CONFIDENT AND SECURE NO MATTER THE DISTANCE

Applying to boarding school as an international student presents unique concerns. It’s one thing to choose to have your child attend a boarding school, but it’s quite another when your child is in another country. It’s even more important that the family understands the school culture, the values the school embodies, and the other attending students on campus.

International students go through various phases to learn about boarding schools just as domestic students do:

• deciding which schools to apply with

• prepare for testing

• complete the application itself

• interview

• visit

• wait for admissions decision

BPG works as the family’s eyes and ears since they are too far away to do multiple visits. Knowing we have personally visited hundreds of boarding schools, families have appreciated being able to trust us to look out for their child’s best interests throughout the process by helping to identify schools that will be the right fit for them.

There are at least five logistical challenges when working with international families

1. travel arrangements

2. visas

3. test preparation

4. getting teacher recommendations

5. transcripts

We can help to manage all of these details and keep the process moving forward in a timely fashion.

One concern we often hear from international families is centered around the cultural sensitivity a particular school has for their students from abroad. It is very important for students to be in an environment where the faculty and staff is aware of and appreciates the diversity and differences overseas students can bring to their campus. We regularly present to boarding school audiences so it comes naturally to us to think about these concerns when considering schools. When great distances separate families, it is extremely important everyone feels comfortable about their school choices.