<p>Hello,
I've always wanted to go to a boarding school for my high school career, and after a year of searching I have narrowed it down. The thing is, my parents are fully against letting me board. The main factor in their disagreement is the tuition aspect. All of the schools I am interested are around $45,000 annually, which is a looot more then they are willing to pay ( which is $0). I have tried to tell them about financial aid, scholarships, and loans, but they won't listen. Any advice?
Thank you very much!</p>
<p>Additional Info-- I will be a freshman next year. It's too late to apply to go to a BS for my freshman year, so I would be looking at going as a sophomore forward.</p>
<p>Maybe get an inquire form from the school which is like the school book or show them the schools website for tuition where it says affording a ( insert school name here) education probably under the admission tab or something</p>
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<p>Financial aid - only available if your family can’t afford to pay the tuition; not available if they have the money, but prefer not to spend it on boarding school</p>
<p>Merit scholarships - not available at most schools; when available, generally won’t cover more than 1/2 the tuition, at most (and they’re often much smaller than that)</p>
<p>Loans - the types of loans you might be thinking of, that are available for college, are not available for boarding school; if your parents want to borrow the money to pay for boarding school, it’s up to them to arrange the loan.</p>
<p>And if your finances are such that you would qualify for financial aid, be aware that, as difficult as it is to gain admission to many of these schools, it is significantly harder to gain both admission and a financial aid grant. You should not assume that merely because you have good grades, you’ll be able to get in and get the financial aid you need. Getting in with financial aid is extraordinarily difficult.</p>
<p>How your parents spend the money they earn is up to them - not you - and if they can afford all or part of the tuition, but prefer to save the money for your college education (for example), that’s their decision. If they have concerns about your well being at boarding school, we can help with that - just send them to the parents’ forum and we’ll be happy to answer any questions they have. But we’re not going to tell them how to spend their money. Yes, boarding school can be a wonderful experience . . . but it’s not the only path to success.</p>
<p>Thank you for your replies.
dodgersmom–We would qualify for FA, and I have done research on loans that could be used for BS. You’re right on the scholarships though, only one of the schools I like offer them and it is very small at that. I do respect their decision either way, I realize the extreme cost that goes into this 
Thanks!</p>
<p>BoarderGirl4422 - If you’re serious about pursuing this, then you need to figure out how much assistance your family might qualify for . . . and discuss that with your parents.</p>
<p>You also might want to expand your list of schools to include schools that offer significant merit scholarships. One CC’er recently posted that he knew a student who had gotten a scholarship at Fountain Valley School (in Colorado) that covered half the tuition. You can do a search on Boarding School Review for schools that offer merit scholarships and see what you find. Yes, it would likely mean going outside New England . . . but if you really want to go to boarding school, then you may need to broaden your horizons.</p>
<p>The reality is that if you can’t afford boarding school, it’s really going to be difficult to get in . . . but it’s not impossible. You just have to find a school that really wants YOU - and is willing to pay for you. That’s going to be easier to achieve at the smaller schools that aren’t so frequently discussed on CC.</p>
<p>By the way, if you’re willing to limit your applications to schools that will offer you the kind of assistance you need (a combination of financial aid and merit scholarship) and explain that to your parents (and also agree to accept defeat graciously next spring if you don’t get the kind of aid your parents would need) . . . then you might be able to find out if finances are their only concern, or if they have other reasons for not wanting you to leave home. Chances are, they do . . . and you’re going to need to talk with them about that also.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I found it helpful to search the Hidden Gems page and choose a 50% admissions one as well as the New England acronym schools that award full FA. I got waitlisted at the HADES, but got a full ride at the gem. It’s mostly based on need, but if they want you enough they’ll offer you more I think.
If you are serious about boarding school, go to [Boarding</a> School Review - College-Prep & Jr. Boarding Schools](<a href=“http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/]Boarding”>http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/) as well as [The</a> Association of Boarding Schools (TABS)](<a href=“http://boardingschools.com/home.aspx]The”>http://boardingschools.com/home.aspx) .
