Boarding School or Public School. HELP!?

Question

Please bear with me and read this :)

I'm really having a tough time between choosing. I go to a public school right now, but I absolutely despise it. My school is quite racist and culturally divided. It's diverse, but it's maddening how clique-oriented it is! The academics are "good", the top ten in the state, but it's not because of a good education. It's because most of the students work hard. The teachers aren't very helpful because the class size is insane. The ratio of teacher to student is probably 1:25. If you actually try asking questions in class, people will dub you as the annoying brainiac (making it hard to learn).

But (this sounds stupid) I want to stay. Only because I might make cheerleading captain in senior year (and that would look good for uni), it's not expensive to attend (I don't want to be a big burden on my parents), and all the actual friends I do have. I get really depressed when I think about having to attend this school for three more years (upcoming soph).

Answer 1

(A) why don't you try a boarding school in Korea?  They have great schools, are MUCH more affordable, have schools entirely in English, and you parents might be game for it.

(B) I've never attended a boarding school, but have spend time there for summer schools and boarding school culture is just huge were i'm from.  Most boarding schools are like going to super elite private schools but you can never leave.  While public school may be rough, going to school where everyone is super rich (i mean like, princes from other countries rich) can be very tiresome.  You'll find all sorts of people at boarding schools, but the culture is very particular.  At least, the boarding schools in my state.  there might be some boarding schools in the US that don't cost around 30k a year to attend.

*edit:  that wasn't just cause you're korean lol.  A girl i knew in highschool, Caucasian, went to a korean boarding school once.  her parents worked for the world bank or something, so she was EVERYWHERE, mostly at american schools.  that's where i first heard it (english speaking korean boarding schools) from.  I just remembered that a while ago when we met for lunch.

*edit 2: it's funny, cause i know a LOT of people from andover.  Like i said, it's like going to an elite private school.  clearly, i went to one, so not everyone's rich and cliquish and stuff.  but boy, it was tough going at times.  maybe boarding school is better.

Answer 2

uni (as in university)?

Sorry to say, cheerleading doesn't look good anywhere other than cheerleading practice.

Go to Boarding School, if you visited one, and you liked it enough to really consider it. Do it.

Your school sounds like all the worst parts of my highschool times 15.

Answer 3

Well, I think I'm in a decent position to answer your question, because I went to public school until high school, when I switched to the boarding school, Phillips Academy Andover in MA, where I am now. Personally, I love it here. I'm going into my senior year, and I really don't think I could have had a better high school experience.

Other people might *think* that Andover is an elitist, s****., typical New England prep school, but you'll find, if you visit, that it's not like that at all. We love to have fun, we joke around with and prank both other students and our favorite teachers. There's no dress code, most rich students try to downplay how much money they have, 65% of the student body is on financial aid, and the school is 100% need-blind.

Needless to say, our academics are also top-notch. Our physics and music departments are #1 in the country based on AP scores. Possible classes range from African drumming to quantum mechanics, and what classes you are allowed to take are not based on grade level, but the college-like prerequisite system, which is *much* fairer. I won't even go into extracurricular activities here, because that would take too long.

As for your last concern, the racism and clique thing, that's practically nonexistent here. Any public racist display is unheard-of and serious enough to warrant an immediate, emergency "All-school meeting." Among my friends are: a home-schooled farm girl from Oregon, a preppy guy from Wisconsin, a future economist from Korea, a (rumored) Nigerian princess, a self-proclaimed anarchist, a very musically-talented goof, a couple of tri-varsity jocks, and the whitest, smartest kid I've ever met.

Of course, the best way to know if a school is right for you is to apply, visit, and decide for yourself, but I *highly* recommend you to at least keep Andover, as well as other boarding schools, in consideration. Good luck!

ps - Feel free to email me if you have any more questions. [e-mail].