The Foreign Service Journal, June 2016

90 JUNE 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT colleges and universities. They often have teams of counselors who meet regularly with students beginning in the junior year to identify each student’s target universi- ties and strategies to gain acceptance. Many schools offer structured sup- port in essay writing and SAT/ACT test preparation. This level of support may be helpful to many students, but can be especially vital to students with learning differences—or, as some of my friends have pointed out, “most teenage boys.” On top of this, many of the schools we looked at dedicate a weekend during junior year when parents are invited to campus and walked through the entire college counseling process. Of course, not every student needs this. Some families are focused on specific schools or types of schools due to family legacy, religion or for some other reason, and those people may not need much college counseling at all. But if your child will need some counsel- ing, and plans to attend university in the United States, there is little doubt they will get excellent assistance at a U.S.- based boarding school. Each of the schools to which our daughter applied boasted excellent placement at top universities, which at the time was good enough for me. It wasn’t until I attended a college coun- seling weekend at her school, met with her counselor and came home with the school’s 85-page college counseling program guide that I realized just how organized and thorough their program is. Location, Location, Location When our daughter began looking at boarding schools, we limited her to ones in New England so that she would be somewhat close to family. It wasn’t until after her fall break—when the school There is another factor that can also come into play at some of the more elite boarding schools—athletics.