High school recommendations from our k-8 school and how should I feel about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - i ended up using Researcher in Copilot to interrogate my kids unprepped ISEE scores, look at independent schools across NYC, look at public schools across NYC and westchester publics and tell me which ones were most likely and which ones offered lowest and highest ROI. It basically said - Avenues, LREI, Trevor Day, Grace Church and even fieldston have the worst ROI (money spent for exmissions quality and innovative future focused curriculum), the westchester publics have the highest, that of the independents and publics that my child could realistically reach for, riverdale, xavier, bard and beacon were the top. Basically it told me to move to westchester. Which I may take it up on.

Garbage in, garbage out. How does one measure "innovative future focused curriculum?" And moving to the burbs is a lifestyle choice - doing it for schools (especially if your kid is pretty far along) is a horrible decision.

Can you explain why? Top suburbs might offer better outcomes for $0 in tuition. However prices for homes in those suburbs have gotten pretty out of hand. Most upscale houses seem to go for at least high $2m's. When factoring in current mortgage rates and high property taxes it may actually be more economical to pay for tuition at a NYC private.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Curious what sort of support your K-8 provides. Ours offers ISEE/ interview prep, one-on-one counseling sessions as needed and streamlines the transcript and recommendation process. I did most of the heavy lifting myself but the school was helpful in certain areas. Here’s some advice based on my experiences over the past couple of years:

1.Get an ISEE tutor now and schedule weekly sessions starting now and continue through the summer and into the fall. Make sure the tutor is giving your kid assignments between sessions. Take a practice ISEE under the conditions of the actual test and do this several times between now and the fall. Can your kid take the test at school?If not, schedule the test in the fall and then you will have the opportunity to take it again in December. Prep for the ISEE is usually adequate for the SHSAT and HSPT but there are differences. We were focused on privates and catholics so we did ISEE prep until October and then shifted to HSPT prep. The content of all three tests is similar but the format is different so just be aware of that.

2. Do your own research on schools now and go to any spring open houses available to 7th graders. Most of the schools do not have spring open houses but we went to events at Grace, Xavier and FP in the spring of 7th grade and that was useful because it meant we didn’t have to go to events for those schools in the fall. Some of the public schools have spring events too. Keep in mind that the fall of 8th grade is very intense so any work that you and your child can frontload now and over the summer will be very helpful. You will be spending every weekend in October and early Nov and many weeknights going to open house events and you will both miss a lot of school/work going to tours and interviews so try and be realistic about your list going into the process. Unfortunately, most of the private schools don’t let you tour until you’ve submitted the initial application but it is helpful to think through what is realistic in terms of culture, fit, workload and commute before you start applying. Even if you have a brilliant kid, if you know they won’t be able to handle or enjoy a very heavy workload and long commute don’t bother applying to HM. Also think about the culture of money at some of these schools. You can afford to pay the tuition but do you want to be at a place where the kids are regularly spending $40 for lunch at Butterfield Market or spending weekends at their summer houses. Is your child the kind of kid who will feel less than if surrounded by people with a lot more money.

3. If you’re going to consider public school then join the “applying to high school in NYC” facebook page now. You will get lots of good advice on schools and navigating the system. If you are going to apply to schools other than SHSAT then you need to figure out how your child’s transcript will be converted for the public school ranking system and your need to get in the system so you’re issued a RAN. For private schools, think carefully about fit, culture and your expectations around ROI. The experience will be very similar to the K-8. You will do most of the heavy lifting in regards to preparing for college admissions and if you know you’ll be very unhappy with an outcome that’s not T20 school then think before shelling out over 70k a year, not least because you will be putting a lot of pressure on your child if the only happy outcome is an extremely selective college. Also remember that the tuition bills don’t end at high school. If you are paying for private school in NYC then you are unlikely to get financial aid for college and will graduate from 70k a year to 90k a year.

op-this is so so so helpful - thank you. so much appreciated.

Trevor had a Spring event. So did Loyola, if I recall. If you're open to Catholic schools, I think Loyola on the UES is a hidden gem. A small really nice community with rigorous academics, and the kids go on to top colleges. They have a new building, and really stood out for their service opportunities. It's also about 20K less than most peer schools, and unlike most independent schools, they give academic scholarships. My child won around 15K a year, which brought the tuition down to around 35/40K a year, if I recall. There are options, you just have to dig. I already mentioned Franklin previously...I get not wanting to pay 70K only to end up at what you perceive to be a mediocre college, but Franklin in 32K, so that might make it worth the risk. I also agree about joining the Applying to High School FB group if you are seriously considering public school. It is a treasure trove of information and assistance on the public process. They'll have some information on Catholic schools too...just don't ask about private schools, they'll ice you out and get nasty.

op - loyola looks impresssive. We're not catholic but i think maybe we dont have to be? How hard is it to get in?

