Is Flint hill private school worth it?

[Anonymous]

My DC is an average child. Average in academics mostly B’s and few A’s in 7th grade. Was not in FCPS AAP program. No competitive music or sports. Done and still participating in quite a few extracurriculars but only recreational.
Zoned for Langley high school. Is it worth trying private for an average child considering they are $50,000 a year? May need to look into average privates like Flint hill.
What kind of career path an average child has as NOVA area is highly competitive. UVA and good VA colleges seem out of reach if DC doesn’t improve in high school. Out of state has better chances if we pay full tuition, which we are also ready at this point. Should we consider private high school or let DC go to Langley and the spend $ on US east, out of state college?

[Anonymous]

Flint hill private is not worth the money. I would go with Langley high school.

[Anonymous]

It’s worth it if you want the smaller class sizes and think that’s worth it. Otherwise no.

[Anonymous]

Our high schooler is there and it has been a wonderful experience. The smaller class sizes make a difference, and the school (as much as it can) really tries to address issues like bullying in a way that is not possible at a big public school. Whenever there has been an issue, we've had a point of contact who responds and addresses it. Our daughter is more introverted and did not really find her "tribe" in elementary school, but she quickly did at Flint Hill.

She has another year before she applies to colleges, but based on her older peers' experiences, I think she is well positioned. I say this all with the caveat that we were zoned for a very bad public middle school and a mediocre/huge public high school, so we had more incentive to go private than someone in a better school zone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC is an average child. Average in academics mostly B’s and few A’s in 7th grade. Was not in FCPS AAP program. No competitive music or sports. Done and still participating in quite a few extracurriculars but only recreational.
Zoned for Langley high school. Is it worth trying private for an average child considering they are $50,000 a year? May need to look into average privates like Flint hill.
What kind of career path an average child has as NOVA area is highly competitive. UVA and good VA colleges seem out of reach if DC doesn’t improve in high school. Out of state has better chances if we pay full tuition, which we are also ready at this point. Should we consider private high school or let DC go to Langley and the spend $ on US east, out of state college?

There's no shame in being an average student, but you'll need to lower your college expectations. UVA is hard to get into regardless of where your child goes to high school. If he wants to do better academically, he probably would benefit from a local private school just because he'll get extra attention and the classes are smaller — whether that's FH or somewhere else. I wouldn't make any decisions based solely on this forum's opinions.

[Anonymous]

Boiling down your question, are you asking if going to Flint Hill would increase your child's changes of getting into an in-state public university?

[Anonymous]

Yes, will the chances of getting into good out of state or in state universities or even private universities increase if we choose Flint hill private over Langley high school? I personally can’t justify the money for the four years of private high school. I would be okay to spend the same amount for college if needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, will the chances of getting into good out of state or in state universities or even private universities increase if we choose Flint hill private over Langley high school? I personally can’t justify the money for the four years of private high school. I would be okay to spend the same amount for college if needed.

Not unless you think that the smaller class sizes (or other advantages FH might be able to offer) will result in marked improvement in academic performance.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your honest response.

[Anonymous]

I think FH has a tremendous lower school and a great middle school. Faculty is very strong overall with some real standouts. Huge step up from FCPS AAP in my view. Honors math is taught at a very high level, and the history curriculum is innovative and engaging--lots of critical thinking, debating, etc. Small class size made a big difference for my kid.

Not as sure of the caliber of the high school. They have good, but not great college acceptances. I have heard positive things from parents about the academics and culture. Some great sports, some not so great.

We are moving on, mostly for specific sports and social reasons, but I think it's a strong, quite good school overall.

[Anonymous]

We really liked FH. But I don’t think the college acceptances would be that different. The application process was better, sports were better, etc. But if you’re just thinking about college, probably not worth it over Langley.

[Anonymous]

Thank you All

[Anonymous]

If we were zoned for Langley we would choose that over FH!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If we were zoned for Langley we would choose that over FH!

Same

[Anonymous]

I would stay at Langley