Should financial aid in private school be stricter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they are the poorest in your school. The very poor do not even apply as I find the process daunting.
Most kids from my child's class went private for middle school. They were not the top of the class. The top of the class is going to public because of money.

I agree the very poor are not familiar with private school financial aid or probably assume they don’t qualify. Our school required us to fill out a 3rd party online form and submit some tax forms. That was it. No essays, bank statements, or investment statements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of defensiveness here. I’m with you OP. I’d much rather my school give scholarships to truly low income children who need a chance in life vs UMC families that want private but can’t afford it.

Most, if not everyone, would agree with this. If you don’t think your school is doing this, bring it up to your school’s board. If they don’t fix it, stop donating or start your own scholarship targeting the exact groups you want to help.

OP is nosy and making assumptions about people’s financial aid and income statuses. She probably doesn’t even donate to her school.

For diversity purposes it’s much better to give full free tuition for low income families rather than a lot of partial aid to UMC families. Harvard started providing full free tuition or Low income families.

[Anonymous]

Can't you just scroll back and read last month's post on this topic? And the one from the month before and before that...?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they are the poorest in your school. The very poor do not even apply as I find the process daunting.
Most kids from my child's class went private for middle school. They were not the top of the class. The top of the class is going to public because of money.

I agree the very poor are not familiar with private school financial aid or probably assume they don’t qualify. Our school required us to fill out a 3rd party online form and submit some tax forms. That was it. No essays, bank statements, or investment statements.

That’s not a difficult problem to solve. You can advertise scholarships among low income families. Posting a few targeted adds in social media is not expensive.

[Anonymous]

It’s a private school. They can do whatever TF they want. You don’t like it? Send your kid somewhere else. Or start your own school.

Why do some people think they get to dictate how businesses operate?

So much entitlement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of schools devoting a lot of effort in fundraising for financial aid, and the importance of financial to support diversity and families in need.

However, when I see the families that are using financial aid I see only upper middle class families with several children, and not even top performers.

Shouldn’t fínancial aid be stricter (let’s say truly low income households) and perhaps the brightest or athletic chidlren from middle class families.

In its current form (at least in my children’s school) the financial aid looks pretty much like a giveaway for well off parents. Does anyone observe the same pattern?

So you want your child to attend a school that only has rich kids of average to high intelligence and poor kids who are extremely smart or athletic. What could go wrong?

I want my kids to attend a school with a well rounded student body and I'm ok with donating to that cause. The MC and multiple kid UMC families round out the class. Most of them have parents who work at the school, so I'm ok with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On what planet are you aware of the actual income and the assets/liabilities of other families and on what planet are you aware of everyone who applies and is granted FA?

Pro Tip: mind you own damn business. If you don’t want to give to the FA fundraisers, don’t. If you’re wealthy enough that it’s not even a consideration for you, be grateful.

I do see that there are no low income families in my kids grade. All cars are big and new and all take several vacation trips a year. Do you think they qualify as low income families? Maybe you have a different concept of low income.

I understand a lage proportion of Americans have rented lives and few assets. It's hard to distinguish the diamond from the rhinestones in this case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re unhappy with how YOUR donations are being used, designate how you want YOUR donations to be used. Or stop donating, problem solved.

I am not unhappy about anything. It’s just a question. Is it ok to subsidize well off families? Maybe you think it’s fair.

I trust the school to be fair when they have all the data and I don't. If you don't trust your school, change it or they way you donate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can't you just scroll back and read last month's post on this topic? And the one from the month before and before that...?

I have more important things that scrolling all threads in DCUM. Maybe that’s not your case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of schools devoting a lot of effort in fundraising for financial aid, and the importance of financial to support diversity and families in need.

However, when I see the families that are using financial aid I see only upper middle class families with several children, and not even top performers.

Shouldn’t fínancial aid be stricter (let’s say truly low income households) and perhaps the brightest or athletic chidlren from middle class families.

In its current form (at least in my children’s school) the financial aid looks pretty much like a giveaway for well off parents. Does anyone observe the same pattern?

So you want your child to attend a school that only has rich kids of average to high intelligence and poor kids who are extremely smart or athletic. What could go wrong?

I want my kids to attend a school with a well rounded student body and I'm ok with donating to that cause. The MC and multiple kid UMC families round out the class. Most of them have parents who work at the school, so I'm ok with that.

Yes, and since tuition is now $57k at these schools, you would only be able to have 2 aid kids per grade on an aid budget of 1.5 million.

What could possibly go wrong in a social dynamic of 98 extremely wealthy kids per grade and 2 completely impoverished kids? Who would want to be those 2 kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a private school. They can do whatever TF they want. You don’t like it? Send your kid somewhere else. Or start your own school.

Why do some people think they get to dictate how businesses operate?

So much entitlement.

I believe that I still have a right to have an opinion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of schools devoting a lot of effort in fundraising for financial aid, and the importance of financial to support diversity and families in need.

However, when I see the families that are using financial aid I see only upper middle class families with several children, and not even top performers.

Shouldn’t fínancial aid be stricter (let’s say truly low income households) and perhaps the brightest or athletic chidlren from middle class families.

In its current form (at least in my children’s school) the financial aid looks pretty much like a giveaway for well off parents. Does anyone observe the same pattern?

So you want your child to attend a school that only has rich kids of average to high intelligence and poor kids who are extremely smart or athletic. What could go wrong?

I want my kids to attend a school with a well rounded student body and I'm ok with donating to that cause. The MC and multiple kid UMC families round out the class. Most of them have parents who work at the school, so I'm ok with that.

You are assuming that UMC children are well rounded relative to rich and poor kids. Why is that? Maybe because you are UMC?

[Anonymous]

This is why we stopped donating to funds/events that raise money for financial aid. We happily give when the school is raising money for a new science lab, field trips a new bus etc. Private school is a stretch for us and we don't get any aid. It didn't sit right with us that we were supporting families with similar incomes so they could continue to go on vacations, buy nice cars or send 3/4 kids to private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re unhappy with how YOUR donations are being used, designate how you want YOUR donations to be used. Or stop donating, problem solved.

I am not unhappy about anything. It’s just a question. Is it ok to subsidize well off families? Maybe you think it’s fair.

I trust the school to be fair when they have all the data and I don't. If you don't trust your school, change it or they way you donate.

That’s a good point. I think there are good reasons not to disclose fiancial aid data. At the same time there is no much accountability.

Given that resources are limited I feel they should devoted to families that really need the money and not UMC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of defensiveness here. I’m with you OP. I’d much rather my school give scholarships to truly low income children who need a chance in life vs UMC families that want private but can’t afford it.

Most, if not everyone, would agree with this. If you don’t think your school is doing this, bring it up to your school’s board. If they don’t fix it, stop donating or start your own scholarship targeting the exact groups you want to help.

OP is nosy and making assumptions about people’s financial aid and income statuses. She probably doesn’t even donate to her school.

I only know for sure a few kids that get financial aid. All of them have parents that work at the school. These parents are definitely invested in their kids and the school. They are middle class and they wouldn't be able to afford the $80k+ to see their 2+ kids there. Some of these are our favorite teachers so offering financial aid as an employment perk is fine with me. Actually, I'd rather have this than truly low income kids whose parents are uninvolved in the school because they work 2 jobs and have alcoholism - my daughter was friends with a girl like this at our school and we very much tried to be that support system. Fast forward to highschool and the girl failed out, her mother died or liver failure, and last I heard she's the 'entrepreneur' selling drugs. Five years of financial aid wasted in my opinion.