Boarding Schools Are Nothing Like You See on TV. (And That’s a Good Thing.)

Boarding School in the Media

Is boarding school really like what you see on TV? We tackle the most common (and untrue) myth about boarding schools.

Okay, so the campuses may be just as beautiful with lush ivy adorning brick and limestone architecture. But, without the wizarding curricula or throngs of contemptuous, gossipy teens, what is boarding school really like, anyway? Who roams the halls? What is campus life like in and out of the classroom? And, most importantly, is it a safe, enriched environment that will help your child grow?

We’re here to cut out the guesswork and tackle the most common (and untrue) myth about boarding schools. 

 

Boarding schools are not “just for” any one kind of student—boarding schools are for everyone.

Whether you’re looking to expand your child’s cultural horizons, empower them to focus on STEM, or introduce them to independent life before college, there is a boarding school out there suited to meet your family’s needs. We compiled a list of the top five advantages of boarding school—no surprise, they’re all centered on the premise of opportunity.

Simply stated, the dated and inaccurate perceptions that boarding schools are made up solely of troubled kids or very wealthy families couldn’t be further from the truth. Inclusivity is at the heart of boarding school. After all, it is the only high school experience where a student lives, works, learns and plays among a community of their peers.

Boarding schools encourage collaboration and understanding in a supportive and challenging environment—for every student who walks through the doors. The sense of community doesn’t just serve students well on a personal level, it prepares them to be successful as they enter a diverse real world. Many of North America’s top executives and most forward-thinking minds got their start in a boarding school.

Vimeo’s chief executive officer, Anjali Sud, was a student at Phillips Andover Academy before she went on to study finance and management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Sud then received her MBA from Harvard Business School and has been blazing trails ever since.

 

“I think that when you are pushed outside of your comfort zone, you get off that learning curve so much faster and you develop as a leader so much faster,” Sud says.

 

Sud and many others like her are proof that it doesn’t matter from where you come, it matters where you’re going. The Association of Boarding Schools is here to help your child get there.

Find the school that’s right for your family