<p>exonianwannabe, I wish you all the luck with your apps. Did you do the interviews closely together? I remember when my d did hers it was a whirlwind. She did 4 in 3 days, then did an additional at a different time. I will tell you that by the 4th interview, we were all toast. We started in Ct, then to mass., then to NJ.</p>
<p>Sort of. (Depends on what you call 'close'.)
They were all at 10:00, on Saturdays, all spaced apart ny one week.
Since I live in NY, It's pretty easy to get to the schools (except Exeter... that was like a 6 hour drive...).
How much do you think Parent Statements weigh in? My parents really don't want to do it, for some reason. It's not like they're unsupportive or anything--it's that boarding school was 100% my idea. I researched the schools, I requested the packets, I even wrote out the applications... except for the ones where my parents were required to write it.</p>
<p>Hmm, I guess they would be as important as any other recs. I haven't really thought about a situation such as a parent not doing the statement. I guess you'll have to get on them like we have to get on you kiddos to get the apps completed.</p>
<p>Can somebody please comment what their experience has been with siblings left behind? I know some of you prep parents have more than one child. Was this a consideration when thinking about sending an older one off? It definitely enters into my decision thought process but I don't know if I am making too much or not enough of it. thanks for any response.</p>
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<p>Of course I don't have experience about this yet from having sent the oldest to year-long boarding school, but we have sent him to residential summer programs in part to test the family dynamics of his being away. His younger siblings miss him, A LOT, and yet they have learned to cope (after three summer programs over two summers, totaling ten weeks) with him being away. My current read on the effect my oldest being away would have on my second son is that it might help my second son spread his wings a little more and gain some independence of his own in a home setting. That might also give my second son some major incentive to write more emails. We're still thinking about this aspect, too, of boarding school, so I'll appreciate hearing from parents of more than one child about how all this works out.</p>
<p>I think it's a major consideration. One of the reasons I support the idea of my d. going to a b.s. is that she has no younger siblings - her older b. is already away at college. I am very aware that it is not as big a sacrifice in our situation and think that we (her parents) will still be able to have close contact through e-mail, phone calls, campus visits and the breaks that are built into the school calendar. Anyone who has ever read Catcher in the Rye knows that it is an issue between siblings. It's bound to affect all of them, but it can also be a good thing - in cases where there's too direct a rivalry, or by giving younger sibs the example of someone who took advantage of an opportunity. Younger sibs also get to visit that school and it can enlarge their world in the present and help them realize there will be opportunities for them, too. Our d. has really benefited by coming along when we dropped/visited her older b. at various things he's done. I think it's one of the reasons we're contemplating b.s. at all - it's not a family tradition for either my h. or me. I really do feel for parents who have that extra consideration to weigh.</p>
<p>Yes, we thought a great deal about how son's going off to boarding school would affect his younger sister and our family situation. Over the past 1 1/2 years they have become quite close with son taking on the older brother role once they were in the same middle school. Teachers would tell us how impressed they were with how he watched out for his younger sister. Even though he is only 30 minutes away (chose to board) the day to day routine has dramatically changed. It took the family (mom, dad, and sister) about a month to get used to a new routine. Simple things such as not setting a dinner plate for him, not buying as much food (never realized how much a teenage boy consumes!) and loss of the teasing my son would inflict on his sister. I not sure how much she missed that part! I do know that they email each other regularly. The last time he was home he helped her with a monologue for a play audition. On the upside, my daughter is getting more attention from us. At thirteen, when she wants to talk we listen and have no distractions. One important note, my son is very supportive of his sister applying to the same bschool and they have talked a great deal about the school and what it is like. Our family routine will never be the same, but when we are together we are still a family and I don't expect that to ever change!</p>
<p>We had an adjustment period in the beginning....I think my younger d adjusted quite well. I did have a bit of a concern when my d returned for the first holiday, it seemed as though my younger d was quiet when bs d first arrived. As time went on things began to return to normal. It was as though my younger d felt uncomfortable for one reason or another. The more my d returns from school the more normal it seems for all of us. It is no surprise that my younger d now wants to go to bs. She's in the seventh grade, so we still have some time to think this out. As parents I don't think many of us thought we would have our children leave for school 4 years early. If I have any trepidation, it's the realization that when they leave to bs, they may never return because then it's off to college, career , etc.</p>
<p>By the way, for those of you parents whose children first suggested the idea of prep school, how did they hear about the idea of going to such a school? </p>
<p>In our case, boarding school was a very familiar idea, because my wife had attended one, but it was not really part of our plans, because of some of the drawbacks my wife's school had decades ago overseas. But in the last few years, as I followed national news about some of my son's favorite ECs, I began to be aware of young people from all over who were attending the prep schools to which he is now applying. Meanwhile, my son was noting that he really wished he could see more of his best friends (who live across town) and spend ALL day in interesting discussions with curious young people like himself. That's what got me suggesting that we should find out more about the prep schools attended by some of the kids in the ECs he enjoys. After a conversation I had with my wife about one of those schools, she said, "Let's consider this," and we began requesting information from the schools via their Web sites. My son has become more interested after a process of touring local day schools--he is NOT interested in applying to any of those, but he would like to apply to the preps he has interest in, especially after hearing that some friends in other places are also applying. </p>
