Private School Possible with Household Income <$80K

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also just think: how is your kid going to feel when Larlo jets off to an African Safari during Spring break? Lesser than. While I agree private schools are (generally) better for academics and behavior - and certainly prepare a child for a corporate life these Tony schools also give an average kid a major inferiority complex. I would keep researching - there are some really good cheaper private schools that give the bang without the ‘tude. (Religious)

Also poster is correct. We had to look at private for a special need and they only took off 7,000. (I made close to double what you make with stay at home spouse). They want that spouse working.

This isn’t as big of a deal as one might think. Many many many families are super down to earth and DC has definitely found their core group of friends who have similar vacations. One of the more wealthy families is the most down to earth (yeah I looked up their $5M house and know that dad is worth about $60M) but they do normal vacations, fly commercial, drive normal cars, etc. Some families do a lot of international travel, etc but I’ve found that the people displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy and DC doesn’t really roll with those kids anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also just think: how is your kid going to feel when Larlo jets off to an African Safari during Spring break? Lesser than. While I agree private schools are (generally) better for academics and behavior - and certainly prepare a child for a corporate life these Tony schools also give an average kid a major inferiority complex. I would keep researching - there are some really good cheaper private schools that give the bang without the ‘tude. (Religious)

Also poster is correct. We had to look at private for a special need and they only took off 7,000. (I made close to double what you make with stay at home spouse). They want that spouse working.

This isn’t as big of a deal as one might think. Many many many families are super down to earth and DC has definitely found their core group of friends who have similar vacations. One of the more wealthy families is the most down to earth (yeah I looked up their $5M house and know that dad is worth about $60M) but they do normal vacations, fly commercial, drive normal cars, etc. Some families do a lot of international travel, etc but I’ve found that the people displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy and DC doesn’t really roll with those kids anyway.

How did you find those displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy? Did you check their bank accounts?

[Anonymous]

When we started at our school this was our income. We paid about $8k out of pocket - slightly less than we had been paying for daycare, so it was totally fine.

But we were both working, so I don’t know how much they will impute for your non working parent. I bet you’ll still get aid, but your expected contribution can and should be more than if you were both working with that income. You are saving money in a lot of ways by having one nonworking parent, so you can use that saved money towards tuition.

[Anonymous]

Try Catholic school

[Anonymous]

Try a Catholic parochial school. It will probably tick a lot of the boxes. We have found the only real “weakness” is the lack of a fancy facility. The important thing like a gym, science lab and a technology center are all there though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also just think: how is your kid going to feel when Larlo jets off to an African Safari during Spring break? Lesser than. While I agree private schools are (generally) better for academics and behavior - and certainly prepare a child for a corporate life these Tony schools also give an average kid a major inferiority complex. I would keep researching - there are some really good cheaper private schools that give the bang without the ‘tude. (Religious)

Also poster is correct. We had to look at private for a special need and they only took off 7,000. (I made close to double what you make with stay at home spouse). They want that spouse working.

This isn’t as big of a deal as one might think. Many many many families are super down to earth and DC has definitely found their core group of friends who have similar vacations. One of the more wealthy families is the most down to earth (yeah I looked up their $5M house and know that dad is worth about $60M) but they do normal vacations, fly commercial, drive normal cars, etc. Some families do a lot of international travel, etc but I’ve found that the people displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy and DC doesn’t really roll with those kids anyway.

How did you find those displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy? Did you check their bank accounts?

No, but I looked them up via various sources including what they paid for their house and how much they earn (this is not the secret people think that it is). Money talks, wealth whispers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also just think: how is your kid going to feel when Larlo jets off to an African Safari during Spring break? Lesser than. While I agree private schools are (generally) better for academics and behavior - and certainly prepare a child for a corporate life these Tony schools also give an average kid a major inferiority complex. I would keep researching - there are some really good cheaper private schools that give the bang without the ‘tude. (Religious)

Also poster is correct. We had to look at private for a special need and they only took off 7,000. (I made close to double what you make with stay at home spouse). They want that spouse working.

