Most boarding schools have international students from a variety of countries. There are many reasons why an international family would look at an education abroad and a boarding experience. Boarding schools provide a quality education with their focus on academics and experiential learning and typical offer many extracurricular activities and sports. Depending on the boarding school’s location, students can experience a more urban or rural setting and students can learn more about the culture and history of each place.

Families appreciate the nurturing, supportive, and enriching environment that is offered at boarding schools, both within and outside of the classroom. Coupled with a quality education, teachers truly care about the success and development of each and every student. The strong and positive relationships between teachers and their students are in the true interest of teachers.

With the excitement that comes with attending a boarding school, often comes nerves. Learning to live in a boarding house with other students can seem intimidating. With so many cultures and everyone learning to live away from home (often for the first time), students may feel nervous that their customs and way of living may be different than those around them. The magic of this is that students quickly realize that they are surrounded by so many others going through the same experience, as well as caring house staff, and after a few weeks, students are settled in and have found the peer groups and staff members who quickly become their family away from home. Many boarding schools will organize fun activities during the first weekends to give students opportunities to connect and bond easily.

Another common challenge that students find difficult is the change in food. Food is a comfort for us all, so it can seem difficult (and can even give an upset stomach) if students are trying foods and ways of cooking for the first time. We recommend asking the kitchen and dining services teams to offer foods from different cultures to make students feel more at home. Or if students have the opportunity to use a kitchen, they can organize a cooking club and share their culinary arts with other students in their dormitory. A great way to get to know each other, bond, and enjoy tasty meals.

Here are some quick tips to prepare and support the international student experience:

• Parents can send care packages from home.
• Students should bring treats and snacks from home. Food is comfort!
• Participation in summer camp programs a few years before studying abroad can help students develop an understanding of what it’s like to live away from home and make friends.
• Students can watch documentaries and videos about the country they will be studying in to begin to familiarize themselves with their destination.
• Staying updated with schools’ social media and YouTube pages helps students learn more about the campus and programs offered.
• For English-language learners, students can watch movies with English subtitles.
• Be open-minded.
• Be brave.
• Be yourself!

A helpful last piece of knowledge is that the international student admissions process is not all that different from a local student who is applying to the school. If students have been studying at an international school for a number of years, most schools will not require students to provide results from an English proficiency test. If a student has been attending a local public school, most schools will ask for an English proficiency test to ensure the English proficiency is strong enough. These are the most common proficiency tests that offer in person or online testing: IELTS, TOEFL, Duolingo. Be sure to check each school’s admissions website for information about their specific admissions process and whether or not they require the applicant to go through admissions testing. It is also helpful to know that some schools might have a set application deadline, whereas other schools have rolling admissions.