Alex Brown has the responsibility of a college freshman at the tender age of 15. He sets his study hours. He meets with his teachers. He washes his clothes, makes sure he gets enough sleep and sees the doctor when he is sick.
As a boarding school student more than 980 miles away from his parents, he is learning to take control of his education and his life.
Brown is a ninth grader at the prestigious Hotchkiss School in Connecticut -- and one of a relative handful of metro Atlanta students who attend top-tier prep schools away from home.
"I love school," said Brown, who returned to Atlanta recently. "Everything you need is right on campus - the doctor's office, the laundry facility, the school store. Our teachers live on our floors. They eat in the dining hall with their families. It's a really cool experience."
Interest in boarding schools of all stripes is increasing as more metro parents shop for educational options. They see boarding schools as a way to get their kids academically and emotionally ready to succeed at universities.
Boarding school enrollment at schools in the Southeast rose 8 percent since 2010, according to the National Association of Independent Schools. Member schools in the region have more than 2,200 students. Nationally, enrollment increased about 1.1 percent to nearly 22,200 students in the same period.
Some families are drawn to elite boarding schools for the prestige and a better shot at the Ivy League. Mixers for elite schools are often at swanky hotels or estates. They boast famous alumni including celebs and former U.S. presidents.
Warren Zhang, a manager at Cisco, says he lives modestly so he can afford to send his daughter Clare to boarding school for the challenging curriculum. He says she was at the top of her classes at public school in Forsyth County and qualified to skip first-year math, science and Spanish at Hotchkiss, which costs about $45,400 a year.
"In the Asian culture we tend to have close control over our kids as they grow up,” Zhang said. “Boarding school gives them the opportunity to be better than their parents. They teach kids to think independently and to collaborate. She has learned how to deal with situations where she realizes she is not the best and it really is not bothering her.”
Getting accepted can be difficult. Good behavior, above average to excellent standardized test scores plus favorable teacher recommendations are expected.
A Better Chance, a national outreach that helps minorities in grades 5-10 enroll in private schools, placed 203 students in boarding schools this academic year -- 7 percent of them from Georgia. The group received nearly 2,700 applications. Successful candidates must have leadership qualities, perform at or above grade level in math and English, and have a B+ or better grade point average, among other things, said Michael Paluszek, group spokesman.
Natina Adams, a single mother, has decided to let her daughter apply.
“She has all of these goals in life. These days it’s more about your networks than just having your college degree. Boarding school opens the door.”
Choate, also in Connecticut, has eight metro Atlanta students. Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts and Hotchkiss each have seven. Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire has five.
Students need not leave Georgia, however. The state's boarding schools include Riverside Military Academy for boys in Gainesville, which has 366 students; Brandon Hall in Atlanta, which has 138 students, 60 percent of whom live there; and Rome's Darlington School, where 21 percent of its 875 kids are boarders.
Tannika King, Darlington’s spokeswoman, says the nine-to-one student-teacher ratio is a draw.
“The class sizes are small, (and) about 55 percent of our faculty live on campus. Students can get support outside the school day,” she said.
As with private universities, boarding schools use financial aid packages to make themselves affordable. Some offer full scholarships and pay travel expenses.
Colin Lord, a Choate admissions officer who was interviewing Atlanta hopefuls, said a network of northern schools it partners with awarded $70 million in financial aid to 2,000 kids this year.
“If we accept a student who is applying for financial aid, we will all support that student to 100 percent of their demonstrated need,” he said.
Nearly half of 20 recent Ron Clark Academy graduates landed at boarding schools this fall. In 2010, two of 20 rising freshmen in the grade 5-8 school did.
"Our class of 2011 was awarded $1.4 million in fully funded scholarships -- some of these schools cost $45,000 a year," said Gina Coss, who oversees transitions at RCA. "The parents have been the leader in this -- there are transcripts to get, teacher recommendations and tests. We support them."
Parents sometimes are criticized for sending their kids away. A common misconception is that all boarding schools students are troubled or that their parents are too busy to raise them. Some families do choose military-themed boarding schools to instill discipline.
Hotchkiss mom Saye Sutton, the wife of a retired federal judge, said a friend asked, “How could you do this?”
“It’s not about me," she said. "Destiny marches right over mothers.”
Separation can be hard on parents, though.
“When we went to drop him off, they kicked me off campus for making his bed,” joked Lynn Brown, Alex's mother. “I don’t let go very easily.”
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