The Foundation for a Meaningful Life
Kindergarten - Grade 9 in Southborough, MA

Five-Day Boarding at Fay

Five-Day Boarding

Fay offers a five-day boarding program for seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students. This program is capped at ten students per school year. Five-day boarding can be an attractive private boarding school option for students and families for a number of reasons.

Why try five-day boarding?

Preparation for Seven-Day Boarding Seventh, eighth, and ninth graders who are considering attending a private boarding school for secondary school may want to “try out” boarding life at Fay. Five-day boarding at Fay offers a comfortable transition between day student and seven-day boarding life.

Time: A More Deliberate Pace The school day for seventh, eighth, and ninth graders at Fay (or any school) can stretch from before 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or even later on days when student-athletes participate in away games. Many busy families appreciate five-day boarding for its convenience and its promise of a more deliberate pace to the week for students and parents alike. Valuable time is gained by eliminating the morning and evening commute between home, school, and afternoon/evening sports and other activities.

Structure From the moment they “rise and shine” at 6:45 a.m., boarders’ days are structured to help them excel personally and academically. All five-day boarders take part in supervised study halls each weekday evening after dinner, when they can work independently as well as get extra help from teachers. Regular “lights out” times ensure that five-day boarders get plenty of rest.

A Close-Knit Community Fay’s dormitories are intimate, home-like settings that are conducive to building a campus family. Dorm parents, who are also teachers and coaches at Fay, live with their own families in apartments in each dormitory. They are on hand before and after class hours to provide supervision, guidance, and support. Dormitories are within close walking distance to the dining room, classrooms, and playing fields, and each dorm includes common spaces where students gather and socialize informally. Click here to learn more about living in the dorms.

Practice Independence, Connect with Family Five-day boarding is an excellent option for parents and students who seek all of the academic and personal benefits of private boarding school, but also want to connect as a family and participate in hometown extra-curricular activities on weekends.

Five-Day Boarding FAQ

List of 5 items.

How does five-day boarding work?

Five-day boarders depart campus between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. on Fridays, after their last activity. Five-day boarders return to campus between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. on Sundays in order to attend dinner and participate in the evening’s residential life programming. Five-day boarders are also welcome to stay over on weekends and take part in the rich array of fun activities that seven-day boarders enjoy.
Who is eligible to apply for the five-day boarding program at Fay?

Fay School welcomes applications for five-day boarding from all U.S. families. We recommend that students who participate in Fay's five-day boarding program live no further than 150 miles from the school so they can easily commute between the school and home on the weekends. Five-day boarding is not an option for students who live outside the U.S. or who are enrolled in Fay's International Student Program.
Is Fay's five-day boarding program offered on a per-term basis?

It is highly likely that we will fill Fay's dormitories with full-year five-day and seven-day boarders. However, given that there may be space available during a given term, students may apply for Fay's five-day boarding program on a per-term basis.
How are five-day boarders integrated with seven-day boarders?

Five-day boarders and seven-day boarders follow the same schedules and are fully integrated from Sunday night at dinner through Friday afternoon's athletics practices or games. While roommate assignments are made on a case-by-case basis, five-day boarders and seven-day boarders are generally mixed in rooms and dormitories to promote an optimal social dynamic.
Is a five-day boarder allowed to stay over at Fay on weekends? Are there any weekends when five-day boarders are required to stay over at Fay?

Five-day boarders are welcome to stay over at Fay on weekends. In addition, there is one weekend and one Friday night when five-day boarders are "required" to stay over at Fay (the second full weekend of the fall, and the Friday night of Founders' Weekend in the spring), and there is one weekend when five-day boarders are "strongly encouraged" to stay over at Fay (the first full weekend in the fall). No additional fee is charged for staying over on these "required" and "strongly recommended" weekends. There is an additional fee for five-day boarders who stay over at Fay on other weekends during the school year.