Boston Natives: Question on Private High Schools in DC/NOVA vs MA

[Anonymous]

DH is from Boston. I went to Harvard.

It is geographic. I have noticed at our public high school, many kids go to UVA and VT. My New England high school had many kids going to different ivy schools. I was not familiar with UVA until I moved here.

There are many more elite private schools in the Northeast than here in the DMV. Also more elite colleges. I don’t necessarily think your kids’ chances are going to be better being in MA or DC. More classmates will end up at Harvard or Yale from Andover or Milton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are considering moving somewhere to increase your kid's chances of getting into an Ivy (versus their chances of having a classmate get into an Ivy), move to Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, or other small rural state. Colleges love saying they have students from all 50 states.

This! Such an absurd question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More probably get in from MA because

more kids are hooked.

Agree with this, if anything if your kid is unhooked it is probably tough competing with the children of Harvard, Brown and MIT professors.

[Anonymous]

People in Boston don’t leave. There’s so many legacies and students who only apply in and around New England.

You probably know this, but my husband is from Massachusetts and one thing if you look at some of the good public high schools in the Boston suburbs, they have good test outcomes and matriculation, but they are very very homogeneous: race, family income, access to tutors, sports etc.—arguably these kids would do well anywhere.

Many towns have relatively small graduating classes compared to the DC suburbs, which has its advantages and disadvantages. We have family and friends, whose kids really struggled because the social scene was tough.

The towns are self funded based on the size of the town—there’s no county structure or pooling of resources. Hence, there’s issues especially around special education and electives etc. Lots of districts pay big money to send kids to private schools because they don’t have the resources for special ed—far more common there than here.

I can’t speak much to Boston proper or the privates schools

[Anonymous]

I'm a Harvard grad originally from MA, now with kids in DC privates. I absolutely understand what the OP is getting at, there's a different vibe in MA surrounding everything related to education. If you miss that vibe (not sure that, in and of itself, is what translates into the college matriculation) and can move back for it, then you're lucky, and I say go for it! Not an option for those of us with DC-specific jobs . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The differences are driven by two factors that are both tied to the highly ranked schools disproportionately being located in New England
1) legacy preferences and the high number of graduates of New England highly rated schools who stay in the Boston area so Massachusetts schools have a lot of legacy parents
2) several colleges in Massachusetts give a slight preference to students from Massachusetts.

3) people from Massachusetts are smarter.

[Anonymous]

I'm a DC native with strong New England roots and I also taught in a Boston suburb.
a few thoughts
1. the pull South has been strong in DC for many years. Teachers and friends were surprised that my entire college focus was New England and my child recently experience the same
2. People from New England tend to stay there even if they leave for college and return
3. Massachusetts has incredible public schools - they have been way ahead for years. The school I taught at in Boston still has maximum class sizes of 24. In DC area public schools most teachers would call 24 a small class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question for any Boston, or Massachusetts, natives out there--- Looking for someone who understands where I am coming from.
Would you consider moving back for a MA private high school for your children? We are considering doing that, but I was curious to see if anyone else would do that as well? (Our jobs allow the flexibility to do so.)

The college matriculations in NOVA and DC, even at the best private schools, are not lining up with those in MA. (There are even some top public high schools in MA with better matriculations than the top private schools here! IYKYK!)

But, it is really confusing as to WHY?

Price point wise, the tuition at the top private high schools here are the same as in MA, so that cannot be the case. I am also 1000% sure these students work extremely hard and are wonderful college applicants, so that cannot be the case either!

I really cannot get past the differences in outcomes, (again, even compared to two top MA public schools). Has anyone originally from MA figured it out?

I feel very out of place living here. We have met amazing, wonderful people but the vibe around education is very different. (Again, IYKYK.) It is really hard for us to even consider having our children apply around here and, IF accepted, pay the same exact price with these differences. Thanks for reading.

If you aren't happy living here, and you feel MA is a better education, then you have answered your own question IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question for any Boston, or Massachusetts, natives out there--- Looking for someone who understands where I am coming from.
Would you consider moving back for a MA private high school for your children? We are considering doing that, but I was curious to see if anyone else would do that as well? (Our jobs allow the flexibility to do so.)

The college matriculations in NOVA and DC, even at the best private schools, are not lining up with those in MA. (There are even some top public high schools in MA with better matriculations than the top private schools here! IYKYK!)

But, it is really confusing as to WHY?

Price point wise, the tuition at the top private high schools here are the same as in MA, so that cannot be the case. I am also 1000% sure these students work extremely hard and are wonderful college applicants, so that cannot be the case either!

I really cannot get past the differences in outcomes, (again, even compared to two top MA public schools). Has anyone originally from MA figured it out?

I feel very out of place living here. We have met amazing, wonderful people but the vibe around education is very different. (Again, IYKYK.) It is really hard for us to even consider having our children apply around here and, IF accepted, pay the same exact price with these differences. Thanks for reading.

This is insane. OP, I hope you're a troll. If not, get some therapy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Following: Could someone tell me why kids in the midwest matriculate more often to colleges in the midwest? And what's the secret sauce for all the California kids matriculating to the best Cali schools? It almost seems as if statistically more kids go to colleges near to where they live?

/s

Because even to this day, 86% of all college students travel no more than 500 miles for college. People forget how local the college decision still remains.

If someone moved Harvard to Omaha, then you would find tons of people from Nebraska and surrounding states trying to matriculate there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Save your money and then send them to Babson. Best bang for your buck in Boston.

Babson is no more in Boston than Woodbridge is in DC.