Good luck! If the fates align who knows, we might end up at the same school!
Please make sure you have a really clear idea about the financial aid process and ramifications. You said if you don’t receive financial aid, your father will pay for it. But…if you have enough assets or income to pay for school you won’t receive aid. And it will likely effect the admissions process. Schools handle the process differently— some will not admit FA candidates if they aren’t offering FA, some will offer wait list as a courtesy, some will wait for you to call and/or call you about converting to full pay, etc. some At most schools it will make a difference and it is hard to predict.
We had an unfortunate experience with LDS a few years ago.
@SweetBoy1 Yeah, I actually share your concerns. In the original draft for this post, I included this excerpt, but I cut it out because I didn’t want the post to be way too long:
“Personally, I think that boarding schools will most likely not give us financial aid if my dad has the resources to go full pay. But I know how much boarding school costs, and I don’t know how to approach him about this, so for now, I’ll respect his wishes of applying for financial aid”.
Thinking over it again, I think he has the right to know if he is likely not to get any financial aid. I’ll think of a way to approach him about it.
Have you run the calculators? I don’t mean this in an offensive way at all, but do you know what your dad can and cannot afford in this regard? I’ve just never met a kid who really understands their parents finances so I think it’s better to have your dad run the numbers. If he makes $100k a year he’s probably in range for aid for instance. If he’s making $300k then no… but do you actually know?
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@mssweeteaa I see that you’ve already made your list, but if you’re still open to change – or if others are reading this – you’ve asked how George being a Quaker school makes it different. That’s such a great question! I can’t do it justice, especially in one entry, but here goes.
I think that one of the things that people at George often think of as one of the best things about the school is how welcoming and inclusive it is – for everyone --, and personally, I think that Quaker values have a lot to do with this. First off, Quakers believe that there is “that of God” in EVERY individual. As in, everyone is sacred. Every student is valued and honored for who they are, so you can really be yourself and be respected for that. There is a fundamental commitment to supporting each individual in figuring out how to be their best possible selves. And while this is something that most high schoolers are trying to work out, it feels different when it comes from a place of faith and spirituality because it’s really about being the person you want to be in the world. There is support and structure for self-reflection, guidance on how to listen deeply to others, how to help each other in that quest, etc. This is treated as a life skill. But it’s also really freeing at a point in your life where there’s a lot of pressure to conform.
And with that concept of everyone being sacred, there’s a belief in equality. This shows up in different ways, such as students and teachers all calling each other by their first names. All students have jobs on campus because ages ago, someone recognized that it was weird that the FA kids were working to make their community better but that the FP ones were getting the benefit of that too. But it can also show up in other ways. For example, many of girls in my son’s class decided that they would make a challenge of spending as little as possible on their prom dresses – borrowing, going to consignment stores, etc. – because it made everyone feel great about the event, regardless of means. I would say that overall, this makes George feel very down to earth. Sure, it’s a privilege to be at a school like that, but it doesn’t have a feel of privilege (if that makes sense.)
And in the vein of equality and respecting everyone, they rely heavily on committees for decision making. As my son explained to me, “If two wolves and one lamb vote on what’s for dinner, well, you can guess how that’ll turn out.” There’s a lot baked into the system for hearing the voice of the lamb in that situation. Quakers try to reach unity in their decisions, and while it can be really hard work, it is inclusive and fair. Last year, I met this girl who was a senior who was talking about her work on the Disciplinary Committee and how it had really made her think about who makes the rules and who enforces them and how. This is part of being reflective and intentional, and it was really cool to see how she (like many students there) was doing her work with more than the goal of simply getting it done. And I think that this part of why the community is so tight – everyone really works to make it so.
I mentioned reflection above. As a student at GS, you have to go to Meeting for Worship. It’s a chance for reflection as well as a chance for those who have something to share with the community to do so. There’s a little video on the website that explains this. I can say that this takes a little getting used to AND that for many students, it’s one of the things they miss most when they leave. We don’t really live in a culture that asks us to sit still in silence to reflect or where people feel so safe to share what are often very personal insights. It’s great to have this space. There are sometimes special MFW when something happens that the community needs to process. It’s interesting how many schools are introducing mindfulness programs – that’s what this is and the Quakers have been doing it for over 300 years!
You will have to do some kind of service learning at George. I think the way it is framed, as service “learning” is key. Students aren’t there as saviors, but to learn through helping. They have (in non-covid times) some cool travel trips for this, but there are also other opportunities. And to ensure it’s learning, it’s not “volunteer hours” but also a requirement to process and reflect on it.
Lastly, because a lot of people ask, they have no interest in converting folks. EVeryone already has “that of God” in them, remember? In fact, only something like 15% of the students are Quaker. But you do need to be open to the value system of the school (described on their mission and who we are page). There are parts of it that seem rather utopian, but maybe they are more achievable than we think? Perhaps being a Quaker school means that George is genuinely optimistic about people, that they can work and live and love together, and that they can take that utopia out into the world with them when they graduate. I think you can feel that when you’re there…
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