Best Private School for Indian Origin kids

[Anonymous]

OP, I just took a peak at Niche stats on diversity in a few schools.

Churchill (public) 55% white, 23% Asian, 8% AA
Wootton (public): 46% white, 35% Asian, 6% AA
Sidwell: 52% white, 16% Asian, 15% AA
Bullis: 72% white, 12% Asian, 2% AA
GDS: 61% white, 16% AA, 8% Asian

So as you can see, if being around other Indians is an important factor (as well as strong academics), the first two public schools listed here would be the best (and cheapest) option. Save your money for college!

Just a little example: My son is friendly with an Indian who is a student at his mostly white private school. He has struggled to make friends and be included in gatherings -- definitely feels excluded. This is high school. He cannot wait to go to college to be around other kids like himself. Just food for thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would look at little Langley and Potomac. We’re also Indian, but our focus wasn’t solely on whether there were many Indians, but on diversity in general. We visited Landon and that was nearly all white even though we were impressed with the academics and the few Indians there told Landon parents treat them like crap and never invite their kids for anything. I would say that my experience with Indians at Bullis, those kids never really amount to much because the Indian families who send their kids just think dropping them off and writing a check means that the school should parent, nurture, and develop their kid into ivy material. We personally know 3 Indian kids who went to Bullis and not a single one is financially independent. No joke, one of them still lives at home and works at Starbucks while his mom complains that she spent all this money on Bullis, but that didn’t do anything for him. Meanwhile, she never put the kid in summer camp or encouraged sports of any kind as she was too busy planning elaborate parties for the south Asian community. The Sidwell Indians are more involved and approach their kids education more like white people. My advice, look for lots of different types of diversity. I don’t want my kids associating with Indians who come from families that are obsessed with money, pure academics, and prestige. I don’t care if my son or daughter end up at Mason as long as they are happy and doing a job they love. Other Indians would be horrified (this includes my brother and mom)

Horrified about a kid ending up at Mason? Absolutely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would look at little Langley and Potomac. We’re also Indian, but our focus wasn’t solely on whether there were many Indians, but on diversity in general. We visited Landon and that was nearly all white even though we were impressed with the academics and the few Indians there told Landon parents treat them like crap and never invite their kids for anything. I would say that my experience with Indians at Bullis, those kids never really amount to much because the Indian families who send their kids just think dropping them off and writing a check means that the school should parent, nurture, and develop their kid into ivy material. We personally know 3 Indian kids who went to Bullis and not a single one is financially independent. No joke, one of them still lives at home and works at Starbucks while his mom complains that she spent all this money on Bullis, but that didn’t do anything for him. Meanwhile, she never put the kid in summer camp or encouraged sports of any kind as she was too busy planning elaborate parties for the south Asian community. The Sidwell Indians are more involved and approach their kids education more like white people. My advice, look for lots of different types of diversity. I don’t want my kids associating with Indians who come from families that are obsessed with money, pure academics, and prestige. I don’t care if my son or daughter end up at Mason as long as they are happy and doing a job they love. Other Indians would be horrified (this includes my brother and mom)

Horrified about a kid ending up at Mason? Absolutely.

I’m not Indian but from a Middle eastern background and I know a lot of physicians, dentists and attorneys that went to Mason for college. Saved money on college and saved it for grad school!

[Anonymous]

As I mentioned before , I graduated from Wootton a long time ago. Thank you for this feedback and I will make an informed decision about which school to send my kids. Thank you for all those who actually tried to help me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would look at little Langley and Potomac. We’re also Indian, but our focus wasn’t solely on whether there were many Indians, but on diversity in general. We visited Landon and that was nearly all white even though we were impressed with the academics and the few Indians there told Landon parents treat them like crap and never invite their kids for anything. I would say that my experience with Indians at Bullis, those kids never really amount to much because the Indian families who send their kids just think dropping them off and writing a check means that the school should parent, nurture, and develop their kid into ivy material. We personally know 3 Indian kids who went to Bullis and not a single one is financially independent. No joke, one of them still lives at home and works at Starbucks while his mom complains that she spent all this money on Bullis, but that didn’t do anything for him. Meanwhile, she never put the kid in summer camp or encouraged sports of any kind as she was too busy planning elaborate parties for the south Asian community. The Sidwell Indians are more involved and approach their kids education more like white people. My advice, look for lots of different types of diversity. I don’t want my kids associating with Indians who come from families that are obsessed with money, pure academics, and prestige. I don’t care if my son or daughter end up at Mason as long as they are happy and doing a job they love. Other Indians would be horrified (this includes my brother and mom)

Horrified about a kid ending up at Mason? Absolutely.

I know a number of folks with highly successful careers who went to Mason. It has several strong departments. Education is what you make of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I just took a peak at Niche stats on diversity in a few schools.

