For the public school parents on here who say “private school was a waste if your kid didn’t get

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’ll add that the being able to “succeed in any major” ideal requires time management. I have said this before, but there are certain things that most day & boarding prep schools expect out of ALL their students that public schools do not. Mandatory 3 seasons of sports, mandatory public speaking, table manners, uniforms, showing up on time, no snacking or drinking in class, eating what’s served and learning how interact with adults (especially wealthy/successful/old ones) in the community are just some examples.

Eating what's served?

My kids are in private, and I teach public. The array of choices that my kids have at lunch is mind boggling compared to what my students have.

I also had no idea that schools taught special skills needed for interacting with wealthy adults. My kids must have been sick that day because they treat all adults with equal respect.

Nitpicking, eh? The rest of the list is spot on. - NP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will never forget the people who went to crappy high schools and ended up washing out of college. One of my freshman year roommates got her parents to write her papers. That worked until the in class essays for tests and then the cat was out of the bag.

I’ll never forget my freshman year roommate at a T10 who went to a NE boarding school and smoked so much weed that she had to leave jr year and doesn’t even remember soph year.

LOL! That was the boarding school kids at my top SLAC as well. Stoned all the time.

This is why I wont send my kids to NE boarding schools. I went to one and there were a lot of drugs. Wealthy kids with access and not enough parental supervision. But I also saw a lot of academic preparedness issues amongst my peers in college. I sailed through, studied abroad, and still could have graduated early. You probably get drugs everywhere but boarding school was just a recipe for disaster for some kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’ll add that the being able to “succeed in any major” ideal requires time management. I have said this before, but there are certain things that most day & boarding prep schools expect out of ALL their students that public schools do not. Mandatory 3 seasons of sports, mandatory public speaking, table manners, uniforms, showing up on time, no snacking or drinking in class, eating what’s served and learning how interact with adults (especially wealthy/successful/old ones) in the community are just some examples.

Eating what's served?

My kids are in private, and I teach public. The array of choices that my kids have at lunch is mind boggling compared to what my students have.

I also had no idea that schools taught special skills needed for interacting with wealthy adults. My kids must have been sick that day because they treat all adults with equal respect.

Nitpicking, eh? The rest of the list is spot on. - NP

Except there are plenty of private schools that don't require public speaking, uniforms, or 3 seasons of sports, and plenty of public schools that require uniforms, and don't allow kids to eat in the classroom.

I'm a private school parent, but that post was pretentious and ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will never forget the people who went to crappy high schools and ended up washing out of college. One of my freshman year roommates got her parents to write her papers. That worked until the in class essays for tests and then the cat was out of the bag.

I’ll never forget my freshman year roommate at a T10 who went to a NE boarding school and smoked so much weed that she had to leave jr year and doesn’t even remember soph year.

LOL! That was the boarding school kids at my top SLAC as well. Stoned all the time.

This is why I wont send my kids to NE boarding schools. I went to one and there were a lot of drugs. Wealthy kids with access and not enough parental supervision. But I also saw a lot of academic preparedness issues amongst my peers in college. I sailed through, studied abroad, and still could have graduated early. You probably get drugs everywhere but boarding school was just a recipe for disaster for some kids.

IME, rich kids do plenty of drugs. Because they can -- they have a lot of disposable income and they often have minimal parental supervision. And they are cushioned from many of the negative consequences by their parents' money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’ll add that the being able to “succeed in any major” ideal requires time management. I have said this before, but there are certain things that most day & boarding prep schools expect out of ALL their students that public schools do not. Mandatory 3 seasons of sports, mandatory public speaking, table manners, uniforms, showing up on time, no snacking or drinking in class, eating what’s served and learning how interact with adults (especially wealthy/successful/old ones) in the community are just some examples.

Eating what's served?

My kids are in private, and I teach public. The array of choices that my kids have at lunch is mind boggling compared to what my students have.

I also had no idea that schools taught special skills needed for interacting with wealthy adults. My kids must have been sick that day because they treat all adults with equal respect.

Nitpicking, eh? The rest of the list is spot on. - NP

Table manners? These posts are so embarrassing. Let me guess: PP is also the poster who chose private so their DC could find the right type of person to marry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I've read more posts that list non-college-admissions reasons to send your kid to private than I've read posts that say private is for college admissions, OP.

Please stop perpetuating this silly, made-up, debate.

- public school parent.

