Should financial aid in private school be stricter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

How much data is all the data? Most schools gave an idea how much income gets how much aid

+1
This point was made with examples. And one poster keeps ignoring it. Seems like they won't be happy unless they see investment statements, tax returns, and W2s, which is insane.

Tax returns are so available…. Not sure transparency is a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

How much data is all the data? Most schools gave an idea how much income gets how much aid

Why my donations go to a 250k income family. Is the kids top performer? Normal questions.

Ask your school

Also reread what people added here:
Teachers' kids
Community members
Multiple children in private
Lots of student debt from med school

These are some of many examples.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

How much data is all the data? Most schools gave an idea how much income gets how much aid

Why my donations go to a 250k income family. Is the kids top performer? Normal questions.

Because $250k in the DC area with the cost of living and expenses cannot fund a full private school tuition. Plus, yes many times, especially if the child enters the school at a later time (late elementary, MS or HS) the kid has to be a top performer either academically or athletically or brings some unique talent. If starting in Kindergarten then idk, but definitely in the later years, most of the top privates, require admission tests, grades, good/great extracurriculars and an in person interview. If my child goes through all those hoops and gets in with aid then I think that child and family is deserving of that chance. Especially since all these schools are very competitive.

Agree. If the process is rigorous and competitive that’s fair. I guess it depends on the school. In my kids school I just see normal middle class kids that do not look that different from the rest. So I see that the process is not that rigorous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

How much data is all the data? Most schools gave an idea how much income gets how much aid

+1
This point was made with examples. And one poster keeps ignoring it. Seems like they won't be happy unless they see investment statements, tax returns, and W2s, which is insane.

Let them show us their financials and we’ll show ours. Oh wait every year financial aid recipients do bare their souls and upload all their documentation W2, tax returns, investments, value of home etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

I’m a fair recipient of FA from the MC and have gone to Europe. I pulled money from stock investments to take a vacation after 4 years not going anywhere (not even domestically). After the pandemic, for our family it was necessary to get a breather. My car is 18 years old and I can’t afford a new one because of the sacrifices to send my kids to good private schools as a single parent. Am I entitled? NOPE! I just don’t want my son to be a potential casualty to a DCPS high school (I’m zoned for Ballou). Any parent would do the same.

I’m a government worker and educated but ended up as a single parent with two beautiful bright children who have something to add to any community. So thank you to the FA fund, but I don’t owe anyone anything else.

You are exactly the type of family I want my contributions to go to. I hope your children thrive at the schools they are in.

My family was in a similar situation as yours when I was growing up. We received FA and have repaid it multiple times through our contributions.

I agree and I would also be happy if financial aid is not given to well off families that travel yearly to Europe.

Don't donate. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

I’m a fair recipient of FA from the MC and have gone to Europe. I pulled money from stock investments to take a vacation after 4 years not going anywhere (not even domestically). After the pandemic, for our family it was necessary to get a breather. My car is 18 years old and I can’t afford a new one because of the sacrifices to send my kids to good private schools as a single parent. Am I entitled? NOPE! I just don’t want my son to be a potential casualty to a DCPS high school (I’m zoned for Ballou). Any parent would do the same.

I’m a government worker and educated but ended up as a single parent with two beautiful bright children who have something to add to any community. So thank you to the FA fund, but I don’t owe anyone anything else.

You are exactly the type of family I want my contributions to go to. I hope your children thrive at the schools they are in.

My family was in a similar situation as yours when I was growing up. We received FA and have repaid it multiple times through our contributions.

I agree and I would also be happy if financial aid is not given to well off families that travel yearly to Europe.

Don't donate. Problem solved.

Don’t read. Problem solved twice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

If the schools believed this would increase their donations, they would have done it already. The schools and, more important, vast majority of donors don’t agree with you.

I agree with you. Public data will reveal that financial aid is a give away to upper middle class families and would definitely reduce donations.

You donate anyway, so why show you anything?

That’s the normal process in charities. People want to know if the money flows to families that need the money, not to well connected families that the financial aid office likes. Maybe it doesn’t happen maybe it does, without data hard to tell.

If I thought my school was misusing my donations, I can request a meeting with the Director of Development and discuss this. If I’m not satisfied with her response, I can direct my donations to specific causes or stop them entirely.

