<p>The program starts in one week. My daughter will be attending as a 7th grader. She's going to determine whether or not she likes boarding school.</p>
<p>I hope she has a great time and finds out that she loves the environment. I want her mentally stimulated and challenged.</p>
<p>I'm nervous for her and nervous because I have no idea what the results of the five weeks will be for her.</p>
<p>She tends to be an introvert and being in a dorm situation may be difficult for her.</p>
<p>Keeping my fingers crossed that she will love this opportunity!</p>
<p>Most posts I have read about Access Exeter have been from students who loved the program. Some admitted students (on a panel I went to for new parents) spoke about Access Exeter and noted it was a lot of work, but very much worth it.</p>
<p>Access Exeter may be somewhat different than “boarding school”. It is not necessarily taught by Phillips Exeter faculty, for example, and the courses are different from the regular curriculum. It is not usually weighed heavily by the admissions committee. </p>
<p>But, it should give her an idea of what a boarding experience is like.</p>
<p>Ditto - many of the faculty aren’t the regular Exeter staff and attendance doesn’t give a student an “advantage” during the regular admissions cycle. </p>
<p>But it is a good way to determine if your child will adjust to boarding school. My own D had been pushing us to let her explore the concept - unbeknownst to us she’d been looking at various websites for several years. So we enrolled her in Access Exeter to let her get a flavor of boarding school experience. She took the CSI module and called periodically to say how hard the work was but how much she was loving the independence and chance to test herself. The summer program also allowed her to immerse with students from all over the world and suddenly her social network expanded from the friends at home, to international friends as well. Her roommate was from a different country and they not only melded their cultural differences, but stayed in touch when it was time to apply to regular programs. In fact - for me - that was the best benefit - the ongoing discussion among summer school friends about the pros and cons of different schools they were investigating.</p>
<p>While our personal experience may not be reflective of everyone’s I’m pretty much a fan of letting students test drive boarding school this way - with the caveat that the “real” fall and spring academic experiences will be ten times harder. But somehow, her “entry” into BS full time was aided because she’d already learned some of the cultural norms and cues in advance (living in a dorm, communicating with dorm heads and teachers, navigating block schedules, deadlines, different cultural approaches to a problem, etc…)</p>
<p>Good luck. Let us know how it goes.</p>
<p>Today is day three and she’s not communicating with me. I believe that to mean that she is very happy and busy! This is a great opportunity for her and I’m very pleased.</p>
<p>While I’m whining that I haven’t heard from, it is with the knowledge that all is well. I’d rather she be busy and happy, then unhappy and on the computer chatting all the time.</p>
<p>Two weeks into the program… I keep hearing one word AMAZING. She says it is great being around other smart kids who like learning. She describes the Harkness table as an excellent way to hear other perspective on issues and to learn from each other. Since it is only the summer program, I don’t want to identify which class she likes best- but one class makes up for the class that is too easy and boring for her. (We knew going into the program that this specific class would not be interesting, but she liked the other two options.) I shouldn’t say she liked the other two classes. It would more accurate to say she loved the other two courses. She is beaming with happiness and thrilled to be in a interesting environment. I can’t remember if she ever gushed about any class before this program.</p>
<p>I think it is safe to say that she will be applying at Exeter and several other schools this coming school year.</p>
<p>Glad it worked out. Doing a summer program like that helped cut down on feelings of homesickness when the real school year started. And it lets boarding schools know your daughter is applying for programs having some realistic idea of what the experience will be like. Good luck on your search.</p>