This isn’t as big of a deal as one might think. Many many many families are super down to earth and DC has definitely found their core group of friends who have similar vacations. One of the more wealthy families is the most down to earth (yeah I looked up their $5M house and know that dad is worth about $60M) but they do normal vacations, fly commercial, drive normal cars, etc. Some families do a lot of international travel, etc but I’ve found that the people displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy and DC doesn’t really roll with those kids anyway.

How did you find those displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy? Did you check their bank accounts?

No, but I looked them up via various sources including what they paid for their house and how much they earn (this is not the secret people think that it is). Money talks, wealth whispers.

You cannot judge people's wealth based on only their houses or salaries. Many choose to live in a smaller house or condo, but they have family wealth, second home, investment, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the likelihood of receiving financial aid (and enough of it) at DC private high schools to make attending possible?

We are a 2-parent, 1-income family with an elementary age child at home. I know some schools impute a salary for the non-working parent (though I never in my life made as much as some of the annual tuition costs).

Anyone have a story / financial aid award amount to share? Thank you!

This is my income although I am a single parent and have one child. We receive 75% FA, plus FA “discounts” for some of the extras (aftercare so that I can work, the mandatory technology, bus, books, etc).

We are URM, but no other standouts like sports or an amazing talent. What I did when applying was check the 990s of all of the schools where DC had an interest in attending, got a true idea of their average award (not just what’s published on their website) and what their incoming donations/funding looks like. Then DC only applied to the ones that made more sense financially. Applied to 4, admitted to 3 and received FA offers of 50%, 75% and 81%. We chose the 75% because it was DC’s #1 school and they could provide help with the extras which actually made it the bigger award and more manageable (still tight, but everything is paid).

DC was also in private for K-8 somewhere else and we received 50% FA, but that school had much lower financial aid to distribute and was a little less costly than our current school. I’m actually paying less at the bigger more expensive school.

When completing the FA application, there is a space for you to tell the committee anything you’d like them to know and I would explain why in the world both parents aren’t working with two school aged children at home (this will matter, and quite frankly both of you should be), but also how financial aid would positively impact your family because otherwise your child would not be able to attend said school and why it’s important for your child. I was also super active with the previous school as well as the current school (PTO, grade rep, field trip chaperone when I could get the time off work, etc) which can also help.

Finally, you need to also contribute to the annual fund. Not a lot because obviously money is an issue, but 100% parent participation is important, so even if you have to split it in monthly payments, you should be donating at least $100-250 to the annual fund.

Thanks for this. Very helpful (not OP). Question, how do you tell aid by 990s? For example, if they have line item of $3M grants and you know 22% of their student body gets aid, do you assume $3m divided by that amount? But then aren’t there some that get 75% and some that get 10% or do you just get the median and assume from there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also just think: how is your kid going to feel when Larlo jets off to an African Safari during Spring break? Lesser than. While I agree private schools are (generally) better for academics and behavior - and certainly prepare a child for a corporate life these Tony schools also give an average kid a major inferiority complex. I would keep researching - there are some really good cheaper private schools that give the bang without the ‘tude. (Religious)

Also poster is correct. We had to look at private for a special need and they only took off 7,000. (I made close to double what you make with stay at home spouse). They want that spouse working.

This isn’t as big of a deal as one might think. Many many many families are super down to earth and DC has definitely found their core group of friends who have similar vacations. One of the more wealthy families is the most down to earth (yeah I looked up their $5M house and know that dad is worth about $60M) but they do normal vacations, fly commercial, drive normal cars, etc. Some families do a lot of international travel, etc but I’ve found that the people displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy and DC doesn’t really roll with those kids anyway.

How did you find those displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy? Did you check their bank accounts?

