<p>I have just seriously started the boarding school process, and I have a few questions. I know that the answers will most likely vary depending on the school, but since I don't have a concrete list of schools that I want to apply to yet, I figured that I could get some general answers now.</p>
<p>First, I am a US citizen, but I haven't lived in the US for a long time. Instead, I travel, not living in one place for more than five or six months at a time. We do have a house in the US that we use as our permanent address. Several of the schools that I am looking at have separate applications for US citizens/residents, and international students/those whose primary residence is outside US. So which application do you think would fit my situation better?</p>
<p>Second, how common is snail mail? Is it possible to do everything by email or online? Since we move around so much, we try to do as little with snail mail as possible so we don't have to worry about forwarding mail and such. We do have a PO box in the US that is checked regularly by a relative who will get anything of immediate importance to us.</p>
<p>Third, would I need to take the TOEFL? I am multilingual, with English being one of my languages (obviously). I learned English and two other languages at the same time, so I can't really say which one I learned first. I use English the most in public, but since English is not my guardian's first language, it is not the language that I typically speak at home.</p>
<p>Fourth, because of my lifestyle, I am home schooled. What is the process for teacher recommendations for home schoolers?</p>
<p>Again, I realize that the answers to these questions will ultimately be decided by what schools I apply to. But I don't have a set list yet, so I'd like to get a general idea.</p>
<p>Second Question -</p>
<p>For the schools that I applied to, things were mostly done online (recommendations were sent online, application done online, any queries from the school were emailed, etc). However, the schools used snail mail to send us information packets. In addition, I don’t know how this would apply to home-schooled students, but my school had to send my transcripts, report cards by snail mail. All the schools I applied to told me online/by email whether I was accepted/rejected/wait-listed since I am an international applicant.</p>
<p>Third Question -</p>
<p>I learnt both English and my mother tongue at the same time, and did not need to take the TOEFL. If the schools you apply to request you to take it, explain your situation and you should be fine. </p>
<p>Sorry; I couldn’t really help with the first/fourth question, but good luck with your application process !</p>
<p>First of all, I believe if you are an American citizen, you apply as a “domestic” applicant, not an international applicant, but this would definitely be a question to ask the schools. Same with the TOEFL - I don’t believe domestic applicants are required to take the TOEFL, but once again, you should ask the schools.</p>
<p>You are in a unique situation, and you may want to consider working with an educational consultant to help you through the process. They could be invaluable in serving as a domestic “clearinghouse” for information flow between you and the schools. A good consultant can help you come up with a list of schools to initially consider, visit/interview, and ultimately apply to. They could also help you discover and highlight your unique strengths (and I expect you have quite a few, living all over the world as you have had the opportunity to do!).</p>
<p>Our kids have both been homeschooled, and different schools have different requirements for homeschooled applicants. (Some ask for lots more info, some ask for basically the same info. And some schools welcome homeschool applicants, while others seem to have somewhat of a bias against homeschoolers. A consultant could help you sort that out.) It is to your advantage to have recommendations from adults who know you well (coaches, music teachers, club or community leaders), and it is ideal (although not required) if you have an adult who is NOT your parent who can write at least one of the required “teacher” recommendations. Have you taken any online classes? Worked closely with tutors? Had the opportunity to take classes at a local school/college? If not, can you try to set that up for this coming school year? Schools ideally like to read a recommendation from a teacher who can not only speak to your abilities as a student, but also to how you interact and relate to your peers in a classroom.</p>
<p>if you are a homeschooler then ask your parents to give you a recommendation and also ask one or two of your friends/a mentor type of person.</p>
<p>You need to ask each school individually about their policy for U.S. citizens residing abroad. </p>
<p>For the schools we have dealt with, we have encountered 3 scenarios:
- Classified as an INTERNATIONAL applicant and pay int’l application fee (most common)
- Classified as a DOMESTIC applicant and pay int’l application fee<br>
- Classified as a DOMESTIC applicant and pay domestic application fee (the least common)</p>
<p>We also applied to schools in 3 different countries from a 4th country. It was possible to do most everything via emails, scans, and bank wire-transfers. For legal contracts, the schools were OK with an emailed scan, followed up by the original hardcopy via snail mail.</p>
<p>My kids were in an English-language int’l school, so they were not required to take the TOEFFL. Are you being home schooled in English or in your guardians’ 1st language? I would contact each school individually on this one. </p>
<p>Another consideration for international students choosing a school is its geographic location. While it is not a necessity, it could mean one fewer flight connection if the school is near or can arrange transport to a major international airport like JFK. Again, it’s not a big deal, but it can make logistics easier.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the responses.</p>
<p>I am very definitely asking each school individually, but I want to get a more definite (read: smaller) list down first.</p>
<p>I do take around half of my classes online, so I have teachers other than my guardian. It should be noted that they are other home school parents, not public/private school teachers. I only have two classes that have non-English language components: foreign language and geography. And the only reason that my geography isn’t in English is because the book we liked best happened to be in French, not English. But other than that, all of my classes are in English.</p>
<p>As for school locations, we’re trying to find schools located near large cities (Boston, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco), so that when it comes time for tours and interviews, we can just spend a month or so in each city and travel out to the schools.</p>
<p>We’ll also look into an educational consultant. Thank you for suggesting that, mountainhiker!</p>
<p>Sorry if this sounds rude but what does your guardian do?</p>
<p>I mean , what doe he so that causea you to travel so much?</p>
<p>Not rude at all. Just curious. My situation is a bit unusual, so I’m not going to explain it thoroughly online, but, basically, I was adopted by my great-aunt, who is a bit eccentric and quite wealthy. That, in combination with a touch of wanderlust, led to travel, and she decided that she would rather raise a child who saw and experienced the world rather than one who read about it in textbooks.</p>
<p>Cool! That sounds like something out of a book!</p>