thoughts on sending future kids to swiss boarding school?

Sure they may not be as smart had they been the product of say eton/harrow, but they likely would be fluent in 3+ languages (english/german/french+). In addition, they would likely be schooling with the kids of business leaders in nations, among them being germany/france/italy/arab countries etc. which would set them up pretty well for the future 


naturally, one would be concerned with their innate drive and ambition being spoiled by living in such a place. But don't really see how that's any different from being in literally any other top prep school

 

Grew up in Switzerland, went to a private school in between. Although it was a semi boarding only. Some kids went home, some stayed.
I would say your habitus changes, the kids around you are very multilingual, educated, and raised the right way. It is international inside the school, but Switzerland itself isn't really diverse as a nation compared to, say, England or the USA.

It is true that German, English and French (maybe a little Italian as well) are the key languages and kids pick up new ones easily.

Not many parents can send their kids to CH though, due to distance maybe and depending on where their career and family has taken them. Does it make sense to send your kids to Switzerland when the parents are based in NYC? Probably not. London might work, or Paris. But the mega cities where finance jobs are located already have a huge selection of private schools that might be more accessible.

 

They won’t be fluent in a 3 languages if you only send them to a boarding school on high school. You need to start earlier if you want 3+ languages. Would recommend some combination of: living abroad, immersion/international preschool/school (or any school with emphasis on on languages), outside enrichment in target language, and an au pair/nanny. If either you or your spouse is bilingual, look into the opal method. Are you based in the US or Europe, that will also have a huge impact on them being able to speak multiple languages. 

 

Can't find anything about this opal method, do you have a link?

 

For me, not a chance. I know a few people who did boarding school abroad and they are absolutely insufferable to be around and never shut up about it, even like 7 years later. Just like how people who did a gap year somewhere before college thought they were the shit. Ugh. Plus I also want my future kids around for more of the year, and they won't be spoiled. They gotta work for their stuff, at least some of it.

Anyways, I had too much fun in standard American high school and still am super tight with all my friends I grew up with who lived nearby. Lots of kids from my class got into really good schools, and our high school wasn't even that good. Just the whole experience of it was awesome for me. Maybe that isn't the case for everyone, so will revisit this in like 20 years. My ideal situation for the kiddies would be to just live in a town with top-tier public schools, so they get the mix of a really solid education, the sports and extracurriculars, and have their friends nearby and get the normal high school experience. Affording this shouldn't be an issue considering A) my current career and B) my current investments which have rocketed in the past 2 years. Not really "unattainable" for me, not to sound like a dick.

Regarding languages, this I am supportive of. I speak English (native) and Spanish (learned in school, studied abroad in Spain), and am learning Italian (ton of family over there + doing the citizenship thing). I do wish I had tried to learn more languages earlier, since trying to learn one now is such a force.

Dayman?
 

My ideal situation for the kiddies would be to just live in a town with top-tier public schools

top-tier public schools are generally situated in wealthier suburbs and thus populated with more well-to-do families. It stands to reason that they would still be in a 'bubble', surrounded by children of other wealthier families. 

Magnet schools on the other hand have a mixed bag of tax brackets, but I would still think that they skew more towards wealthier fmailies. Since kids have to test in, the kids are generally smarter which gives rise to intense competition and a 'pressure-cooker' environment as many have alluded to in this forum. Even though the outcomes are good, they do so with less resources.

So to you address your top-tier public schools, by sending them to a boarding school (swiss or not) they would still be in the same wealthy 'bubble' but be given far more resources. They would also arguably have a far more enjoyable time.

That's my thought process at least

 
Most Helpful

Huge emphasis on the "arguable" in your last sentence. When discussing my high school experience a while back with the two people I know who went to boarding schools in Switzerland (I know not everyone who does is insufferable, but these two sure are), I think I'd take mine any day. And I went to a very average school. They kinda talked about their spoiled rich kid adventures which seemed cool and all, but compared to the house parties, football (helmets not shin guards), burnin and boozin in the woods, walking to friend's houses just to chill, the relationships I still have with all of my friends' families, and general misadventures of bored suburban high school guys, I definitely would pick my upbringing 100% of the time. But that's just me, obviously very subjective and not scripture.

Regarding your comment on how it would be similar in that it's just a wealthier town which still has its own bubble--agreed. Gotta give and take, so this one is just whatever. I knew kids who grew up in wealthy towns like Wellesley and Newton south of Boston and they all had similar experiences as I did, just better school systems and prettier houses. My school kinda looked like a prison lol.

Lastly, not responding to anything specifically you said, but gotta mention that I like really think being a dad would be loads of fun and want my kids at home. Above literally everything else, thats the main dealbreaker, and there would just be no getting by that one. I wanna help em with their homework, go to their games/recitals/dances or whatever, get to know their friends, and be there 100% as they make mistakes growing up and I make mistakes trying to be a good father. And that takes quite a hit if they're gone for more than half the year. So thats gonna be a no from me.

Dayman?
 

As a 17 year old I can tell you the ones who don't shut up are usually the tacky nouveau riche losers who join at an older age. Usually the ones who've been around really don't even bring it up. It does help if the are affiliated with the school.

 

I say with experience that the points you made are pretty much why most people do it and it’s a no-brainer especially if the kids are young. I’d imagine you have pretty strong ties to the institution as each grade only has about 10-20 students and with popular schools you’d see an impressive applicant pool. Usually when the kids are young (safely assuming they are not child prodigies or smthn) it’s more about the whole package when it comes to acceptance.

Hey and since I don’t know you I’d just caution you that 150000k per year is just the fees and boarding; as they’ll grow there’s a good chance they’d be a good deal more expensive. I assume finances are in no way a big factor since you’d of course want the best for them.

I hope this was helpful and do ask if you have any questions!

 

each grade only has 10-20 students?

As in, when I was in my graduating year we had about 100 students graduating, but you only have 10-20 graduating?

or are you talking about classroom sizes

 

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