How hard is it to get in to Burke or Field for HS?

[Anonymous]

Field is so money hungry that they'll take anyone who is full pay and likely to be able to give as well.

Burke has been more frugal and consequently isn't as desperate for dollars. They admit a more academically capable set of students than Field does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably 1/4 of the 8th grade class is leaving for high school.

From Field? No. Closer to 10% last year and this year. But they do add 35 or so kids as new admits.

Way more than that leaving Burke. No idea how that compares to other years.

Why is this, do you have any idea?

Too small (socially, extra curriculars, sports). Not rigorous/challenging.

Not worth the price tag unless your kids need the extra small size. (Most of the kids who are leaving would be fine in a large public school and don’t need the hand holding that Burke provides.)

Most of the kids who stay at Burke through HS do not need any hand-holding. There are plenty of high-achieving, smart kids at Burke who are there because they like the community and don't want the disruptions and lack of transparency at a large public school. HS at Burke is rigorous and the teachers know the students well.

I’m glad the school works for your kid but this is has not been our experience. There are some smart and high achieving kids but I wouldn’t say it’s a majority of the class. And 1/4 of the 8th class is leaving.

What nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably 1/4 of the 8th grade class is leaving for high school.

From Field? No. Closer to 10% last year and this year. But they do add 35 or so kids as new admits.

Way more than that leaving Burke. No idea how that compares to other years.

Why is this, do you have any idea?

Too small (socially, extra curriculars, sports). Not rigorous/challenging.

Not worth the price tag unless your kids need the extra small size. (Most of the kids who are leaving would be fine in a large public school and don’t need the hand holding that Burke provides.)

Most of the kids who stay at Burke through HS do not need any hand-holding. There are plenty of high-achieving, smart kids at Burke who are there because they like the community and don't want the disruptions and lack of transparency at a large public school. HS at Burke is rigorous and the teachers know the students well.

I’m glad the school works for your kid but this is has not been our experience. There are some smart and high achieving kids but I wouldn’t say it’s a majority of the class. And 1/4 of the 8th class is leaving.

What nonsense.

Which part?

[Anonymous]

The main thing is that Field gives no FA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The main thing is that Field gives no FA.

Except for the part where the spring fundraising event is solely to raise money for financial aid, and on their website it say: For the 2023-24 school year, Field allocated $2.75 million in financial aid to 20% of our students, with an average award of $39,275.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The main thing is that Field gives no FA.

Except for the part where the spring fundraising event is solely to raise money for financial aid, and on their website it say: For the 2023-24 school year, Field allocated $2.75 million in financial aid to 20% of our students, with an average award of $39,275.

Yep that's the grand event..where the genius Field HOS (who is hiring yet another fundraising exec) netted a grand total of $31k per the 990...

Burke is more generous--15.8% of revenues go to FA while closer to 12% go to FA at Field. The HOS at Field is also paid almost twice what the HOS of Burke is paid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The main thing is that Field gives no FA.

Except for the part where the spring fundraising event is solely to raise money for financial aid, and on their website it say: For the 2023-24 school year, Field allocated $2.75 million in financial aid to 20% of our students, with an average award of $39,275.

Yep that's the grand event..where the genius Field HOS (who is hiring yet another fundraising exec) netted a grand total of $31k per the 990...

Burke is more generous--15.8% of revenues go to FA while closer to 12% go to FA at Field. The HOS at Field is also paid almost twice what the HOS of Burke is paid.

Wow you have some pent-up frustration. My point was simply correcting the previous post that field gives zero financial aid. That is clearly not the case. But also, A: you don’t know how to interpret a 990. This year over $425k was raised that evening. The net will be a lot more than $31k: B: That’s incorrect. The development director has been there at least 2 years. C: Burke has less revenue to give, but even if it was equal you want squabble over 3.8%? Field is still over half a million dollars higher in total FA dollars. I’d say they’re both fairly generous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The main thing is that Field gives no FA.

Except for the part where the spring fundraising event is solely to raise money for financial aid, and on their website it say: For the 2023-24 school year, Field allocated $2.75 million in financial aid to 20% of our students, with an average award of $39,275.

Yep that's the grand event..where the genius Field HOS (who is hiring yet another fundraising exec) netted a grand total of $31k per the 990...

Burke is more generous--15.8% of revenues go to FA while closer to 12% go to FA at Field. The HOS at Field is also paid almost twice what the HOS of Burke is paid.