No, but I looked them up via various sources including what they paid for their house and how much they earn (this is not the secret people think that it is). Money talks, wealth whispers.

You cannot judge people's wealth based on only their houses or salaries. Many choose to live in a smaller house or condo, but they have family wealth, second home, investment, etc.

Past a certain point, it takes wealth to have a lifestyle. If Larlo lives in a mansion and flies private every time the family goes on vacation, there is wealth. They may not be the richest family, but they are rich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try a Catholic parochial school. It will probably tick a lot of the boxes. We have found the only real “weakness” is the lack of a fancy facility. The important thing like a gym, science lab and a technology center are all there though.

If you aren't catholic, it is still out of reach for OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the likelihood of receiving financial aid (and enough of it) at DC private high schools to make attending possible?

We are a 2-parent, 1-income family with an elementary age child at home. I know some schools impute a salary for the non-working parent (though I never in my life made as much as some of the annual tuition costs).

Anyone have a story / financial aid award amount to share? Thank you!

This is my income although I am a single parent and have one child. We receive 75% FA, plus FA “discounts” for some of the extras (aftercare so that I can work, the mandatory technology, bus, books, etc).

We are URM, but no other standouts like sports or an amazing talent. What I did when applying was check the 990s of all of the schools where DC had an interest in attending, got a true idea of their average award (not just what’s published on their website) and what their incoming donations/funding looks like. Then DC only applied to the ones that made more sense financially. Applied to 4, admitted to 3 and received FA offers of 50%, 75% and 81%. We chose the 75% because it was DC’s #1 school and they could provide help with the extras which actually made it the bigger award and more manageable (still tight, but everything is paid).

DC was also in private for K-8 somewhere else and we received 50% FA, but that school had much lower financial aid to distribute and was a little less costly than our current school. I’m actually paying less at the bigger more expensive school.

When completing the FA application, there is a space for you to tell the committee anything you’d like them to know and I would explain why in the world both parents aren’t working with two school aged children at home (this will matter, and quite frankly both of you should be), but also how financial aid would positively impact your family because otherwise your child would not be able to attend said school and why it’s important for your child. I was also super active with the previous school as well as the current school (PTO, grade rep, field trip chaperone when I could get the time off work, etc) which can also help.

Finally, you need to also contribute to the annual fund. Not a lot because obviously money is an issue, but 100% parent participation is important, so even if you have to split it in monthly payments, you should be donating at least $100-250 to the annual fund.

Thanks for this. Very helpful (not OP). Question, how do you tell aid by 990s? For example, if they have line item of $3M grants and you know 22% of their student body gets aid, do you assume $3m divided by that amount? But then aren’t there some that get 75% and some that get 10% or do you just get the median and assume from there?

Towards the end of the report, (Schedule I) you can see exactly how much they distributed in aid (with usually a breakdown of general FA vs specific scholarships) and they give the real number of students that receive aid. I divide that number and based on my income, I guesstimate that I would receive about 25-30% more than average since I would likely be much lower income than many other recipients (this is based on what we received at DC's last school vs the average FA each family got). Most families earning under $150K are eligible for some type of aid. The average award at DC's current school is about 55%. We receive 75% plus some extras.

I also use the 990 to check their investments, other income the schools receive, and costs of overhead to determine how healthy they are year over year to continue to offer similar aid at an increase since tuition increases every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also just think: how is your kid going to feel when Larlo jets off to an African Safari during Spring break? Lesser than. While I agree private schools are (generally) better for academics and behavior - and certainly prepare a child for a corporate life these Tony schools also give an average kid a major inferiority complex. I would keep researching - there are some really good cheaper private schools that give the bang without the ‘tude. (Religious)

Also poster is correct. We had to look at private for a special need and they only took off 7,000. (I made close to double what you make with stay at home spouse). They want that spouse working.

