Prep/Boarding schools

My daughter is wrapping up the application process for attending prep school next year, and I was curious if anyone here either attended a prep school or sent a child to one. At least a few of the schools we have looked at have sent students to Wake, but I have no idea if any of them post here. Not looking for any particular advice, though I will certainly take what is offered. Just wondering what experiences people may have had in general or about specific schools. We are sending out 8 applications I think, but we are also in a situation where she is being (sort of?) recruited for hockey, so it makes things more complicated than if we were just looking for schools in general.

I am a product of the New England Boarding school system. My siblings and I all went, and all boarded for high school. I very much recommend it if possible for your family. The advantages were most obvious to me freshmen year of college, when other students were figuring out how to wake themselves up and get ready for school or trying to motivate themselves to study and do homework, these were things I had already figured out. While some students struggled under the weight of college courses, I was use to the heavy workload. I understand the cost is exorbitant for many people, but if it is something that is reasonable for your family I recommend it. I actually attended two different boarding schools, the first had alot more rich kids (they all have rich kids, but this one has more with last names you would know) and legacy students, while the second had more students whose families took out a second mortgage in hopes of getting their kids recruited. The second one was a better fit for me.

My parents shared custody, so for us, boarding made the most sense as we would be in the same place during the school week. One bedroom, one place to store books and school materials, it made sense. Some students got homesick but no different than in college. I think the alumni system at many of these schools are better than most colleges. I also think depending on the sport and where your daughter would be interested in going to college, it will help with recruitment.

If you are looking at schools in New England and want to PM me a list, I may know the schools or even some people in admissions.

Does Forsyth Country Day have dorms yet?

Ok this thread really really needs tags.

A friend of mine paid far, far more for prep school for each oh his kids than he paid in full for them to go to college.

Perhaps the most Wake Foresty thread ever. Now we just need to necrobump the one about mahogany kitchens.

If North Carolina put any sort of emphasis on education, I'd be glad to send my daughter to public school. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Also, not a whole lot of hockey down here either, and she wants to potentially play in college. So thanks for the helpful feedback.

Prep/boarding school is a much more common concept in New England. Unfortunately, the cost precludes most people from enjoying the benefits of it. Most people only think of boarding school in 3 contexts, the bad guys from 80s movies, somewhere your stepmother sends you, or what the Swiss do. I did public school and then went private, and even to a child there are stark differences between the two: smaller classes, individual attention, more structure, excellent athletic facilities. The fact people on a board about Wake Forest ( a school that is costing $74k a year) think boarding school is something elitist is kind of funny. Looking at the football roster, I saw 8 schools I know are boarding schools. So, for about roughly 10% of the team to come from .5% of schools, kind of goes to show the benefit of the system. I am sure the number is much higher too if you take into account private schools like Gonzaga.

People spend their money different ways. Some people see the benefit and some don't, some see the benefit in a Wake Forest education, and some think you get the same thing going to a public university. While it may not be the right fit for everyone, it definitely can be great for some people.

If you don't have a Maple fridge don't apply.

Also, the way financial aid works for these schools due to endowments generally makes the price tag irrelevant. My daughter has attended Catholic schools her whole life, and the preliminary numbers we have gotten back say that our responsibility for her education/housing at a boarding school will be almost the same as what we are currently paying for tuition. If people can afford the $60K to send kids there, they don't care about the price. If they can't afford it, chances are good that won't be the price anyway.

you can consider NCSSM for high school

buckets said:

you can consider NCSSM for high school

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They have hockey?

no hockey, just club quidditch

buckets said:

no hockey, just club quidditch

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Varsity quidditch

Yeah, if I send my kids away to boarding school it’s not so they can become professional nerds.

redwing42 said:

Also, the way financial aid works for these schools due to endowments generally makes the price tag irrelevant. My daughter has attended Catholic schools her whole life, and the preliminary numbers we have gotten back say that our responsibility for her education/housing at a boarding school will be almost the same as what we are currently paying for tuition. If people can afford the $60K to send kids there, they don't care about the price. If they can't afford it, chances are good that won't be the price anyway.

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Semantics, I know....but irrelevant?

Dkin said:

Semantics, I know....but irrelevant?

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Ok, overstating somewhat, as few schools are completely need blind. We were asked during the process how much we could afford to contribute, put an amount not much more that we are currently paying, and the preliminary numbers we got back for our expected payment were less than we stated. We will see what the schools say after they send acceptances, but it does not seem to be as cost prohibitive as one would think.

Plus we got to meet Napoleon Sykes, who handled one of her interviews, so that was cool.

Ditching responsibility of raising your kid and getting 9 months back to do chill shit sounds good. Then they get into a good school, and profit. Can you even put a price on those nine months. Nope.

I would ship my child off as well.

WFcatamount22 said:

Ditching responsibility of raising your kid and getting 9 months back to do chill shit sounds good. Then they get into a good school, and profit. Can you even put a price on those nine months. Nope.

I would ship my child off as well.

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LOL! They wouldn’t take mine.

My former next door neighbors sent their oldest to prep school up north. Their second son stayed home for school and it drove them nuts. Their youngest son is one of my son’s best friends and they are probably sending him away next fall and beginning their empty nest life.