<p>If he will be able to take actual college courses* and not exhaust the offerings at the local college(s), then that likely means that the current situation is sufficient for his academic needs.</p>
<p>*Which are accepted for transfer credit at good universities like the state flagship.</p>
<p>Boarding school-not for me. With only one child, I could never have given up those years. Hardest part was visiting the best of the “local” private schools. It looks like a small college campus. The families I carpoled with all chose that school. It just wasn’t in the budget.</p>
<p>Instead, son went to public middle and HS, took 15 classes at local U, 12+ APs, summer programs at various colleges and teen tours. Left HS after junior year on advice from his GC.</p>
<p>What gets me is that one of my best friends, who lives in NE, could send his kids to local HS that is just so good, yet pays for the outstanding private schools in area. He found the education so much better for the first, that he is repeating for second child.</p>
<p>In sum, I’d explore all my local options before I’d think of BSs. I give no advice, as I do not know the calibre of local privates to public schools in your area.</p>
<p>One thing I love about this board is the opportunity for new perspectives. Frankly, the idea of feeling guilty for not sending my children to boarding school had never occurred to me, and I still can’t quite fathom it. No one around here goes to boarding school. Is this an east coast thing? I would hate to be separated from my children like that, though I respect that other families may make this choice.</p>
<p>It seems to me that you will be able to supplement your son’s education with enriching experiences - in person and online. I’d save the money and use it for college!</p>
<p>There is an elite private high school about an hour away. Some people do commute. It costs about $40K. I know what you mean. It has a beautiful campus. Expense aside, the commuting would have changed our entire life. We live where it snows and the roads are unpredictable. I would have had to do all of the driving because of DH’s work schedule. We have 2 younger children and it would have been very expensive to send them to the elementary school on this campus. I know DS would not have been able to participate in ECs the way he does now. (It takes 7 minutes door- to- door right now.) And I think it would be difficult socially not to be able to get together with friends. ( Although I must admit, his ECs are essentially his social life. But that keeps him out of trouble, right?) The other option in town is a parochial school and although it is well-loved by its students, I don’t think the academics are as good as where we are right now.</p>
<p>I would listen to sbjdorlo. She could teach a class on finding adequate challenges for an extremely gifted kid and doing it locally with whatever resources you have. Plus, like she says, a truly gifted kid will also assist in thew process.</p>
<p>So the second hand report I heard of about analysis of graduates from a magnet school was that, equivalent kids who attended the magnet school vs regular public school ended up at similar places (advanced degrees, success however measured etc) long term. However, the magnet school kids were, on the whole, happier during the pre college years.</p>
<p>So my approach has been that if the kid is happy (enough) at the public school, leave them there as they will end up at the same place long term. If they are unhappy in the public schools, then you may need to do something.</p>
<p>Ha-ha, bovertine. 
Yes, we homeschoolers tend to be resourceful. I am really good at networking (probably the only “gift” I have. LOL)</p>
<p>Oh, and OP, don’t make your kid do things because they’ll look good on college applications. Let him follow his passions and interests. I truly think that shows through in applications more than anything.</p>
<p>My son had an essay entitled, “Calculus is like sucking my thumb.” Seriously, it was comforting to him! But it did show his natural love of math. These things show through in applications whether kids are boarding school, public school, private school, or homeschool.</p>
<p>Given what you’ve said about your son’s school etc, I have absolutely no idea why on earthyou would be considering BS. Good lord, what exactly are you after? And really the four year plan, the Sumer thing…you are way overthinking this. </p>
<p>There really is success and happiness and all doors open even if -gasp!-your son dies not get into HYPS. But yonder aloud about the negative impact of your anxiety and expectations.</p>
<p>The only reasons why some older aunts and uncles sent their kids to boarding schools was because the local public and sometimes even private schools were academically mediocre.</p>
<p>An aunt/uncle in Mississippi found the local public and private schools to be so bad after being burned after one year that they sent one son to a reputable Catholic boarding school and another to a well-known elite BS in the NE. </p>
<p>This also seems to be common among my Hawaii aunt/uncle and their upper-middle class neighbors who all seem to send their kids to private BS in the NE/Mid-Atlantic or to well-known local private day schools like Punahou or Iolani. No one would even consider sending their kids to the local public high schools as there was serious concerns they do not prepare graduates well enough to attend colleges within the UHawaii system…and every one of them regarded even the flagship UHawaii campus as an extremely mediocre last resort to be avoided at all costs.</p>
<p>@Mrspepper,</p>
<p>Our son attends an elite East Coast boarding school. The reason our family chose this path was that we felt DS had maxxed out on what his former school could offer him academically & athletically. The tuition at these schools is steep, but you will be surprised how high the family income threshold is for receiving financial aid-- even familiies earning over 250k.</p>
<p>Our son has thrived at BS, but I will acknowledge that the environment is not for everyone. The elite schools require the child to be independent and good with time management. The academic standard is unbelievable. Our second son is probably brighter than his older brother, but I don’t see him as being independent enough to handle the environment.</p>
<p>There is a whole section on CC devoted to boarding school:
[Prep</a> School Admissions - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/]Prep”>Prep School Admissions - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>The caliber of the students is amazing. We appreciate that DS is in an environment where it is admired to be smart. Be forewarned that admissions into these schools can be very, very, very competitive.</p>
<p>You’ve missed the application deadline for 2012 entry. But if you are interested, you have lots of time to plan for 2013. There are a lot of hoops to jump thru: tests, interviews, essays. The application process is no less rigorous than applying to a major univeristy.</p>
<p>In the circles in which I travel, sending your kid to private school (usually meaning a local day school, not even a boarding school) is called “spending the college money on high school.”</p>
