<p>ok, boarding school was originally my idea. i wanted to got to an all girls school in the south, but as i got more interested in the idea i realized that the breadth in courses and ecs i was looking for would be easier to find in a COED school. my parents arent to fond of the idea, does anyone have any arguements i can use to make my case??</p>
<p>At the girls school, they may try to make you a complete feminist and you will belittle men.</p>
<p>You won't be exposed to actual life at an all girl's school. You should see guys all the time, just like you will later in life.</p>
<p>Jonathan, be careful when you make such statements. I think it has gotten you into some trouble in some of the other forums. </p>
<p>milbrat: girls schools will not "make you a complete feminist and you will belittle men" but there are some drawbacks to having no males around. Try searching for articles on single-sex education and try and understand the points for and against such institutions. You could also point out certain things you are trying to obtain in high school and show how those can only be fond in coed boarding schools. For example, if you want to take Chinese and be within 5 hours of New York, show how none of the all-girls schools in the aforementioned radius offer Chinese (although I doubt that's true, that's an example). Good luck.</p>
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milbrat: girls schools will not "make you a complete feminist
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<p>Yes they will. And they'll make you a homo if you stay there too long.</p>
<p>I didn't say all those things would happen for sure, just that they could happen. There's a difference.</p>
<p>i was once in your situation. my mom persisted in me going to an all-girls school, but i persuaded her to let me apply to a couple of coed schools. your parents may be concerned about the boy-and-girl situation at coed schools. explain that your favorites are coed schools, how wonderful they are, how the top schools are coed, and go research the dormitory rules. put them at ease by explaining that boys arent usually allowed in the girls' dorms at so-and-so, that there are strict rules, etc.</p>
<p>Jonathan: yeah, and she could go to a coed school and be completely intimidated by guys and become completely obsessed by them to the point where she stops caring about grades. Not saying all those things will happen for sure, just that they could happen.
Now speaking as a person who went to an all-girls school, I really enjoyed it and had fun because the atmosphere was incredible. I'm also pretty sure I didn't turn into a misandrist along the way (note: "feminist" is not a dirty word by definition unless you believe in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes), and later on had no problem dealing with guys as proven by my 60% male uni and 80% male major. My life in this area seems just fine.
That having been said, I would not recommend a single sex education to everyone blindly because there's no one size fits all in education. I would, however, say there are definite benefits and you should weigh all the sides of things... your concerns about classes and the like, for example. So if you really would prefer coed then explain reasonably to your parents what your situation is and see if you guys can work something out- if they're uneasy about coed, say, are there any other schools you could research that meet your interests but are single sex?
Best of luck. :)</p>
<p>i completely agree with you, stargirl.</p>
<p>one-- the op mentioned the SOUTH. an all girls SOUTHERN boarding school will not turn its students into complete feminists who belittle men. some of the most well-rounded, brilliant, socially apt girls i know are the products of all-girls boarding schools (one even in the south). you have brother schools. you put on shows with brother schools. you have dances with boys. etc. the girls i know who went through all-girls programs think it's the best thing ever.</p>
<p>jonathan k- what's your stance on an all-womans college like wellesley? they're not surrounded by men 24/7, but it sure as hell produces female leaders, just like many of the nation's all-girls boarding schools.</p>
<p>Why do you think you'll find less breadth of courses as a single-sex school rather than a coed one? It seems to me that course offerings would depend primarily upon the size and quality of the school. Unless you have specific schools in mind, I'd look again.</p>
<p>I attended both coed (both day -- one Catholic, one public) and single-sex (secular boarding) high schools, and while I preferred the all-girls' school, I can't know whether it was the fact that I fit in well at the school or actually preferred a single-sex environment. It couldn't have hurt, though; everything seemed much friendlier given the removal of some unnecessary social pressures from the class day. It's not like you won't see guys socially on the weekends -- that's what mixers and brother schools are for. Furthermore, all-girls' schools generally strive to be confidence-building environments, as a central part of their mission. This has something to do with feminism, sure, but mine certainly didn't make me inclined to "belittle men." Nor did I get intimidated by them in college because I hadn't encountered them in an academic setting for a couple years. I just graduated from an Ivy in engineering, hardly a gender-balanced field, and I am just fine.</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>thank you everyone for your posts. its not that i dont think ill find the same breadth in all-girls school, its just that ive only looked at certain schools. ive been looking at the one in the south since last year because i have friends who attend and all my extended family lives in the city, but it does not have as many language classes as the coed schools ive looked into. MPS is the only other all-girls school, i have heard it was a great. Does anyone know an all-girls school that offers a large variety of classes and ecs, and alot of AP's??</p>
<p>My daughter is a boarding student at MPS. She has had challenging courses in an intellectually stimulating environment. She enjoys the dorm life and the support found in the all girls community. During the summer she does coed programs.
There are several international girls and the school is not far from the Bradley Airport in Hartford. PM me if you have any questions.</p>
<p>milbrat,</p>
<p>I'm not sure of your family's priorities for your education are but those probably need to come first when selecting a school. </p>
<p>I can see family support being a major concern if your folks will be overseas while you are in school. If that is an overriding concern of theirs, you will have to restrict your search to a limited geography.</p>
<p>Beyond that, from your comments, it would seem that your parents have typical concerns regarding coed schools. </p>
<p>If pursuing multiple languages is a goal of yours, you have got to stress that when talking to your parents. Your education is about your desires of what you want to study.</p>
<p>Arguing the "boy" thing will not get you anywhere. If anything, it will make them more nervous. A serious student will allay the gut fear that they have.</p>
<p>The fact is that 99% of boarding school parents sending their daughters to coed schools worry about the "boy" thing. The other 1% is lying (LOL). I believe mine is mature enough and goal oriented enough not to make it a problem. It is a risk I take and evaluate as time goes by.</p>
<p>my family will be in ohio while im attending prep school and the "boy" problem is my parents only problem.lol. hope that clears up some things.</p>
<p>Yeah, that clears up some things. Good luck!</p>
<p>On a more constructive note, have you considered Culver. Yes it is coed, but the boys side is military (girls side is not), which may (or may not) give confidence to your parents in terms of the discipline. </p>
<p>It is also geographically close.</p>
<p>They also teach 5 languages (Spanish, French, German, Latin, Chinese) if that is your thing. All except Chinese have an AP option.</p>