Thinking of boarding schools? Scholarships can help create opportunities.
Thinking of boarding schools?
Scholarships can help create opportunities.
By Erin Silver
For families considering sending their child to boarding school, there are scholarships and financial aid to help supplement the cost.
According to Kelly Sheehan, event planner for Schools to Know, a boarding school fair in Bermuda, most U.S. boarding schools offer need-based scholarships while some offer merit academic scholarships. It’s a welcome help to families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to send their children, as tuition can be $65,000 a year.
“Aid is competitive and takes academic, artistic and athletic talents into account,” she says. It’s important for families to understand the terminology. Sheehan points out that the term “scholarship” typically isn’t used at these schools. Rather, it’s known as financial aid, but that aid isn’t something that has to be paid back. “It’s money the schools provide to families whose children are top academic scholars or athletes, for example, who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford the tuition and other expenses involved in sending their child to boarding school.”
When families apply to the schools of their choice, they just need to check the box that asks if financial aid is required. “Scholarships will be offered based on need for families who fill out a financial aid form.
Boarding schools are a popular choice for some Bermudian families. Sheehan advises people to start the search early. Junior boarding schools begin enrolling students in either Grade 5 or 6 and go through to Grade 9. Examples include schools like Cardigan Mountain School in New Hampshire and Rectory School in Connecticut. Like boarding high schools, junior boarding schools are devoted to the education of young and early adolescents. Other boarding schools for high school students begin in Grade 9 and culminate with Grade 12. However, many of these schools have post-graduate programs as well. Pomfret School in Connecticut, for instance, enrolls students in each grade: about 50 students in Grade 9, 35 in the Grade 10, 10 to 15 in the Grade 11 and about 10 post-graduates. Post-graduates are students who have graduated from high school, but need an extra year for a variety of reasons—to enhance their academics, athletics or independent living skills to better prepare themselves for college. In the last 15 years, Pomfret School has graduated 23 Bermudians while Williston Northampton School has over 70 alumni from the last 30-plus years. Schools in Canada such as Bishop's College School in Sherbrooke, QC also enroll students from Bermuda.
So what do these schools look for in such young applicants? “Boarding schools want students who want to be at a boarding school,” says Sheehan. “That may sound simple, but it’s a new experience: living with a roommate (some for the first time), attending classes all day, followed by after-school activities, like sports, drama, dance or community service, to name a few.”
In addition, each school looks at a student’s transcript, outside interests and personality to see if the student would be a good addition to their school.
Those who attend boarding school can expect to benefit from exciting and positive advantages. “Students have the opportunity to explore academic subjects in greater depth and breadth as teachers are able to cover more material,” says Sheehan. In addition, she explains that classes are smaller, typically 12 to 15 students, and the students’ abilities are more uniform than one would find in a local school.
“Students will learn self-responsibility as well as develop trust, respect, and honesty between themselves and the adults in the community,” she says.
Boarding school faculty have chosen a lifestyle versus simply calling their work a job. Faculty live on campus and students are able to create friendships with people from all over the world. Socioeconomic diversity, in addition to racial and ethnic diversity, is present in boarding schools and promotes and encourages positive and frequent interaction on campus.
Students will be surrounded by amazing arts and athletic facilities on beautiful campuses and grow to appreciate their surroundings. Many boarding schools, like Tabor Academy in Massachusetts, also have summer programs, which is a wonderful way to sample boarding school life.
The best way to learn more about boarding school opportunities is through fairs such as The Schools to Know Boarding School Fair. It will take place on September 16 and 17, 2020 at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club.
“This fair is in its 27th year and is a terrific opportunity for students and their parents to meet admissions representatives as well as current parents from many different boarding schools,” says Sheehan. “It’s set at this time of year to give families time to research the schools before making on campus visits and interview appointments.”
Many schools will also host Skype interviews, but often it’s best to see the campus and the community in person. For more information about boarding school opportunities, you can also email schoolstoknow@schoolstoknow.com or visit their site at schoolstoknow.com.