Is Flint hill private school worth it?

[Anonymous]

I would focus on understanding child’s lack of motivation. Not wanting to ask for help in big classes is something Flint Hill can improve. Simply not motivated Flint Hill can’t.

[Anonymous]

Maybe consider sending DC to an in-state college-preparatory boarding school for HS ?

Blue Ridge School is NW of Charlottesville, in rural Albemarle County. It has good facilities, good teaching, and small class sizes. They have had good success for many years helping boys reach their potential. I do not know the current cost, but maybe think about it, and possibly visit the school. Would be a 2-hour drive from Fairfax to BRS, so could visit DC on weekends and such.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would focus on understanding child’s lack of motivation. Not wanting to ask for help in big classes is something Flint Hill can improve. Simply not motivated Flint Hill can’t.

+1. I am not suggesting Tiger parenting, but maybe try to figure this out to help DC. Young people do need active parenting to be successful.

[Anonymous]

The challenge with Langley HS will be that top public universities will usually only seriously consider the top 10-30% of the students. Langley is filled with strivers who are being pushed by tiger parents, unlike maybe South County HS. So DC’s seeming lack of motivation might mean having to settle for different mix of universities.

[Anonymous]

Also, at Langley HS so many kids are getting supplemental education outside school: private tutors, AoPS, Kumon, Mathnasium, RSM, or whatever else.

[Anonymous]

Flint Hill parent of two here, amazed by the opinions of people whose only experience with the school is reading posts on DCUM by others with no experience. The school has been fantastic for my kids both from a learning and social perspective. I do not live in your local school district so cannot comment on that. But I know that my zoned public schools are overcrowded and we never would have received anything close to the attention and academic quality as we have at FH.

[Anonymous]

I’m sharing my experience to help other families make informed decisions about this school. Since the change in administration, we’ve observed significant issues that have impacted the quality of education:

Teacher Turnover and Quality: The physics teacher was terminated mid-year, and the computer science teacher was also let go. The robotics class lacks active instruction—the teacher is present but doesn’t engage in teaching. Overall, STEM program very weak.

Teaching Methods: Math and science classes rely heavily on “flipped learning,” where students watch videos at home and do homework during class time. While this can work in some settings, there’s minimal direct instruction or teacher engagement, leaving students to teach themselves complex material. The kids don’t know how to do the AP Physics and AP Chem classwork because they don’t understand the issues. NInety percent of kids need to get tutors in these subjects to do well.


Academic Rigor Declining: The school plans to eliminate AP classes, which will severely limit students’ ability to build competitive college applications. Combined with grade inflation concerns, students may graduate less prepared for selective universities.

Frequent Policy Changes: Constant shifts in school policies create confusion and instability. It feels like the focus has shifted from educational excellence to enrollment numbers.
I recognize this school once had a strong reputation, but the current administration seems to prioritize different goals. I encourage parents to visit, ask tough questions about teacher retention, curriculum changes, and college placement rates before enrolling.

My oldest child graduated a while ago and wr loved the school. However, my second child and her friends are having an awful experience. Most parents are not enrolling younger siblings in the school. I would never send my child to the high school. It is an utter waste of money.

I am not a salty parent, my oldest child went to a top Ivy League colleg and my current student was admitted to very good colleges. It was an amazing struggle, not worth the effort, and worry my second child will not be as prepared as my older child.

[Anonymous]

Flint Hill is worth it for us. Good academics and the kids seen to all get along well.

And I have two kids in the Upper School. Both came from Rachel Carson Middle school’s AAP. We don’t have middle or lower school experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I’m sharing my experience to help other families make informed decisions about this school. Since the change in administration, we’ve observed significant issues that have impacted the quality of education:

Teacher Turnover and Quality: The physics teacher was terminated mid-year, and the computer science teacher was also let go. The robotics class lacks active instruction—the teacher is present but doesn’t engage in teaching. Overall, STEM program very weak.

