<p>Anybody have thoughts on being a a day student at boarding school?</p>
<p>whoo, boy...I could write the book. Both the Smilepups have had experience as day students at boarding schools and (soon) as boarders at schools where there are a large number of day students. </p>
<p>What I will tell you about either situation is that, how integrated day students feel depends very much on the school culture and the student's personality. It can be hard to get a real feel for this from the outside, but you want to find out how much of an effort is made to include the day students (and I mean REALLY include, not just lip service). You might want to ask about how easy it is for day students to stay on campus for overnights/dinner/evening meetings. Or how comfortable the friendships between day students and boarders are, how easy it is for day students to get extra help (even if your student doesn't need it, it tells you something about the availability and flexibility of the faculty), how scheduling changes (such as pick-up and drop-off or meeting and game times) are communicated to the parents. </p>
<p>And then you need to consider what sort of social entity your student is...are they the kind of kid who could be dropped in the middle of the jungle and come out, safe and sound, with the AIM names and cell phone numbers of the animals they met along the way? Or are they the type who would just as soon get out asap, speaking to as few strange creatures as possible? Or some one of the many types in between? </p>
<p>It's all about finding the fit. There really is nothing inherently good or bad about being a day student at boarding school.</p>
<p>Hm... well I'll talk about the experience I've had in my past few days at Choate.</p>
<p>I'm friends with a lot of day students, and we basically see each other till 7:30 because that's when study hours start, so I see them throughout the class day and such. It's NOT like it's boarders hang out with boarders all the time, and day students with day students. But, you'll see like two day students walking around campus together a lot and not hanging out with boarders as much. But in my roommate's case, she's about 45 minutes away from here and most of her friends go here as well, but they're all day students, so basically our room is theirs. But day students get crappy lockers and rooms in Steele Hall, so that's not a plus. But then again, they get to have time with their family. Sometimes they get less sleep because they also have to drive up to an hour to get here. That's all I know so far. Just find a good school; you get the same education, you know the same teachers, you get the same diploma. Sometimes it's all about the little quirks I mentioned above. </p>
<p>Also, one other thing - most day students stay for dinner here because they leave around 7:30, so it's basically classes, 3 meals a day (sometimes) with boarders.</p>
<p>On the other hand, on the first day I know about 75% of the people in Nichols (my dorm), whereas I hardly knew any day students except those whose names I'd asked while walking around campus. So there is the issue of not meeting as many people, and that's big for me the first few days, because I'll see an unknown face, ask them their name, then ask them if they're a day student, and the answer is usually yes. So, I know that in a few weeks I'll know more or most of them, but in the first few days it was different for me. Most of my (close) friends that I hang out with are boarders, but the group of friends I talk to and say hi to that I have are some day students.</p>
<p>Olivia...when you ask someone their name, they'll tell you and then they probably ask, "What's your name?"</p>
<p>What have you been telling them?</p>
<p>It all depends on the school. The school where I work is pretty evenly divided in the upper school between day students and boarding students. Because it is located in a rather rural area most of the action for high schoolers surrounds the school and most weekend and evening activities are open to day and boarding students so day students spend a lot of time on campus, even on the weekends, and it's not unusual for boarding students to be invited home for dinner or a night out with a day family.</p>
<p>Be careful though, I have heard sad stories of feeling left on campus all alone as a boarding student on campuses with a day majority or of feeling like you're just never really part of the crowd as a day student at a majority boarding school. It all depends on the school.</p>
<p>I've been telling them Livy. :) Hehe. But a few people I know from online call me Olivia. Though the majority of everybody here calls me Livy. They also misspell or mispronounce it Libby so I'm like "No, with a v."</p>
<p>I'll tell you more about it later... theres more to tell, but I have to go to breakfast!</p>
<p>My son met several day students his first day....they were at early sports camp with him. They are already some of his closest friends. My son says the day students at his school are encouraged to stay on campus over the w/e and his friends are doing that (at least this w/e)! We snuck over yesterday to watch a practice and the house director was having a pizza party that evening for all of the day students. Actually, one of the student leaders in myh son's dorm is a day student, so they definitely become involved. My older son knew several ds as well; and they were all actively involved in the day-to-day goings on at the school.</p>
<p>My son's school had an extensive orientation session, over many days. The first night on campus had all students, day and boarding, remain overnight. The 9th and 10th grades both had out-of-town trips (9th was a 3-day camping trip; 10th was a 2-day trip to a nearby city) leading up to the first day of classes for all students. So there's some serious residential bonding going on for everyone to start things out. Obviously, that's not constantly there. But as they walked into classes that first week, the lines between boarding and day were blurred which -- I suspect -- helps get students assimilated as peers with little differentiation as they start their careers. I also suspect that these trips have some sort of impact on homesickness. I'm just not sure if it reduces it or worsens it though!</p>
<p>It really does depend on the school. Definately ask questions! Also, look in the view books and see how they address it there. One school puts info about day students under the section of "admissions, tutition and financial aid." Most others put it with student life.</p>