<p>My friends son is currently a junior high school student, studying abroad in Canada and he wants to continue his life abroad. He is thinking about going to boarding school. I haven't met the kid but his parents are kind of progressive and the kid sounds really smart, interesting and mature. The kid can do his own research but the parents want to do their own and they don't speak English so I'm helping them.</p>
<p>They all agree that the most important thing is an overall good living-abroad experience. He is afraid of developing a distinctive accent (southern for example) but he wants to see what American life is like outside of the cities.</p>
<p>I have studied abroad and I know that the worst possible thing is people that speak your own language. So on my suggestion, they are looking for one that is diverse but without a specifically large Japanese population (he doesn't want any temptations to live in a Japanese-bubble).</p>
<p>His parents are really into the arts and they are really intellectual, very friendly types and seems the kid is following after them. I don't think he wants to study art but I think he would benefit from an open-minded and creative community. This is a little more important than the level of the school.</p>
<p>They are currently looking at:
Baylor (Tennessee)
Wyoming Seminary (Pennsylvania)
Darlington (Georgia)
Saint Johns (Massachusetts)</p>
<p>If anyone knows anything about these schools please tell me. Other ideas or advice are appreciated too.</p>
<p>@azinthej,
St. John’s is an all boys Catholic school. It is not a boarding school. Personally, I think St. John’s is one of the best all boys Catholic schools in Boston. If the kid is looking for an all boys school in the Boston area I’d recommend looking at St. Sebastian’s, Roxbury Latin, Malden Catholic, and Xaverian Brothers. All of these schools are day schools, but they probably accept students on a program where they spend a year abroad. If the kid is looking at boarding schools, I’d recommend these schools:</p>
<p>Schools:
Phillips Academy, Andover MA
Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter NH
St. Paul’s School, Concord NH
Groton School, Groton MA
Deerfield Academy, Deerfield MA
Middlesex School, Concord MA
Hotchkiss School, Lakeville CT
Northfield Mount Hermon, Mount Hermon MA
Kent School, Kent CT
Taft School, Watertown CT
Peddie School, Highstown NJ
Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville NJ
St. George’s School, Newport RI</p>
<p>Can you tell us a little bit about why they are focusing on these schools? Is the prospective applicant Christian? St. John’s is Catholic, Wyoming Seminary is Methodist, and Baylor seems to have Christian roots. Is your sense that religion is important to the parents or have they just been attracted to the idea of a strong emphasis placed on values and commitment beyond the self?</p>
<p>It seems as though they are mostly looking south. Here are a few southern schools to look into: Woodberry Forest, Episcopal High School, Webb, McCallie, and St. Andrews-Sewanee. I have heard that Episcopal is a bit conservative, but then again my information might be faulty. I do not know much about the other three, but have heard that they are good schools. I might also add Georgetown Prep to list - it is an all boys school in North Bethesda, Maryland. I understand what you mean about not wanting the boy in a “Japanese-bubble”, but this may rule out a number of good schools in New England, such as the GLADCHEMS (Groton, Lawrenceville, Andover, Deerfield, Choate, Hotchkiss, Exeter, Milton and St. Paul’s), due to the fact that these schools are quite prestigous and large, attracting a number of foreign students. I don’t know specifically about Japanese students; I think that would be something specifically to ask an admissons person or a student at schools they are interested in. Good luck in your search!</p>
<p>I don’t think they are looking for a religious school.<br>
I think they want a school thats southern but doesn’t have a prevelent southern accent and that has relative diversity.</p>
<p>My Japanese is pretty decent but I missed a few details about why they are looking at these schools. These were all recomended by someone who makes a living off trying to set up kids with schools who want to study abroad. But this is a very open-minded family and someone in that line of work in Japan is most likely basing it on less open-minded factors so they asked me to find some subjective information.</p>
<p>I hear that the Putney School in Vermont is progressive. A school that some might describe as progressive but has an intellectual bent is Concord Academy. Check out the boarding life there carefully. Sorry, but I am not familiar with boarding schools in the south.</p>
<p>Indeed. I just wrote about Putney in another thread. I’ll copy and put it down here for you, azinthej.</p>
<p>The Putney School is an excellent school. They focus on having a well-rounded education. You don’t focus on getting perfect grades and GPA. It’s a wonderful school that will teach you how to become a better person, not a better student. Unlike most other boarding schools, Putney is unique. It’s not trying to become the next Exeter or anything, they’re just doing their own thing. I’d say it’s a good fit for students who wants to try new things and learn with real experience. Do more research on it and read what the students have to say—they pretty much say all the same thing.</p>