<p>It may be my working-class roots showing, but I would never think of sending a kid to boarding school because the kid was academically talented. If the kid had special problems that the school was designed to address, perhaps. But that’s the only situation in which I would have considered boarding school. An academically talented kid, even more than others, might benefit from the family still having enough money when he/she is ready for college to pay for something more selective/rigorous than the state university. Thus, there is good reason to hang on to the money.</p>
<p>This is not reverse snobbery. I don’t disapprove of the idea of selective schools at the high school level. One of my kids did attend a public high school magnet program. But that was free.</p>
<p>^^so true! Years ago when my D applied to private day schools she added a couple of nearby prestige Boarding Schools (PA and Governors). She got a large merit award from one of her day school prospects and is graduating this year from there, and wait listed at the two BSs. I remember feeling badly about those (essentially) rejections and what I perceived as lost opportunities. Had she been accepted, it would have meant using college funds for HS.</p>
<p>Today, now …I am SOOO happy she was rejected from the 2 BSs! I have enjoyed every minute of having this teen at home and watching her discover NEW challenging opportunities (some school related, some not).</p>
<p>Both of our kids travelled 30 miles (highway driving) to go to school from K-12. We chose day school rather than boarding school because we wanted to be around in their most formative years. We often had to drive long distance for them to get together with their friends. It took a lot of time and effort on our part to get them where they needed to be. The education they received was excellent due to smaller class size and calibre of students in the school. The admission process was just rigorous as BS - tests, interview, essays. </p>
<p>Our kids were very happy at their Day school because it was all they knew. D2 moved to a different private school junior year because of my job relocation. This school was the best around the area, but it tend to admit based on ability to pay (expats and local wealthy). D2 has been very HAPPY at this school due to less work load, and less focus on getting into American colleges. She is in the IB program, but with less effort is ranked top 1-3 at her new school, whereas I think she would have been 5-10% at her old school. The calibre of students at her current school is not the same as her other school, and it is reflected in their class discussion and the pace of their work. Even in her IB classes, students often do not do their homework and teachers spend more time in chasing students for their assignments. </p>
<p>We had the option of sending her to a BS (paid by my firm) when we moved, but D2 chose to be with us and an opportunity to experience another culture. It all worked out, but she knows she is going to have to put in extra effort when she goes to college.</p>
<p>I don’t see anything wrong in spending money for the best education possible for your kid, whether it’s for K or college. I would probably say sometimes good secondary school education is more important than good college education.</p>
<p>If DC is not being challenged at present school and there are not logistically feasible nearby public n private dayschool options, then BS are worth considering. After doing some investigation about the option, you may decide it is not appropriate for your child. But it costs nothing to do a little research to weigh whether it’s worth it. We found it was well worth it for our child.</p>
<p>For some kids, “spending the college money on prep school” is the right move because it ensures the best educational foundation, but not all boarding schools are that good. If your local school has a vigorous college prep program and a critical mass of academically gifted peers with family support, one can build a strong foundation without going away. There is no substitute for the hours with the family. Not all families realize the value in that. Sounds like OP’s familiy does.</p>
<p>glido, some boarding schools are that good, especially if you are considering the Phillip Exeters and Andovers out there. And no, you may not be spending college money on prep school. The most elite BS’s have endowments that rival most universities and grant generous full tuition scholarships.</p>
<p>It’s not the quantity of hours with family that matter, but the quality. Quality hours around quality peers matter too.</p>
<p>GMT - I completely agree.
There are maybe a dozen other boarding prep schools I would put on that list as well. Each kid’s situation is different. Honestly, some home situations are such that sending the kid away to boarding school IS the best route.</p>
<p>Your point about spending quality hours with quality peers cannot be overstated.</p>
<p>Kids grow in an organic way. Their brains develop from non-academic experiences, too. It depends on kids but spending teen years at home could be crucial in developing intimate relationships in the future. I agree quality time is what matters but if you spend 0 hours you know you have 0 quality hours. I think the fraction of quantity hoursthat translate into quality hours is built in the relationship dynamics that are already set and the more time you spend the more quality time you will get out of it, too, imo.</p>
<p>Your son is happy where he is and you have the ability to provide enrichment in his areas of interest. It sounds to me like you’ve made your choice but have a touch of “resource envy” which I can understand. Youngest child, who’s now a college junior, applied to BS for 10th grade and it did not work out. At the time it was a huge disappointment and I felt we had wasted time and money on the application process. I still believe the latter, tho of course we learn from every experience. Just didn’t feel it was worth the cost in terms of time or money.</p>
<p>Since your S has younger siblings, that would make me even less inclined to go the BS route. It’s one thing for parents to maintain their relationship with a child, quite another for a younger sib. </p>
<p>You might consider HS semester programs like the Mountain School or Chewonki’s Maine Coast semester if your S wants the experience of being away from home before he sets off for college. </p>
<p>In hindsight, BS would have severely impacted D’s college choice (our ability to fund it) and she really thrived at home, has maintained childhood friendships and ended up at a very selective U so we’re really happy with how this turned out. I don’t doubt she would have received a superior education at the schools she didn’t attend (the issue was money, she was wait listed for aid) but she’s doing well at her school.</p>
<p>Going into the BS application, I wrongly thought that aid worked pretty much the same way it does at the college level and I was absolutely wrong. Maybe it’s changed, but I would doubt that given the general state of the economy.</p>
<p>D2 is more of an introvert. For the last 2 years, I have been riding in the car with D2 to school then to my office. It takes an extra 20 minutes out of day. Most of the time, we wouldn’t say anything to each other, but every once in a while D2 would talk to me about various issues she is having with her friends and in the last year about college application. In our case, it is through quantity of time we are spending together that we are having quality time.</p>