Teaching Methods: Math and science classes rely heavily on “flipped learning,” where students watch videos at home and do homework during class time. While this can work in some settings, there’s minimal direct instruction or teacher engagement, leaving students to teach themselves complex material. The kids don’t know how to do the AP Physics and AP Chem classwork because they don’t understand the issues. NInety percent of kids need to get tutors in these subjects to do well.


Academic Rigor Declining: The school plans to eliminate AP classes, which will severely limit students’ ability to build competitive college applications. Combined with grade inflation concerns, students may graduate less prepared for selective universities.

Frequent Policy Changes: Constant shifts in school policies create confusion and instability. It feels like the focus has shifted from educational excellence to enrollment numbers.
I recognize this school once had a strong reputation, but the current administration seems to prioritize different goals. I encourage parents to visit, ask tough questions about teacher retention, curriculum changes, and college placement rates before enrolling.

My oldest child graduated a while ago and wr loved the school. However, my second child and her friends are having an awful experience. Most parents are not enrolling younger siblings in the school. I would never send my child to the high school. It is an utter waste of money.

I am not a salty parent, my oldest child went to a top Ivy League colleg and my current student was admitted to very good colleges. It was an amazing struggle, not worth the effort, and worry my second child will not be as prepared as my older child.

I am a college admissions consultant in the DC area and I work with a lot of kids at FH, so I feel like I know the school pretty well from that lens. I do not think it is worth the money over Langley from a college outcomes perspective, but may be for a social perspective depending on your child. Overall I wouldn’t say I think particularly highly of the school.

That being said, take this poster’s complaints with a grain of salt. Most top independent schools nationwide started dropping APs a decade ago. Anyone saying that this is going to hurt the kids from a college admissions standpoint is really misinformed and operating on (very) outdated information. Just wanted to add my two cents.

[Anonymous]

The problem I think with academically “average” kids at FCPS is I think they are easily overlooked. I realized this in ES and changed to Catholic in middle. I do believe DC is pushed more and is just overall learning better study skills. While I honestly do not know if this will change college outcomes, I do believe once DC gets to college they will be more prepared in being successful. $50k is a lot though, maybe figuring out if you had time to supplement or get other support outside of school instead would be better financial decision.

[Anonymous]

Flint Hill is not worth it- not for Lower, Middle or Upper.

[Anonymous]

If your child needs substantial support, then yes. It's not highly regarded.

[Anonymous]

There is no single answer to this. It depends on the child, the family, and many many other things.

One important thing to understand is that for a non-magnet public HS, UVa will focus on the top 10-15% of graduating students. A lower tier student might well be accepted based on ECs or special circumstances or something, but the focus (and most acceptances) will be in that top 10-15% of the class. Colleges can figure the approximate percentage from the school profile, so lack of an official class rank will not change this.

For a magnet — OR for a private that UVa likes and that UVa thinks is rigorous (whether or not it really is rigorous), UVa will focus on the top 10-25% of the graduating class. No one on DCUM really knows whether FH is in that category or not. In other metro areas in-state, there are private schools that fit that category, at least 2 exist in Richmond.

[Anonymous]

A second thing to keep in mind is that for a “University of (state)”, UVA is visibly small. Many public universities in other states are MUCH larger. Several other good public universities in the Commonwealth are visibly larger. This makes UVa admissions from anywhere fundamentally more difficult, because their entering class is so much smaller.

The good news about Virginia is that several other good quality public universities exist as options. VT is very large and has a wide range of offerings. W&M is almost unique for a public university - smaller and somewhat like a LAC with good natural sciences offerings and a (relatively) ancient pedigree — founded 1693. W&M also is a tough admit, btw. Depending on the intended major, also consider at least VT, JMU, VCU, UMW, and (yes) GMU.

For any of these, engineering or nursing likely would be a tougher admit these days than other programs at the same university.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, an average student who is at a lower tier FCPS HS will have an easier time with college admissions than the same student with same academics at an upper-tier FCPS HS.

Many universities evaluate applicants in the narrow context of the applicant’s own HS offerings and that HS’s students, average test scores, and such.