Update from an Alumna of this Group

[Anonymous]

Few years since I graduated as a poster in this group (except for occasionally checking). Thought I would update on life after PIS. Kids went to top area private. Have now graduated from Ivies (well one has a year left). They had near perfect grades in college. Are now working for a couple of years before going to law school.

I think back to the meeting that we had with a paid college consultant who advised us to pull the kids out of privates so they would have a better shot at getting into college as it was less competitive and could distinguish themselves. I wonder if she is still in business?

Was private worth it? Hell yeah. It made my kids able to handle College much better from an education perspective--they were academically ready.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for coming back and posting! It’s also important to note that I think many people are in private simply because they think it’s better and/or safer than public - and not necessarily for the college prospects. I am happy for you and your kids’ success though and would be over the moon for a result like that for my children - however, I would see it as the icing on the cake - and not, the cake itself if that makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Not the OP but have a similar story though kids were not/are not at "Ivy's"

It isn't about college prospects, it is about college prep.

My kids are basically 4.0 college students and the academic prep they had allowed them to manage their time more efficiently and ultimately have more time for non-academic activities, which really "made" their college experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for coming back and posting! It’s also important to note that I think many people are in private simply because they think it’s better and/or safer than public - and not necessarily for the college prospects. I am happy for you and your kids’ success though and would be over the moon for a result like that for my children - however, I would see it as the icing on the cake - and not, the cake itself if that makes sense.

My kids won’t be going to top colleges, and I still think private is worth every penny. It’s a better experience for them all around.

[Anonymous]

This very much depends on the school, OP. Why don't you share which school your children attended?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for coming back and posting! It’s also important to note that I think many people are in private simply because they think it’s better and/or safer than public - and not necessarily for the college prospects. I am happy for you and your kids’ success though and would be over the moon for a result like that for my children - however, I would see it as the icing on the cake - and not, the cake itself if that makes sense.

My kids won’t be going to top colleges, and I still think private is worth every penny. It’s a better experience for them all around.

+1

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing! This was a great post to read this morning. Congratulations to you and your children. I wish them great success in their future endeavors.

[Anonymous]

This is fine, but it s isn't interesting.
I'm waiting for someone to post "I spent $250K (or $500K) on a school and it was a huge mistake.

If you can't get good value out of $250K, you are hopeless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This very much depends on the school, OP. Why don't you share which school your children attended?

In the DMV? Disagree. We can argue about which school is the best or top whatever, but kids taking even a reasonably challenging courseload at privates will be prepared for college. That does not mean that plenty of kids from MCPS won't thrive in college, but unlike at privates, smart kids can "skate" through. At private, it's next to impossible to fall through the cracks, parents actively expect more engagement from faculty, and the whole point is college preparation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is fine, but it s isn't interesting.
I'm waiting for someone to post "I spent $250K (or $500K) on a school and it was a huge mistake.

If you can't get good value out of $250K, you are hopeless.

Seriously. This thread is basically "I just wanted to post here and let you all know that I'm feeling pretty good about being wealthy and privileged. I considered the alternative, and I really think I came to the right decision to not be poor."

[Anonymous]

Barf

[Anonymous]

OP: Thank you for posting. I agree with your thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is fine, but it s isn't interesting.
I'm waiting for someone to post "I spent $250K (or $500K) on a school and it was a huge mistake.

If you can't get good value out of $250K, you are hopeless.

Seriously. This thread is basically "I just wanted to post here and let you all know that I'm feeling pretty good about being wealthy and privileged. I considered the alternative, and I really think I came to the right decision to not be poor."

You could probably go to the public schools forum and see a similar post, about someone who was glad they didn’t blow 200K+ on private school tuition because their kid graduated from an Ivy and is now wildly successful. But maybe not - people on the private forum probably feel the need to justify all the money they paid. But there are many wildly successful kids coming from public school too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Few years since I graduated as a poster in this group (except for occasionally checking). Thought I would update on life after PIS. Kids went to top area private. Have now graduated from Ivies (well one has a year left). They had near perfect grades in college. Are now working for a couple of years before going to law school.

I think back to the meeting that we had with a paid college consultant who advised us to pull the kids out of privates so they would have a better shot at getting into college as it was less competitive and could distinguish themselves. I wonder if she is still in business?

Was private worth it? Hell yeah. It made my kids able to handle College much better from an education perspective--they were academically ready.

What led to them choosing the (relatively) easy A classes over more challenging ones?

[Anonymous]

So if none of kids went to public, how do you know that it was your private school that made them more “academically ready”? What is your comparison? Did your kids come home from college and say, “man, those public school kids really struggled academically!”