Boarding Schools in Georgia
Named after King George II of Great Britain, Georgia is the northeast state of the US with access to the Atlantic Ocean. Each year, the state welcomes about 20,000 international students, and one-third of them decide to study at boarding schools in Georgia. The schools provide international students with on-campus accommodation, as well as offer rigorous educational programs. Boarding schools in Georgia also focus on the comprehensive development of students through extracurricular activities, athletics, and arts. Keep reading to learn more about the state and its best boarding schools.
State Overview
It is worth starting with the overview of Georgia. The state borders Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama. Its total area is 153,909 km2, and its total population is 10,711,908 citizens. Atlanta is the capital and largest city of the state, hosting about 57% of the state’s entire population.
The largest ancestry groups are Americans, Irish, English, Hispanics, Latinos, and German. The top countries of immigrant origin are Mexico, India, Korea, Vietnam, and Jamaica. English is the official language in Georgia. The other most spoken languages are Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, French, Chinese, and German.
Georgia is known as the Empire State of the South due to its economic development. The main industries of the state are mining, logistics, military, manufacturing, energy use, film production, and agriculture. Its other nickname is Peach State since Georgia is one of the biggest producers of this fruit in the country. Moreover, Georgia peaches are known for having a better texture and taste than peaches grown elsewhere in the country.
Tourism is also among the main industries in the state. The most popular tourist attractions in the Atlanta area are World of Coke, Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, and Stone Mountain. Those who are keen on golf prefer to visit Callaway Gardens, a family resort in western Georgia. One more popular resort in the state is the Golden Isles. It is a string of barrier islands off the Atlantic coast that includes beaches, golf courses, and the Cumberland Island National Seashore. Hence, during the study at boarding schools in Georgia, international students will have the opportunity to visit the most popular tourist attractions with their peers.
Types of Boarding Schools in Georgia
Considering the study at the boarding schools in Georgia, international students should know their main types. The most popular type is a college preparatory school. They prepare students for admission to ranking post-secondary schools by offering Advanced Placement (AP) courses, Honors classes, an International Baccalaureate (IB), and numerous extracurricular activities. By the way, boarding schools in Georgia often accept international students for Grades 7-12.
The second type is a Fine Arts boarding school. It prepares international students for higher education and further careers in arts. Since these specialize in the artistic development of the students, their study programs are less comprehensive than in college preparatory schools. Sports boarding schools have a similar situation since they prepare elite athletes for a career in sports. Though these schools have a reputation of the highly ranked specialized institutions, college preparatory schools also have competitive programs in Arts and Athletics.
Boarding schools in Georgia are divided into coeducational or gender specific. It means that some schools admit students of all genders, only girls, or only boys.
Boarding schools in Georgia, as well as across the country, have freedom of religion. Still, some schools focus on a certain faith, such as Baptist, Anglican, Christian, Catholic, and Episcopalian.
Main Features of Boarding Schools in Georgia
The main reason why parents and international students choose to apply to boarding schools in Georgia is their peculiarities. Indeed, they provide everything students need. Thus, it is worth discussing its main features in more detail.
The first feature is the Code of Conduct, which sets the rights and responsibilities of the students, as well as lists disciplinary measures for rule violations. At boarding schools in Georgia, the Code of Conduct guarantees that all students behave well and study hard.
The second feature of boarding schools in Georgia is on-campus accommodation. International students live in modern dormitories with faculty members, who act as their mentors and supervisors. Also, resident teachers plan social events and field trips for boarding international students.
The next feature of boarding schools in Georgia is the rare sports offerings. Except for popular sports, such as basketball, boarding schools may offer surfing, horse riding, mountain skiing, or archery.
The fourth feature of boarding schools in Georgia is individualized education. They tend to have small-sized classes, and teachers can give more attention to each student.
The fifth feature of boarding schools in Georgia is the advanced curriculum and available electives. Schools offer advanced subjects and numerous elective classes, such as STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math), languages, and the arts, while public day schools offer a standard curriculum.
The last feature of boarding schools in Georgia is college counseling. The experienced team is always available to discuss career planning and work on student applications. Hence, school graduates earn acceptance to the most competitive colleges and universities in the US and abroad.
The Best Boarding Schools in Georgia
Once the types and features of boarding schools in Georgia are discovered, it should be interesting to discuss one of the best schools in the state. Rabun Gap School is a private, coeducational college preparatory day and boarding PK–12 school in Rabun County. The 5.7 km2 campus is in the Appalachian Mountains, just 145 km from Atlanta. Rabun Gap School nurtures and challenges international students as they prepare for college admission. Today, the school is home to 680 students from 56 countries and 15 states.
At Rabun Gap School, boarding starts in Grade 7. The school has seven dormitories within walking distance of academic buildings, the Student Center, the dining hall, and the athletic fields.
Rabun Gap School has a thriving athletics program and competes in North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA). Its offerings include lacrosse, tennis, football, baseball, swimming, golf, cross country, track and field, wrestling, soccer, basketball, and volleyball. The school also has a climbing wall and the Indian Lake for water activities.
In addition to daily classes in visual arts, orchestral music, performance, film, dance, graphic design, vocal, and technical theatre, Rabun Gap School offers a cirque program that is part of the curriculum. It is one of the longest-running and most acclaimed school cirque programs in the country. Cirque combines acrobatics, theatre performance, and dance. The school has an array of facilities, such as a German wheel, Spanish web, trapeze, triple trapeze, aerial silks, aerial hoop, and aerial cube. Each spring, the school puts on a cirque performance in the Rearden Theater.
The Middle School curriculum includes classes in world languages, humanities, and science with various electives in fine arts and physical education. The program prepares students to become bright citizens and successful experts.
In Upper School, students take core classes in humanities, math, and science. They also pursue electives, such as STEAM and special classes with the Head of School. Rabun Gap School also offers 16 AP courses in all academic departments at the Upper School.
High school international students attend college counseling seminars where they take an in-depth approach to the college application process. The school also sponsors college visits, on-campus college fairs, and workshops. Each year, 100% of school graduates are admitted to the top colleges and universities in the US and across the world. They study at Cornell University, New York University, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania, to name a few.
Average Tuition Fees for International Students
In boarding schools in Georgia, the tuition fees vary from $55,000 to $70,000 per year. For instance, the total cost of 7-day tuition and boarding in the Rabun Gap School is $69,500 per year.
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