<p>I've been going to the same boarding school since age eight. Though my school goes through high school, I've been given the option to switch schools, and possibly go to a European boarding school. I haven't decided if I'm going to switch or not, but I'm definitely looking at schools. I've found a few that I really like (Exeter, Eton, and Ecole de Roches). I've also come across Institut le Rosey. I really, really like what I've found out about it, but I'd like to find out more about it.</p>
<p>I have a 3.97 GPA and I got a 1900 on my SAT (out of 2400). I haven't taken the ACT yet, and I don't plan to unless I have to. I'm fluent in French and Italian (and English, obviously).</p>
<p>Any thoughts on Institut le Rosey? Anything is welcome.</p>
<p>There have been a few Le Rosey posts in the time I’ve been hanging around the forum, you should do a search. I think the general vibe is that it is a solid school for the VERY wealthy (as opposed to the merely rich). The fact they switch campuses for the winter (to Gstaad) is frankly, amazing.</p>
<p>To me, even when I was of school age, Le Rosey was the most mythic of schools…moreseo than even an Eton. I think it costs upwards of $70k, and there is little to no financial aid. Worth exploring if your family has the means, I guess. But contrasted with something like Exeter, where you will have students from a range of incomes thanks to FA, I think Le Rosey mines a very narrow pool of prospects. Prepare to have royalty as classmates…</p>
<p>Sevensdad is correct. I will also add that Rosey has a college campus feeling and offers the IB program. Exeter is the most academically challenging and also feels like a small private college. Eton, an all boys school, is very formal with a lot of rules and also offers a wonderful education. If you are from the states, you might want to first consider the US schools. The traveling is very expensive. If you are in Europe, best to start w/ the Swiss school. Rosey is very international and you will speak all your languages at every meal. Good luck :D</p>
<p>Perhaps it’s just me, but when I went to the Le Rosey site, I found absolutely nothing about the courses offered. If it’s hidden on the site somewhere and I just missed it, please let me know. But I found it rather disturbing. It suggested that one would pick Le Rosey based on its name only and without any regard for the appropriateness of the curriculum. Or perhaps the curriculum is simply “one size fits all” - all third formers take these courses, all fourth formers take those courses, and so on. I’ve no clue, of course, and no personal knowledge of the school, but when my family looks at prospective schools, the first thing we look at are the course offerings.</p>
<p>The tuition charges were also conspicuously absent from the school website. I understand, of course: if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.</p>
<p>Thanks. Both my parents and I have looked around the site, I we both found the course listings. The course listings are PDFs found under the ‘Downloads’ section on the main page. You have to scroll down a bit under the ‘Downloads’ section to find the course listings, but they’re there. And the tuition and other fees are on the application. I think my mother about had a heart attack when she saw how much it cost compared to the school I’m at now, but the price is still doable.</p>
<p>I currently live in the States, but I lived in Europe for several years when I was younger, and we still travel to Europe regularly, so travel expenses shouldn’t be too big of a hassle.</p>
<p>And I apologize for the Eton mistake, I’m helping my friend look for a boarding school, and I was typing off the wrong list. Multi-tasking is apparently not my forte. The schools I’m looking at are: Exeter, The Dragon School, Ecole des Roches, and Institut le Rosey.</p>
<p>dodgersmom is correct. The course listings and prices are not easy to find on the Rosey site. Rosey is a bit old European in the way they do things. They offer a one size fits all program at first but customize your schedule throughout your stay there. The one thing I really don`t care for about their program is that a student is only offered extra help from the teacher and may not find extra help from a support center. Having said that, the teachers are very supportive. I sometimes need a tutor outside the class room for a different way of explaining the subject, but thats just me. Most BS schools in the US offer tutoring.