<p>Whose interest came first in your family? How did that interest begin?</p>
<p>We were prepared to send our d to local prep school that was more a day school. She came home very excited after a few of the bs's came by her school doing their dog and pony show. Frankly, We knew absolutely zip about bs's. I did spend countless hours researching before any decision was made.</p>
<p>Many years ago, my husband and I had agreed that we would consider alternatives to public high school if we felt that our son's academic and social needs/challenges were not being met. As my son began to play a club soccer a few years back, his circle of friends widened and he learned about prep schools from these kids. On the way to soccer practice, my husband remembers our son commenting about a group of students playing frisbee at an elite bschool. Our son remarked how cool it must be to go to school there and then go outside and hang out with your friends on campus after finishing your studies. Eventually our son (late spring of 7th grade) asked if he could look at these schools for high school. From that point on we set out trying to learn everything about bschools and ultimately decided that it would be a wonderful experience for our son.</p>
<p>Overnight I thought of another question I'd like to ask of parents of current boarding school students: what is a typical amount of communication you have with your child at boarding school, and through what medium? </p>
<p>I've had my son at three summer programs over the last two years. The first was in another country, and most of his classmates (kids from that country) spoke to their families regularly by mobile phone. My son had telephone calling cards, but rarely had time to use one when near a public telephone. His room didn't have a phone. I heard from him while he was there a few times by email or public bulletin board message, when he got computer lab time as part of his program. That was kind of stressful for us, even though the limited contact was an expected part of that program, mentioned beforehand in the program's literature. The next summer program (same summer) was in the United States, and my son had a phone in his room, but the phone was often unplugged by his residential advisor as part of a policy to keep students focused on the program. We were able to mail out "care packages" and got a few more phone calls from him that time. In his most recent summer program, this last summer, he phoned home daily, which was actually a program requirement for the first week of the program, and also PMed once in a while through a Web site we both participate in. </p>
<p>What's the usual expectation for boarding school kids to be in communication with their parents? I've heard of daily phone calls (especially near the end of the first school year ;) ) and also frequent IMing, but I don't know how much schools vary in their policies of what degree of communication is encouraged or discouraged. And all boarding school kids are busy, so when do they find time to call, write, or receive communication?</p>
<p>We started out with phone calls every other day during preseason camp at the bschool. At the parent orientation it was encouraged to let you child make calls to you and not vice versa. The school wanted the child to adjust to their new environment and schedule without the parents calling frequently. We agreed with the school's view on this and waited for son to call after study hall. The school does not allow calls during the day or during study hall hours which limits the child calling between 7-7:45 pm (free time) or after study hall (9:45 pm) till check-in at 10:15 pm. Of course son did not want to call during free time since that was when he could socialize with friends and had intervisitation rights to the girls dorms. This left us with the 9:45 time slot which was the end of the day for him and often you could tell he was tired from his schedule and studying. Our calls were short and not very detailed. We moved quickly to emails and IMs which worked fine for us since we saw him every Wed and Saturday in the fall at soccer games. We were able to check in for a 5 minute conversation. One note is that he is often on-line with wireless connection on campus with his laptop so we can get quick responses to questions if needed.</p>
<p>We find the best means of communication is "aiming" our D at BS. We will chat with her if she's online to the extent that she can. communication during the week is limited to short brief chats due to the volume of homework and ec's. Typically on the weekends we will speak on the phone or have a longer, more detailed conversation with D. All in all, we are very comfortable with the communication which works best for all of us.</p>
<p>We generally will speak to our d by phone on Sundays.</p>
<p>It has never been a problem. S called once a week and was happy. D calls every day and is happy. Don't worry about it.</p>
<p>I must admit, even though warned by PrepParent and others, I was not prepared for how communication would work with my d. She is incredibly busy with academic responsibilities and EC's. When she is free, she, of course, wants to spend time with her friends. We do hurried IM's during the week and on the phone we have a nice long chat usually on Sundays. She is always happy to be catching up with us but for me it is never quite enough! Thankfully, I stay in frequent touch with her advisor and her house director so feel connected that way.</p>
<p>So thus far I've heard about some IMing, and some phoning. Does anybody do email or (gasp) postal letters?</p>
<p>Yes, I also e-mail. Heck, I just imed my d for the 1sttime tonight. I try not to do that because I think she feels I'm invading her domain. </p>
<p>Tokenadult, Isn't it funny how at one time the only forms of communication side from the phone was a letter? Gasp!</p>
<p>There's an interesting thread in the Parents Forum about a boarding PUBLIC school in a particular state. In my state, there is a fine arts specialty high school, named after a former governor, that has a two-year program (eleventh and twelfth grade) and allows boarding by kids who live beyond a specified radius from the school. It used to be a privately operated two-year college years ago. </p>
<p>Would I be correct in surmising that most of the parents in this thread don't have a public residential school available in their states for their children's main subject?</p>