Hello everyone,
I am father of 8th-grade boy who has applied and got acceptance into some boarding high schools in US, including St Stephen’s Episcopal in Austin, Woodberry Forest and St John’s in Minnesota with almost the same FA offer.
Cause we are far away from US, from Vietnam, there’s not much information about these schools. My son really likes computer science, coding, robotics, so a school that has a strong STEM program could help him. Which school above will fit my son?
PS: we are still waiting for the result from Westminster in CT, anyone knows why they so so late?
Thank you.
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I’m not especially familiar with any of those schools, but it might be helpful if you listed them in the title of the thread where they might call more attention. Not sure if you can now edit the title or have to start a new thread (maybe @skieurope the mod could help?) but perhaps something like: Please help Intl student choose among St Stephen’s Episcopal, Woodberry Forest, and St John’s (MN)
Good luck!
Not sure it will help, but I edited the title
All I know is that they are geographically very diverse.
That may not seem like a factor, but MN weather is very different from Austin TX.
I applaud you for your thoughtful choices. It’s refeshing to see.
Seems like % boarding students is a stark difference among these schools, with Woodberry Forest standing out as a 100% boarding school. With being so far from home, your son might prefer being in a place where it doesn’t empty out on nights and weekends.
Woodberry is very nice. I was accepted by WFS and the campus is very beautiful. Close to D.C. too.
I am not familiar with the two other schools but I do agree with @westcoastmom987 Woodberry Forest has a beautiful campus, all boys, 100% boarding, a good amount of international students and they’re close to several airports.
Congratulations on your acceptances!
Thank you so much for editing the title.
That’s why it’s very difficult to choose one. Seems that we will decide to go to St Stephen’s or Woodberry.
Thank you so much. Do you think an international student can adapt well in a all-boys boarding school in US?
I know several families who have had their boys at WFS and they really liked it!
Are they American or international?
I know people who’ve gone to St Stephens and also some current faculty there. Although it is a spectacular school and Austin is an amazing and diverse city, I would suggest WFS for your son.
St Stephens has very few boarders and Austin is much less diverse than the DC area. The weather would be nicer and more mild than WFS (I’m partial to Texas weather) but Washington DC’s weather is not as harsh as Minnesota. It will also be much easier for your son to travel in and out of DC than the other two schools. St Stephens does empty out on the weekends, so unless your son is an extrovert and makes close friends quickly, his first year may be a bit rough. Most of the boarders even leave with day students for weekends.
@Cao Khang - American
I’m probably the only parent on here familiar with St Johns - I actually knew students that went there & we spend part of the summer up in that area near Collegeville. It is a co-ed school. Beautiful campus on a lake. In recent years, this school has attracted an increasing number of international students. It is a Benedictine (Catholic) school/program that is adjacent to St John’s University (very good college in MN & St Johns Abbey that is really pretty - beautiful church). I think it has a day program also for younger students. So there will be kids of all ages on campus during the week. The boys we knew who attended for high school as boarders were interested in religious studies. It’s a small program - smaller school compared to WFS. Academically, I hear it’s strong with very nice & nurturing teachers. Students are nice there. However, I think it is very limiting for someone unless this is your ONLY opportunity to attend boarding school in the USA. You will be surrounded by really wonderful people, but not sure if it is what your vision of going to school in America may be like. Especially coming from Vietnam, this much of a cultural and climate change (30 days or more below zero fahrenheit each winter may be very overwhelming).
As someone who spent my childhood in Stearns County, MN, I will tell you that the winters are long and harsh. It was this harshness of life that spurred me onward to excel academically and in athletics so that when I grew up I would NEVER have to spend another winter in Minnesota (LOL). So, on a positive note, it might be a good experience for some students.
Think if you really want to spend 4 years there. It is out in the country and in the middle of the middle of the mid-west. So, compared to the other schools on your list - and I am concerned that many students go home on the weekend or that you will be lonely on the weekend. It’s about a 90 minute to 2 hour drive (depending on traffic and time of day) from the Mpls-St Paul downtown areas. Maybe 20 minutes to the largest town, ST Cloud, from St John’s school.
I concur with @Golfgr8 on the weather in Minnesota. It’s not Artic (or Antarctic), but for someone from Vietnam, it might as well be. Maybe that’s your son’s dream: to experience brutally challenging cold weather. At least the people have a reputation for being nice.
Thank you so much for your interesting information about St Stephen’s, according to their profile, they have 163 boarders and I do think that my son can make friends quickly to survive there. Two main reasons we prefer Stephen’s are the weather and also academic matriculation, moreover after having passed 4 years there if my son goes to UoT at Austin, we can profit from in-state tuition policy, right?
I agree with you that WFS is the very good one for my son, that’s why we keep thinking for one more week.
Thank you again for your helpful advice.
Thank you for sharing your experiences about the weather and life in St John’s. It’s likely not a good option for my son. I have heard many students from Vietnam become stressful when coming to US high school. Maybe, you clarify some reasons. Thank you again and have a nice weekend.
Unless there is something unique about UTA’s residency rules, attending BS in any state does not qualify a student as a resident of that state. The family must have primary domicile in and pay taxes to a state to be considered a resident. You will want to verify UTA’s residency rules as I’m unaware of any college that equates BS attendance with the state of residency for tuition purposes. Perhaps a BS poster from Texas can confirm.
To the OP @“Cao Khang” - to answer your question above about why it is hard for many kids to adjust culturally to school in the US? I think there are people on CC who can answer that better than I can.
I do know that there is a very large Vietnamese community in Minnesota. When I lived there, our church was very much involved in supporting and helping recent immigrant from Vietnam in the 1970’s. You may have learned more about this community from the Benedictine faculty at St John’s? I can only speak for our small town in MN that people there are welcoming and very supportive. The school is well regarded. I do know that adjusting to the very cold climate is difficult for students - not only international students. I also believe it is an adjustment to be so far from home. Only you as a parent can know how well prepared your child is emotionally for leaving the family and attending school half a world a way. I do believe that at any of the schools you mentioned, you will find supportive and kind people who will become your child’s new “family” while studying overseas.
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