Sidwell tuition increase

[Anonymous]

Colleges have had the same kinds if increases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes but consider your ROI. Princeton, Harvard, Columbia. A job starting at 80k a year. Happy and well adjusted children ready to face the world and make it a better place = you cannot put a price on this can you?

Wow you must have signed a different contract than everyone else! But in all seriousness, you are mistaken both about the college and job prospect guarantees and with what exactly makes a "happy and well adjusted child."

[Anonymous]

I will be emailing Garman and encourage others to do so as well. This is gouging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Total compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.5 percent in the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va., metropolitan area for the year ended September 2017 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. . . . Locally, wages and salaries, the largest component of total compensation costs, advanced at a 3.3-percent pace for the 12-month period ended September 2017. Nationwide, total compensation costs rose 2.5 percent over the year and wages and salaries advanced by 2.6 percent.

Private schools are people intensive businesses. Comp costs drive the tuition raises. Add in campus improvements and tuition rises even further.

Will every parent see the same rise in wages and salaries? Of course not. And that's a shame and I feel for those that are in that position.

+1 to this; thanks for sharing actual facts

Also, schools will tend to be above average in annual increases. For public schools they follow the union-negotiated scaled which usually involves a step increase annually (which is usually in the 2-5% range) plus a cost of living adjustment for inflation. If private schools want to be able to compete for good teachers (particularly in a tight labor market like we see now) they have to match these annual increases.

I totally understand not liking the increases and being concerned about affordability. Believe me, the administration and boards of these schools share your concerns. But so far no one has come up with a solution. If you have a solution that allows them both to maintain their current programs and maintain their ability to hire good teachers without these tuition increases, please, share.

[Anonymous]

Did the teachers get a raise this year and last year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will be emailing Garman and encourage others to do so as well. This is gouging.

LOL

Money talks and BS walks. If Sidwell can't fill its classes, or sizable numbers of families start leaving, that might have an impact. A strongly worded email - not so much.

A school like Sidwell is a premium product. Do you write an email to the head of BWM if this year's model costs 3.5% more than last year's? You either suck it up and pay, or decide the premium isn't worth it.

[Anonymous]

Enough with the gouging complaints and complaining in general. I know people assume that private schools set tuition based on how high a number they think they can get away with and budget accordingly and that a ton of money is spent on administration. Neither is the case.

I am not a Sidwell parent, but based on my experience at other privates, I would guess that Sidwell has some very talented and devoted parents sitting on the finance committee of the board taking a bottom up approach to keeping increases as low as possible.

The reality of private schools in our area is this - barring a transformational gift to a school's endowment (think $100 million or so) you should expect tuition increases every year of 4-6%. So whatever the tuition is at the school where your kid is and the grade he or she starts, take that number and project out at that %. If you can live with that number great, enjoy the school and all its benefits and don't get upset every year when that letter comes, because it will come. If that number seems too high, and there is good reason why it might, then look at a less expensive private (we are fortunate enough to have these in this area) or go to public (again there are lots of good ones.)

This is the reality of private school education so either you buy into it (no pun intended) or be prepared to look elsewhere. And if your child chooses a private college, strap in for another 4 years of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will be emailing Garman and encourage others to do so as well. This is gouging.

It sucks. You should complain. But it is not gauging. STA, NCS, Maret, GDS and Potomac all within a few thousand dollars of Sidwell.

Hard to argue that Increasing 3.75 percent is gauging. It also doesn't fit the definition of gauging. You are no more captive to Sidwell than you were last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2017-18

STA 44,144
NCS 41,975
Sidwell 40,840
GDS, 40,000 (no lunch program)
Potomac 39,770
Maret 37,700

Waldorf 28,990

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will be emailing Garman and encourage others to do so as well. This is gouging.

It sucks. You should complain. But it is not gauging. STA, NCS, Maret, GDS and Potomac all within a few thousand dollars of Sidwell.

Hard to argue that Increasing 3.75 percent is gauging. It also doesn't fit the definition of gauging. You are no more captive to Sidwell than you were last year.

"Gouging." Where did you people go to school?!

[Anonymous]

I didn’t get any email.

[Anonymous]

Neve mind. I misse it ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're truly "middle class" you shouldn't be attending this school in the firs place.

Face it. Private school is for rich people, period. Don't believe anyone who tries to tell you otherwise.

+1.

This. The actual middle class in America doesn't send their kids to private school.

[Anonymous]

Schools might count on the new 529 extension as a gift for private school parents. Fwiw, we left after 5 years and are happy so far (not Sidwell)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes but consider your ROI. Princeton, Harvard, Columbia. A job starting at 80k a year. Happy and well adjusted children ready to face the world and make it a better place = you cannot put a price on this can you?

This doesn’t make a lot of sense. Your prospects of attending any of those colleges isn’t necessarily any better by attending sidwell. In fact, many would Arthur they are worse given increased competition. You’re way more likely to be accepted from a hick school in a rural part of the country.

If you aren’t wealthy and you send your child to an expensive private thinking it’s going to buy their way into an Ivy League school and subsequently an above average starting salary than you’re sorely mistaken.