Boarding Schools Significantly Increasing Financial Aid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am overseas and not in need of a WSJ subscription. But this is important info for my US citizen son. Any chance someone can post a gift article or cut and paste the article below? Thank you.

What do you need to know? It doesn’t provide an exhaustive list of schools offering what Deerfield is offering.

Mentions that Exeter is free for $125k and below. Mentions other boarding schools (without naming) are also trying to increase economic diversity, but you will have to visit the websites/google research them all individually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low enrollment?

You really think Deerfield can't find enough applicants? You don't know much about it then. And upper classes no longer sending kids there? Where do you think the schools are getting the money to offer need based scholarships to under $150k? This is to increase the scope of kids who are able to apply. The boarding school experience is just not comparable to day schools, even the best ones in DC.

It's an interesting thought. I'm not sure I'd be able to send my DS away at such a young age

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am overseas and not in need of a WSJ subscription. But this is important info for my US citizen son. Any chance someone can post a gift article or cut and paste the article below? Thank you.

What do you need to know? It doesn’t provide an exhaustive list of schools offering what Deerfield is offering.

Mentions that Exeter is free for $125k and below. Mentions other boarding schools (without naming) are also trying to increase economic diversity, but you will have to visit the websites/google research them all individually.

Thanks. Was hoping to get a sense of scale and financial aid for families in the $125k-$250k range of income. The missing middle. I am sure there is a scale between the top and bottom, but am unclear on what it is. I wish they had NPC like universities do.

[Anonymous]

With affirmative action now gone, colleges are now pivoting to giving preference to low-income students. Elite prep schools are switching gears by admitting more low-income families.

I expect the DC private schools to do the same in the upcoming years as they realize they can't rely on black students to dominate Ivy admissions like they used to.

[Anonymous]

Deerfield is extremely hard to get into. All of the top 10 boarding schools are near-impossible to get into.

Keep in mind that these schools already have relationships with pipeline programs like prep for prep, Oliver Scholars, TEAK, Brooklyn Lacrosse, etc. to find low-income and smart URMs to distribute the scholarship money to. Deerfield isn't likely giving a full ride to a student that already hasn't been vetted by a trusted source.

[Anonymous]

My DS has decided to apply anyway. He has found two schools he loves. And Deerfield is one of them. The other has an acceptance rate closer of 18%. Don’t know if you don’t try

The good news is that his current school is very good and goes to 12th. He just really wants the community of a BS. Nothing to lose. And we will need partial aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am overseas and not in need of a WSJ subscription. But this is important info for my US citizen son. Any chance someone can post a gift article or cut and paste the article below? Thank you.

Pay $2 and read the article. Stop being cheap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS has decided to apply anyway. He has found two schools he loves. And Deerfield is one of them. The other has an acceptance rate closer of 18%. Don’t know if you don’t try

The good news is that his current school is very good and goes to 12th. He just really wants the community of a BS. Nothing to lose. And we will need partial aid.

Deerfield seems straightforward. Free at $150k and lower and no more than 10% of annual income.

In other words, you have to make $800k or higher to be full pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They want economic diversity so they are bringing in some poor kids. They'll end up with the same barbell distributions that private universities have, but now they'll have some poor kids and middle class kids to point to when people say they're elitist

It's interesting that a school like Deerfield will charge no more than 10% of income.

Feel like there are lots of folks on DCUM lamenting no financial aid that maybe make $300k. I know it is a stretch to send your kids to boarding school, but maybe the calculation is different to spend $30k at Deerfield vs. $55k at Sidwell.

I’d make that trade in a microsecond

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low enrollment?

You really think Deerfield can't find enough applicants? You don't know much about it then. And upper classes no longer sending kids there? Where do you think the schools are getting the money to offer need based scholarships to under $150k? This is to increase the scope of kids who are able to apply. The boarding school experience is just not comparable to day schools, even the best ones in DC.

They have a $900 MM endowment and are raising another $90MM specifically to fund this effort.

Full pay kids help keep the lights on, but it is of course massive gifts from alums that fund initiatives like this.

I always wonder how relatively local people think of Boarding schools. For example, if you live in Amherst and can see your kid at Deerfield all the time (and attend all their sports games), do you think of it more like your prestigious Day school where your kid happens to live?

I guess the same as DMV folks that send their kids to Episcopal.

I was a day student at a New England boarding school, and I don’t know if it’s universal, but you don’t typically board at the school as a day student. This results in some VERY long days though, as the schools’ schedules are built for people that live there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low enrollment?

You really think Deerfield can't find enough applicants? You don't know much about it then. And upper classes no longer sending kids there? Where do you think the schools are getting the money to offer need based scholarships to under $150k? This is to increase the scope of kids who are able to apply. The boarding school experience is just not comparable to day schools, even the best ones in DC.

They have a $900 MM endowment and are raising another $90MM specifically to fund this effort.

Full pay kids help keep the lights on, but it is of course massive gifts from alums that fund initiatives like this.

I always wonder how relatively local people think of Boarding schools. For example, if you live in Amherst and can see your kid at Deerfield all the time (and attend all their sports games), do you think of it more like your prestigious Day school where your kid happens to live?

I guess the same as DMV folks that send their kids to Episcopal.

I was a day student at a New England boarding school, and I don’t know if it’s universal, but you don’t typically board at the school as a day student. This results in some VERY long days though, as the schools’ schedules are built for people that live there.

I assume you could live there if you wanted...or no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS has decided to apply anyway. He has found two schools he loves. And Deerfield is one of them. The other has an acceptance rate closer of 18%. Don’t know if you don’t try

The good news is that his current school is very good and goes to 12th. He just really wants the community of a BS. Nothing to lose. And we will need partial aid.

Which other one? My sons graduated from NE boarding schools.

My recommendation is to go to more than two and apply to more than that. The good ones are as hard or harder to get into than many colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They want economic diversity so they are bringing in some poor kids. They'll end up with the same barbell distributions that private universities have, but now they'll have some poor kids and middle class kids to point to when people say they're elitist

It's interesting that a school like Deerfield will charge no more than 10% of income.

Feel like there are lots of folks on DCUM lamenting no financial aid that maybe make $300k. I know it is a stretch to send your kids to boarding school, but maybe the calculation is different to spend $30k at Deerfield vs. $55k at Sidwell.

I’d make that trade in a microsecond

Not sure if I would...and moot point for my kids...but definitely is part of the discussion if my kid can attend an elite boarding school for $40k (it also has a good team in his sport...so added bonus) vs. paying $55k for a local DMV private.

The other part of the article makes it seem like the sports at these schools are a combination of travel and school...so you are saving all the travel costs as well which can be significant.

They specifically mention hockey which I know is expensive for travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS has decided to apply anyway. He has found two schools he loves. And Deerfield is one of them. The other has an acceptance rate closer of 18%. Don’t know if you don’t try

The good news is that his current school is very good and goes to 12th. He just really wants the community of a BS. Nothing to lose. And we will need partial aid.

Which other one? My sons graduated from NE boarding schools.

My recommendation is to go to more than two and apply to more than that. The good ones are as hard or harder to get into than many colleges.

Unless you are really of the mindset that "it's only school X or no boarding school" it's kind of madness to only apply to 1 or 2 boarding schools, IMHO. It's really a crap-shoot at the top 20 or so schools. Where my kids did and didn't get in didn't follow any sort of predictable pattern (got into a "reach", rejected by a "safety.") The schools are small and trying to build holistic-feeling class.