools and consider your options.

The Admissions Timeline

Ideally, you’ll begin researching and visiting schools in the fall, or about a year before you plan to enroll. While applications are most commonly due in January, it takes time before then to have completed any standardized tests and submitted any required transcripts and recommendations. (See more below.)

Make sure you and your family have in hand all the information you need to meet all application requirements of every school in which you are interested. Pay careful attention to deadlines for applications for admission and financial aid: they vary from school to school.

Even if you’ve been recruited or had contact with a school’s coach, it is the admission office you will work

Updated August 29, 2017 | by Robert Kennedy

What About Schools With Riding Programs?

Does your son or daughter ride? Are you thinking about finding a private school which will suit both your academic requirements and your child's penchant for riding? Let's look at a couple of schools with riding programs.

Does your son or daughter ride? Are you thinking about finding a private school which will suit both your academic requirements and your child's penchant for riding? After all, your daughter began riding in seventh grade. One of your neighbors had a small stable with a couple of horses. She had ridden professionally years ago. Now that she was retired, she had taken on a few riding students and was showing them how to ride as well as how to take care of the horses. Your daughter has participated in several shows and loves riding. So, it makes sense to find a school which will allow her to enjoy her riding as well as give her the college preparatory academic curriculum which she needs.

A quick search of Boarding School Review looking for schools which offer equestrian programs yielded a list of 67 schools. After you filter that list for location, religion, and size, as well as any other criteria which matter to you, you will be able to come up with a short list of schools to visit and evaluate. In the meantime let's look at ten of the schools in my search results so that you can get an idea of what is available. We will inspect schools which have their own equestrian facilities as opposed to schools which offer riding programs based at a local stable not located on campus.

Chatham Hall School, Chatham, Virginia

I personally always thought that the Litchfield Hills in Connecticut

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Characteristics Of The Best Schools

Updated January 25, 2018 | by Robert Kennedy

What are the characteristics of the best schools? We explore what makes some schools the best schools.

Every now and then the question does occur to me, as it should to you, exactly why is it that I think a certain school is one of the best schools. Inevitably I have to conclude that the best schools have all of the following characteristics. What's more they have them in abundance. Now, before you start thinking that I am only talking about older established schools, that ain't necessarily so. I am aware of a couple of newer schools which fit neatly into the category of best schools simply because they have all of the characteristics explained below. So let's take a look at what I think the traits of the best schools are.

Great leadership

The best schools have strong, dynamic, dedicated leaders. They are led by women and men who have a clear vision of what they plan to accomplish. They also have the experience to execute their plans in order to achieve that vision. The head of a best school is a superb fund-raiser. She is a capable administrator. She leads by example. She expects the best from everybody in her school community.

Solid support of the trustees

I know of several schools which could have been great. But they never made it because their fractious board of trustees kept getting in the way of progress. Change is never easy. But oftimes it seems that boards have a rather difficult time with change. That always surprise me because most board members tend to come from

Updated July 04, 2018 | by Robert Kennedy

How Do Girls Benefit From Single-Sex Education?

Role models, knowing how girls learn and constant encouragement are just some of the ways girls' schools work their magic with your daughter.

As I read research and data in preparation for writing this article, I was struck by how much real progress has been made in girls' education versus boys' education over the last decade. I hope that you will read the resources listed at the end. They are just the tip of the iceberg but they will get you started in your exploration and evaluation of girls' schools. Since the subject of single-sex education seems to be gaining traction in the public school arena, I suspect that we shall continue to see some serious academic papers being written on the subject in the coming years. This short clip offers a glimpse inside an AP Biology class.

Personally, having raised two daughters, I can speak with some experience on the subject of single-sex education. Both girls went to coeducational boarding schools. But the benefit of hindsight tells me that going to an all girls school would have been a better solution for both of them. Here then are the reasons why I am such a huge fan of girls' schools.

Girls' schools provide relevant 21st century role models.

It is a fact that there are more visible, relevant role models for girls these days. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and Harvard President Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust, to name just three highly successful prominent executives, provide our daughters with the very best kind of role models. That's important. You can read about these leaders. You can hear

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