Oh where have you read more non college admissions reasons than posts saying private is a boost? Because it sure AF wasn’t on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’ll add that the being able to “succeed in any major” ideal requires time management. I have said this before, but there are certain things that most day & boarding prep schools expect out of ALL their students that public schools do not. Mandatory 3 seasons of sports, mandatory public speaking, table manners, uniforms, showing up on time, no snacking or drinking in class, eating what’s served and learning how interact with adults (especially wealthy/successful/old ones) in the community are just some examples.

Eating what's served?

My kids are in private, and I teach public. The array of choices that my kids have at lunch is mind boggling compared to what my students have.

I also had no idea that schools taught special skills needed for interacting with wealthy adults. My kids must have been sick that day because they treat all adults with equal respect.

I laughed at that, too. My SIL teaches at a New England boarding school, and the options those kids have in the dining hall are crazy.

My son goes to boarding school. The food and selection that is served in the dining hall is incredible. It is nothing like I had in school!

[Anonymous]

Princeton grad, MS at Stanford. Was in an eating club & fraternity at Princeton and stay connected to the school including college interviews. Boarding school groups by far were the ones to introduce and get the drugs. We also didn't distinguish much between who went to what HS and trust me, most college kids outside of the DMV only will recognize Georgetown Prep & Day (only because it has Georgetown in its name and "sounds familiar", usually Sidwell and sometimes a Cathedral school. No one knows Landon, Burke, Potomac, Maret etc.

I do feel like there is a growing bias against "rich white kids who have everything handed to them" at the universities. I can't comment too much because we are probably also viewed as a well-off white kids from nice neighborhoods in our public though we are getting some aid.

Everyone who is doing interviews and everyone in admission offices always routes for the kid that had the most challenges. It's human nature to want that kind of kid to get a break.

My son will go to Brown next year from MCPS. He was in the top 20% of his class. He is prepared. Why the heck do folks think the public school does not prepare kids for college? What do you think they do all day? Sure he had some mediocre teachers but by far they we very good. He was part of his school debate team & a few clubs. He is not one of those rock star kids that has any unique magical talents but got his work done. We could have afforded private and always said if things didn't work out in public that we would switch but it was a great education for him and we don't feel like he missed out. About half of our social group send their kids to various privates and our kids seem very similar. Similar vacations, after-school activities etc.
Send your kid to whatever school you want. As long as they don't have LD or social issues they will be great at either. We are happy we saved the $$ and have enjoyed some fantastic perks along the way that private would not have let us enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just think it's funny to compare how many people insist that they are sending their kids to private school for reasons that have nothing to do with college admissions, that they don't care about college admissions, etc., with how many people freak out when their private school's college admissions stats for the year are not up to snuff. Like, maybe these are two completely distinct groups, but I think that's pretty unlikely. There are a lot of people who talk a good game, but when the rubber hits the road, they absolutely expect that spending all that money means their kid will get into the elite colleges they want.

I think it’s ridiculous to conflate the two things. I’m sending my child to private for the education and experience, which is its own reward. Nothing more. Separately and independently, regardless of where she went to school, I am sure college applications will be stressful. These things can and usually do coexist. Try to grasp this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will never forget the people who went to crappy high schools and ended up washing out of college. One of my freshman year roommates got her parents to write her papers. That worked until the in class essays for tests and then the cat was out of the bag.

I’ll never forget my freshman year roommate at a T10 who went to a NE boarding school and smoked so much weed that she had to leave jr year and doesn’t even remember soph year.

LOL! That was the boarding school kids at my top SLAC as well. Stoned all the time.

This is why I wont send my kids to NE boarding schools. I went to one and there were a lot of drugs. Wealthy kids with access and not enough parental supervision. But I also saw a lot of academic preparedness issues amongst my peers in college. I sailed through, studied abroad, and still could have graduated early. You probably get drugs everywhere but boarding school was just a recipe for disaster for some kids.

I also sailed through college, studied abroad, and graduated early … after attending a strong public high school. My classmates from privates did not seem any more prepared. Those who went to boarding school also expressed that they had little motivation for college due to having already “done it all” at boarding school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Princeton grad, MS at Stanford. Was in an eating club & fraternity at Princeton and stay connected to the school including college interviews. Boarding school groups by far were the ones to introduce and get the drugs. We also didn't distinguish much between who went to what HS and trust me, most college kids outside of the DMV only will recognize Georgetown Prep & Day (only because it has Georgetown in its name and "sounds familiar", usually Sidwell and sometimes a Cathedral school. No one knows Landon, Burke, Potomac, Maret etc.

I do feel like there is a growing bias against "rich white kids who have everything handed to them" at the universities. I can't comment too much because we are probably also viewed as a well-off white kids from nice neighborhoods in our public though we are getting some aid.

