Hi All - I think I bring an alternative opinion to this post, as an Admissions Rep for a religiously based, all boys boarding school in Wisconsin. While we don’t see a lot of the same “cut throat” attitude that is portrayed in film, we do see a great deal of diversity even being as small as we are.
A fantastic aspect of boarding school that I’ve seen, but also something that I know plenty of individuals struggled with once they reached secondary education, is the extremely structured regimen that our students experience vs. the rather lax, do at your own pace attitude that accompanies college. While for these young men, it can most definitely be a benefit as a basis for how to perform throughout their day and plan their own studies/schedules (in some ways), it also can make it difficult for them once they achieve college acceptance (98% of our students do go on to higher education) and begin their Freshmen years.
As a definite plus, we are able to provide a top notch education at a lower cost than some of our competitors and that allows opportunity to some students from situations that might not otherwise be able to afford such an education.
As I said before, just my opinion and something that I believe is important to take into consideration when working from an angle of pro v. cons of boarding school life.