Was Private Worth the Money if DC Didn’t Get into a “good” University?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My public school kid is headed to UCLA and my eldest graduated from Brown. Thank you for the ride DCPS. It was bumpy sometimes but we did it!

Is this an athlete? Because UCLA hasn't released decisions yet and don't have any ED/EA options. If so, that's a whole different story.

[Anonymous]

Parent of a senior at a Big 3. No far it feels like a big no. My spouse disagrees - they are focused on how "well-prepared" our kid is and that our kid have been relatively happy. I agree that those are good outcomes.
However, I feel like it was a crap-load of money and our kid will probably attend the same school or even less prestigious than he would have out of our public school. I have not felt well supported through the college process and yes I'll reveal the school when it's all over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a senior at a Big 3. No far it feels like a big no. My spouse disagrees - they are focused on how "well-prepared" our kid is and that our kid have been relatively happy. I agree that those are good outcomes.
However, I feel like it was a crap-load of money and our kid will probably attend the same school or even less prestigious than he would have out of our public school. I have not felt well supported through the college process and yes I'll reveal the school when it's all over.

I have 3 kids in a good public and considering switching to private. I wonder if it is more difficult to get into a top university from a top private since most spots go to legacies and URM. If you are a typical strong student with no hooks, I would think your college prospects may even be worse at a top private.

Dh and I are products of public school. We both attended T30 colleges and ivy grad schools. Our children are stronger than we were in every way when we were in school in the 90s. I know the landscape is far more competitive now.

[Anonymous]

I am driving myself mad on whether we should stay at our public or switch to private. We moved to McLean for their strong public school system and kids will likely have to commute to Maryland or DC.

[Anonymous]

I posted about my preference for private schools. I want to add that we do not have great public schools where we live. They are underfunded, and teachers have an enormous workload, which means they can’t care the least about certain kinds of kids. One type they don’t care about: the quiet, well behaved A student. They don’t cause any trouble so the teacher ignores them. They could use help to get out of their shell and participate more, be more active in clubs etc, but they are never given the chance as they aren’t loud enough. The second type that I noticed who doesn’t do well at our public’s is the kid who needs some extra support - not because they are dumb but because they are that organized. Eg: and ADJD kid, who could be incredibly smart but will drown in those sink or swim schools.
So - I have one of each and I would have done an incredible disservice to my children (the bright but quiet A student and the ADHD literary genius), if I had kept them in public.

As parents we just try to do the best by our kids and for us the decision was easy to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted about my preference for private schools. I want to add that we do not have great public schools where we live. They are underfunded, and teachers have an enormous workload, which means they can’t care the least about certain kinds of kids. One type they don’t care about: the quiet, well behaved A student. They don’t cause any trouble so the teacher ignores them. They could use help to get out of their shell and participate more, be more active in clubs etc, but they are never given the chance as they aren’t loud enough. The second type that I noticed who doesn’t do well at our public’s is the kid who needs some extra support - not because they are dumb but because they are that organized. Eg: and ADJD kid, who could be incredibly smart but will drown in those sink or swim schools.
So - I have one of each and I would have done an incredible disservice to my children (the bright but quiet A student and the ADHD literary genius), if I had kept them in public.

As parents we just try to do the best by our kids and for us the decision was easy to make.

^ sorry for the typos, I am typing on my phone and don’t have my reading glasses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My public school kid is headed to UCLA and my eldest graduated from Brown. Thank you for the ride DCPS. It was bumpy sometimes but we did it!

Is this an athlete? Because UCLA hasn't released decisions yet and don't have any ED/EA options. If so, that's a whole different story.

I think you just found one of the liars on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

NP. These threads always attract the most privileged and ignorant of public school parents, who have no idea what it’s like to live in a district where kids go away in ambulances because of drugs, gangs are an issue, the bathrooms aren’t safe, kids are vaping in classrooms, no books are assigned reading, and GPAs are essentially pass/fail because an absolute minimum gets you an A.

I would literally pay twice the tuition I do (over $50k) for private school and it has nothing to do with college whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don't care where my kids go to college as long as, at the end of the day, they can afford to raise their kids the way they were raised.