Everyone who is doing interviews and everyone in admission offices always routes for the kid that had the most challenges. It's human nature to want that kind of kid to get a break.

My son will go to Brown next year from MCPS. He was in the top 20% of his class. He is prepared. Why the heck do folks think the public school does not prepare kids for college? What do you think they do all day? Sure he had some mediocre teachers but by far they we very good. He was part of his school debate team & a few clubs. He is not one of those rock star kids that has any unique magical talents but got his work done. We could have afforded private and always said if things didn't work out in public that we would switch but it was a great education for him and we don't feel like he missed out. About half of our social group send their kids to various privates and our kids seem very similar. Similar vacations, after-school activities etc.
Send your kid to whatever school you want. As long as they don't have LD or social issues they will be great at either. We are happy we saved the $$ and have enjoyed some fantastic perks along the way that private would not have let us enjoy.

So you cheaped out on your kid and you're proud?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will never forget the people who went to crappy high schools and ended up washing out of college. One of my freshman year roommates got her parents to write her papers. That worked until the in class essays for tests and then the cat was out of the bag.

I’ll never forget my freshman year roommate at a T10 who went to a NE boarding school and smoked so much weed that she had to leave jr year and doesn’t even remember soph year.

LOL! That was the boarding school kids at my top SLAC as well. Stoned all the time.

This is why I wont send my kids to NE boarding schools. I went to one and there were a lot of drugs. Wealthy kids with access and not enough parental supervision. But I also saw a lot of academic preparedness issues amongst my peers in college. I sailed through, studied abroad, and still could have graduated early. You probably get drugs everywhere but boarding school was just a recipe for disaster for some kids.

I also sailed through college, studied abroad, and graduated early … after attending a strong public high school. My classmates from privates did not seem any more prepared. Those who went to boarding school also expressed that they had little motivation for college due to having already “done it all” at boarding school.

Out of your entire public high school graduating class, how many kids didn’t graduate from college in 4 years? How many dropped out altogether, or never even started?

I went to a private high school with a graduating class of about 110 students. I know of two people from my high school class who didn’t graduate from college at 22. That’s it. One became a successful actor.

Having momentum throughout college, especially when you see your high school friends on holiday breaks, helps.

You don’t know if your kid is going to be a top-of-the-class superstar when they’re in 8th grade. Why risk it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just think it's funny to compare how many people insist that they are sending their kids to private school for reasons that have nothing to do with college admissions, that they don't care about college admissions, etc., with how many people freak out when their private school's college admissions stats for the year are not up to snuff. Like, maybe these are two completely distinct groups, but I think that's pretty unlikely. There are a lot of people who talk a good game, but when the rubber hits the road, they absolutely expect that spending all that money means their kid will get into the elite colleges they want.

I think it’s ridiculous to conflate the two things. I’m sending my child to private for the education and experience, which is its own reward. Nothing more. Separately and independently, regardless of where she went to school, I am sure college applications will be stressful. These things can and usually do coexist. Try to grasp this.

Then I'm not talking about you. But a hit dog hollers, I suppose. IRL, I have never heard a public school parent say anything about private school college admissions one way or another. I have heard private school parents grumbling that their hefty tuition checks aren't guaranteeing admission to the elite colleges they expect, or grousing that colleges discriminate against private school kids, or upset because the school had a "bad year" in terms of admissions, etc., and some of them are people who, had you asked them, would have insisted that they were sending their kid to private for all kinds of reasons that had nothing to do with college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will never forget the people who went to crappy high schools and ended up washing out of college. One of my freshman year roommates got her parents to write her papers. That worked until the in class essays for tests and then the cat was out of the bag.

I’ll never forget my freshman year roommate at a T10 who went to a NE boarding school and smoked so much weed that she had to leave jr year and doesn’t even remember soph year.

LOL! That was the boarding school kids at my top SLAC as well. Stoned all the time.

This is why I wont send my kids to NE boarding schools. I went to one and there were a lot of drugs. Wealthy kids with access and not enough parental supervision. But I also saw a lot of academic preparedness issues amongst my peers in college. I sailed through, studied abroad, and still could have graduated early. You probably get drugs everywhere but boarding school was just a recipe for disaster for some kids.

I also sailed through college, studied abroad, and graduated early … after attending a strong public high school. My classmates from privates did not seem any more prepared. Those who went to boarding school also expressed that they had little motivation for college due to having already “done it all” at boarding school.

I'm happy for you, but it does seem that you have a chip on your shoulder. Are you upset that you couldn't go to private school?

[Anonymous]

The best thing we ever did was a k-8 and then public. Highly recommend. Supported by some spectacular studies.