One other point: if you are a citizen of another country besides the states, you should use that nationality on your application. Rosey tends to fill its quota for english speaking students quickly. If you are very interested, you should take your tour, interview and in house exam asap. They do not follow the US holiday schedule so you may see them during TG.</p>
<p>To the OP: If something about le Rosey piques your interest, then investigate it fully! On this message board, we seem to get tunnel vision with regard to academics, but there is much more to school life than academics. As someone who has already spent many years in a residential school, you know that more than any of us here. </p>
<p>That said, a 1900 on the SAT at 13 points to someone who would desire a nice academic challenge. I think you can find a school that will offer you both. You will certainly find other kids with which to speak French and Italian at Exeter, but also other US schools so don’t rule them out.</p>
<p>If you can visit the schools, by all means - do! I wouldn’t omit any school before a visit or based on what you may hear from people on this site (though there are lovely people here!). Le Rosey may “fit” you beautifully. It may be a place where you feel you can flourish and be yourself. Personally, I think that is the most important question to ask…“Is this a place where I can be accepted for who I am?” I don’t think anyone can get a definate answer to that question until one is enrolled, but a pretty good idea can be had at a preliminary visit, followed up by an even better idea at a revisit.</p>
<p>If you were my child, and finances were not a major consideration, I would have you apply to both European and US schools and then make the decision about where to attend after admissions decisions come out and you’ve had a chance to spend a day at revisit shadowing another student. (I’m assuming European schools do this as well.) Then, I would ask you the magic question, “Does it feel right?” I think (but have direct experience with European schools) that there is quite a difference between the overall atmosphere of Euro and American schools.</p>
<p>You would think that with all that wealth and educational intensity that the Roissy graduates would go to great schools. They don’t, actually. If you look at their list of colleges attended, it’s mostly 2nd and 3rd tier. Surprising, actually.</p>
<p>You are correct about the tunnel vision. I encourage you in your desire to go to Le Roissey, meet the children of the wealthy, speak a variety of languages, knock yourself out doing IB, ski in the winter . . . and end up at Furman University. Well done.</p>
<p>I was also looking into Le Rosey for my high school years, but I ended up deciding against it. It is a VERY wealthy school (royalty, children of famous people, etc), but the children of the faculty and staff also attend the school, from what I understand.</p>
<p>Maddog is right, if you hold citizenship in another country, use that nationality on your application. The English-speaking quota is filled almost immediately.</p>
<p>Neatoburrito also has a point. Your SAT scores are really high (especially for someone your age), and your GPA is really good too. I’d look into more academically challenging schools, like Exeter, Choate, Hotchkiss, and Foxcroft. They offer very challenging academics, but look (from what I’ve seen in my own research) like fun schools to attend.</p>
<p>But you loose nothing by applying to Le Rosey, at worst you don’t get accepted. So if you’re really interested, go for it.</p>
<p>And to kellybkk, please try to be a little more open-minded. Just because a school doesn’t boast the greatest colleges doesn’t mean that it’s a terrible school. And just because a school costs a lot doesn’t mean that it’s a great one. Furman isn’t actually a bad university. Yeah, it’s not on the same scale as, say, Harvard or Oxford, but it’s still a pretty good school. A good bit of the Le Rosey tuition probably goes to the costs of keeping up both campuses, and for transportation in between the two. And I’m sure that not all Le Rosey graduates end up at 2nd and 3rd tier schools.</p>
<p>Additionally, I can pretty much guarantee that the kids graduating from Le Rosey will go on to live in a manner to which most of us are not accustomed, even though they “only” went to Furman.</p>
<p>(One of the smartest kids from my HS went to Furman, btw.)</p>
<p>Exactly! Which is why it is important to find a school where one can be oneself. If I were extremely wealthly, or had famous/influencial parents, I might want to go to a school where that was kind of the norm, where people wouldn’t sit in judgement because of my family’s financial situation or automatically assume I got where I was because of a trust fund and not merit, or assume I was a snob. People like to bash the rich. I don’t understand it, but I’ve seen a lot of stereotypes thrown at people just because their parents are wealthy. It’s a shame. Good people, stupid people, smart people and bad people come with all size bank accounts. </p>
<p>But when I hear anyone talk about this school, the first thing that comes up is how wealthy the students are; as if that somehow precludes the possibility of a teenager having the same kind of transformative experience people gush about over the US schools.</p>
<p>A 100% boarding, international, bilingual, IB school sounds pretty cool to me.</p>
<p>Without knowing OP’s family background, I shouldn’t suggest either way. As an “ordinary man” who’d consider Exeter, I wouldn’t consider Le Rosey. It feels so “yesterday” and I’m not surprised if the most liberal progressive colleges are not particularly interested in its graduates.</p>
<p>Well, I’m not going to give out any information on my family’s financial background.</p>
<p>heyjudecharlotte, did you actually apply to the school? And I am also looking into Exeter, Ecole des Roches, Hotchkiss, Choate, Foxcroft, Aiglon, and Groton. I am a citizen of Switzerland, as well as the States.</p>
<p>I have heard of Furman University, though I don’t know much about it. But what I have heard is pretty good, so I don’t see anything wrong with going to college there.</p>
<p>One of the main reasons I’m really looking into Le Rosey is the bilingual and IB programs.</p>
<p>@Neato, I always like to read your posts. @kellybk, don<code>t bash the rich. You may become wealthy one day. @spence, Visit all the schools on your list. You will know whats best for you.
I do believe cc is a good source for information about the schools you are looking at. I</code>ve learned a lot on cc about the schools I`m considering.</p>
<p>DAndrew - my thoughts exactly. Sure, I would indulge my children with skiing in Gstaad over Christmas Break to reward a successful semester at school - but to move their campus there for the winter? No matter what your situation, seems like the wrong message. I also think a move like that for any seriouis academic institution is inherently contradictory. I agree with DAndrew, the world is moving in a very different direction.</p>
<p>@spence, no I never actually applied. I filled out the application, and almost sent it in, but then decided that it just wasn’t quite the school for me.</p>
<p>@madaket, if I’m right, the main reason they switch campuses over the winter is because the area around Lake Geneva (where the main campus is) gets extremely foggy over the winter. As in, a wall of white and you can’t see three feet in front of you foggy. I don’t think they switch campuses just because they can.</p>
<p>heyjude - seems like there would be a million other places to move the campus to, if it was indeed a necessity because of fog. I was thinking more along the lines of social interaction with the those “wintering” in Gstaad. Just speculation - Gstaad is a very nice place but there would be many distractions for the serious student.</p>