Boarding School Guide is an independent editorial guide to boarding schools, written for parents doing this research for the first time. It is not affiliated with any school, association, or placement consultancy, and no school can pay to appear, rank higher, or be described more favorably.
Why this guide exists
Boarding school research is unusually hard to do well. Much of what ranks highly in search is published by placement consultancies that earn commissions, by directories that list schools which closed years ago, or by the schools themselves. Meanwhile the highest-stakes category — residential programs marketed to parents of struggling teenagers — is the least regulated and the most aggressively advertised.
This guide takes a different position. It reports what things cost, what the data show, and what the trade-offs are, including the cases where the honest answer is that boarding school is the wrong choice or that a given state has no boarding schools at all.
How the guide is written
- Primary sources first. Tuition, enrollment, and program facts come from schools’ own published materials. Sector-wide statistics come from named bodies such as NAIS, TABS, and ISC, cited on the page where they appear.
- Every page lists its sources. Each guide ends with a Sources section linking the organizations and school pages the figures came from, so you can verify them yourself.
- Costs are stated as ranges with a year attached. Tuition changes annually, so figures are labeled by academic year rather than presented as timeless facts.
- Uncertainty is stated, not hidden. Where a figure varies or a school’s status is unclear, the guide says so and tells you to verify directly with the school.
- Closures are tracked. Schools that have closed are removed and, where they still circulate in directories, noted explicitly so you do not waste time on them.
The full standards, including how corrections are handled, are in the editorial policy.
What this guide is not
It is not a placement service, an admissions consultancy, or a referral network, and it does not accept payment from schools or programs for coverage. It also does not sell your information: no lead forms here pass parent details to schools or consultants, which is a common and rarely disclosed practice on boarding school directory sites.
It is also not a substitute for professional advice in clinical situations. If you are considering a therapeutic program or residential care for a teenager in crisis, the guide explains how to vet providers and verify licensing, but the assessment itself should come from a licensed clinician you pay directly and who has no financial relationship with any program.
Always verify before you commit
Every figure here should be treated as a starting point for a conversation with a school, not as a final number. Tuition, aid budgets, acceptance rates, and program offerings change every year, and a school’s admission office is the authoritative source for its own data.
Start with the main boarding school guide, or go straight to costs, financial aid, or schools by state.
About this guide: FAQ
Is this site affiliated with any boarding school?
No. Boarding School Guide is an independent editorial publication. It is not owned by, affiliated with, or paid by any school, school association, admissions consultancy, or placement service, and no school can pay to be included, ranked higher, or described more favorably.
Who is this guide for?
It is written for parents and guardians researching boarding school for the first time — people who need to know what it costs, how financial aid actually works, what ages schools accept, how the application timeline runs, and how to tell an academic school from an unregulated residential program.
Does this site rank boarding schools?
Not in the sense of a numbered national ranking. Published boarding school "rankings" are typically built from selectivity and test scores, which measure who a school admits rather than what it does for students. This guide reports verifiable facts — tuition, aid, size, programs — and explains how to judge fit.
How can I report an error?
Corrections are welcome and are the fastest way to improve the guide. Send the page URL, the specific figure or statement you believe is wrong, and a link to the primary source, and the page will be checked and updated or corrected.
Primary sources used across this site
- National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS): tuition, enrollment, and financial aid statistics.
- The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS): member directory and sector data.
- Independent Schools Council (ISC): UK boarding fee and enrollment data.
- The Joint Commission and CARF International: accreditation verification for residential programs.