Whether being counseled out of independent schools impacts students and their families is a question that has often been raised by people of color who are considering sending their children to predominantly White Independent schools. Grounded in the lived experiences of Black boys aged 5 to 22 years and their families, this qualitative study uses descriptive research to examine the ways Black boys and their families perceived that being counseled out impacted them. Through qualitative methods of individual semi-structured interviews and parent focus groups, participants reflected on their experiences. Findings suggest that feelings of isolation, lack of support, and socioeconomic disparities impacted the ways participants viewed their time in independent schools. This study offers recommendations for independent schools to prioritize affinity spaces for Black families, recruit and retain Black faculty and staff, and provide financial assistance to students to allow access to the academic support they need. The term counseled out is an oxymoron because students and their families were not provided with any counseling; they were asked to leave or were forced out of the independent schools they attended. As a Black female, independent-school leader, I use students and their families’ emic descriptions and conceptualizations of a unique lived experience as a foundation to develop a data-informed plan to help schools create the conditions and school environments that support Black male students in independent schools, from admission through graduation. Keywords: counseled out, Black Boys, culturally relevant pedagogy, microaggressions, Black male failure, predominately White independent schools, RECAST