The post-graduate year beyond high school provides students with the opportunity to mature both socially and academically before entering college. Though many high school students enter directly into college without any preparation, they can become overwhelmed with the increased responsibility and necessary time-management skills to get the most they can out of their college education. By attending a post-graduate boarding school, students are placed away from home, as they frequently would be when attending college, and follow a similar academic structure.
Boarding schools are educational institutions that not only teach the students who attend the school, but also provide room, board, and meals for the students. With a more constrained academic and social structure, some educators propose that students have a higher focus on their education and are less prone to distractions that may draw them away from their true academic and career goals.
Post-graduate boarding schools are boarding schools that house and teach students who are exclusively between high school graduation and the anticipated start of their college career. The post-graduate boarding school places the student in a situation that is familiar to a college and presents academic challenges that may be of the same caliber of freshman or sophomore courses at colleges.
The application process for post graduate boarding schools follow similar criteria as the admissions process employed by colleges. Test scores from standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT, as well as academic and behavioral track records, are taken into consideration by the boarding schools before they admit students into their program.