<p>This is a thread that is really not looking just for those who have been disappointed in their BS experience but more to inject a bit of realism into one's expectations of what boarding school is really like.</p>
<p>Various issues have been raised on this board and I feel that I have learned so much, but I wonder if a lot of what I've learned also needs to be tempered by reality.
Issues are academic & personal support; lonliness, food issues, tiredness. etc. </p>
<p>Anyway I hope many will chime in as to how to impressions of BS differed, good or bad, from reality.</p>
<p>Like many, we had a DC who was a stellar student in all ways for BS. Many told us to expect a step up from her prior school (a prestigious day school) and an adjustment gradewise (since everyone at BS were former stars with mostly straight As). Still she has been surprised how hard it is to do well at BS. It’s simply a concentration of uberstudents. Another impression is that the kids get Very Bad eating habits with late night eating and junk in the dorms. Finally, we’ve been surprised by the number of kids there with psyche problems. I am not sure if it is truly more kids, or the boarding environment makes it harded to keep private than at home–but in any case, we seem to hear more about it than our DC at home for high school.</p>
<p>erlanger,
thanks for you input! one of my concerns was diet, child eats well at breakfast if i stand over him, yougurt, banana, cereal; however, if i’m away (c eats with father) c will eat all manner of junk! totally disregarding lectures on healthy diet so necessary…dinner would be only meat if allowed, etc. the boarding environment probably unveils everyone’s issues…</p>