This isn’t as big of a deal as one might think. Many many many families are super down to earth and DC has definitely found their core group of friends who have similar vacations. One of the more wealthy families is the most down to earth (yeah I looked up their $5M house and know that dad is worth about $60M) but they do normal vacations, fly commercial, drive normal cars, etc. Some families do a lot of international travel, etc but I’ve found that the people displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy and DC doesn’t really roll with those kids anyway.

How did you find those displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy? Did you check their bank accounts?

No, but I looked them up via various sources including what they paid for their house and how much they earn (this is not the secret people think that it is). Money talks, wealth whispers.

You cannot judge people's wealth based on only their houses or salaries. Many choose to live in a smaller house or condo, but they have family wealth, second home, investment, etc.

From my experience, wealth doesn’t whisper at expensive private schools in DC. Lots of conversations center around travel, expensive hobbies and experiences, renovations, etc. it’s just normal conversation and small talk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also just think: how is your kid going to feel when Larlo jets off to an African Safari during Spring break? Lesser than. While I agree private schools are (generally) better for academics and behavior - and certainly prepare a child for a corporate life these Tony schools also give an average kid a major inferiority complex. I would keep researching - there are some really good cheaper private schools that give the bang without the ‘tude. (Religious)

Also poster is correct. We had to look at private for a special need and they only took off 7,000. (I made close to double what you make with stay at home spouse). They want that spouse working.

This isn’t as big of a deal as one might think. Many many many families are super down to earth and DC has definitely found their core group of friends who have similar vacations. One of the more wealthy families is the most down to earth (yeah I looked up their $5M house and know that dad is worth about $60M) but they do normal vacations, fly commercial, drive normal cars, etc. Some families do a lot of international travel, etc but I’ve found that the people displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy and DC doesn’t really roll with those kids anyway.

How did you find those displaying the most luxurious lifestyle aren’t actually as wealthy? Did you check their bank accounts?

No, but I looked them up via various sources including what they paid for their house and how much they earn (this is not the secret people think that it is). Money talks, wealth whispers.

You cannot judge people's wealth based on only their houses or salaries. Many choose to live in a smaller house or condo, but they have family wealth, second home, investment, etc.

From my experience, wealth doesn’t whisper at expensive private schools in DC. Lots of conversations center around travel, expensive hobbies and experiences, renovations, etc. it’s just normal conversation and small talk.

Usually the ones who are doing all of the talking aren't the wealthy ones - or maybe they're new money.

[Anonymous]

OP, you need to work barring extenuating circumstances. You don't indicate an extraordinary (e.g., medical) need for your other elementary age child to be home. Even if your income is $50K/year ($35K after taxes), that will be enough to pay a large percentage of private school education.

Tell me, why do you think other private school moms should be working to subsidize your child's tuition and you should not have to work?

[Anonymous]

Hello, everyone. Thank you for all of your insights and opinions. OP here ...

I can imagine there are several scenarios where households may be 2-parent, 1-income like ours. I see there was some speculation that in all cases this would be a parent "staying-at-home" or just not working (a choice I also made while my kids were little as a low-income earner who found childcare unaffordable and a poorer substitute given our particulars). That's one possibility. But others include: care of a child with illness/special needs, dependent adult, out-of-work parent, sick parent, parent who works outside the home without receiving an income (volunteer/intern), and likely others. In our case, we our longtime, pre-pandemic homeschoolers ... so I've been working years without getting paid

As I mentioned previously, I've never made an income (in my previous non-profit / education roles) as much as many of these private high school tuitions. So, I was mainly wondering how others made it work. If it's realistic even with aid. What the imputed wage of a non-working parent might be. Thanks to all of you who provided some useful insider knowledge there.

Others suggested Catholic schools as a less-expensive alternative. We are considering those as well, though we are not Catholic. From reading other threads, it seems that could limit admission / aid in some cases.

Best wishes to everyone searching out the right path for their kiddos next year! If anyone has more helpful information / experiences to offer, we would love to benefit from your words of wisdom.

Thank you!