You do not have to be Catholic to get in. I'm not sure how competitive it is to get in as it is fairly self-selecting, but it's by no means a pay and you get in kind of place. They do place a lot of emphasis on character and having something you're passionate about. It is indeed small, so your child has to be okay with that, but it breeds a closeness that alums rave about 40 years later. The admissions team is lovely, and I found them very accessible and open.
Xavier is certainly a good alternative for boys too, but MUCH larger and easier to get into. Very sports-centric, and kids come from all over the City, NJ and LI to go there. You might as well throw Fordham Prep in there too if you're open to Catholic Jesuit schools. It's on the campus of Fordham University in The Bronx, and also has a ton of kids from Westchester, so it's a very different vibe from Xavier, but also excellent.
I think you would probably consider it along the lines of Dwight, but the other school my child got a large award to go to was Leman. If I recall it would have brought the tuition down to around 45/50K. It was one of our safety schools, but I actually ended up liking it well enough. Not well enough to spend 70K for, but it was a good back up and with the award I could have talked myself into it.
If you decide to look at public, be aware that your child's grades do matter for non-SHS but selective schools (think Bard, Beacon, Millennium). However your school's grades translate, they won't have a good chance of getting into the top public schools unless the are Tier 1 (this is for selective, non-SHS).

And even if you are in Tier 1, there are thousands of other kids in Tier 1. At which point it is a lottery. And if you aren't lucky enough to be near the top of the lottery, the options thin out pretty quickly. Pretty much everyone in Tier 1 gets a school that is "fine." Then to complicate things there are some schools where you basically need to be tier 1, I think the lottery does factor in, but there is also an essay - Beacon, I think NEST+M, perhaps Bard? You need a PhD to figure out the public school process (we considered and had at least decent offers from SHSAT, public and private so it was a very exhausting fall of 8th grade - we did not consider Catholic which at least eliminated one thing).

Yes, my child was Tier 1 but with a 70% lottery number, and we ended up with Manhattan Village Academy, which is a good school, but not what my son was interested in. I think many private school parents think the public school process is a snap and you just get into Beacon, Bard, NEST etc. and that is not true. Bard has an essay, a test, and an interview, in addition to taking Tier 1 only. It is very time consuming and the odds of getting in without a top lottery number and Tier 1 are nil. There are still great public schools out there, but they are not the ones that people have heard of or have the cache/are talked about as viable alternatives to private schools. I will say, if you have a boy and they have a good singing voice--particularly if it's already changed--it can be easier to get into performing arts schools. My son got into LaGuardia with very little prep (although he's been taking voice lessons for years) because they have fewer male applicants with that range.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a city or bust type of person but I do think moving a teen and a middle schooler to the burbs just for the schools is not a great idea. You may not even save that much money with the cost of housing, taxes, and car/home expenses. The good Westchester high schools are big and very competitive. I've heard that Scarsdale is a real pressure cooker. Rye and some of the river towns may be better in that respect. Have you thought about the change to your commute and that your kids will have less independence and will likely need someone to drive them around.

I would make a decision on what you're going to focus on (City school vs. suburbs) as soon as possible because fall of 8th grade is intense and I don't think it's wise to couple the city school admission process with a house hunt in the suburbs.

You really should educate yourself about the public options in the city and visit some of lower cost privates like Loyola, Xavier and maybe UNIS. We really liked UNIS (didn't love the location). It's about 20K less than most of the other privates, they have a nice building and good sports options. If your kid is into languages and the IB curriculum it could be a good option. Take a look at Browning too.

Start prepping for the ISEE and SHSAT. I would not send my kid to the big 3 SHSAT schools but I liked HSAS and Brooklyn Latin. With prep your son's score will likely go up but admissions is not all about the ISEE.

It might be worth it to pay for the Parent's League. One of their counselors could potentially give you an un-biased opinion on your son's classes at various schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a city or bust type of person but I do think moving a teen and a middle schooler to the burbs just for the schools is not a great idea. You may not even save that much money with the cost of housing, taxes, and car/home expenses. The good Westchester high schools are big and very competitive. I've heard that Scarsdale is a real pressure cooker. Rye and some of the river towns may be better in that respect. Have you thought about the change to your commute and that your kids will have less independence and will likely need someone to drive them around.

I would make a decision on what you're going to focus on (City school vs. suburbs) as soon as possible because fall of 8th grade is intense and I don't think it's wise to couple the city school admission process with a house hunt in the suburbs.

You really should educate yourself about the public options in the city and visit some of lower cost privates like Loyola, Xavier and maybe UNIS. We really liked UNIS (didn't love the location). It's about 20K less than most of the other privates, they have a nice building and good sports options. If your kid is into languages and the IB curriculum it could be a good option. Take a look at Browning too.

Start prepping for the ISEE and SHSAT. I would not send my kid to the big 3 SHSAT schools but I liked HSAS and Brooklyn Latin. With prep your son's score will likely go up but admissions is not all about the ISEE.

It might be worth it to pay for the Parent's League. One of their counselors could potentially give you an un-biased opinion on your son's classes at various schools.

We found the Parents League to be very helpful. I don't recall the names but one person we spoke to was excellent, one was fine. The price is right - worth a try. They aren't going to give you all the answers or solve all your problems but they are a good sounding board.