Cons of private school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't understand OP's question... private school IS essentially a giant con... at least for UMC folks. For the very wealthy the cost is immaterial and it's all about just being part of that world and is a precursor to elite colleges (which they have a much higher rate of acceptance to than private UMC kids). For LMC or below then it's a rare opportunity to be a part of that world for a spell via fin aid and likewise can open doors for elite schools, but often comes with the downside of feeling like a fish out of water socially (varies by kid/school of course). For UMC families, they're stretching their finances, not gaining a college admissions advantage, so you've gotta be REALLY sold that your kids are getting a vastly superior educational experience, which I guess may apply if you're zoned for a school with some major issues, but that's not the case for most UMC folks.

I’m UMC. My kid went to a good public middle school without major issues. But kids were vaping IN the classroom, there were fights so severe kids were hospitalized, and a teacher got hospitalized from dealing with a disruptive kid. The educational experience was a joke. My kid was assigned two books to read in three years. The rigor of private HS with actual expectations was an enormous shock.

I think you are wildly naive about what most kids experience in public schools. It is appalling.

oh god. shut up already.

NP: What a rude comment to the PP’s reasonable post.

The rude person is probably desperately insecure and can’t acknowledge the reality of what goes on in many public schools these days, so is lashing out. It’s unfortunate. People like that PP are nearly frantic in their attempts to hide and minimize problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't understand OP's question... private school IS essentially a giant con... at least for UMC folks. For the very wealthy the cost is immaterial and it's all about just being part of that world and is a precursor to elite colleges (which they have a much higher rate of acceptance to than private UMC kids). For LMC or below then it's a rare opportunity to be a part of that world for a spell via fin aid and likewise can open doors for elite schools, but often comes with the downside of feeling like a fish out of water socially (varies by kid/school of course). For UMC families, they're stretching their finances, not gaining a college admissions advantage, so you've gotta be REALLY sold that your kids are getting a vastly superior educational experience, which I guess may apply if you're zoned for a school with some major issues, but that's not the case for most UMC folks.

I’m UMC. My kid went to a good public middle school without major issues. But kids were vaping IN the classroom, there were fights so severe kids were hospitalized, and a teacher got hospitalized from dealing with a disruptive kid. The educational experience was a joke. My kid was assigned two books to read in three years. The rigor of private HS with actual expectations was an enormous shock.

I think you are wildly naive about what most kids experience in public schools. It is appalling.

I could have written this post. This was exactly our experience. Recently we had a weapons at school situation so we are now looking at private for HS. A lot of the antagonistic posters here are assuming that everyone else’s zoned school is as excellent as their zoned school.

Or they are extremely invested in believing their zoned school has no problems with drugs and violence, even in the face of hard evidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
NP. This is just so school-dependent. We had the opposite experience. Our kid who was in the supposedly hardest classes in his public middle school was shockingly behind when entering competitive private high school. He went from advanced math in public to remedial math in private. I hadn’t realized how far behind he was.

Same here. DD was advanced in public, at least a year ahead of the curve. In public she was at best average and had to work to catch up.

You mean in private she had to catch up, right?

Yes, sorry. In private she had to catch up after being at least a year ahead in public. And she still has to work very hard to keep up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't understand OP's question... private school IS essentially a giant con... at least for UMC folks. For the very wealthy the cost is immaterial and it's all about just being part of that world and is a precursor to elite colleges (which they have a much higher rate of acceptance to than private UMC kids). For LMC or below then it's a rare opportunity to be a part of that world for a spell via fin aid and likewise can open doors for elite schools, but often comes with the downside of feeling like a fish out of water socially (varies by kid/school of course). For UMC families, they're stretching their finances, not gaining a college admissions advantage, so you've gotta be REALLY sold that your kids are getting a vastly superior educational experience, which I guess may apply if you're zoned for a school with some major issues, but that's not the case for most UMC folks.

Exactly. We ARE stretching our finances and not gaining college admission advantage. I’m fully aware of it.

Why do you think we are willing to sacrifice this? Because the alternative is far worse.