Comparison of boarding and day schools
Nowadays, parents understand how important high-quality school education is for a successful life and career of a child. Deciding on pursuing education abroad, parents should determine what type of school to choose – day or boarding one. Smapse Education experts recommend to visit preferred educational institution prior to studies to make sure that your child is ready to study on a full board basis.
Typically, while studying at boarding school, children will attend smaller classes compared to a regular day school. As practice shows, smaller classes stipulate higher levels of engagement from both the child and the teacher. Such an approach to teaching contributes to providing more guidance and support to each student. In addition to it, a teacher can tailor an approach to comply with a child’s specific goals and needs.
One of the main advantages of attending boarding schools concerns offering diverse extra-curricular activities, ranging from Taekwondo and scuba diving to specialized performing arts programs. Having these opportunities is not only integral to the personal development of your child but will also contribute to the success of their university application. Schools such as Millfield and Uppingham have state-of-the-art sporting facilities and reassuringly, still maintain fantastic academic results.
Most children will not experience a true sense of independence until they leave their home for university. By attending boarding school, children are given more independence earlier and will learn to adapt to living in a community outside of their family. This increases their preparation for life beyond studying, helping to develop their maturity and independence before entering the adult world. In particular, boarding schools in the UK provide all the conditions for a comfortable life and studying: a separate room, three meals a day, a library, sports grounds, laundry and even personal mentors.
If your child is a little shy, it is recommended to consider a boarding school in the USA, as typically it is a small educational institution, accepting local and foreign students to study. The target audience for studying is foreign students aged 11 years old and above. Also, upon reaching the age of 14, foreign students are provided with the opportunity to choose accommodation type outside the campus (it can be a host family).
Advantages of studying in boarding schools abroad
For those students who lack English proficiency, many boarding schools offer additional educational opportunities. These can be individual lessons or small language groups, aimed at accelerating language acquisition. In these groups, students can study various aspects of the language in depth, working on their weaknesses and activating existing knowledge. This not only helps to speed up the language learning process, but also makes it much more effective.
Boarding schools not only provide comprehensive education, but also actively prepare students for the next stage of their academic career — university. High school students in these educational institutions receive targeted preparation for entrance and language exams, which are key factors in admission to higher education institutions.
In addition, these schools often organize meetings with representatives of various universities. These events provide students with the opportunity to get personally acquainted with the academic environment and culture of a potential place of study, ask questions about the admission process and learn more about the courses they are interested in.
Boarding school or day school, which is better?
Final decision on school type depends on individual preferences, future goals, and budget. For example, studying at Swiss boarding school is expensive, accounting for 55,000 dollars per academic year including accommodation and meals. Also it is necessary to take into account the country where the student plans to pursue higher education and make his career.
Take into account the international ranking of boarding schools, as educational institutions occupying first 50 positions, provide high quality education at high price. However, you can select a less prestigious boarding school, in which education is not inferior in quality.
For foreign students, boarding school is the best option, as it allows immersing in a new academic and language environment. Due to constant communication with representatives of various nationalities, social skills, tolerance are developing.
