4 conferences and fairs coming up in the next three months for study-abroad agencies, schools and exchange and program organizations. Dates, places and official links are read from the organizers’ own pages and re-checked every week.
Of 232 boarding schools with NCES grade data (PSS 2023-24), 103 (44%) serve grades 9–12 only, 68 (29%) start in grades 6 to 8 and run to grade 12, 48 (21%) start at kindergarten or earlier, and 13 (6%) have another range. If your child is younger than 9th grade, this decides which schools you can consider.
Of 197 boarding schools in our directory with a founding year, 13 were founded before 1800, 86 in the 1800s, 94 in the 1900s and 4 since 2000. The median founding year is 1899. The oldest listed is West Nottingham Academy in Maryland, founded in 1744.
Among 134 boarding schools that publish boarding tuition (mostly 2026–27), 70 (52%) charge $75,000 to $85,000 a year, 31 charge $65,000 to $75,000 and only 7 charge $85,000 or more. At 113 schools that publish both prices, boarding tuition is a median $28,000 higher than day tuition, about 1.6 times.
Among boarding schools that publish tuition, the median boarding tuition is $79,650 in New England (n=42) and $78,900 in the West (n=16), against $66,750 in the South (n=18) and $65,000 in the Midwest (n=13). New England also holds the largest share of schools: 73 of 232 (31%).
Of 232 boarding schools with NCES locale data, 113 (49%) are rural, 63 (27%) suburban, 36 (16%) in a city and 20 (9%) in a town. Rural schools are the smallest (median 201 students) and sit a median 81 km from the nearest major airport; city schools are 23 km away.
Of 232 U.S. boarding schools with NCES data (PSS 2023-24), 179 (77%) are coed, 29 are boys' schools and 24 are girls' schools. The median boys' school enrolls 171 students and the median girls' school about 209, against 311 at coed schools. Single-sex schools also report lower student–teacher ratios.
For 232 U.S. boarding schools in our directory, the median straight-line distance to the nearest major airport is 63 km (39 miles). 38% are within 50 km (31 miles), 74% within 100 km (62 miles) and 87% within 150 km (93 miles). Straight-line distance is not driving time, so ask each school about airport transfers.
Among 232 boarding schools with NCES data (PSS 2023-24), the median school enrolls about 266 students and has 7.2 students per full-time-equivalent teacher. Close to four in ten schools enroll fewer than 200 students, and two in three have a ratio of 8 to 1 or lower.
Our directory lists 283 U.S. boarding schools in 43 states. Massachusetts (35), Connecticut (27), California (22), Virginia (20) and New York (19) together hold 123 of them — 43%. Of the 283, 275 match a school on the SEVP list of schools certified to enroll F-1 students.
Among 134 boarding schools whose own websites publish boarding tuition (mostly 2026–27), the median is $76,990 a year and the middle half runs from $67,000 to $80,800. The highest is $116,941. Day tuition at 121 schools has a median of $47,500. Tuition is not the full cost, and published prices are before financial aid.
In NCES data (PSS 2023-24) for 219 boarding schools, the median school reports that 98% of last year's graduates went on to a 4-year college. Three in four schools report 90% or more, and two in three report 95% or more. The figure says how many go on, not which colleges they attend.
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