Does anyone know anything about Oregon episcopal school or OES? I’m curious because I’m wondering if it would be worth it to go there as a day student. I know it’s a good school, that being said it is a 40-minute drive away from my house on a good traffic day and it really does not fit much of my criteria when it comes to prep school. Either way, I’d love to hear anyone’s experiences because I know my mom would really like me to go to day school.
Driving 40+ minutes each way twice (or more) per day is a valid concern.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking but my mom keeps pushing it either way even though she agrees it’s kind of a ridiculous time to drive just for school everyday (I’m the youngest so I think she mainly just doesn’t want her house to have no kids, so she’s trying to push our day options which as you can see aren’t great).
Does Oregon Episcopal School offer a 5 day boarding option ?
No, it’s a pretty small boarding community with only 8% boarding out of 300 (gove or take) upper school students.
FWIW In our family, the primary attraction to boarding school was to avoid a commute of about 45 minutes each way in a major city. Concerns included whether participation in ECs / sports would require additional trips.
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Our family did a commute like this for school and it really takes a toll on everyone. You may be able to do homework while someone drives you but you will be spending an hour and a half, when you could be sleeping or doing something else, in the car. For the driver, it’s an hour and a half each way, excluding waiting time for the pickup. It’ll be a decision whether to go back for evening or weekend events (although likely to be fewer at a day school). Weather can complicate travel. Your friends will live closer to school. It could get easier when you can drive yourself, but this could be miserable.
Overall, I would say that this is why BS becomes such an attractive option.
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My kids went to a prep school where there were some international boarders (lived with families or small group homes) but most of the kids lived within TWO HOURS! We only lived about 15 minutes away but I dropped them on my way to work and picked them up on my way home, so they were at school from about 7:30 to 6. It was in California so most kids couldn’t drive other kids until their senior year (when they were 17.5 years old). Several kids commuted from San Diego or LA (school in Orange Cty) by train.
My nephew’s high school involved a 30 to 45 minute commute at the best of times, and 7 in the morning is NOT the best time. It is the first school to cancel due to weather because so many kids come from so far and they go to school in car pools with kids driving. Kids in NYC often commute an hour by subway.
I don’t think a 45 minute commute is unusual for a private school in a city.
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We live in the sticks, so it’s normal for kids to travel 45-60 min a day to get to school. My one kid also swims at another school location. So goes there, then has to drive further to get to school. But it’s part of living here - we are used to it.
Driving may be relative. If everyone else lives 20 minutes from school and expectations are around that ease of commute, being an hour away may be a different problem than in an environment where nobody is conveniently located.
And that’s PRECISELY why some people choose to board.
When we were doing (virtual) revisits, one student from “the sticks” commented about the convenience of doing all his ECs in one place - he could do more. Except when he went to the NE Conservatory on the weekend…
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