Question on High Tuition…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - private schools don’t owe you transparency, not in their tuition pricing, or their financial aid policies, or their student selection. I know you keep on starting these threads, and now the others have been pulled down, but I don’t think you’re winning the argument or really understanding the nature of what you’re arguing.

Not sure. The threads get a lot of traction. Wonder why these questions make parents uncomfortable?

Traction? I don't think they ever go anywhere interesting. They don't make other parents "uncomfortable." People try to reply to OP and OP keeps repeating the same nonsense showing that they don't understand how things work, but they refuse to listen when people try to explain how things actually work. It's kind of annoying and tedious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But why is the case tuition is very similar across private schools in dc. Same average cost. Not sure.

Have you ever noticed that Mercedes BMW and Lexus all have cars in a very similar price range.? Why is it that Honda Toyota and Nissan are all in the same price category? Is this legal?

When you buy a Mercedes you don’t pay over 12 years and at the third year the price starts rising like crazy. Again. Private education is not like buying blue jeans.

just like you can switch from merc to Honda, you can move your kid into public school any time. There's no requirement that once you start private, you have to graduate there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - private schools don’t owe you transparency, not in their tuition pricing, or their financial aid policies, or their student selection. I know you keep on starting these threads, and now the others have been pulled down, but I don’t think you’re winning the argument or really understanding the nature of what you’re arguing.

Not sure. The threads get a lot of traction. Wonder why these questions make parents uncomfortable?

Traction? I don't think they ever go anywhere interesting. They don't make other parents "uncomfortable." People try to reply to OP and OP keeps repeating the same nonsense showing that they don't understand how things work, but they refuse to listen when people try to explain how things actually work. It's kind of annoying and tedious.

Agreed, the same OP keeps on asking her questions about some basic premise of private education and then argues until the thread is removed without convincing anyone or becoming the slightest bit more informed on her topic. It’s uncomfortable in the same way arguing with a brick wall is, and just as productive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - private schools don’t owe you transparency, not in their tuition pricing, or their financial aid policies, or their student selection. I know you keep on starting these threads, and now the others have been pulled down, but I don’t think you’re winning the argument or really understanding the nature of what you’re arguing.

Not sure. The threads get a lot of traction. Wonder why these questions make parents uncomfortable?

Traction? I don't think they ever go anywhere interesting. They don't make other parents "uncomfortable." People try to reply to OP and OP keeps repeating the same nonsense showing that they don't understand how things work, but they refuse to listen when people try to explain how things actually work. It's kind of annoying and tedious.

Agreed, the same OP keeps on asking her questions about some basic premise of private education and then argues until the thread is removed without convincing anyone or becoming the slightest bit more informed on her topic. It’s uncomfortable in the same way arguing with a brick wall is, and just as productive.

If you don’t like the threads don’t read them. Easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But why is the case tuition is very similar across private schools in dc. Same average cost. Not sure.

Have you ever noticed that Mercedes BMW and Lexus all have cars in a very similar price range.? Why is it that Honda Toyota and Nissan are all in the same price category? Is this legal?

When you buy a Mercedes you don’t pay over 12 years and at the third year the price starts rising like crazy. Again. Private education is not like buying blue jeans.

just like you can switch from merc to Honda, you can move your kid into public school any time. There's no requirement that once you start private, you have to graduate there.

Sure. Move your kids to Sidwell if it’s so easy to change schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - private schools don’t owe you transparency, not in their tuition pricing, or their financial aid policies, or their student selection. I know you keep on starting these threads, and now the others have been pulled down, but I don’t think you’re winning the argument or really understanding the nature of what you’re arguing.

Not sure. The threads get a lot of traction. Wonder why these questions make parents uncomfortable?

Traction? I don't think they ever go anywhere interesting. They don't make other parents "uncomfortable." People try to reply to OP and OP keeps repeating the same nonsense showing that they don't understand how things work, but they refuse to listen when people try to explain how things actually work. It's kind of annoying and tedious.

The thread of financial aid had 800 entries. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. End of story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But why is the case tuition is very similar across private schools in dc. Same average cost. Not sure.

Have you ever noticed that Mercedes BMW and Lexus all have cars in a very similar price range.? Why is it that Honda Toyota and Nissan are all in the same price category? Is this legal?

When you buy a Mercedes you don’t pay over 12 years and at the third year the price starts rising like crazy. Again. Private education is not like buying blue jeans.

On the contrary, what your jeans and your Mercedes and your private school have in common is they are all subject to the free market, and they are also subject to the very real cost of providing that product. In the case of a school, they all have to pay approximately the same salary to each of their teachers that a competing school will have to pay. There is a cost per square foot for real estate that is fairly consistent. And when school A wants to raise their tuition to 58k to cover their expenses, but they notice that school B is getting the job done for 54k, school A just might think twice and go to 56k which appears really close to the tuition from the other school. This is all free market stuff.

Yes. They are in the free market except that they don’t pay taxes like any normal corporation and they could pass those savings to the parents via lower tuition. Am I missing something?

You are missing a great many things. Too many to enumerate.

Such as?…..

NP here.

