“One of the boys ended up at the emergency room”
Well, so much for being incognito. Sheesh. That would do it.
“Makes you rethink allowing your kids visit friends at college”
It sure does!
I do not blame the boarding school at all for being unhappy. By association, it does reflect on them and in this very competitive admissions climate, no school wants a Ivy admissions team questioning the acceptance of their grads in the future.
Can you imagine calling your parents! my 5th grader got in trouble on the last week of school and said he was more afraid of me than the Principal! Imagine calling your parents to let them know that not only have your been in the hospital, your college has rescinded their offer and your BS is going to suspend you! NOT a good conversation after 4 years of paying tuition!
@copperboom @doschicos @skieurope what “typically” happens to kids such as the ones kicked out of a tippy-top BS and having their Ivy admission rescinded? Do they take a gap year get into lower-ranked schools? Go to their state flagship and try to transfer? Who would help them since they no longer could use the BS counselors?
Well, in the case given, it sounds like students are suspended and not expelled and taking a year off. Kids will typically reapply the following year or see if another school they got accepted to is still interested.
Even if they get kicked out/expelled (can’t say I’ve known any situations that late in senior year but do know of some in fall of senior year), I don’t think the school would be totally uncooperative re: not giving advice, help with transcripts, etc.
I would imagine that in such a situation, families use private college counselors to navigate the process. There are plenty of schools that would willingly take a kid with a good profile even with a blemish or two on their record.
I agree with @doschicos ; they will still have options, but often have to take a gap year.
I’m sorry that this happened to your son. Kids deserve to be able to recover from their mistakes, especially when it is not a pattern of behavior. I believe that other parents who are going to make the same sacrifice to send their kid to such a school deserve to know how they have treated their students. Parents cannot make an informed decision without information like this. I advise you to share this information and the school with people who are looking at this school. Review their business on every site that is available. Share your story. There is no shame in telling the truth. You child is not a bad kid. He is a normal kid who made a bad choice that hurt no one but himself (and you). Contact the Better Business Bureau, this was a product you paid much money for and are unhappy with what you received.
Perhaps, just suggest that the respective boarding schools make sure to emphasize the seriousness of their consequences… Reporting the schools to BBB or other consumer reporting avenues punishes the schools for something they state in their fine print.
@Timeflies93, @grandscheme: This is the prep school forum. All of the schools discussed here are one- and two-strike schools and advertise that fact very loudly; there is no fine print in this area. We all feel for the OP and her son and have been very supportive here (please read all replies), but there is nothing to report to the BBB. This is how all of these schools operate. Parents and students know that before going in and are reminded of behavior consequences all along the way. I applaud the OP for sharing her son’s story and my heart goes out to the family, but versions of this story happen at each of these schools almost every year. We saw it at Choate more than once; it’s unfortunate but it is known policy.