Hello, I will be going to boarding school next year and made this thread for all those who have questions about the first year. A question of mine is should I take 5 or 6 courses for the Fall term? Also, since I can’t drive to my boarding school how did most people bring all their bedding, lamps, and other things to school? Was it shipped to the hotel?
At least where my DD is going (Deerfield) a sixth course is not advised for the first year. For bedding, etc. you might consider buying online and shipping it to the store. Is there a bed, bath and beyond, Kohl’s, or some other store near your school?
@MAandMEmom yes I was thinking of picking up the bedding at the Bed, Bath, & Beyond nearby. Thank you!
This is really going to be a school-specific question; at some schools, you may have no choice but to take 6 courses in the fall. Regardless, all schools will have academic advisors that can help you through this question. I would say that if the option to take 5 exists - take 5. You, and every other incoming student has no idea how different classes are in boarding school compared to previous school. The one thing you don’t want to have happen is crash and burn.
Having flown to school, if it did not fit in my luggage, it was ordered online and either picked up at the local store or shipped to the school. Note, however, that different schools have different policies on packages coming before move-in date, so best to check. Good luck.
I once read in a news that dorms nowadays are filled with amazon prime boxes, and all boarding schools we visited seem to allow students to receive packages I wonder if we can just coordinate the shipments to arrive on the same day.
About the courses; It seems English, History, Foreign Language, Math, Science and an Art Elective (Visual, Music or Theatre) are a standard set. Which is to be not taken for a student taking 5 courses only?
Yes @SculptorDad we are big fans of Amazon prime and my plan is I can ship things there. You can get everything in the pantry snack-wise plus school supplies, etc.
@SculptorDad many juniors take six courses at least two of their three terms and I was wondering if it is best to take 5 courses my first term?
@skieurope thank you so much for the advice! Yes, I have the option of taking 5 courses my Fall term, so that would probably be best for me.
@PrepGal of course it all depends on the individual, however I would consider taking a 6th course in the fall, especially if the course is in art/music, as these courses aren’t too demanding. While it initially may seem to defy logic, 6 courses as a freshman(at least at Andover) makes a lot more sense than 6 as a lower or upper
Bed, Bath and Beyond has a GREAT program called Pack & Hold where you select all of your options at a local store and then they pull it and have it ready for you at the store closest to your school. It’s a program designed for kids going to college, but worked well for us, given the distance we were traveling. We landed at the airport with just clothes, stopped to pick up DS’s stuff at the local store and headed on to school with the other things he needed.
@PrepGal, my daughter is just starting Freshman this Fall so I don’t know the detail. But with common sense I think it also depends on how rigorous your previous school was compare to your new BS, and how well, fast, and long you can write essays. Because those can take lots of time and be very stressful in the beginning.
@prepgal, at most BS, you’ll hear from your advisor this summer and can work through the scheduling issues with him/her. Don’t feel shy about telling them what you’d like to do and what you’re concerned about. They can help you best if you are open with them.
DS was advised to start freshman year with the harder options he was considering (faster math, advanced science, extra class, etc.) because it’s easier to drop back a level (or drop a class) than to try to catch up. Advisors checked in pretty regularly to help with those decisions, and in things like math, the school did the scheduling so that several levels met at the same time so that a math class change didn’t require a wholesale schedule change. Because everyone has had a different background prior to starting at BS, BS tend to be really good at assessing where students belong and making adjustments along the way.
@fullofbs That program is a great option for me. Thank you so much!
@SculptorDad @gardenstategal Thank you for the advice! Meeting with the advisor will definitely help.
Remember to pack light! You will either have to get all that stuff home next summer or pay to store it somewhere near your school. In New England there are companies who specialize in summer storage. Some will deliver empty boxes to your school, pick up the filled boxes, store them over the summer, and redeliver them to you in September. Of course there is a price for all that.
D’s school suggested not bringing winter overcoats and such right away. Better to bring that stuff at Thanksgiving break, to keep September a little simpler.
D usually stored 3 boxes each summer. I guess I’ll find out what was in them this summer when the boxes are shipped home instead of stored, since she is graduating. The only large item she had was a beanbag chair which went home each year with her roommate who lived within driving distance. (She is under orders to find a new permanent home for her beanbag chair.)
I’m sure her bedding filled at least one box and there were some winter items that she had duplicates of, so one set stayed at school (ski pants, parka).
Re: course load
D was on the trimester system and took the maximum load because she wanted to fit everything possible into her 4 years there. It worked for her. Over the 4 years there were a couple terms where she took one less course just because there was nothing that worked to fill the slot.
I believe that she didn’t meet her advisor or connect with her till she arrived at school. There was lots of paperwork ahead of time from the school about registering for classes and a certain amount of freshman year was pre-arranged.