Ronald Mangravite - American Prep

Ronald Mangravite

American Prep

The insiders guide to u.s. boarding schools

Copyright 2017 Ronald Mangravite

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AMERICAN PREP:

The Insiders Guide to U.S. Boarding Schools

Library of Congress Cataloging

Names: Mangravite, Ronald

Title: American Prep / by Ronald Mangravite

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017901656

ISBN 9781633534896 (paperback), ISBN 9781633534902 (eBook)

BISAC Category Code: STU000000 STUDY AIDS/General

Author Photo Provided By Bob Lasky

Front Cover and Interor Images: Jannis Tobias Werner/Shutterstock.com, f11photo/Shutterstock.com, EQRoy/Shutterstock.com, Joe Mercier/Shutterstock.com, and AN NGUYEN

ISBN: (paperback) 978-1-63353-489-6, (ebook) 978-1-63353-490-2

Printed in the United States of America

American Prep is the most comprehensive and accurate book on the American boarding school experience I have ever read. Ronald Mangravite captures the many facets of a boarding school education with remarkable clarity. Without bias or agenda, he shows why boarding schools are a powerful educational model which prepares children from all parts of society for success as adults.

Thomas Sheppard,

Dean of Enrollment Management, Lawrenceville School

As parents who stumbled upon boarding school as a viable alternative for our daughters almost four years ago, we wish we would have had a resource such as American Prep to better prepare us for the process. The insights on parenting boarding school students are invaluable to all families considering or already in the process of sending a child to boarding school.

Lia Yaffar-Pena,

St. Timothys School parent

American boarding schools are NOT what you see in the movies! They have evolved into inclusive, supportive communities while continuing to deliver the sort of academic and character-based education for which they have been renowned. Through candid descriptions of life at todays schools, and detailed road maps through the admission and financial aid process, Ronald Mangravite provokes what will be an eye-opening revelation for many people: an American boarding school education is both extremely appealing and surprisingly accessible.

Ian Gracey,

Dean of Admission & Financial Aid, Groton School

This is a very thorough book and especially useful for international families. We have needed a book like this for decades; I wish American Prep would have been available when I went to school. Read it, then keep it as a referencea treasure trove of information!

Diego Munoz-Tamayo,

Thacher School alumnus, Choate Rosemary Hall parent, Deerfield Academy parent

If American Prep had been available to us when we started our search, the road to boarding school would have been significantly less daunting. I highly recommend reading it and referencing it throughout the process.

Lisa Cloughen, Portsmouth Abbey School parent

This book is so well-written it is ridiculous. The depth of thought that has gone into it is impressive; it is coming from a very centered place that will speak to the heart of any parent or child considering this particular road trip. I found it very moving as I reprocessed my own prep school career in parallel with reading it...The examination of school costs and financial aid support is particularly illuminating.

Phil DeMuth, bestselling author, Forbes contributor, Lawrenceville alumnus

Exceptionally comprehensive, American Prep is both a good read to familiarize oneself with U.S. boarding schools and a detailed reference guide to draw on throughout the boarding school experience.

Paul Sardina,

Culver Academy Alumnus and Parent

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Picture this

Its early morning at an American boarding school. The dawns light, filtering down through majestic old trees maples, oaks and elms - falls gently on a vast circle of manicured lawn, bejeweled with dew. A small herd of deer grazes serenely along the fringe of the campus woods. Out on the river nearby, the crew team is completing a morning workout. Soon chapel bells will begin to peal, heralding the onset of the school day. Students will stroll forth towards ancient ivied academic buildings where their instructors await to begin the academic day .

Thats quite an idyllic scene, isnt it? But are boarding schools really like that? And how in the world does one go about finding out?

My first encounter with the boarding school world was hardly romantic; more like film noir. I arrived abruptly, sight unseen, due to family circumstances. My father drove me to the campus on a raw, rainy morning in early fall. I had one suitcase and a foot locker. I checked in at the administration building, we shook hands and he left. My boarding school life began.

The school was one of the well known ones, old and beautiful, but with an atmosphere as chill as the autumn wind. Despite this, many of the boys (for this was a single-sex school, as most were then) appeared to be having a grand time. These kids were fast friends, high spirited, enthusiastic about everything in school life, except perhaps the food and the daily chapel requirements. As a new boy, utterly clueless about boarding school culture, I was apart from this camaraderie. I struggled with my classes, and both feared and admired my teachers in equal measure. I felt unwanted and kept to myself, lonely and homesick.

Over time, things changed. My academics strengthened. I found my voice in class. I made friends and began to have fun in clubs and sports. Going home at breaks began to feel odd; returning to school turned into going home. My grades improved, as did my poise and gravitas. I was just getting going when matriculation came, too late to truly succeed at school, especially compared to my accomplished classmates. Impatient for the future, I shot out to college so fast I could have had a comet named after me. My prep school days, I thought, were history.

How wrong I was. At university and after, I began to understand how my preparatory education had changed me. My writing and oral argument had become coherent and clear. A willingness to seize opportunities and an indifference to hardships seemed second nature. As time went on I realized what I had absorbed from boarding school: self reliance; an ability to confront challenging situations and material and a growing love for such encounters; and an ease with people of varied backgrounds combined with an appreciation for traditional values and aesthetics. Without my knowledge (or consent) I had been prepped in ways far more substantive than mere college academics. I had been transformed. To misquote Nelson W. Aldrich, Jr., I left my school, but the school did not leave me.

After college came career. This included years of teaching at the university level, with admissions committee service, which brought me back in contact with the prep world. Research for various writing projects led me into prep school history and current administrative practices.