5 reasons to be a day student at a boarding school (2024)

By Stephanie Hill
Associate Director of Admission

Santa Catalina School is a boarding and day school. We have boarding students from around the world living in our three dormitories on campus, and we have day students who live locally and come to campus each day.

If you are local you might ask this question: What is the benefit of being a day student on a boarding school campus? Here are five reasons attending a boarding school as a day student has benefits far beyond attending a local day school:

Global Perspective

As a day student you probably grew up going to the elementary and middle schools down the street with the same students in every grade every year. Think about a school that encompasses those students who live right down the street as well as students from around the country and the world. These are the students in your classroom, talking about the latest English book and partnering with you on a science project. Students from outside your area bring a richness to the classroom that you didn’t know you were missing.

Teacher Accessibility

There are very few schools that will openly share where their teachers’ homes are. A large majority of your teachers at a boarding school live on campus. When you are a day student at a boarding school, you can have dessert at their house or knock on their apartment door to ask a question. They continue teaching after they leave their classroom, and you will see them in the dining room, walking their dog on campus, or tending to their garden.

Weekend Activities

As a freshman and sophom*ore, one of the hindrances of socializing and friendship is transportation. You can’t drive yet and your parents are pulled in many different directions. Boarding school has built-in activities on the weekends that both day and boarding students can be a part of—and they often provide the transportation. Want to go to San Francisco to see Hamilton? You can do that. Want to help with community service? We’ve got you covered. What if you want to join your boarding friends for brunch on Sunday? Hop on the shuttle and enjoy those cinnamon rolls!

Lifelong Friendships

Boarding schools are huge on relationships, and Catalina takes friendships and connections seriously! Starting as a freshman, we schedule time to help students get to know each other. Through traditions (some serious and some extra silly), big/little sisters, weekend activities, clubs, and co-curriculars, students develop bonds that can’t be replicated at day-only schools. The friends you make at boarding school (whether you are a day or boarding student) truly last a lifetime!

Facilities

As a boarding and day school, our campus is not just a building or a series of buildings that house students and classes. Our campus is 36 beautifully manicured acres, and includes three performing arts buildings, a state-of-the-art math and science center, a spacious and cozy library, a sizable robotics lab, dormitories, grassy fields, firepits, and outdoor seating. When families step foot on campus for the first time, they feel a sense of comfort and community!

If this kind of high school experience intrigues you, please join us for our informational Open House series this month. Now is the perfect time to explore!

If you plan to be a boarding student, you might be wondering what benefits there are in attending a boarding school with day students. What our boarding students tell us is that they absolutely love having local friends—friends who know their way around town and can show them all the fun places to go. They enjoy going to the homes of local families for a special birthday party or a sleepover. They like hosting their day friends on campus for sleepovers, too! And day students bring local friends to campus for events and dances. Our day students add to our community and create a bridge to the broader community here on the Monterey Peninsula!