Almost everyone can conjure up an image of the traditional boarding school student: preppy, competitive and obviously in the 99th percentile academically. Yet when a boarder is asked to self-evaluate, these students describe themselves and their experiences in vastly different ways. One thing is certain, however: These students were and continue to be extremely qualified people searching for a natural transition from their high school experiences.
Both Bailey Hoar '13 and Catherine Bryt '15 decided to enroll in boarding school in order to find a more challenging academic environment. Bryt, who attended a local public school in Manhattan, said she chose to go to Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH because she wanted to be fully immersed in academia, which was not possible with the less intensive curriculum at her school.
Similarly, Hoar said she chose to attend the Middlesex School in Concord, MA because her public school was "mediocre" and apathetic when it came to focusing on intelligent students.
"The straw that broke the camel's back was that I wanted to take two languages, so I petitioned the school to have me substitute Latin 1 one for my freshman basics course," Hoar said. "My personal guidance counselor said something to the effect of, Bailey's not the kind of student that needs any extra attention,' which isn't a really good way to start your freshman year."
Ray Li '12, who attended the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, MA and Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT, said his desire to go to boarding school stemmed from his family's constant relocation during his childhood.
"My family moved around a lot because of my dad's work, so boarding school presented an opportunity for me to settle down and have a more stable community," Li said. "I actually started attending boarding school in sixth grade, which taught me to be really independent. Now I don't need to rely on anyone I even manage all my own money."
Tim Brown '13, who went to the Thacher School in Ojai, Calif., also said he had to mature quickly while at boarding school.
"I think people just grow up really quickly when they're forced to live away from home," Brown said.
He described Thacher as a "cowboy Western school" and said that every student is assigned a horse to care for at the beginning of his or her freshman year. Brown said that Thacher's "Western ethos gives it a different feel from preppy East Coast boarding schools" because it focuses less on academic elitism and more on a "holistic" education.
While Brown's boarding school experience was certainly atypical, others recognize the stereotypes inherent in their boarding school experiences.
Nick Joung '15, who attended the Taft School in Connecticut, laughingly described how his school's dress code wasn't that bad they only had to wear collared shirts and khakis, while kids at the school down the road were forced to wear jackets and ties to class.
Clearly, some of the stereotypical connotations of the New England prep school image have continued to thrive over the years.
"I went to school with girls who popped their collars all the time everything you expect about boarding school, it was there," Hoar said. "That's kind of what you buy into though."
Many students said the most noticeable differences between their high school and Dartmouth are the number of students and the amount of free time.
"My structured life allowed me to build my schedule well, but at the same time the free time kind of ate me up," Hoar said. "I didn't know what to do with myself, so I ended up gaining a lot of weight the rigidity of the schedule prepared me [for college] but also f*cked me over."
One of the other main differences between many boarding schools and the "traditional Dartmouth experience" is the prevalence of alcohol as an inherent part of college culture.
"Socially, you couldn't really drink or do drugs [at Exeter] because it was a one shot chance you would get kicked out if you were caught," Bryt said. "You had to figure out how to have fun without the use of drugs and alcohol."
On the flipside, Joung said he felt he was robbed of a traditional high school experience because students were not allowed to make extensive social plans on the weekends, and "those students that did tended not to make it through."
But overall, many boarding school students seem to have chosen Dartmouth for its similarities to their high school experiences Li even described Choate as a "mini Dartmouth."
Bryt and Heather Binnie '12, who also attended Exeter, said that Dartmouth is actually less demanding than Exeter.
"Exeter was challenging academically because we went to school from 8 [a.m.] to 6 [p.m.] and had classes on Saturdays," Bryt said. "Every class is maximum 12 people, and all of them are held around a round table. Your entire day is spent in discussion with your peers, so you get insights you can't get from one person lecturing in front of you."
Hoar said she appreciated the academically cutthroat environment of her boarding school.
"I got to be everything that I wanted to be," she said. "No one judged me, called me an overachiever, suck up.
At public school, it's so easy to throw around labels, so it was nice to be at a place where it was OK to be an overachiever."
By the end of four years, however, many students felt constricted and were ready to leave the restrictions of the boarding school bubble. Joung said he disliked that at Taft, everyone knew everything about each other, even individual SAT scores.
Out of the 300 people in her grade, Binnie said there were over 100' students who attended Ivy League schools. In fact, there are 11 students from Phillips Exeter Academy at Dartmouth in the Class of 2012 alone.
"Exeter was a very competitive place, with a lot of really focused and driven overachievers," Binnie said. "I think it was too competitive a place at such a young age. I would never send my kid to Exeter because I don't think it brings out the best in people."
It seems that Dartmouth receives boarding school students who are searching for experiences similar to those they had in high school.
While not all have entirely found what they are looking for, most boarding school students at least have more seamless transitions into the college lifestyle than some of their peers.
