You know the drill: Work hard and get good grades in high school, be involved in numerous extracurriculars, take on plenty of leadership roles, do community service and fulfill that title of “well-rounded student,” so you can get into the best college possible. Sure, the pressure to achieve straight A’s while participating in every school club is exhausting, but having just completed my freshman year of college, I can confidently say that all those late-night study sessions on top of long hours of play practice enabled me to succeed at college.

My story has a religious twist. I attended a small, private Jewish day school throughout my entire academic career up until college. As you can imagine, my elementary, middle and high school experience was very different than those who went to public school. For one thing, I had a dual curriculum, where on top of learning all of the traditional subjects, like biology and algebra, I also studied Hebrew, Jewish texts, customs and values. We did not have a football or lacrosse team, choir was one of the most popular clubs and prom took place in February because students either studied abroad or had an internship during the second semester of senior year. Looking back on my formative years, I could not be more thankful for the training private school gave me to tackle college life.

Here are five reasons why private school prepared me so well for college.

1. The courses were rigorous and prepped me for the tough workload in college.
Learning Hebrew on top of U.S. history, British literature and physics was demanding, and adding honors and AP classes into the mix resulted in more stress and 2 a.m. bedtimes than I'd like to remember. However, handling a dual curriculum with challenging classes instilled in me a work ethic and excellent time management skills, two key components to conquering college. I credit my drive to achieve academic success in college to the dual curriculum I had growing up in private school.

2. The rich cultural activities help develop my strong sense of self.
My school would host shabbatonim, or weekend long events, at a camp or even a hotel for grades, clubs or teams. Since there were only a few hundred students in the entire academy, it was an intimate gathering, designed to let us bond with our schoolmates and to make us explore our spiritual core. Two memorable events were the all high school shabbaton — where a battle of the grades took place — and the choir shabbaton — a singing competition at the New Jersey shore where we competed against other high school choirs. These were "safe" environments where I could not only explore my religious culture, but also gain the confidence to express myself, which made it possible for me to navigate smoothly in the social circles of college.

3. Small school environment + lots of activities = big responsibilities.
My academy was rich with many extra curricular activities from the incredible arts department to the impressive STEM programs to the awarding literary magazines and sports teams. All of these areas afforded the students many opportunities to thrive in leadership roles. The arts department was my haven, a space where students could not only perform in incredible productions, but also help create them. I choreographed the school’s musicals and was president of the dance team. There was also the arts council, a committee of students who helped organize various arts events throughout the year, including deciding which shows would be staged. Having the opportunity to leave an impact on the community was hugely rewarding, and it motivated me to get involved and make a difference on my own college campus.

4. Students studied abroad their senior year.
I was fortunate enough to study abroad during the spring of my senior year. I took my finals in early February, went to my senior prom, packed and then flew to Poland and Israel for three adventurous months. During this trip, these lands became my classroom. My group and I visited multiple historic places, museums, kibbutzim and those horrible concentration camps in Poland. Incredibly, we traveled from one end of Israel to the other, hiking from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee, camping in the desert during a rare rainstorm and dancing in the streets to celebrate Israel’s birthday in Tel Aviv. These experiences pushed me outside of my comfort zone, encouraging me to seize every opportunity offered. One year later, I still continue to apply that notion in college, taking advantage of everything that is presented to me. I developed my independence on that trip, and it has served me well during my first year of school. It made me eager to study abroad again so I can delve into another culture.

5 Private school provided a tight-knit community.
A huge benefit of attending private school was the warm, welcoming community. It was truly special to develop a mentorship with my teachers and form friendships with my classmates that would last long after graduation. I could not wait to visit school during my breaks to tell my teachers and friends about my college experience.

Looking back now, private school prepared me to succeed in more ways than I could imagine, and I am so thankful for all of the opportunities it provided me.