I remember a financial aid program for outstanding middle schoolers…but it may be too late.
I also remember telling my parents that I would get admission and SSAT waivers so they wouldn’t have to pay the application fees. But to do the FA forms, you need to pay about $40 to send all your info, I think.
Where were you thinking of applying?</p>
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<p>You can get a fee waiver for the financial aid forms, as well. Just ask one of the schools for the waiver. (You only need one waiver for the financial aid application, regardless of how many schools you’re applying to.)</p>
<p>And for the application and ssat itself… You can get waivers for that too, but many if your trying to get full FA maybe apply to a school with a high endowment because if you don’t they may not have enough. Like I got accepted to New Hampton school, but they didn’t have enough money to give me for FA, but luckily my first choice this year,Groton, had enough to give me full FA and accepted me</p>
<p>Wow hey, we’re on the same boat! Except that I’m already accepted (to my favorite school NMH) and my parents totally ignored that and still oppose me. I’m sorry but I don’t have any good advice for you because I am a bit befuddled about my situation as well. I would think though, while you’re on your application process, communicate LOTS with your parents. Even if they keep saying no, keep telling them about it, keep having faith. It shows independence and initiative, in some ways. Personally, I went through the application process myself, and I think that moved them a tiny bit. If they have a school that they like, apply for it too, even if it’s not your favorite. (That was one of my father’s biggest disappointments in me - not applying for Hotchkiss.) Show them reasons why you want boarding school, what it has that your current school doesn’t. I don’t think that it’s not that they’re not listening, but they’re just unable to let you go. If you try enough maybe they’ll understand. (I have nothing to offer on the tuition aspect because my family is too resourceful to apply for FA anyways.) My advice might not fit for you because I learned this from my own situation, and there were other struggles in my family that go a long way back. So good luck, BoarderGirl! (Oh and apparently my friend got a scholarship from some activities she did outside of school. Not very helpful, it was around $5000. But I guess if you do enough of that you can get some more money. I don’t know.)</p>
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<p>financialAneed - Your situation is clearly atypical. And your advice - based on an atypical sampling of one - is exactly the kind of misdirection that left so many FA candidates this year with a pile of denials and waitlists, but no acceptances.</p>
<p>Yes, the schools with the largest endowments also have the largest financial aid budget, but they also have the lowest admit rates . . . meaning they are ridiculously difficult to get into. Congratulations that you managed to get in, but for the typical, highly qualified CC candidate (with strong test scores, excellent grades, and exemplary writing skills), admission to a school like Groton with full financial aid will rarely be more than a dream.</p>
<p>Perhaps it’s true that some small schools won’t be able to come up with funds even for a candidate the school really likes . . . but I believe it’s also true that if a school wants a candidate badly enough, it will find a way to fund that candidate.</p>
<p>Don’t be misled that a large financial aid budget means an easy admit for a financial aid candidate . . . it’s usually not that easy.</p>
<p>@dodgersmom I understand that everything comes with a price and high endowment sometimes come with low acceptance rates… That’s why I said a maybe because I’m not to sure about the credentials and abilities of the topic maker, but if their credentials and abilities are good… They don’t have to be great, then the candidate may have a chance at a school with low acceptance rates but high endowment… I mean I had straight B’s but showed my abilities when it comes to my work by essays personality and test scores, so I didn’t mean to just apply on endowment size alone… You should find a balance</p>
<p>FAneed, are you an athlete?</p>
<p>Boardergirl</p>
<p>Try to find the real reason for their reluctance. I suspect it is more than money.</p>
<p>If the reason is missing their loving child, assure them how much you love them and that BS is only 180 days per year, you will Skype them, and try to explain how much BS means to you, etc.</p>
<p>If the issue truly is money, perhaps you could offer to pay it back as an adult. I doubt any parent would collect on that debt. Try for admission with FA, but keep your hopes in check.</p>
<p>@neato yea I am. I play lacrosse and football and do the school musical.</p>