<p>You can check out [Boarding</a> School Review - College-Prep & Jr. Boarding Schools](<a href=“http://boardingschoolreview.com%5DBoarding”>http://boardingschoolreview.com) for detailed information and stats about prep schools (although some information may be out-of-date). There’s a lot of student reviews who graduated from particular schools that you can check out. It gives you great insights into the schools and what they’re really like.</p>
<p>I would be happy to answer any questions that I could about Darlington. My children attend there as Day students, however our family lives on campus at the school, so we have a feel for the boarding student side of things as well. Personally, we love Darlington. My oldest daughter was born and has lived her entire life in the South. She had an accent when she first entered Darlington because of our geographical location, however she has lost all traces of an accent so far. While Darlington is in the South, there are so many students from so many different States and Countries represented at the school, you don’t really hear a “Southern” accent. </p>
<p>Personally we love Darlington and the sense of family and community that we feel here. Many of the faculty and their families also live on campus with the boarding students. This, along with the small size of the school, allows everyone to form bonds and really get to know one another beyond the classroom setting. The honor code and traditions of the school are other things that we love. There are also many chances to become involved in the surrounding community through volunteer opportunities that are coordinated through the school.</p>
<p>I currently have a daughter who is a Junior, another who is a 1st grader and two more who will begin PreK at Darlington over the next 2 years. We are so looking forward to the many years they have ahead of them as Darlington Students. </p>
<p>Like I said, I would be happy to answer any questions I can about Darlington. If there’s something I don’t know, I will be happy to find out.</p>
<p>Apart from the obvious academic & social considerations for choosing a school, one important consideration for int’l students is access to a major int’l airport. </p>
<p>Are the parents residing in Canada or Japan? Flying between Canada & U.S. is no big deal, but flying between U.S. & Asia can be. Ideally, the school should be reasonably near to an int’l airport, so the child does not need to take a connecting flights to get to the location of the school. Luckily, a lot of airlines fly non-stop to Japan.</p>
<p>On the topic of avoiding schools with too many students of the same nationality as the family (the family’s objective is to have child speak English and immerse himself in the local culture), I would contact the schools directly to find out what the predominant nationalities are of their int’l students. Typically, the most represented countries are: S.Korea, China & Canada.</p>
<p>If an American southern accent is considered undesirable by the family, then I would think twice about Tennessee and Georgia.</p>
<p>I would also suggest to consider a BS with a low day student population. I know the campus can feel deserted on the week ends when a school doesn’t have a large boarding student population.</p>
<p>Kent School has a very conservative Japanese population of 5 students. Four have lived or currently reside in Japan, and all of them come from varied backgrounds (Some live stateside in prestigious neighborhoods while others live in average towns in Japan). A lot of Japanese and Korean students in particular love it here because there is a large enough oriental population that the transition is made easier through mentoring, advice and encouragement. Though, the oriental population is small enough that an Asian student can’t shelter themselves in it and succeed academically or socially. </p>
<p>If you want, I could get you in contact with one student in particular who has spent 4 years here as a resident of Japan(He speaks Japanese fluently).</p>
<p>Kent School has a very conservative Japanese population of 5 students. Four have lived or currently reside in Japan, and all of them come from varied backgrounds (Some live stateside in prestigious neighborhoods while others live in average towns in Japan). A lot of Japanese and Korean students in particular love it here because there is a large enough oriental population that the transition is made easier through mentoring, advice and encouragement. Though, the oriental population is small enough that an Asian student can’t shelter themselves in it and succeed academically or socially. </p>
<p>If you want, I could get you in contact with one student in particular who has spent 4 years here as a resident of Japan(He speaks Japanese fluently).</p>
<p>Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis, MO has several dorm students from around the world. My son (a student) has met friends from China who board there. One international student recently mentioned to me that the mid-west is a good area to improve his English because most people do not have accents.</p>
<p>The school is an all boys’ Catholic school, although some students are not even Christian. Most boys are day students.</p>
<p>Woodberry Forest, Episcopal High School, Asheville School are all located below the Mason Dixon line. All are very good schools and might be worth a close look. </p>