Unless there have been drastic changes since I was there I think it would be hard to make the argument that AS is one of the strictest private schools in the United States It is a private boarding school and it is expected to be far more rigerous then other types of schools both for academics and discipline But as these types of schools go it s actually quite lax So they don t let you use IM that s not really egregious or anything I mean if they were locking students in their rooms maybye that would be a criticism But as I recall we had quite a bit of freedom and perks for upperclassmen Maybye I m getting old but I just think putting these kinds of gripes on wikipedia is kinda infantile As for tuition it is my understanding that it actually costs about twice what is charged in tuition for each student but it is covered via a trust fund and other forms of fund raising It is a good education and a good experience IMO my first two years of college were cake after AS