Marianapolis Preparatory School - Review #1

BCS is one of those schools that's hard to explain to people who haven't been there. It's small, it's in the middle of Lennoxville, Quebec and at first glance it might not seem like much but that's kind of the point. Because it's so small everyone knows everyone. You can't really hide, which sounds scary but actually pushes you to get involved in things you'd never try otherwise. The house system is a big part of that. Each student belongs to a house and you genuinely compete, cheer and grow together. By the time I became House Captain, I realized how much that structure had shaped me without me even noticing.

Becoming House Captain was probably the thing I'm most proud of from my time at BCS. It wasn't something I expected when I first arrived as a shy international student in grade 7 who could barely navigate the campus. By grade 11 I was leading a house, sitting on committees and mentoring younger students. That growth didn't happen overnight and it wasn't always comfortable but BCS gave me the environment to push through the discomfort and come out the other side more confident and more capable.

I would have put myself out there sooner instead of waiting until I felt comfortable. Comfort comes after you try things not before you try. My advice for anyone starting boarding school is say yes before you talk yourself out of it and give it a full year before you judge the experience. The first few months are hard for everyone, you're not alone in that.

Honestly the people. The school is small enough that you actually know everyone and that creates this sense of community that's hard to find anywhere else.Teachers genuinely cared, friendships went deep fast and there was always something going on that pulled you out of your comfort zone. BCS pushed me to be more than I thought I could be at that age and I didn't fully appreciate that until I left.

Get involved in the house system from day one don't wait until you feel ready because that feeling might not come. If you play squash, take it seriously, it's a great community and find your people in the smaller clubs like Inscape or Bigs & Littles those are the spaces where you find the real BCS.The Dining Hall Committee is actually fun if you like having a say in things. Don't overlook it.

The academics at BCS were rigorous but in a way that felt personal. Classes were small so teachers actually knew your name, knew when you were struggling and called you out when you weren't trying hard enough in a good way. I came in with strong math and science skills but BCS pushed me to think more critically and write more clearly than I ever had before. The workload could be intense, especially balancing everything else going on but looking back it prepared me really well for McGill. I don't think I would have gotten into Computer Science there without the foundation BCS gave me.

I played squash at BCS and honestly I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. It's fast, it's mental and it's very much an individual sport even when you're competing as part of a team. The coaches were serious about it without making it feel like a pressure cooker. The facilities were decent and the competitive matches against other schools were always a highlight of the term. I wasn't the most athletic person coming in but squash taught me a lot about discipline and staying calm under pressure —skills that translated way beyond the court.

Music was genuinely one of my favorite parts of BCS. I was in both the Marching Band and the Choir, which sounds like a lot but it never felt like a burden. Marching Band especially was this oddly bonding experience you're outside in the cold Quebec weather, in uniform, trying to stay in step and hit your notes and somehow it just brings people together. Choir was more peaceful, more reflective. I liked having both. The music teachers were passionate and that energy was contagious. I also contributed to Inscape Magazine which leaned more into the creative writing and arts side it was a nice outlet outside of the music stuff.

Between Cadets, Marching Band, Squash, Choir, House Captain duties, the Dining Hall Committee, Chapel Warden and Bigs & Littles I was never bored. Honestly I don't know how I fit it all in but I did. Bigs & Littles was probably the most meaningful to me personally. Being paired with a younger student and being someone they could come to that felt real. It wasn't a resume thing, it was just genuinely nice to be that person for someone the way older students had been for me when I first arrived.

Dorm life at BCS is its own world. When you live with the same people day in and day out, you form bonds really quickly sometimes with people you never would have chosen as friends otherwise. There were tough nights, homesick nights, nights where everyone was stressed about exams and the common room felt like a library. But there were also late nights that turned into some of my best memories. The dorm structure kept things organized but there was still room to just be a teenager, which I think is important.

The Dining Hall was central to BCS life in a way I didn't expect. I was actually on the Dining Hall Committee so I got a chance to see at how it was running, which gave me a new appreciation for the effort that went into it. The food was honestly pretty good nothing like home cooking but solid and varied enough that you didn't dread mealtimes. More than the food though, the dining hall was a social hub. That's where you caught up with people, debriefed after a hard day or just sat quietly with your friends. I actually miss it.

Lennoxville is tiny.....like really tiny but there's a charm to it once you settle in. It's a bilingual town which as an international student I found interesting navigating both English and French on top of already adjusting to a new country added a layer of complexity but also made me more adaptable. There's not a ton to do off campus but you learn to appreciate the slower pace. It's very much a campus centered life, which for a boarding school actually makes sense.

Because the school is small, your social circle ends up being pretty tight. You know everyone's business and everyone knows yours which takes some getting used to. But it also meant that friendships went deeper faster. Events like formal dinners, house competitions and school wide performances brought everyone together in ways that felt special. I made friends at BCS from all over the world and those are the friendships that have stuck.