What makes it "exclusive"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think access works on a variety of levels. For instance, many schools have made big efforts to "diversify", bringing in more familys of color, more familys with alternative make-ups, and increasing financial aid. However, they have not subsequently adjusted the culture of the school to reflect this diversity and, as such, remain exclusive, even to those who are members of the community. Now, how much the school should adapt and how much the new members of the community should is up for debate, but the fact remains: many people are brought in to a community only to be treated as a second-class citizen or outsider once there. So, exclusive is not only about barriers to entry from the outside, but also opportunities and barriers once within.

D.C. area private schools are relatively poor by endowment standards; where is all this money pouring in for scholarships and diversity to include the middle and lower socioeconomic classes? Are you spinning or believing the spin?

I said that aid was increasing, not that it was at a desirable level. It is higher than it was before and getting higher still, but, yes, much more can and should be done. I know that at my prior school, 100% of the auction proceedings went to Financial Aid.

Part of the issue is that Financial Aid doesn't necessarily work the way we all assume. We often think that FA pays 100% or close to that amount for poor applicants. While this is the case in some regards (some schools avoid doing 100%, so that everyone is at least contributing something), for many other people, FA is used to give them a few thousand to cover the difference between what they "can" pay and what tuition is (I put "can" in quotes because many people can make full tuition but play funny with the numbers to save a few beans). There are many middle class and even upper middle class folks who are on FA that no one is aware of, because the assumption is that the FA is all going towards the poorer folks in the community.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you on aid, my neighbor has 1 less kid then we do, lives in a bigger house and drives nicer cars and gets aid . We are in an upper middle class neighborhood, you would not think they receive aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything you have to apply to is exclusive. There may be more things that are exclusive but I would say this is large majority.

I would also include the schools that are in districts that people can't afford houses.

I think it would apply to any homeless family that wants their children to attend school....any school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think access works on a variety of levels. For instance, many schools have made big efforts to "diversify", bringing in more familys of color, more familys with alternative make-ups, and increasing financial aid. However, they have not subsequently adjusted the culture of the school to reflect this diversity and, as such, remain exclusive, even to those who are members of the community. Now, how much the school should adapt and how much the new members of the community should is up for debate, but the fact remains: many people are brought in to a community only to be treated as a second-class citizen or outsider once there. So, exclusive is not only about barriers to entry from the outside, but also opportunities and barriers once within.

D.C. area private schools are relatively poor by endowment standards; where is all this money pouring in for scholarships and diversity to include the middle and lower socioeconomic classes? Are you spinning or believing the spin?

I said that aid was increasing, not that it was at a desirable level. It is higher than it was before and getting higher still, but, yes, much more can and should be done. I know that at my prior school, 100% of the auction proceedings went to Financial Aid.

Part of the issue is that Financial Aid doesn't necessarily work the way we all assume. We often think that FA pays 100% or close to that amount for poor applicants. While this is the case in some regards (some schools avoid doing 100%, so that everyone is at least contributing something), for many other people, FA is used to give them a few thousand to cover the difference between what they "can" pay and what tuition is (I put "can" in quotes because many people can make full tuition but play funny with the numbers to save a few beans). There are many middle class and even upper middle class folks who are on FA that no one is aware of, because the assumption is that the FA is all going towards the poorer folks in the community.

Say your auction nets $330,000. That would cover 10 poor kids at 100% financial aid. Let's say 3 in lower, 3 in middle and 3 in upper school. Then there is aid for all the faculty kids.....and the faculty deserve this. But that means there is very little if any left for regular middle class families. Many families could struggle to put DC through 2 or 3 years at full tuition but then they need back out in order to save for retirement, college etc. I'm afraid that the reality is that if private schools keep their tuition at $30,000 a year or more and continue with the increases, they will increasingly select for the wealthiest, not necessarily the smartest kids. We are about to reach a turning point.

[Anonymous]

At least one area auction this year for a LS generated something around $750k according to other threads. And several area schools take a portion of their "full" tuition charge and put it into FA.

"Exclusive" isn't really going to be anywhere like these schools, as neither dollars nor test scores nor family status/components serve as complete barriers to entry.

This discussion is a bit off, to my mind, as people who view exclusive as a positive term will have in mind a particular audience they want to have that view of their school. So it's not about the attendees, it's about their social network.

[Anonymous]

But doing the math, it's not clear that the $750K school donated ALL the proceeds to scholarships, probably some went to the gym or new smartboards or whatever.

And for the schools you say donated 100% of proceeds, I think 00:05's calculation already assumes that 100% of her $350,000 figure goes to the 10 full scholarships -- a number that will actually be lower than 10 once you factor in the partial scholarships and the teachers.

Was it one of the Marx brothers who said, "I don't want to join a club that would accept me?"

[Anonymous]

The school websites state pretty clearly how much financial aid they give each year and where it comes from. Several of us trading numbers back and forth on this thread won't change what they actually do.

So the schools cost a lot, some small number of folks get some FA, some smaller number of folks get substantial FA.

Others borrow money to attend, or help make tuition with gifts from extended family/close friends.

Some with money and test scores and family status don't go near anything that smacks of "exclusive."

And to the NJ "it takes 800k to attend my public high school", um, no. Many bought long ago at much lower prices, some even live in family home purchased by an earlier generation. And a few might even rent. This doesn't even get into what number of families contribute to the down payments of their children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The school websites state pretty clearly how much financial aid they give each year and where it comes from. Several of us trading numbers back and forth on this thread won't change what they actually do.

So the schools cost a lot, some small number of folks get some FA, some smaller number of folks get substantial FA.

Others borrow money to attend, or help make tuition with gifts from extended family/close friends.

Some with money and test scores and family status don't go near anything that smacks of "exclusive."

And to the NJ "it takes 800k to attend my public high school", um, no. Many bought long ago at much lower prices, some even live in family home purchased by an earlier generation. And a few might even rent. This doesn't even get into what number of families contribute to the down payments of their children.

Inherited wealth is still wealth. There were no disadvantaged kids in my school. There were kids who parents or near-ancestors were successful. There were no kids who had not access to any sort of wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And to the NJ "it takes 800k to attend my public high school", um, no. Many bought long ago at much lower prices, some even live in family home purchased by an earlier generation. And a few might even rent. This doesn't even get into what number of families contribute to the down payments of their children.

Inherited wealth is still wealth. There were no disadvantaged kids in my school. There were kids who parents or near-ancestors were successful. There were no kids who had not access to any sort of wealth.

Ok, that makes sense.

I'm realizing my sense of things is entirely now formed by how people find their way into 800k+ homes today to get into JKLMM so they can move again or go private later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Inherited wealth is still wealth. There were no disadvantaged kids in my school. There were kids who parents or near-ancestors were successful. There were no kids who had not access to any sort of wealth.

and often there is a crime behing the family fortune. I can name a few well known names. If you dig enough you can google it yourself