Wow you have some pent-up frustration. My point was simply correcting the previous post that field gives zero financial aid. That is clearly not the case. But also, A: you don’t know how to interpret a 990. This year over $425k was raised that evening. The net will be a lot more than $31k: B: That’s incorrect. The development director has been there at least 2 years. C: Burke has less revenue to give, but even if it was equal you want squabble over 3.8%? Field is still over half a million dollars higher in total FA dollars. I’d say they’re both fairly generous.

Ummm.... it's you that doesn't understand how to interpret the 990 - under special events revenue under Dare to be Field it shows that most of what was raised went to cover expenses.

[Anonymous]

In kind contributions and lavish food expenses don’t do much for FA. That’s why net income matters. Field posted a job for a development exec - and has had a few over the last three years that left.

3-4 percent is not a squabble. It does indeed make a difference. Do the math. That’s 10-15 kids that could get aid. Or. The $ could just go to paying the HOS more money and bonus.

Long winded way of answering the OP question which is yes. Full pay candidates with subpar qualifications do jump up the list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The main thing is that Field gives no FA.

Except for the part where the spring fundraising event is solely to raise money for financial aid, and on their website it say: For the 2023-24 school year, Field allocated $2.75 million in financial aid to 20% of our students, with an average award of $39,275.

Yep that's the grand event..where the genius Field HOS (who is hiring yet another fundraising exec) netted a grand total of $31k per the 990...

Burke is more generous--15.8% of revenues go to FA while closer to 12% go to FA at Field. The HOS at Field is also paid almost twice what the HOS of Burke is paid.

Wow you have some pent-up frustration. My point was simply correcting the previous post that field gives zero financial aid. That is clearly not the case. But also, A: you don’t know how to interpret a 990. This year over $425k was raised that evening. The net will be a lot more than $31k: B: That’s incorrect. The development director has been there at least 2 years. C: Burke has less revenue to give, but even if it was equal you want squabble over 3.8%? Field is still over half a million dollars higher in total FA dollars. I’d say they’re both fairly generous.

Ummm.... it's you that doesn't understand how to interpret the 990 - under special events revenue under Dare to be Field it shows that most of what was raised went to cover expenses.

Ahh, yes. I see what you're getting at. But, respectfully, no. Accounting is tricky, but I'm happy to explain this to you. The event raised $380K that year. And expenses to do the event were over $78K. But the $270K in contributions are deductions on individual attendees' personal 1040s. That money is still there in the school's bank account for actual FA. There are fundraising events that appear to have lost money on a 990. It's simply not the case. It takes a years of schooling and licensing to become a CPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In kind contributions and lavish food expenses don’t do much for FA. That’s why net income matters. Field posted a job for a development exec - and has had a few over the last three years that left.

3-4 percent is not a squabble. It does indeed make a difference. Do the math. That’s 10-15 kids that could get aid. Or. The $ could just go to paying the HOS more money and bonus.

Long winded way of answering the OP question which is yes. Full pay candidates with subpar qualifications do jump up the list.

I think you're doing the wrong math problem. An extra $500K for FA at $40K per kid, is a dozen additional kids that are getting FA at Field as compared to Burke. Full pay candidates are needed to keep all these schools running. That said, kudos to both schools for offering the FA they do. And if Field posted a job and is expanding their development office that's one thing, but they've had the same person as director of development for at least a couple years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious if we should apply for Ms or wait for HS, how hard is admissions at either school? Less than 20% acceptance rate?

Not hard

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious if we should apply for Ms or wait for HS, how hard is admissions at either school? Less than 20% acceptance rate?

Not hard

Whether it is hard or not is very subjective and probably not a good factor in deciding what's best for your kid. As a rule of thumb for most private schools, it is easier to get into MS than HS (and easier to get into ES than MS).

[Anonymous]

My son got into Burke for 9th off the waitlist. He was coming from public school, grades a mix of As and B+s, plays several sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think you're doing the wrong math problem. An extra $500K for FA at $40K per kid, is a dozen additional kids that are getting FA at Field as compared to Burke. Full pay candidates are needed to keep all these schools running. That said, kudos to both schools for offering the FA they do. And if Field posted a job and is expanding their development office that's one thing, but they've had the same person as director of development for at least a couple years.

Ummm... in her almost 4 years as Head, she's had 3 development directors ALL of which she hired. Just another sign of how bad she is...