Study Overseas

What is a private school?

Since the earliest days of compulsory education in the United States, there has been a debate about the role of private schools in the community. The first private schools in the US were Catholic schools which were created in response to a perceived Protestant control over the public education system. Since those first Catholic schools a number of different types of school have appeared, some religious and others unaffiliated. Private schools exist to offer communities an alternative to their public system and thus are eligible for limited governmental funding. Government funding for religious schools is highly regulated and difficult to obtain which is why students have much higher tuition costs than a traditional public schools.

The benefits of a private education

Despite the higher cost of attending a private school, students at private schools have access to some of the best teachers and programs in the nation. The National Assessment of Educational Progress administered in 2000 revealed that private school students tend performed better than their public school counterparts overall and in students in private high schools performed better than their public school peers in the critical areas of math and science. These impressive test scores are a result of strict academic standards. Private schools required an average of 3 years of mathematics compared to the nearly 2.5 required by public schools.

Perhaps the biggest advantage private schools have over traditional public schools is their smaller class size. Private schools tend to have fewer students in their classes and more crucially, private schools have a lower student to teacher ratio than public schools. 36 per cent of private schools have a student teacher ratio of 1 to 10. Having fewer students per teacher means that students get the attention they need to succeed academically. This might one of the reasons why students who graduate from private schools are more likely to graduate from college with a bachelor’s degree. According to the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, "Fourth Follow-up" from 2000 shows that 56 per cent of private school students completed a form of higher education by their mid twenties, compared to only 26 per cent of public school students.

For many parents the choice to send their child to a private school has more to do with cultural and social ideas than it does with academics. Parochial private schools offer their students an education with a strong religious background. Catholic schools teach students traditional academics, but with a large amount of theology and moral ideas inserted into every day education. Since religious schools are connected to a specific religion or church, those religious ideas have a direct influence on what is taught in the classroom. Since its widespread acceptance in the rest of the world, the theory of evolution remains a hot topic in the United States and religious schools often avoid teaching the subject or teach a form of creationism instead.

The benefits of a private secondary education for international students

For international students attending a private school in the US can be an excellent way to prepare for college. Boarding schools like the Emma Willard School for girls and the Lyndon Institute offer international students excellent academics and the opportunity to live in the United States. International students might find it easier to attend boarding schools that have experience working with international students than a traditional private school. 14 per cent of the student body at the Lyndon Institute is international and about 25 per cent of the girls at Emma Willard are international. Other institutes like The Webb schools, the Patterson school and Wasatch Academy all have a significant number of international students. These private boarding schools accept students from around the world and they might be able to give you advice on securing a visa and travelling to the US.

Private boarding schools often have excellent academic reputations and attending one can give you the edge over competitive students. For international students attending a private school that understands their needs can make a huge difference in their education.