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The fast academic pace at most boarding schools necessitates a strong command of the English language prior to enrolling. In order to keep up with coursework and perform at your best, you should be able to read, write and speak English with near fluency. If you aren’t almost fluent, you will likely struggle.

 

That doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t attend U.S. or Canadian boarding schools, however. It simply means you should look for boarding schools that offer English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for students whose native language is not English.

 

ESL programs help students to quickly get up to speed on the language. Depending on their mastery of the language, students are generally placed into a beginner, intermediate or advanced ESL class. From there, students are integrated with American students into classes where English is the only language spoken.

With boarding school tuition rivaling that of private colleges, at just under $40,000 a year, many families need some financial assistance to afford it or help with tuition costs. And, in fact, an estimated 30% of all families with students attending a boarding school receive some sort of financial aid, with the average aid amount being around $17,000.

 

Similar to colleges and other private schools, families apply for financial aid when their child applies for admission into a boarding school. In general, families making more than $120,000 in household income have a lower chance of qualifying for aid; those making less should qualify for some form of need-based financial aid.

 

Boarding schools offer two general types of aid: need based and merit based.

 

Families with lower incomes typically qualify for help from the school in the form of grants. Grants do not need to be repaid. However, because of the high cost of attendance, most families also need to apply for loans to cover the balance. Boarding schools generally have established relationships with banks and funding sources that will provide educational loans.