The Death of Private School As We Know It

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is hardly a newsflash. I think most people are aware that you send your kids to a private school for the education, not for a college admission boost.

Eh. I think deep down people thing it's going to be both. If they will admit it to themselves.

Maybe some people but one of the very first things I noticed, when my kid started Pre-K, was how many of the other parents attended Ivies. I was able to put 2 + 2 together and realize whatever admissions stats the school had, legacy status was a BIG factor. And neither DH nor I went to an Ivy, so our kids certainly won't be part of that set.

Many years later, we are still at the same private, because of the experience.

[Anonymous]

Those admissions arent from the last two years at the Big 3. Things are very different. Get you 4.0 at FCPS or MCPS and waltz to the front of the line. You dont need a ACT/SAT.

What a joke,

[Anonymous]

My DC unlikely to get into Ivy. Not sure I would want that for her anyway.

Her private is full of dedicated teachers and support staff. The teachers and school answer emails the same day and partner with us to help our kid succeed. A big fight is when one girls yells at another in the lunch room (very very rare).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a system. Pay full pay - so "others" have a chance to go to elite colleges. Shh! Dont tell anyone.

There is a system. Pay 50,000 and tell yourself it's for a better education than public. It's not. Shh! Dont tell anyone.

There used to be a bump in college admissions. There isn't. Shh! Dont tell anyone.

I know bolded is not true because I am a former teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who say dropping $50K plus on a private school and dont think it is supposed to matter for college admissions - please...

Translation: my kid isn't doing that well and I need to sleep at night.

You forget that a rather large number these people are not actually "dropping $50k" -- at least not of their own money.

[Anonymous]

Cant keep raising tuition and having full payers not get in to their college choices.

Not sustainable.

[Anonymous]

OP, maybe you aren't sending them to the right private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who say dropping $50K plus on a private school and dont think it is supposed to matter for college admissions - please...

Translation: my kid isn't doing that well and I need to sleep at night.

You forget that a rather large number these people are not actually "dropping $50k" -- at least not of their own money.

Yes - the "system" works very well for them. Have other people pay for their place at an elite college.

Brilliant on their part.

[Anonymous]

However you spin it, there's an element of truth to it.

I wasn't sent to private school and wouldn't send children to private schools solely for college admissions. But it was sort of expected that the school would help you get into a "good" college, either through the quality of the education as training for the rigors of a good college, or that the school's name would help provide a bump in admissions. I do remember reading college admissions books back in the 1990s and there was frank discussions from actual admissions officers about how this applicant went to a good private in a midtier city and they liked students from that school so she was admitted.

The problem is that the private schools are *so expensive* nowadays that if they don't help you get a bit of an advantage anymore, it's one more strike against going to private schools. In the DMV, many of the old private school families have already been priced out. If the perception emerges that it's a strike against you being a student from a private school in the equity-mad world of progressive admissions officers, it's a weird turnabout from the past, fair or not, and does hurt private schools in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eh, we moved our kids from DCPS to a Big3 for high school because DCPS is a freaking nightmare. there are missing teachers, my kids never learned to write, etc. We are so happy at the Big3. my kids are finally being challenged and are reading and writing. Those of you who have not experienced public do not know bad it is. It's BAD. It's almost third world.

--disclaimer--your mileage may vary at other publics. this was Deal->Wilson in DCPS.

Ew. Just stop.

And it's amazing how public school is still worker for asian american children. Hmmm.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]Not the reason my kids are in private school... especially with the state of the public school system right now with the pandemic and post pandemic. So grateful to be able to provide them this experience. [b]Even if it is really costing us financially.[/b] [/quote]

lmao. dumb move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Im sounding the alarm. The end is near.

For any one of you paying full tuition at a Private School for college admissions purposes (hoping you'll get into a better college), you are 100% wasting your money. I have several children in Big 3's and unless you are URM, QuestBridge, Athlete or Legacy - you are completely wasting your money. No one cares that your school is tough. That a 3.7 is really great. No one cares about ACT/SATs anymore.

You are wasting your money. 100%

The college admissions process is now washed of achievement. And there is backlash against wealth and privilege.

Dont do it. Dont waste your time. And your money. And stop perpetuating the dummying down of our system.

I wish someone would have told me 3 years ago before I enrolled my kids. Total waste of money.

OP, our DCs have been in private since K. I wanted them to go public, partially for the college admit reason, but I lost the coin toss. I am, however, glad that I lost it. Both DCs have really loved their experiences. Yes, there are times of drudgery, competitiveness, etc. yet also joy when you landed a great elective with a teacher who approaches the class like a college seminar. Our DCs are emphatic that they really wouldn't want to have been at any other place. And both of them got into great colleges and we are not URM, Questbridge, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I assume if anything, private school will hurt my kids’ chances in college admissions because they will have a lower class ranking. The flip side is they’ll end up better educated and more well-rounded than they would have had they gone to public school, so we’ll take the trade-off.

+1

It’s bizarre how fervently some people believe that the only reason anyone chooses private school is for college admission, as if those four college years are the ultimate referendum on the previous 13 years of education. They are really, really not.

I was a Biglaw partner and one of the very few partners who didn't send their kids to private -- including many to the Big 3. My impression was that all of my partners were obsessed with name brand colleges and that that's why they sent their kids to private schools. So maybe my study sample was skewed.

Interestingly, not very many of them got their kids into Ivies in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those admissions arent from the last two years at the Big 3. Things are very different. Get you 4.0 at FCPS or MCPS and waltz to the front of the line. You dont need a ACT/SAT.

What a joke,

???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here are the 2021 admissions from a Big3 (does not included multiple admits at many of the schools). Is there one college on this list that you wouldn't be happy that your kid is attending?
Personally I think it's awesome and guarantee that my kid will attend a decent college---never mind that they are also learning to to write well and think critically.

Boston College
Boston University
Brown
Bucknell
Colby
Colgate
William and Mary
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Davidson
Duke
Emory
Georgetown
Georgia Tech
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
NYU
Northwestern
Oberlin
Princeton
SMU
Stanford
Syracuse
Tufts
Tulane
UCLA
Chicago
Michigan
Penn
Richmond
Sewanee
USC
St. Andrews
UVA
Wisconsin
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest
Washington and Lee
Wash U
Yale

Is this the complete list?