Regretting private high school investment because of colleges want more public school graduates
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Anonymous
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Been told by our college counselor that this year colleges are turning away from selecting most private high school kids because of their privileged education. That you now have a better chance coming from a public high school with good grades and top scores and activities. There’s no advantage anymore paying more money for private. None at all.
So for those of you looking to go private, don’t waste your money. Your private school kid, despite top gpa and test scores, will probably will be bumped in favor of someone from a good public school. Regrets, regrets, regrets… |
Anonymous
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We were never at private for admission to college.
It was about laying the groundwork for success in college and life. Public education is a shambles. It’s terrible what has happened. |
Anonymous
| Are you happy about the education your child has gotten? |
Anonymous
| I tell this to my spouse all the time. This is not for college. This is for if you think private is worth it (and a good fit) for your kid. It’s not about gaming college admits. |
Anonymous
| It’s unfortunate that you chose a high school based on what you thought would be best for college rather than what would have been best for high school, OP. |
Anonymous
| The outcomes at the DC area private schools have been pretty stellar — I don’t think anyone at our school is unhappy with their outcomes. |
Anonymous
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NP here. Both kids in private and yes, we mostly did it because it was the best fit for them. I just don’t understand why the best fit reason AND the best college admissions prospect reason for going private have to be mutually exclusive!
By the time both kids graduate, we would have spent over $500k in tuition per child. Way more if you consider that the money could’ve been invested in a fund that earned interest over the years. So yes, for that price, I want to have my cake and eat it too. I’d be upset if, after all that investment , colleges put my kid at a disadvantage purely because they are at a private. |
Anonymous
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I went to an Ivy. Half of my class came from private school.
Consider the number of students from private schools vs the number of students from public schools. Consider the number of high schools of both types and calculate the odds of admission to any given college. Even if they take 20% fewer private students, your odds are still much improved. I fed this to ChatGPT: At 50% Odds of Admission for Private School Students: Approximately 1 in 3,000. Odds of Admission for Public School Students: Approximately 1 in 27,000. At 30% Odds of Admission for Private School Students: Approximately 1 in 5,000. Odds of Admission for Public School Students: Approximately 1 in 19,286. Granted there are probably more college bound students from a private school than a random public school, if we assume only 30% of public students apply, and they admit 30% of any given class from private schools, then the odds are about even. But I don’t think there is any realistic scenario where going private has worse odds. |
Anonymous
It doesn't work like this. Admission is not random. The odds you are stating are meaningless. The quality of the application matters. This is why the same kid gets into multiple top schools while another kid gets zero. |
Anonymous
| Private is not about college admissions. The reasons are different for everyone. For my family private school is just part of life. |
Anonymous
| I would say going to an elite high school matters more than the specific college. Their college options will be fine. |
Anonymous
| The college counselor is talking BS and just shifting the blame for the poor college placement. I would take his opinion with a grain of salt. One true thing that could be happening is that colleges are shifting from race diversity to income diversity. Hence I believe that the diverse pool is coming more from public schools that from private schools. That is posible. But otherwise a good non diverse student should be able to get a good placement. |
Anonymous
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“When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”
I’ve sent my kids to both public and private. Educate your children at the best school fit for them that does not place undue financial burden on the family. Everything has a price. The cost of a guaranteed admission to the T20 schools is not $500k for K-12. It’s $20m for a building wing. Or athletic genetics and countless hours. Not sure why you thought your $500k entitled you to more. Cake and eat it too? Get in line. Harsh? Sure. But accurate. This should not be news to you. I hope your child got an excellent education. They will likely be well prepared for the next step. And if they are worth their salt, they will take that T1-100 opportunity and light it up. The only thing stopping them from being as successful as the kid at MIT? Their parent’s bad attitude. Don’t let your kid the drivel coming out of your mouth. It doesn’t help them. |
Anonymous
| *hear the drivel |
Anonymous
| Well, our local public school just had a kid stabbed in the hallway. So there is that aspect to think of also. |