Hiyah,
As some of you may have seen in my other post [Cate School - 2018] I detailed and described tips for the pre-acceptance letter process, but what I never mentioned was what to do after being accepted into the school, and it is something I myself am asking the community for advice on.
I live on the East Coast, in New Jersey and am going to Boarding School, I just wanted to ask parents and students, how would I cope with the feeling of leaving my parents and friends for such long intervals of time at once and how would it affect me. Mainly what I am trying to dig at is what should I do to deal with leaving my family and friends for that long to attend education across the country.
Please, if you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns write them up in the comments and I will get back to you as quick as possible.
Boarding schools gives long breaks.
DS went across the country to BS this year. Before that, he had never been away from us except for I think 2 school trips of an overnight each. He’s adjusted very well. He makes time to FaceTime every night for at least 10-15 minutes. On nights where he has commitments (sit down dinners, sports practices, evening chapel, etc) he eight calls quickly or texts to let us know what’s going on. It helps us feel really connected. I think otherwise, he stays very busy at school, so he really doesn’t have time to “miss” us much. I think keeping the connection erases a lot of the actual distance.
When DS first went to JBS, he did have some homesickness. He had never been away from home for more than a couple of days and therefore had a bit of trouble adjusting at first. However, he managed to cope with it well with support at the school and lots of communication with me. Remember that there is lots of support at the school with your advisor and teachers.
For some people, talking to family and friends back home on an almost daily basis is helpful for them and makes homesickness better. However for others, talking to family can make homesickness worse. I feel into the later catergory, so while I text my family over the course of the week, I call them on average only about 1-2 times a week. It’s different for everybody so just test it out and see what works best for you and your family.
Also, while it might be hard, try to have less contact with your family during the first 3 or so weeks of school. During this time period I have found homesickness to be the worst, so it helpful to not be on the phone with your mom and/or dad everyday. I’m sure that many people can attest to this having worked for them. Good luck and feel free to pm me with any questions!