Choosing a School

"I can't find any rankings!" "Which is the best boarding school in Massachusetts?" Hardly a day goes by without somebody asking about the rankings of boarding schools. I know that you are trying to figure out how one boarding school compares with another so that you can choose the one which is best for your child. You probably even have tried looking for a site that ranks schools. Well, good luck! If you find one, let me know. There is no ranking system for boarding schools that I know of.

Try it yourself. Google "boarding school rankings" or "ranking boarding schools" and review the results. Yes, you will find several lists of "the best schools." However, what are the criteria used to select those schools? Maybe some of them are a good fit for your requirements. Maybe not. So, let's look at the reasons why this is the case.

1. Boarding schools are unique

This is the main reason why it is impossible to rank boarding schools. Each school is unique. Each school does its own thing. Schools are overseen and managed by trustees and faculty who have a particular point of view. For example, a Jesuit boarding school such as Georgetown Prep has a quite different approach to curriculum and teaching than The Putney School. Yes, as you look at schools, you can compare basic criteria such as the number of students, what they teach, and the sports programs they offer.

The broad strokes of

When Should I Go Off to Boarding School?

Does it matter when you go off to boarding school? What is the most common point of entry? Are there any advantages to entering 9th grade versus entering 10th grade? What about attending boarding school just for 11th grade or 12th grade? Does that make sense? Is it even possible? The answers to these questions depend on you and your circumstances.

10th Grade Entry and Academics

The most common entry point for American college prep boarding schools is 10th grade. That makes sense for many students because college preparatory studies usually cover a three-year cycle. Most schools follow the Advanced Placement or AP program. This begins in 10th grade, as a rule, and ends in May of the senior year when students take the national AP examinations. The AP courses vary from school to school, so be sure to scrutinize the academic curricula carefully as you search for the right boarding school for your child. While most boarding schools will offer ten to fifteen AP subjects, many frequently offer highly specialized AP courses such as Mandarin and Japanese. These AP courses are difficult to find in many private schools. They also are not commonly found in public schools.

10th grade is also a sensible entry point at boarding schools that offer the IB or International Baccalaureate programme. The IB programme has many program-specific features, and it is best to start at least by 10th grade.

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There is a body of research that suggests that girls do learn differently from boys. So, if that is the case, maybe you should consider a girls' school for your daughter instead of sending her off to a coed school. Here are some points to ponder.

1. She will have fewer distractions.

The social static and inherent distractions that occur when you mix adolescent boys and girls in a coeducational school just do not happen in a girls' school. The social expectations and stereotypes can be broken down. There will be time enough later for the distractions that members of the opposite sex provide. Fewer distractions mean a girl can focus on being herself, finding out who she is, exploring new worlds, lines of thinking, and so much more. She can think outside the box with relative impunity. And that is a good thing.

This video offers an overview of the WISE program, a partnership between Garrison Forest School and Johns Hopkins University that is designed to help young women pursue interests in science and engineering.

2. She will benefit from teachers who are trained to teach girls.

Teachers in a girls' school are hired because they believe in this kind of education. They understand how girls learn. They provide the type of nurturing and encouragement a girl needs to become all that she can and wants to be. They give and cite role models

5 Reasons to Choose a Boys' School

Single-sex education has a long and distinctive history in the annals of Western education.

It also has its dark side when you consider that only children of the upper classes were taught how to read and write. When the founders of this country began to grapple with the realities of building and advancing a nation built on democratic principles, they soon realized that education was one of the keys to future success.

The Phillips family, for example, invested substantial amounts of money to establish the now famous schools - Andover and Exeter - which bear their name. Many other visionaries did the same thing or followed their example, as you can see from this list of schools established in the 1700s. Those first schools were single-sex schools. Boys' schools. Girls didn't matter back then, apparently.

This vision statement from Woodberry Forest School in Woodberry Forest, Virginia, states the argument succinctly:

"Since the school’s founding in 1889, Woodberry Forest has sought to develop young men of intellectual thoroughness and principled integrity equipped with the capacity and eagerness to serve as leaders, learners, and citizens. Consistent with the historical founding of the school on Christian principles, we aspire to instill in every boy a deep sense of empathy, an enduring self-confidence buttressed by genuine humility, and an enthusiastic pursuit of lifelong

Mastering the Boarding School Selection Process: A 5-Step Guide

Choosing a boarding or private day school is a process involving several steps.

• Fortunately for you and me, the web makes the first step much easier.
• Sites like Boarding School Review and Private School Review take the work out of finding schools.
• Use our Applications Calendar to keep you organized.

Step 1: Identify Schools

Let your imagination and wishes run wild at this stage.

• Look at any and every school that catches your fancy.
• Take time to explore each school's website.
• Many of them have excellent video tours.
• Read what the students have to say about their school.

Both Boarding School Review and Private School Review have student comments.

• Many school websites have comments as well, although you probably will find that those comments are pretty positive.
• Boarding School Review and Private School Review do not filter student comments.

Bookmark school web addresses or swipe and paste the URLs into a spreadsheet.

• That makes the next step in the process easy.
• You should end up with a list of 15-20 schools, but don't worry if you have more than that.

Don't worry at this stage about which school is the best one for your child. More about how to deal with that question later.

Step 2: Narrow Your List

Narrowing