<p>Thanks to a suggestion Naoka gave Jonathan K, I've been looking into the United World College, particularly the one in Italy (I've daydreamed about going to school in Italy). They look amazing, and I think my parents would be a lot happier with me just going away for 2 years to a beautiful country. I was wondering if anyboy could tell me anything about these schools, since there's no boardingschoolreview.com or anything for international schools. Just stuff like the atmosphere, the academics, admissions, etc.... anything, really.</p>
<p>They don't seem that great. Like, they're better than my current public school, but they don't look better than the day schools in Ann Arbor or Ottawa. </p>
<p>Thanks for the link, it was really helpful. :)</p>
<p>I know the academics aren't THAT great; yes, Andover, Exeter, etc, etc, probably have better classes and so on... but if you go to a school like that, you're not going for the same reasons as those schools, are you?</p>
<p>I don't know much about their curriculum, but I have sat on an interview committee for one of the prestigious full merit scholarships here for the last two years, which is how I heard about the UWC system. In order to be considered for the scholarship the students must be rated a "5" by the admissions office (that is, the highest on the scale--a high priority admit that the school really wants to attract.) Of those with a 5 rating, a small percentage are nominated by the admissions office to be considered. After the applications are vetted by another committee, another small subset is chosen to be interviewed (maybe 15-20 in each incoming class.) In short, it is a VERY competitive process. As far as I know, every UWC graduate that has been flown in for an interview in the last 2 years has been offered the scholarship; at least 3 of the 8 or 9 current underclassmen on the scholarship are UWC grads. Like all the students recommended for the scholarship, these students are choosing between the best universities in the world. The three I am (minimally) acquainted with are creative, intellectually active students that were clearly well prepared for serious academic work. </p>
<p>In combination with UWC graduates I've met in graduate school that seem similarly interesting and engaged with the world, I've developed a very high opinion of the system.</p>
<p>Oh, and the one in Wales is in a castle. How cool is that??</p>
<p>Thanks Naoka-- you're helpful once again. It does sound really hard to be chosen and I wouldn't want to give up my boarding school plans just to pin my hopes on that, but who knows? Maybe I'll apply in high school if I'm not happy where I end up. From what I've read (which is very little), it looks like I would love it. Of course, I'd need more volunteering.... I might be setting up a tutoring system for inner-city kids with a couple of friends, but I don't know if that would be enough...</p>