Churchill (public) 55% white, 23% Asian, 8% AA
Wootton (public): 46% white, 35% Asian, 6% AA
Sidwell: 52% white, 16% Asian, 15% AA
Bullis: 72% white, 12% Asian, 2% AA
GDS: 61% white, 16% AA, 8% Asian

So as you can see, if being around other Indians is an important factor (as well as strong academics), the first two public schools listed here would be the best (and cheapest) option. Save your money for college!

Just a little example: My son is friendly with an Indian who is a student at his mostly white private school. He has struggled to make friends and be included in gatherings -- definitely feels excluded. This is high school. He cannot wait to go to college to be around other kids like himself. Just food for thought.

You realize that "Asian" lumps in East Asian and South Asian, right?

[Anonymous]

If OP is contemplating Sidwell or Bullis, then OP seriously needs to do some comparison. There are many differences between the two schools and you typically wouldn't find the same kids applying to both.

If you are part of the Indian community, I would do as another poster suggested - speak to your friends and ask about their experiences. We are part of the Indian community and have friends at many of the local private schools - Potomac, Landon, Holton, Sidwell, NCS, St Albans, Bullis, GDS, Visitation, Prep, Madeira, St Andrews.

I would encourage any parent to select the school that is the best fit for their child - public or private - not by which has the highest percentage of South Asians.

[Anonymous]

I find this whole post so weird. OP, you identify as Indian, but there is great diversity within the Indian community. Some Indians I know get along fine with Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Others don't. Most white people can't tell the difference between a Pakistani and an Indian. Even among Indians, the differences between a devoutly Hindu family and a Sikh family can be pretty big. So what are you looking for? People who have the same skin tone as you? Or do they also have to have the same religion and caste?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I just took a peak at Niche stats on diversity in a few schools.

Churchill (public) 55% white, 23% Asian, 8% AA
Wootton (public): 46% white, 35% Asian, 6% AA
Sidwell: 52% white, 16% Asian, 15% AA
Bullis: 72% white, 12% Asian, 2% AA
GDS: 61% white, 16% AA, 8% Asian

So as you can see, if being around other Indians is an important factor (as well as strong academics), the first two public schools listed here would be the best (and cheapest) option. Save your money for college!

Just a little example: My son is friendly with an Indian who is a student at his mostly white private school. He has struggled to make friends and be included in gatherings -- definitely feels excluded. This is high school. He cannot wait to go to college to be around other kids like himself. Just food for thought.

You realize that "Asian" lumps in East Asian and South Asian, right?

Yes of course I realize this. Why do you think I posted it here. Bottom line, there are more Indians in public schools. No need to get nit picky.

[Anonymous]

I am a Hindu but that has nothing to do with anything. As I mentioned, I went to Wootton and there wasn’t much diversity when I grew up and I would like to make sure that my kids don’t struggle to make friends. That’s all I want. As people have mentioned various school, I will do some research on it

[Anonymous]

You're assuming that attitudes toward diversity are the same as they were 15-20 years ago. Things have changed a lot. In most schools in this area, public and private, there are more non-white kids period.

Every elite public school has some Indian kids. They tend not to group though. They generally make friends with cross-section of kids, which is as it should be.

If you want your kids to have an easy time making friends, make sure they have good social skills rather than focusing on how many Indian kids are at school with them. Make sure you create situations where they have time to connect with other kids, i.e. plenty of play dates and participation in activities and enrichments.

Just observing how you've communicated on this thread, however, it seems that you lack good social skills and a social radar, which probably means your kids do, too. Don't blame the schools not having enough Indian kids if your kids don't make friends. Look at their level of social skills and ease.

Yes, racism and prejudice exist, and you'll find some jerkish families in private schools. However, the majority just want their kids to be friends with nice, polite, smart kids that will be a good or at least a neutral influence on their kids. The kids want to be friends with other kids who are nice and fun to be with.

If you set it up so that your kids can only be kids with other Indian kids, don't be surprised if they have trouble making friends. A lot of kids won't choose friends on the basis of ethnicity, and you really can't force them to.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback. If you guys had to recomend the best school for my kids education, then which one would it be. Strong academics with sports.

[Anonymous]

OP, this is not a simple question. The “best” means different things for different kids.

That said, Landon and Potomac are strong on both, but lacking in Indian diversity.

[Anonymous]

Ok, I come to the decision that my kids should deserve the best education and a strong sports team and if that means that I as a parent, will stop deciding their schools on race, then so be it. I have come to the conclusion that I will longer base this on which school has the "most amount of Indians" and which is the best school for them. People recommended me to Langley and Potomac but I live in MoCo which I kind of a stretch. Thanks to all who help change my view and I hope to decide soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, I come to the decision that my kids should deserve the best education and a strong sports team and if that means that I as a parent, will stop deciding their schools on race, then so be it. I have come to the conclusion that I will longer base this on which school has the "most amount of Indians" and which is the best school for them. People recommended me to Langley and Potomac but I live in MoCo which I kind of a stretch. Thanks to all who help change my view and I hope to decide soon.

Keep in mind that you need to actually apply to these schools--at the more selective schools mentioned here, there is keen competition for spots. You may want to look into several schools, including some safeties, keeping in mind fit and commute.