Can you tell pretty quickly if a kid or group of kids are private schoolers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in academia and I can always tell when my students come from private schools and especially my boarding school alumni. They're more... put together. They're generally a lot more focused, independent, have better study habits, and generally write well. There is a difference.

I left academia. I found the private school students had an edge in some areas but I didn’t find (personally) that their study habits were better and I did find that it was always the private school students who asked for extensions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They toss their Trenta-sized Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccinos into the concrete at the Tysons Corner outdoor plaza, splashing furious mothers pushing their babies in Oobis.

They know that someone, somewhere will be available to clean up the messes they’ve left behind. They wear crop lululemon tops and baggy sweats with ankle
bracelets and Hokas. They have extremely expensive hair and nails

They would get fat if they drank that every day. I don’t think that’s allowed at top privates.

They’re not getting fat, dear, because they’re taking a couple of sips and then throwing them around the outdoor plaza at Tysons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think most private parents can. But what exactly teases it out of random kids?

As a "private parent" for over 13 years, who now has one child at public high school, I can tell you without any doubt that you, OP, are ridiculous and wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t tell. My neighborhood is about 50/50. I also can’t tell which adults went to private, unless it comes up in conversation.

It usually does, doesn't it? Just like if someone went to MIT, Stanford, or Harvard...even if it is 30+ years after graduation: it will come up. It always does.

Way to out yourself as a painfully insecure public schooler. It’s perfectly normal for private school (and/or college) to come up when you first meet someone because at some point people ask where are you from. It’s not bragging, it’s just a part of broadly sharing where you’re from and inviting the people you’re speaking to to note common links. Home town…high school…college…these are the pillars of your life and social circle. They don’t disappear. My gosh, imagine walking around being triggered by this.

umm. no it is not "normal". you are not "from" where you went to college. Gosh, imagine walking around being so out of touch with how you come across by doing this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can usually tell based on whether they are wearing a Rolex.

Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in academia and I can always tell when my students come from private schools and especially my boarding school alumni. They're more... put together. They're generally a lot more focused, independent, have better study habits, and generally write well. There is a difference.

I am at Hopkins and I do not find this to be true. The well-prepared students come from the more rigorous schools, whether they are private or public. Some of the public and private schools are quite competitive academically, and students from such schools are better prepared for challenging content and are able to manage their time wisely. There are also plenty of less rigorous private schools, and I don’t find that those students do any better than their public school counterparts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in academia and I can always tell when my students come from private schools and especially my boarding school alumni. They're more... put together. They're generally a lot more focused, independent, have better study habits, and generally write well. There is a difference.

I am at Hopkins and I do not find this to be true. The well-prepared students come from the more rigorous schools, whether they are private or public. Some of the public and private schools are quite competitive academically, and students from such schools are better prepared for challenging content and are able to manage their time wisely. There are also plenty of less rigorous private schools, and I don’t find that those students do any better than their public school counterparts.

+1. Also a prof at an R-1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t tell. My neighborhood is about 50/50. I also can’t tell which adults went to private, unless it comes up in conversation.

It usually does, doesn't it? Just like if someone went to MIT, Stanford, or Harvard...even if it is 30+ years after graduation: it will come up. It always does.

I went to Princeton and Harvard and DH went to Stanford and we never bring it up. If someone else mentions they went to Princeton I would. Harvard was for grad school and I feel no emotional connection with the place and wouldn't chime in if others were talking about how they went there. It was a looong time ago and I'm just a middle aged mom struggling with my kids at this point on life like so many others!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:They have a certain je ne sais quoi that comes from learning a lot of French but not knowing what it means.

????

I've seen this word around a few times but what exactly is a je ne sais quoi?

-non-French speaking person

You’ll never know

ILY

[Anonymous]

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I'll bite.

I've had experience at both public & private. Public school kids in the area I grew up in ("top" public school district) cared about what they were doing that weekend and what grades they were getting. The most far into the distance they could think about was college and where they wanted to go to school. They often didn't think about moving away from their hometown. The local public high school often held up teachers who had ALWAYS taught in that district (yay for 35 years!), barely left the state and married their high school sweethearts.

Private school kids could tell you about positions in Corporate America. They would have discussions about investment banking, corporate finance, healthcare and tech companies, the medical and legal field, etc. They had their colleges on their list and could site several reasons on why those were their choices, often talking about majors and programs that the University was known for. They spoke of one day living in NYC, downtown DC, London, Beijing, etc in their 20s to pursue a career. Their sisters, brothers, cousins and family friends had done so and knew their stories.

I can always tell the provincial public school kids from the private school kids.

We chose private for our kids.

Make sure their private school teaches them the difference between “site” and “cite.”

Ha ha! This made me laugh. I know plenty of Sidwell kids who are now middle aged and never left the DC area.
Perhaps they went somewhere for college (although generally east coast). Do we call them provincial now?

Not based on that. DC is an international city with tons of job opportunities. A small suburban town that OP is talking about? I seriously don't know how one stays their entire life in those places even minus 4 years of college.

Let's not get out over our skis here. DC used to be a hardship post for European diplomats. Love DC, but it's not truly an international city.