Every independent school sets tuition lower than the actual cost to educate each child

Independent schools receive no funding from the government. Older schools have a huge leg up because they have more alumni and more generations of family wealth to draw from. Just for example:

Sidwell, founded in 1883 $81.1 million
Maret, founded in 1911, $50 million
NCS, founded in 1900, $40 million

That's not the situation at most schools. Most are trying to balance a budget, meet the significant expectations of parents, and retain faculty. And all of this while jobs are disappearing and we're in a global trade war.

Agree. The schools you mentioned have an unlimited appretite for diollars, that’s why they keep raising tuition above their costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - private schools don’t owe you transparency, not in their tuition pricing, or their financial aid policies, or their student selection. I know you keep on starting these threads, and now the others have been pulled down, but I don’t think you’re winning the argument or really understanding the nature of what you’re arguing.

Not sure. The threads get a lot of traction. Wonder why these questions make parents uncomfortable?

Traction? I don't think they ever go anywhere interesting. They don't make other parents "uncomfortable." People try to reply to OP and OP keeps repeating the same nonsense showing that they don't understand how things work, but they refuse to listen when people try to explain how things actually work. It's kind of annoying and tedious.

Agreed, the same OP keeps on asking her questions about some basic premise of private education and then argues until the thread is removed without convincing anyone or becoming the slightest bit more informed on her topic. It’s uncomfortable in the same way arguing with a brick wall is, and just as productive.

It is trolling. The OP is just coming here to irritate people and not for any serious discourse. Report the thread and maybe it’ll get taken down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - private schools don’t owe you transparency, not in their tuition pricing, or their financial aid policies, or their student selection. I know you keep on starting these threads, and now the others have been pulled down, but I don’t think you’re winning the argument or really understanding the nature of what you’re arguing.

Not sure. The threads get a lot of traction. Wonder why these questions make parents uncomfortable?

Traction? I don't think they ever go anywhere interesting. They don't make other parents "uncomfortable." People try to reply to OP and OP keeps repeating the same nonsense showing that they don't understand how things work, but they refuse to listen when people try to explain how things actually work. It's kind of annoying and tedious.

Agreed, the same OP keeps on asking her questions about some basic premise of private education and then argues until the thread is removed without convincing anyone or becoming the slightest bit more informed on her topic. It’s uncomfortable in the same way arguing with a brick wall is, and just as productive.

It is trolling. The OP is just coming here to irritate people and not for any serious discourse. Report the thread and maybe it’ll get taken down.

Sure. Report the thread because I disagree with it. Wait a second,‘isn’t that trolling as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - private schools don’t owe you transparency, not in their tuition pricing, or their financial aid policies, or their student selection. I know you keep on starting these threads, and now the others have been pulled down, but I don’t think you’re winning the argument or really understanding the nature of what you’re arguing.

Not sure. The threads get a lot of traction. Wonder why these questions make parents uncomfortable?

Traction? I don't think they ever go anywhere interesting. They don't make other parents "uncomfortable." People try to reply to OP and OP keeps repeating the same nonsense showing that they don't understand how things work, but they refuse to listen when people try to explain how things actually work. It's kind of annoying and tedious.

Agreed, the same OP keeps on asking her questions about some basic premise of private education and then argues until the thread is removed without convincing anyone or becoming the slightest bit more informed on her topic. It’s uncomfortable in the same way arguing with a brick wall is, and just as productive.

It is trolling. The OP is just coming here to irritate people and not for any serious discourse. Report the thread and maybe it’ll get taken down.

Sure. Report the thread because I disagree with it. Wait a second,‘isn’t that trolling as well?

Brick wall. Insufferable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a quick question.

Normally if there are monopolistic practices that are detrimental to consumers you could file a claim at the federal trade commission or the office of consumer protection in dc. Is there anything similar for schools, or in essence they are free to charge anything they want. This is genuine question. Thank you.

One way or another (unless you have diplomatic status), you already are paying for your kid’s education in the public school system, so if you are sending your kid to private school, you are voluntarily paying extra for that. You don’t have to. You also “buy” private school education by the year. No one is required to buy 13, 7 or 4 (or even 2) years of it. Your kid’s private school isn’t committing to sell it to you next year, either. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of kids switch schools every year. Your kid can do that, too, if you don’t like next year’s price. Anyone surprised by increases in tuition every single year hasn’t been paying attention.

You don’t need to rely on some seemingly unmotivated government agency if you think private schools are engaged anticompetitive practices. Find a good plaintiffs law firm willing to file a private antitrust class action. You might be able to get treble damages or at least enough from a settlement as the named plaintiff to pay for your kid’s college tuition and your retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I compare dc to other countries, I realize that the issue with private education is the same with private healthcare. You get poor value for money.

I other developed counties like Canada or Germany you can find high quality health and education. And private education is mostly related to religious schools. So again, I think there is lack of competition in the education market.

Interesting. I would agree that Germany and Canada have superior options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP - private schools don’t owe you transparency, not in their tuition pricing, or their financial aid policies, or their student selection. I know you keep on starting these threads, and now the others have been pulled down, but I don’t think you’re winning the argument or really understanding the nature of what you’re arguing.

