by Steve Ruzicka, Executive Director, TABS
 
Many people have long sung the praises of the boarding school experience. The high-level academics, the friendships and the life lessons learned are without rival at private day or public schools.
 
Now, a study released by The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), a non-profit organization of independent, college preparatory schools, validates these claims. Not only do boarding school students spend more time studying (and less time watching TV), they are also better prepared for college and progress more quickly in their careers than counterparts who attended private day or public schools.
 
The survey, which was conducted by the Baltimore-based research firm the Art & Science Group, involved interviews with 1,000 students and alumni from boarding schools, 1,100 from public schools, and 600 from private day schools (including independent day and parochial schools).
 
The results not only affirm the benefits enjoyed by boarding school graduates, but those bestowed upon current boarding school students, as well. "The study helps us better understand how the opportunities for interaction and learning beyond the classroom found at boarding school impact a student's life at school, and into adulthood," explains Steve Ruzicka, TABS executive director. Ruzicka says the survey will also provide boarding school alumni with empirical data to help when considering their children¹s educational options.
 
Rigorous Academics Prevail
 
Why do students apply to boarding schools? The TABS study found that the primary motivation for both applicants and their parents is the promise of a better education. And, happily, the vast majority of current and past students surveyed reported that their schools deliver on this promise. Current students indicated significantly higher levels of satisfaction with their academic experience at boarding schools than their peers at public and private day schools, by more than ten percentage points (54 percent of boarding students versus 42 percent of private day students and 40 percent of public school students). Boarders reported in greater relative percentages that they find their schools academically challenging, that their peers are more motivated and the quality of teaching is very high.
 
But the boarding environment is valued just as much for the opportunities for interaction and learning beyond the classroom. Interactions in the dining room, the dormitory and on the playing field both complement and supplement academics, exposing students to a broad geographic and socioeconomic spectrum, challenging their boundaries and broadening their vision of the world.
 
Boarding School Boost
 
The 24/7 life at boarding school also gives students a significant leg up when they attend college, the survey documents. Some 87 percent of boarding school graduates said they were very well prepared academically for college, with only 71 percent of private day and just 39 percent of public school alumni saying the same. 78 percent of boarders reported that their schools also helped better prepare them to face the non-academic aspects of college life, such as independence, social life and time management. Only 36 percent of private day graduates and 23 percent of public school graduates said the same. The TABS survey also documented that a larger percentage of boarding school graduates go on to earn advanced degrees once they finish college: 50 percent, versus 36 percent of private day and 21 percent of public school alumni.
 
Beyond college, boarding school graduates also reap greater benefit from their on-campus experiences, advancing faster and further in their careers comparatively. The study scrutinized former boarders versus private day and public school graduates in terms of achieving positions in top management and found that by mid-career, 44 percent of boarding school graduates have reached top management versus 33 percent of private day school graduates and 27 percent of public school graduates.
 
By late career, more than half of the surveyed boarding school sample, 52 percent, held positions in top management as opposed to 39 percent of private day and 27 percent of public school graduates.
 
But perhaps the most compelling statistic that the study produced is the extremely high percentage ­ some 90 percent ­ of boarding school alumni who say they would, if given the opportunity, repeat their boarding school experience. This alone is a strong argument that validates the enduring value of the boarding school model. It is hoped that the study will help dispel many of the myths and stereotypes that have dogged the image of boarding schools over the last century, and spread the good news that boarding schools today are diverse, exciting places for bright, well-adjusted students looking for success in their academic lives ­ and beyond.