+1
Many jobs are doing away with the stamp of college as a requirement. Hopefully, we'll go back to apprenticeships. Most of what is needed for any job is learned on the job. I have a PhD in STEM and I used maybe 10% of what I learned my first 5 years, everything else was learned on the job. Now 18 years in I draw on my experiences and business relationships, not anything from my education.

As long as my kids can maintain their lifestyle AND, more importantly, get off my books, why do I care about an arbitrary piece of paper?

Absolutely and completely untrue. In fact it's the exact opposite. You can't even get a receptionist job at my employer without a 4 year degree. Top school heavily preferred.

You obviously don't work in tech, STEM, or digitalization. The future is digital my friend. We develop artificial intelligence and if you can demonstrate competence, no degree required. Just be prepared to work hard...

So you're saying Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math employers are now hiring people with only a high school education? Fascinating.

That's exactly what I'm saying.

Well and truly absurd. And definitely not a trend.

NP here: I am in the field, and out of the eight top tech people with whom I've worked, four did not have college degrees. One of them we snapped up while he was in college and told him: just go part time, while we will pay you $$$,$$$. Of the others, one was severely dyslexic and dropped out, another partied too hard, and the last left school during the tech bubble and never bothered to go back.

I do think that it may be less common now for tech superstars to not bother with college. Some of that might be the structural shifts in childhood that make it less likely for a talented kid to take a deep dive into arcana. OTOH, college grads now have an average IQ of ~101, so it's fairly pointless as a filter.

[Anonymous]

Going to private school has many advantages but guaranteeing a student a better chance of going to a "good" university isn't one of them. If that's all that matter then send them to public where grade inflation is common (see: MCPS).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. These threads always attract the most privileged and ignorant of public school parents, who have no idea what it’s like to live in a district where kids go away in ambulances because of drugs, gangs are an issue, the bathrooms aren’t safe, kids are vaping in classrooms, no books are assigned reading, and GPAs are essentially pass/fail because an absolute minimum gets you an A.

I would literally pay twice the tuition I do (over $50k) for private school and it has nothing to do with college whatsoever.

Duh, you're in the same district and while you're in a school a mile up the road, you're kids are statistically not safer. My kid is not getting mugged in the bathroom or experiencing vaping in the classroom. Protecting your kid from what is real in the world is a big disservice to them and the word. I feel sorry for you when the bubble pops and inevitably, it will. You are not able to hold the world out. And, my kid probably has less stress and will get into a better college. Keep writing your check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am driving myself mad on whether we should stay at our public or switch to private. We moved to McLean for their strong public school system and kids will likely have to commute to Maryland or DC.

That is crazy. Stay at your public unless your kid has a problem. One friend of mine chooses private because her kid has too much anxiety. I warned her it will be a different anxiety in her private and she is dealing with her choice now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. These threads always attract the most privileged and ignorant of public school parents, who have no idea what it’s like to live in a district where kids go away in ambulances because of drugs, gangs are an issue, the bathrooms aren’t safe, kids are vaping in classrooms, no books are assigned reading, and GPAs are essentially pass/fail because an absolute minimum gets you an A.

I would literally pay twice the tuition I do (over $50k) for private school and it has nothing to do with college whatsoever.

Why do you live in a place like this, yet you would pay $100k for private school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Duh. People aren't going to admit to that, in real life or even DCUM, are they? But it's obvious. I'd say about half of private families are ultimately disappointed in their child's college admission and the money they spent to get there. However they rationalize with smaller class sizes, reduced exposure to gun violence (not drugs, alcohol, etc) and the potential to meet other wealthy families. College admissions are only one reason out of many to choose privates over publics.

You need to be in therapy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am driving myself mad on whether we should stay at our public or switch to private. We moved to McLean for their strong public school system and kids will likely have to commute to Maryland or DC.

That is crazy. Stay at your public unless your kid has a problem. One friend of mine chooses private because her kid has too much anxiety. I warned her it will be a different anxiety in her private and she is dealing with her choice now.

Pp here. We used to live in the city and chose McLean for their schools and close proximity to work. Now that we live here, we have found many families still send their kids to private and commute to DC and MD.