Best Gifts for Boarding School Graduates (2026 Guide)

One of the most important considerations in choosing a boarding school for your son or daughter is what goes on in the classroom and in the larger school community. In other words, what are they teaching, and how are they teaching it?

You must never assume that, just because a school enjoys a solid reputation, has been there forever, and looks wonderful on the surface, it will provide the kind of teaching you want and expect for your child. Doing your due diligence with respect to the curriculum and how it is taught has to be one of the most important parts of your school evaluation process.

This video compares what is taught in private schools with what is taught in public schools.

Here's how to proceed.

• Observe
• Question
• Research

Observe

When you visit the school for your admissions interview, try to do so while the school is in session. Summer visits are often more convenient for all of us, but you won't be able to observe any classes. Summer sessions do not usually offer a typical classroom experience. So you cannot judge the teaching or what is being taught by what you see during the summer. The teaching staff is frequently not the same as the faculty who teach during the year. Because it is summer, the whole atmosphere is much more relaxed.

When you visit the school and observe a class, is the class size small?

5 Founders and Their Boarding Schools

Five founders of boarding schools changed American education forever—but you've probably never heard their names.

• So, when you look at the examples of these five founders of legendary boarding schools, you can only marvel at the sheer determination that each one had to make his or her dream come true.
• American boarding schools are some of the best in the world.
• In an age when everybody seems to be taking shots at America and what we stand for, that's an excellent statement.

Here, then, are snapshots of the founders of five boarding schools. They are an inspiration forever, as indeed are all the founders of boarding schools throughout the United States.

Maria Bissell Hotchkiss and The Hotchkiss School

Founded: 1891 Number of students: 598 Grades: 9-12, PG. Coeducational Religious Affiliation: Nondenominational Setting: Rural

• Maria Bissell Hotchkiss had inherited a fortune from her husband, Benjamin Hotchkiss.
• He made his money manufacturing guns.
• After he died, Mrs. Hotchkiss donated 65 acres in Northwestern Connecticut to establish a school for boys.
• She wanted the school to be a feeder school for Yale University in New Haven.

Her original gift of 65 acres expanded over time into a magnificent campus of 645 acres of pristine Northwestern Connecticut countryside.

• Mrs. Hotchkiss' munificence also established a generous financial aid program.
• This has permitted boys from families who could not otherwise afford to attend The Hotchkiss

What If Things Go Wrong?

You are thinking about boarding school. But you've heard that the work is tough. Furthermore, they will expel you in a heartbeat if you are caught doing anything seriously wrong. Is this true? Is that the way boarding schools work? Let's look at the facts.

1. The academic work is difficult.

There's no escaping the truth about academics in private schools. Academics are the reason a private school exists in the first place. The academic standards are high. There is a lot of homework. There are a lot of subjects and a lot of ground to cover in every class. Sometimes, the lessons are hard to understand. Just remember, whenever you feel discouraged that you were admitted to the school because you thought you could do the academic work involved. The school-based its decision on your academic transcripts and admissions test scores.

MJ The Student Actuary offers some study tips for complex subjects.

The difference between taking on challenging work in a boarding school versus a public school is simply that nobody in the boarding school will let you sink. Why? Well, for one, the classes are small. For example, your teacher will know you have problems grasping a math concept. You will not be humiliated in front of your peers. If you don't believe me, read the codes of conduct for any boarding school and see just how seriously

At some point in the process of choosing schools for your child, you will have to engage in the exercise of comparing certain criteria. As much as private schools can be compared – for they really can't be compared – you still need to keep track of basic information that matters to you and your consultant.

Basics like tuition costs, acceptance rate, and dress code which matter to you should be part of the spreadsheet you set up to compare schools. We are using three schools for the purposes of this illustration. But you probably will want to have as many as 10-15 schools in your first group. Once that is done you can begin eliminating the schools that don't suit your requirements as you begin to develop a short list of schools to visit and examine more closely.

Where do you get the data? It's very easy to find on this site. On the splash page near the top is a drop-down menu titled Comparisons. Choose any criterion you like. Then click on schools that interest you. All the data you need is listed for you in each school's profile.

Here's an example of what your spreadsheet could look like. We have chosen basic data but you can list whatever criteria matter to you in the first column of the spreadsheet.