<p>Good luck to you and to your child, Famtree! I am sure much success is in your future!! All the best.</p>
<p>PS… will you tell the school your reason for turning them down? I just thought that them knowing why might induce them to reconsider their policies!</p>
<p>One thing to think about is that if the BS is part of the SYA consortium, he/she may get some financial support for attending a year abroad. My D did her junior year abroad and studied three languages simultaneously - in addition to math, English, history, etc… </p>
<p>SYA is open to students even if they are not in Boarding schools. So she might consider that as an option even if she attends a local school. Nothing like studying a language while living full immersion.</p>
<p>My daughter really wants to go away, and has (as some of you know) decided to go. But she is worrying A LOT about being away from us i.e. missing us. Any ideas on what to say to her to make her worry less? I know for a fact that she will be fine. She makes friends easily and has moved often enough to be able to settle in quickly. But, as this seems to be her main worry, I thought I would solicit some advice from my favorite crew! I have already asked a friend’s son who went to Jr. Boarding school if he would be willing to chat with my daughter about the reality of being away… (i figured he is closer to her age so might have a different outlook)… and we are going to re-visit and hoping she meets current/future students so she can correspond now with them. Any other ideas?</p>
<p>Don’t gloss over it - acknowledge it. I remember dropping D off at Taft, we drove by the night before to look at the campus. Made things worse. I laughed and said “we can get on a plane right now!”</p>
<p>…first weeks will be tough. But she was too busy to notice it the way we did at home. With classes, sports, dorm activities - they’re pretty occupied. And we load up on hugs during the school breaks. Look at the calendar - the breaks are a lot longer, usually, than public school. A week for Thanksgiving, two-three weeks for Christmas, 2-3 weeks for Spring break. It adds up to her being home more than you think. The BIGGEST problem is when they are home and want to hang out with friends. I told them I get her for the first day to stock up on hugs, and then she’s fair game for hanging out after that!</p>
<p>But honestly - there’s a great Subaru commercial out there that pretty much sums up what “drop off” day looked like and how it ended:</p>
<p>[Subaru</a> TV Commercial, ‘First Day of School’ - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>(without the school bus part) :)</p>
<p>ExieMITalum, you hit the nail on the head! I cried all the way home and he didn’t call for a week! The real homesickness for some kids seem to be from around mid October to Thanksgiving break then again a bit around beginning of February where there is a big break between Christmas and March Break, according to my sons.</p>
<p>I love that! LOL I know all the worry on her part will vanish quickly. It is the being unable to visualize things that is tripping her up. Re-visit day should dispel some of this, I would guess…</p>
<p>She is also concerned about being sick at school - kinda random as she is rarely sick at all! LOL we will just work through it step by step just like you all have. I told her that she was lucky not to go away when I did — 1 phone call home for 10 minutes on Sunday (standing in a hall on a pay phone with a cord that was too short to sit down with)… Ah yes. Good times. LOL</p>
<p>I am pretty much in the same boat! I am trying to decide where to attend school next year:</p>
<p>1) Current day school which is very good.</p>
<p>2) Boarding school as day student. (Would have to move, because I dont want to board!) Will be attending revisits next week.</p>
<p>3) Boarding school as day student. (would have to move- dont want to board) Revisiting next week.</p>
<p>This decision is so hard! There are so many things to take into consideration.
Any advice much appreciated!</p>
<p>When you say you would “have to move” how does that work? You mean that your parents would sell your house and move? Or that you would live away from home, but not board? Sorry – I guess I am confused.</p>
<p>But if all schools are truly an option, you need to see where you actually see yourself for the next 4 years. Check out the other kids, see if the dress codes and rule books are something you can live with and adhere to with little effort. Do they offer extracurriculars that you enjoy… that sort of thing. Assume that all choices are good academically – go to the next level down to see if each school still fits… that sort of thing. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response. Sorry my wording was unclear, but because I don’t want to board- and my family doesn’t want me to yet, we would move- as in sell our house and move to the east coast. So this really just adds another layer of complications.</p>
<p>Hmm. In that case, the day school might be best. Unless you are prepared to board… I don’t know your situation, but selling a house and moving across country is a big deal and could take a long time in this market…</p>
<p>Are you sure you can’t consider boarding?</p>
<p>If you’re already attending a “very good day school,” what on earth would the point be of uprooting your whole family, selling your house, and moving to the other coast, just so you can attend a different school, also as a day student? There would have to be a big difference between the quality of eduction at your current school and the schools that you’ve applied to in order to even consider it. Further, there are some downsides to being a day student at a boarding school – different schools handle it differently, and it also depends on the percentage of day students at the school, but I think many day students would tell you that they didn’t feel totally integrated and feel that they missed out to some extent on some of the advantages of the boarding school.</p>
<p>+1 to soxmom, who said it better!</p>
<p>Was this issue not a part of the original decision to apply to schools far away? Seems to me you wouldn’t have even started to apply if you were not going to be a boarding student. </p>
<p>Obviously, I am a little confused about this…but it does seem there is not really any decision to be made. Even if you are now prepared to board, presumably you applied to the far-away schools as a day student so that is not an option. If you DID apply as a boarder, then those schools may not be ready for you to enter as a day student.</p>
<p>In other words, your situation seems to have made your decision for you…</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses. I did apply to the boarding schools as a boarder but they were both completely aware of my situation of maybe moving to be a day student. It is a strange situation, I know. </p>
<p>My current day school is providing me with only one advanced class, and I feel that I could have a better experience elsewhere with more engaging classes. However, I know that I would most likely get into a better college at my day school. I am really trying to debate between the “seeing boarding school as a step towards college” or “seeing it as an ends to itself”. I read a different thread about this particular issue and I am really stuck. It’s hard to know what will be right for my family. My family is totally supporting me and is willing to make anything work, and I know that part of all of us wants to move and just have a change of environment. I feel like I am ready for a bigger environment with like-minded peers, but knowing that I can get relatively the same opportunities at an easier option is holding me back.
Alright, well thanks for reading! :)</p>
<p>Good luck to you!!</p>
<p>As my good friend Exie stated…they are so busy the first few weeks that you will feel more lonely that the kid. I was so happy with the house mother who, from day 1, sent tons of pictures, 8 emails in the first 7 days. As I saw the smile on my d’s face, I still had tears but was happy and knew this was the right decision.</p>
<p>And honestly, us parents are here for you. I cant say how many parents here have words of comfort and I know they have been in my shoes. </p>
<p>I spent many hours, after she left and I had idle time on my hands, to read almost all the post…lol. I have made friends all over the country, even some that have taken me to dinner when I had a overnight stay to offering to go to the airport when my d got “stuck” in her city from bad weather.</p>
<p>Make your decision based on what is best for your child.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>ditto 
</p>
<p>I’m about to repeat this phase as D goes off to college (sniff). But I feel much more prepared for the experience given the last three years Made a lot of lasting friends on CC too.</p>
<p>I am very happy I found CC. It is nice to find a bulletin board where people take the time to try to help one another. Believe me! I have this site bookmarked.LOL It is nice to have the support of others “who have gone before” me – I went away to school myself so thought I knew what it is like but, wow is it different when it is your own kid! thanks to all of you!</p>
<p>We should have a CC parents gathering. I’ll provide the nametags that say, HELLO my name is…neatoburrito, etc. Though I have been told that I look nothing like what is expected.
Still, it would be fun.</p>
<p>@Neato – Since I always pictured you as a short haired, clean shaven, 40 something, dress jeans and button-down wearing man; I would most definitely say that you look NOTHING like I expected!</p>