10th grade student looking for a boarding school that is/has:
-big international student percentage
-board and day
-low student population preferably
-“a hidden gem”
-good art program
-good facilities
-Not IB (too structured for me)
-Good cafeteria and food (essential )
-Teachers that love teaching and their subject.
Bonus if:
-trips abroad for learning
-boarding houses
I feel it sounds a bit picky, but I already went to a boarding school so I know what im looking for, but haven’t been lucky finding it. I would really really appreciate any suggestions.
Have you checked out the “Hidden Gems” thread? People have been adding to this thread for 10 years so there are many schools to check out. Hidden Gems: Lesser-known Prep Schools
Just because a school offers IB doesn’t mean everyone does it or that it is rigid. For example, OP might like George, which offers IB but is also very strong in visual arts. There are also schools that don’t offer IB that only have very intense academics.
Agree that the Hidden Gems thread may give the OP some ideas.
Visual, not any particular ones, but does offer most or all that fall into the category. (Ceramics, drawing, painting, etc)
I am a bit interested in progressive schools, but mostly in those schools that are a little more on the progressive side, but still are a bit traditional… not sure how it would be called
Check out Proctor Academy
Less than 400 students
Tight nite community
Huge study abroad program (full semester)
Brand new cafeteria
No traditional curriculum
Well, when i mean 30-40% international students, I mean 30-40% of the boarding students, idk if it was super clear, cus, well I did write it at like 3 am
The issue with wanting an unusually high international population that far exceeds most schools’ desire for student diversity is that most international students are full pay. which then means that super high international presence may translate into pay-for-play admissions, which goes very against the ethos of most highly regarded schools. Doesn’t mean you can’t seek this out and it doesn’t mean that there wouldn’t be some upsides to 40% international population but just know you will be looking at a different profile of school than the schools most talked about here. Put another way: a super high international population like 40% is generally not considered a desirable thing — not because people don’t love international students but because of the root reasons behind getting to that number.
Also, most international students are looking for a more "American " experience, which gets somewhat harder to provide when so much of the student body is international. Maybe less of an issue if it’s mostly day students with a small contingent of primarily foreign boarders.
Schools often find ways to have foreign students who are not full pay, although @Calliemomofgirls is correct that the majority are. But the FA foreign students’ lack of funds presents a different set of challenges to schools, from visa requirements to college admissions.
It’s one of those issues that embodies a bunch of things. Watch the documentary Maineland – it might be what you are looking for. If it is, I may have some ideas for you that aren’t the schools most people here are looking for.
I did, I absolutely LOVED it when I saw it. The thing is I know some boarding students there and im not their biggest fan, so trying to find similar options just in case
Maybe concord academy. They seem to have a lot of international students and those kids are celebrated with flags on the concord streets at different times. I have no idea how good their food is. Their art department is not “art teachers” it’s staffed by artists in residence and is pretty cool. It’s very quaint.
Most schools in the US are not excited for a HUGE international population. It’s an important portion of many schools but it’s limited on purpose.
Then you definitely have to dig deep in the hidden gems. But they’re out there.
I suspect you’re looking more for interesting people than anything if you are interested in visual arts. (Not all international students are interesting!) The artsy schools have an inherently more quirky population.
I’m saying this as someone whose child is a boarder at a quirky artsy prep school. (My child is frankly intimidated by their classmates’ talent.)
So, search through the various boarding school sites for “diversity” and “arts” to find some more schools.
Concord Academy? There’s 400 of us (60% day, 40% boarding) and we’re pretty artsy. There’s like 30 different visual art classes you can take and 10 more performing I think. The facilities are all very new and well kept. The food is REALLY good; they have a salad bar and a panini press and sooo much food.
And to your teachers thing, every single teacher I have ever had loves their subject. They are all so lovely and some of them are honestly my friends. Most of the teachers at CA were professionals in their field, so like you’ll have a ecologist who researched at the fjords and published 10 papers as your Adv Earth sciences teacher. Also, at ca you get to essentially make your courses so you can literally take math classes meant for college if you’d like. My history classes have been Early History of Haiti, Native American History 1100-1600 and I’m currently taking American Urban. You can really do whatever you want (I suggest looking at the course catalogue)
We have a TON of abroad trips, both in terms of semester aways and trips during the summer. Last year I went to Costa Rica with the school to help out at local elementary schools, and a couple of my friends are currently applying to SEGL which is a semester away program in London and South Africa that’s focused on politics.
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