I’m applying to boarding school next year and I have a couple questions.
Are students allowed to leave campus? If so, how do they get off campus?
What do you do on the weekends?
Are there parties? In all the books and movies about boarding schools, the day students always throw parties, and the boarding students always leave campus to go there?
Do boarding schools have things like homecoming & spirit week?
Is attending sports games as big of a deal as it is in public school? At my school, the football games are like a social event.
- My mom set permissions allowing me to leave campus, so I can sign out of the dorm and head out on foot or by bike or in a car with a faculty member or someone on my driving list. Groton consists of a grand total of nothing. I walked to CVS with a couple friends today. That's about the entire town.
- We have Saturday classes in the mornings and dances at night. I'm not super into dances. There are some activities and trips you can sign up for, but I like chilling. And doing homework.
- I'll find out soon enough.
- We have spirit week leading up to St. Mark's Day in the fall. From what I've seen/heard, kids go all out. I've seen so many pictures of zebra onsies.
A lot of the specifics will vary by school. Some schools are close to shops and will allow students to walk there if not in class (Andover & Exeter & Concord for example). Others, and those above, will have weekend trips to local movies, malls, etc. There are activities on campus too on the weekends. Some kids will go to local boarders houses.
It really depends on the school. You shouldn’t really worry about what to do on the weekends, because you’ll literally be busy all the time. And prep schools are really big on school spirit.
Honestly, there is not a lot of down time at BS. At least, that is what I am seeing for my DD, first year,
Here is what I know about leaving campus:
Boarders can leave campus as long as they stay within the town, which is quite large in her case. The downtown area is walking distance and has shops, cafes, pizza joints, formal restaurants, ice cream shops, ethnic food, etc. There is a shuttle to some big box stores and the movies, all in town. Every now and then, there are shuttles to large malls, over half hour away, or NYC or Boston, both about 1.5-2 hours away. Permission to leave the town requires permission several hours before the departure.
Every school is different, so do your research!