<p>In middle school, representatives from a very prestigious boarding school came and gave a presentation about their school, after hours, to interested students. This particular school has an all-expenses-paid 4-year scholarship for two students each year from our geographical area, an area where almost no one considers boarding school, so in recent years they had had very few applicants for this scholarship. They were out trying to drum up applicants (I don’t think this would happen today).</p>
<p>My son went to the presentation of his own accord and got very excited at the prospect. As I learned more about the school, I got very excited too, seeing they had 13 foreign languages to choose from for instance.</p>
<p>My son applied but was not selected, but that started our interest. I did a lot of research and found about financial aid and he applied to several schools the next year. Even though I had very little money, I felt it was worth a small investment. I bought him a suit (his first) and we personally visited and interviewed at each school. Some schools (or all?) wanted a photograph and I had professional ones done. We have relatives on the East Coast and I planned a trip that involved us flying to my hometown, then driving a rental car to New England for school visits.</p>
<p>The one school we did not visit personally was the original school with the scholarship. He applied there again but still didn’t get in.</p>
<p>My son’s experience was so life-changing for him that he was the impetus behind my much-younger daughter getting ready to go off to BS now. For her, it was not her idea, although my son and I both felt it was for the best. My son emphasized to her how wonderful it was for him and paid for us all to fly out and tour four schools, a year ahead of time. One school in particular really turned the tide for my daughter and that is where she will be attending.</p>