Selecting a School Or Summer Program

To select a boarding school, review the presentations in this Boarding Schools in the USA website. Read what kind of opportunities each school has to offer. Match them with your personal interests and academic goals. You can use the online Request Information forms to email the schools that interest you for more information.

Read each viewbook and watch each video you receive carefully. Be sure to note special characteristics about each school. Is there a dress code? What is the surrounding area like? Are Advanced Placement courses offered? Do they have a football team? After reading the material, select two or three schools which sound the most interesting and comfortable to you.

Once you receive the admissions packet from each school you contacted, your real work must begin. Read each viewbook carefully. Be sure to note special characteristics about each school as they will begin to sound familiar after reading several viewbooks. Is there a dress code? What is the surrounding area like? Are Advanced Placement courses offered? Do they have a football team? After reading through all of the material, select two or three schools which sound the most interesting and comfortable to you. If they have sent you a video, carefully watch it to see if the "feeling" you got from the literature is the same as from the video. Now that you have chosen two or three schools, begin to consider the application process.

First, the application form will ask you to provide detailed information about yourself and your family. You may be asked to write short answers about your interests and abilities and about your current school. Most schools will also ask you to write and essay in English. The application may also ask for verification of your family's ability to pay school costs.

Next, you will be asked to present information to help the admissions office evaluate your personal and academic abilities. There will be a form asking your current school to send a transcript of your grades and testing scores. You will also be asked to provide written recommendations from one or more of your teachers. Once you file the formal application form and all of the other require forms, you will usually be charged an application fee. The school will then know that your interest is serious, and they will begin to process your application.

You might also ask for a personal visit from someone representing the school. Many boarding schools have graduates who live overseas who would gladly meet with prospective students in their own city or country. They will answer questions and give first-hand information about life and values at the school.

If possible, you should give serious thought to visiting the boarding school or schools you are considering. An actual visit to the school is the best way to determine if you will be happy there as a student. If this is not possible, most schools have a video cassette which they can send to you.

Some of the schools presented on this website may ask you to take a test called the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) and/or the TOEFL. Outside of the U.S.A. and Canada, the SSAT is given three times per year (in November, January, and April) at 189 locations in 66 countries. The test costs US$115 and will give both you and the school an objective indication of your academic ability. If you are unable to take the test on one of the scheduled test dates, you may arrange to take the test at another time at an independent test center. A list of independent test centers is available on the SSAT website, and you may call SSAT with any questions you might have. To contact the SSAT office in Princeton, NJ, visit the SSAT website at www.ssat.org, call at (609) 683-4440, or fax your questions to (609) 683-4507.

You will then send the following information to schools in which you are interested:

an application with an essay in English
a current transcript (school record)
teacher recommendations (usually 2 or 3)
an application fee (US $25 - US $100)
SSAT or TOEFL test results (if required)

Once you have completed the above, wait for a reply from the school. If accepted, the school will send you a letter, enrollment contract and an I-20 which is a document necessary for obtaining a Student Visa. See the article "How To Get Your Student Visa". Once you confirm your attendance at the school by sending an enrollment deposit, you will receive from the school a registration packet full of information you will need in preparing for your stay in the USA.

Featured Programs | Find a Program | Resource Guide | Home