<p>I am from Dublin,Ireland and am thinking of going to a boarding school in the USA
The school I am interested in is a 5 day boarding school in Pittsburgh,PA
I have a good friend in Zelienople,PA(30-40 mins away) who went to my school in Ireland
Is it too much to ask can I stay with them most weekends?
They said yes but really what are they thinking(The family is a dad,mother,2 daughters and my friend,the son)
I am a mature,independent and also low maintenance kid</p>
<p>Offer to help pay for your expenses.</p>
<p>would repaying them with Steelers tickets be ok?</p>
<p>Only if they’re football fans.</p>
<p>Will your friend’s parents be your “substitute parents” or your “landlord and landlady”? </p>
<p>Will you have your own transportation for weekends? </p>
<p>Do you know what the family’s household rules are? (You said you’re mature, so I’m not going to ask if you’ll follow the rules, I know you will. Better to find out the rules before you all make a commitment though)</p>
<p>Will you have your own room at their house, or sharing?</p>
<p>How do your parents feel about the arrangement?</p>
<p>If you did not have this friend, what arrangements would you be making for weekends? What do other foreign students at the school do on weekends?</p>
<p>Substitute parents</p>
<p>No</p>
<p>No but I will obey any rules that they have though</p>
<p>I will sleep in their basement. Apparently its nice though</p>
<p>My parents think it is too much to ask. They have yet speak directly to the family. They think I should go to a 7 day boarding school</p>
<p>If I didnt have this I wouldnt even consider going to the school. If my friend and his family are away I would just stay at a friend I would make in the school’s house.
However I couldnt rely on this every weekend. The few international students stay at relatives houses or maybe a friend that they might have.</p>
<p>But I love this school(Shadyside Academy)
Please help me to convince my dad</p>
<p>I don’t think this type of arrangement is uncommon, but I think your parents should talk to the school first and get some idea of what other internationals are doing. Then they need to talk to your friend’s parents.</p>
<p>I don’t think it would be unreasonable to offer some money. After all, you will be eating their food and using their hot water for showers/laundry etc.
Would your family be able to afford, say $50 a week? If they’re saving the difference between the 7 day program and the 5 day program it might work for them. A lot of families could use an extra $50 a week. (You should also offer to do household chores as if you were their kid.)</p>
<p>I don’t have much to add, other than Steelers tickets are expensive and hard to get (unless you have connections to Dan Rooney in Ireland?). Shadyside is a nice school. My D has played on teams with kids who attend.</p>
<p>the head of admissions said this-
“We have an occasional international student with us. They typically are from an Asian background. For the fall we do have a student from Mexico City joining us - she will live with her aunt in a suburb of Pittsburgh.”</p>
<p>What do the Asian kids do on the weekends?</p>
<p>live with relatives probably</p>
<p>If you want to go to a boarding school, you SHOULD live there as well. Your parents are right. You will miss way too much by being off campus.</p>
<p>Honestly, if I were your parents, I’d be doubtful about this arrangement too–especially if you have a 7-day boarding option. What would your plan be for school vacations?</p>
<p>I think it’s a lot to ask. I can see why your parents might be uncomfortable with the arrangement, especially if they don’t really know the other family (I assume this kid was an exchange student at your school, and his family didn’t live in your town). They’re already sending you to another country to study, but to also let you live with strangers, even if you kind of know them, I can see that being hard. </p>
<p>And for the family, I mean they have three kids already. And they’d have to pick you up at your school, bring you to their house, and then bring you back again, so unless the boarding school has a bus that means 2 hours of extra driving for them every weekend. For the gas alone, definitely some monetary contribution would seem to be in order, and while tickets are a nice gesture I don’t think they would suffice alone. </p>
<p>I think it would be fine to stay with the family for major holidays like Christmas or Thanksgiving when the school was closed, but I would be a little uncomfortable being there every single weekend for a whole school year. Also, for liability reasons the school might not allow it, have you checked into that? </p>
<p>Finally, are you sure you’ve thought this through? It can be very hard to integrate into a new family, especially one in a different country with a whole different culture. You might prefer living at a 7-day boarding school where you can have a little more personal independence (which I"m guessing is part of the reason you want to go to boarding school so far from your own home). Besides the family rules you won’t know, there are questions like, does the family go to church on Sunday, would you be expected to go as a new member of the family, would you be okay with that? What would you do for fun on the weekends, would the family have to transport you to these activities? and millions more. </p>
<p>You can probably find a 7-day boarding school that you like just as much and then go and visit your friend in PA for holidays. Honestly, I’m on your parents side in this one.</p>
<p>my friend was at my school for 5 years
his family lived in ireland</p>
<p>it takes 40 mins for a single journey so 80 overall in the weekend</p>
<p>friend is also applying to the same school
I probably should of included this at the start</p>
<p>The school would allow it
and some weekends I could stay at the friend’s( I would make) houses</p>
<p>Good for you and your parents that you are so sensitive to the ins and outs of family life. That bodes well for you whatever you decide.</p>