top of page
Boarding School
Application Process

Once students and parents are ready to apply, they are ready to proceed to prepare applications to their prospective boarding schools.

From this point, students and parents prepare all application forms and gather all supporting documentation for the purpose of submitting a formal application to each respective school.

 

While admissions procedures differ from school to school, most schools request essentially the same supporting documentation and typical points to consider during the application process are as follows:

​​

1. Application Period

Schools generally have one intake per year, typically at the start of their school year in August or September. As such, students preparing for boarding generally start the application process in September or October the year prior to their intended intake year.

 

2. School Search

It is critical to find a school that is a healthy match for the student.

In the case of the U.S., due to vast cultural differences from state to state and the sheer number of qualified boarding schools, it can be daunting for parents to narrow their school search to a shortlist of prospective schools.

 

In developing a school list, parents are strongly advised to consider the following criteria:

 

(a.) Does the school achievement level match that of the student?

(b.) Does the student possess the necessary math level to be competitive at the school?

(c.) Does the school have an effective ESL program and to what extent does the school provide support resources for international students? Note that most study abroad students from Korea lack English proficiency and are almost always required to complete an ESL program.

(d.) What courses and programs does the school offer to empower the student to strengthen his or her existing interests and to explore new aims and aspirations?

(e.) How does the school structure their college preparatory program? AP/IB?

(f.) Where have past alumni attended university? Is there a pipeline to top 40 U.S. universities?

(g.) Is the student body size (big or small) suitable for the student?

(h.) To what extent is the student prepared to live independently?

(i.) Should the family have existing relations in the U.S., can such friends or family be counted on to support the needs of the student?

 

3. Information Request

Having thoroughly applied the above criteria in the school search and having then compiled a short list of prospective schools, the student and parent should now email the admissions officer at each respective school to request for admissions information and a formal application form.


4. The Application

Central to the boarding school application process is the application review by the admissions officers at the prospective school. In deciding on whether to award admission, these officers will evaluate only the student’s scholastic record but also, among many other factors, social and personal attributes, unique and exceptional talents, academic potential and future promise.

 

The student’s application is often the only opportunity to convince admissions officers that a student’s academic record, personality, talents, and future potential merit admissions to the prospective boarding school.

Submitting an accurate and attractive application is critical to successful admissions and as such is the most important step in the application process.

bottom of page