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<p>Then stay away from the pressure cooker schools most often discussed on this forum! Look at Tabor, where the kids get to learn to sail (a schooner, not a little sailboat!), or Holderness, which has a mandatory wilderness program, or . . . well, the list goes on and on. Not all schools have the “all work, no play” atmosphere one hears about on CC. There are plenty of good (albeit not so famous) schools where kids have both the opportunity and the time to follow their passions.</p>
<p>And just because a school isn’t Exeter doesn’t mean you’ll be surrounded by dummies. True, not all the kids will be brilliant . . . but that’s true at Exeter also. Yes, there are the geniuses, but most Exeter students are just kids who are used to working their butts off! Go to a lesser known school and you will still find a cadre of kids who are as smart and funny as you are.</p>
<p>If you are used to spending 20+ hours a week pursuing a particular passion, whether it’s music, athletics, or whatever, it will be harder to find a school that can accommodate that. And, in some cases, you might be better off staying at home. It depends on the passion . . if you’re a figure skater, for example, it’s going to be hard, if not impossible, to find a school that would give you the coaching, schedule, & transportation that you need. But if you want to do competitive robotics, there are schools that will give you the opportunity to really immerse yourself in it. Exeter, though, is not one of them.</p>
<p>Boarding school can’t be everything to everyone . . . but it can be a lot more than what you might think. You just have to broaden your idea of boarding school to include something other than the big New England schools.</p>