What I will not do is assume certain groups of people are receiving aid and judge them. We are a family of color and drive a beat up truck to drop my DD off at school. It would easy for others to assume we are on aid. We also take big overseas trips every summer so I can see how someone could incorrectly assume we’re on aid or are favorites with the financial aid office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

We don't need to have this conversation. You need to engage your school. If you are not at a school we know why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

How much data is all the data? Most schools gave an idea how much income gets how much aid

+1
This point was made with examples. And one poster keeps ignoring it. Seems like they won't be happy unless they see investment statements, tax returns, and W2s, which is insane.

Let them show us their financials and we’ll show ours. Oh wait every year financial aid recipients do bare their souls and upload all their documentation W2, tax returns, investments, value of home etc.

Don’t forget the appeals for more aid. I wrote one this year and it feels pretty horrible. Complete soul-bearing. But…it’s all for my kid and with our tanking economy and my new unemployment? No choice at the moment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

If the schools believed this would increase their donations, they would have done it already. The schools and, more important, vast majority of donors don’t agree with you.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

If the schools believed this would increase their donations, they would have done it already. The schools and, more important, vast majority of donors don’t agree with you.

I agree with you. Public data will reveal that financial aid is a give away to upper middle class families and would definitely reduce donations.

I know what it reveals and I continue to donate. So do the majority of the donors. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

If the schools believed this would increase their donations, they would have done it already. The schools and, more important, vast majority of donors don’t agree with you.

I agree with you. Public data will reveal that financial aid is a give away to upper middle class families and would definitely reduce donations.

You donate anyway, so why show you anything?

That’s the normal process in charities. People want to know if the money flows to families that need the money, not to well connected families that the financial aid office likes. Maybe it doesn’t happen maybe it does, without data hard to tell.

The data is available for those that ask and need to know. It's not available to the public or for those on the edge of donating. 1k isn't going to fund anyone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

How much data is all the data? Most schools gave an idea how much income gets how much aid

+1
This point was made with examples. And one poster keeps ignoring it. Seems like they won't be happy unless they see investment statements, tax returns, and W2s, which is insane.

Tax returns are so available…. Not sure transparency is a bad thing.

Post your tax return here then, since it should be public info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

How much data is all the data? Most schools gave an idea how much income gets how much aid

Why my donations go to a 250k income family. Is the kids top performer? Normal questions.

Because $250k in the DC area with the cost of living and expenses cannot fund a full private school tuition. Plus, yes many times, especially if the child enters the school at a later time (late elementary, MS or HS) the kid has to be a top performer either academically or athletically or brings some unique talent. If starting in Kindergarten then idk, but definitely in the later years, most of the top privates, require admission tests, grades, good/great extracurriculars and an in person interview. If my child goes through all those hoops and gets in with aid then I think that child and family is deserving of that chance. Especially since all these schools are very competitive.

Agree. If the process is rigorous and competitive that’s fair. I guess it depends on the school. In my kids school I just see normal middle class kids that do not look that different from the rest. So I see that the process is not that rigorous.

And what exactly do you “see”? Provide your data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saying thank you for the tens of thousands of dollars you’re giving my family is not groveling but again, if you are the fair recipient of financial aid, why should you be bothered by a quick confidential meeting about it if that was a requirement to receive it? You were fine to meet face to face to apply to the school obviously.

You continue to make blanket statements about things you clearly know nothing about. I won’t bother to educate you on the current process and how it came to be as you seem intent on targeting a specific group of people based on assumptions and stereotypes. I would encourage you to talk to your Head of School rather than post uniformed dribble year after year.

If schools publish all the data so families give informed donations we wouldn’t have this conversation.

How much data is all the data? Most schools gave an idea how much income gets how much aid

Why my donations go to a 250k income family. Is the kids top performer? Normal questions.

Because $250k in the DC area with the cost of living and expenses cannot fund a full private school tuition. Plus, yes many times, especially if the child enters the school at a later time (late elementary, MS or HS) the kid has to be a top performer either academically or athletically or brings some unique talent. If starting in Kindergarten then idk, but definitely in the later years, most of the top privates, require admission tests, grades, good/great extracurriculars and an in person interview. If my child goes through all those hoops and gets in with aid then I think that child and family is deserving of that chance. Especially since all these schools are very competitive.

Agree. If the process is rigorous and competitive that’s fair. I guess it depends on the school. In my kids school I just see normal middle class kids that do not look that different from the rest. So I see that the process is not that rigorous.

I don't think everything needs to be a competition. I'd prefer community or community adjacent people on FA than a kid with hyper-competitive parents. Hypercompetive "my 4 year old is better than yours" type parents change the community in a negative way - no thanks.