Within Deerfield’s student body thirty-six states are represented as well as forty-seven countries. International students make up a significant portion of the Deerfield community and the experiences and culture they bring with them greatly contribute to the school’s unique student life. But how does their experience as international students at Deerfield compare to that of domestic students?
Giulio Migliarina ’25 first heard about Deerfield in 2019 from family friend Kikka Giudici ’20. During the application process, he consulted Head of Boys’ Swimming, Mark Spencer. Through conversations with Mr. Spencer, Migliarina was connected to members of the swim team. Referencing this experience, he said that, “I was very impressed and speaking to them gave me a good sense of how school life would be. They made me feel welcomed and happy and that made me very comfortable to accept this school.”
During the application process, international students are asked to submit a test of the English language. Other potential costs include travel insurance. In terms of the financial cost of attending the Academy for admitted students, tuition rates are the same for both domestic and international students. Director of Financial Aid Melissa Persons shared that there are additional costs including obtaining a Visa as well as other travel-related expenses. However, regarding extra costs imposed by Deerfield itself, Mrs. Persons said, “Deerfield does require international students to have health insurance which is $1,995 per year. However, most international students who receive financial aid will also receive a grant to cover some or all of the total cost of health insurance.
The school’s financial aid policy is consistent amongst both international and domestic students. Mrs. Persons explained, “We treat international students the same as we do domestic students throughout the Admission and Financial Aid processes. If a student is admissible we will admit them without consideration of their country of origin.”
Members of the Deerfield Admissions team led by Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Chip Davis typically take a trip overseas, when international health policies and schedules allow. Mr. Davis shared that for the first time since 2019, due to the pandemic, he will be traveling to Asia next week and plans to visit both Singapore and Seoul. He shared that, “Usually the trip includes Beijing, Shanghai, and or Hong Kong, and Mr. Spencer from college advising goes with me. The last time, Dr. Austin also came, so the events are pretty high visibility.” Prior to COVID, Deerfield admission representatives traveled to many places including Brazil, Mexico, London, and Dubai. Now in the wake of the pandemic and Zoom, fewer people interview in person, but the receptions still attract many prospective international students.
One prospective applicant and now current Deerfield student Kamsy Alli ’24 said that in Saudi Arabia, a large percentage of her friends went to boarding school after either the eighth or ninth grade. She shared that, “In Saudi, in the company that my dad works for, there is no high school. For me, I knew I would apply to boarding school, it was just the matter of which one. I did a lot of research which ultimately led me to Deerfield.”
Regarding the number of students who apply from each region of the world, Mr. Davis said that, “There are certain markets around the world where we have a steady application volume … then other countries, you have these wild swings in candidate volume.” He shared that a few years ago, there was a spike in the number of applicants from Brazil. Mr. Davis explained the cause of this, saying that, “Particularly during COVID, the power of social media from kids posting [from] schools like Deerfield created a lot of interest.”
Many other prospective students hear about Deerfield either through alumni, current students or even from online rankings. Mr. Davis said that, “Broadly, I think a lot of families who aren’t familiar with boarding schools will look at rankings on niche.com or boardingschoolreview.com.” These sites include experiential knowledge of the school that may be second or third hand, which caused Mr. Davis to warn viewers of the reputation content. Relating these websites to Deerfield admissions, he said that, “Social media is powerful and can work for you at scale or against you.”
Deerfield student Miu Yatsuka ’24 said that back home in Hong Kong, many of her peers were also applying to boarding school. In terms of what drew her to boarding school, she shared that, “I went to NMH for a summer program, and that’s when I first experienced boarding school life. Compared to my life back in Hong Kong which felt very condensed, the idea of going overseas and having independence while also being able to interact with people from different parts of the world was really interesting.”
After arriving this fall as a new junior from Germany, Arthur Fink ’24 also expressed the ease of transitioning to life at Deerfield. Fink said that, “Adapting to life at boarding school has been a really great experience for me—it couldn’t have gone any smoother, because I have met so many great people that life was already extremely comfortable. Of course, sometimes I think about home, but I genuinely think coming here was the best decision ever.”
Migliarina shared his experience being an international student saying that, “I’ve always been viewed as foreign in my previous schools, even in Italy as I am of mixed ethnicity. However, being at such an international school like DA makes me almost forget that I am an international student since to an extent we all share a common experience of being away from our parents. After coming here, I have really realized how important my heritage is and how much my roots influence me as a person.”
Perhaps the sentiments of Deerfield’s international students reflect the success of Deerfield in instilling the values of being worthy of our heritage — no matter its origin.