Not sure. The threads get a lot of traction. Wonder why these questions make parents uncomfortable?

Traction? I don't think they ever go anywhere interesting. They don't make other parents "uncomfortable." People try to reply to OP and OP keeps repeating the same nonsense showing that they don't understand how things work, but they refuse to listen when people try to explain how things actually work. It's kind of annoying and tedious.

Agreed, the same OP keeps on asking her questions about some basic premise of private education and then argues until the thread is removed without convincing anyone or becoming the slightest bit more informed on her topic. It’s uncomfortable in the same way arguing with a brick wall is, and just as productive.

It is trolling. The OP is just coming here to irritate people and not for any serious discourse. Report the thread and maybe it’ll get taken down.

Sure. Report the thread because I disagree with it. Wait a second,‘isn’t that trolling as well?

Brick wall. Insufferable.

I agree. Inssuferable. The OP does not repeat Verbatim my ideas and agree that are 100 percent correct. What’s wrong with her? Everyone in DCUM is so tolerant and open minded. She should learn from the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But why is the case tuition is very similar across private schools in dc. Same average cost. Not sure.

Have you ever noticed that Mercedes BMW and Lexus all have cars in a very similar price range.? Why is it that Honda Toyota and Nissan are all in the same price category? Is this legal?

When you buy a Mercedes you don’t pay over 12 years and at the third year the price starts rising like crazy. Again. Private education is not like buying blue jeans.

On the contrary, what your jeans and your Mercedes and your private school have in common is they are all subject to the free market, and they are also subject to the very real cost of providing that product. In the case of a school, they all have to pay approximately the same salary to each of their teachers that a competing school will have to pay. There is a cost per square foot for real estate that is fairly consistent. And when school A wants to raise their tuition to 58k to cover their expenses, but they notice that school B is getting the job done for 54k, school A just might think twice and go to 56k which appears really close to the tuition from the other school. This is all free market stuff.

Yes. They are in the free market except that they don’t pay taxes like any normal corporation and they could pass those savings to the parents via lower tuition. Am I missing something?

You are missing a great many things. Too many to enumerate.

Such as?…..

NP here.

Every independent school sets tuition lower than the actual cost to educate each child

Independent schools receive no funding from the government. Older schools have a huge leg up because they have more alumni and more generations of family wealth to draw from. Just for example:

Sidwell, founded in 1883 $81.1 million
Maret, founded in 1911, $50 million
NCS, founded in 1900, $40 million

That's not the situation at most schools. Most are trying to balance a budget, meet the significant expectations of parents, and retain faculty. And all of this while jobs are disappearing and we're in a global trade war.

Agree. The schools you mentioned have an unlimited appretite for diollars, that’s why they keep raising tuition above their costs.

Nobody is agreeing with you. Everyone is trying to explain this to you. So here’s another try: There is a business model supporting every independent school so that they can stay solvent. They have to raise their revenue to meet their expenses. Revenue is tuition. However, it’s proven that the tuition revenue does not cover the expenses so they also fundraise.

The truth about endowments: they have to be hundreds of millions of dollars before they can truly ensure the viability of a school/business with a $40millon budget. Most endowment prohibit the use of principle so you have to have a huge production of interest. So the year to year business model/budget is everything. And even if your endowment was large enough to cover all of your operating expenses, that still is no way to run a business, and there is no school or not for profit that would do that. There is no value to anything that is given for free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a quick question.

Normally if there are monopolistic practices that are detrimental to consumers you could file a claim at the federal trade commission or the office of consumer protection in dc. Is there anything similar for schools, or in essence they are free to charge anything they want. This is genuine question. Thank you.

One way or another (unless you have diplomatic status), you already are paying for your kid’s education in the public school system, so if you are sending your kid to private school, you are voluntarily paying extra for that. You don’t have to. You also “buy” private school education by the year. No one is required to buy 13, 7 or 4 (or even 2) years of it. Your kid’s private school isn’t committing to sell it to you next year, either. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of kids switch schools every year. Your kid can do that, too, if you don’t like next year’s price. Anyone surprised by increases in tuition every single year hasn’t been paying attention.

You don’t need to rely on some seemingly unmotivated government agency if you think private schools are engaged anticompetitive practices. Find a good plaintiffs law firm willing to file a private antitrust class action. You might be able to get treble damages or at least enough from a settlement as the named plaintiff to pay for your kid’s college tuition and your retirement.

First of all. The vast majority of kids stay in the same school most of their education if they can because it is costly to find a school that is a god match for the kid. So yes, it desirable to have a tuition that is predictable over time and not increasing consistently above let’s say wage inflation (which is higher than cpi inflation) .

Second, the lawsuit is not a bad idea but a bit expensive. If had the money I rather bribe the rest of the board members of the schools to pass budgets based on needs not wants.

The question I would ask is the following: If we need to invest one extra dollar that would request a higher tuition, is that dollar going to objectively improve the quality of education of the kids such that the investment is worthwhile or it’s just something that would improve the reputation of the board?

There is something about schools corporate governance that is off.