I think it would be totally dependent on the school, and not something that can be generalized. I've talked to a few former students of Old money boarding schools because I always wondered what it would be like.
- most of them attended because their parents had overseas positions OR they were from remote areas like rural Montana or Alaska where there were public schools but not programs they wanted to partake in.
- food was totally dependent on the school. And I also think it's dependent on the students, from what I was told. The people who didn't like it were from urban areas and ate out a lot with their parents or their parents were above average cooks. I was one of those weird kids in college who actually kind of liked cafeteria food because it gave me options other than casserole or pbj- my mother's signature dishes.
- unlike a lot of other people I went to college with, their education was very similar than mine. Very much on the university track (I went to a private catholic school).
- their teachers largely had masters if not doctorates. But that's very common in private schools. Maybe only one of my teachers didn't have a masters.
- the biggest difference, interestingly, is that their schools had more academic/nonsport clubs and community involvement. Volunteer days, public speaking competitions, field trips. I don't know if it was because people generally had more money to fund kids' extracurriculars or because the assumption was if they were home, they'd be doing it with their parents, so doing it in the boarding situation makes them more well rounded. Probably both.
They largely considered it a positive experience, but they were generally the type of people who would have said that about almost any decent high school. You know, motivated, involved, well adjusted, above average students. There are a lot more of those out there than exceptional jocks, or blonde cheerleaders or extreme social outcasts, believe it or not. Media plays up the extremes. Believe me...you can't attend a catholic school and not be aware of how we are portrayed vs. the reality.
Money does make a difference with kids, but I think, based on people I've known, that it's the poor kids that really notice money and whether people have it or not. My family is definitely not what I'd consider wealthy, but a lot of people in college certainly considered my family well off. One of my dorm mates was particularly rude one time I came back with a Nordstrom bag. Apparently the fact that I bought my bras at a department store instead of
Walmart or target made me a rich snob
instead of someone who merely wanted her bra to fit properly.
(And bullying happens everywhere. It can get out of control everywhere. It's not one factor. 2 guys left my class in middle school because it had finally reached the point that their parents decided they weren't getting their money's worth because the guys spent more time torturing fellow students than focusing in class. School life for my class improved just like Magic, overnight. Fewer disruptions, the minor bullies were too cowardly to misbehave without their leaders around, I no longer dreaded school.)
