Anyone with HHI of 160-170k send kids to private?

[Anonymous]

We would like to (it will be a big stretch), but I don’t want my kids to feel like they have less than everyone else around them.
Would most likely be parochial vs. independent.

Thanks for any insight/experience!

[Anonymous]

We make in that range. We get some aid - but not a lot. Have friends with a lot more money - bigger houses - nice vacations....but also have friends in the same bracket. Nobody cares. Someone in admissions once told me that 25% are on aid, 25% have grandparents help etc. and 50% write the check without even thinking about it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, on of the high priced ones - $40K+ and we get aid. DK plays a sport the school values so it covers a significant amount. No real issues even though some kids come from billions but also it's a school not known for snobby parents/kids. The kids are pretty down to earth despite being a bit oblivious about what it's like to not have money like that.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we do. One kid, cheap house (small cape cod in a working class neighborhood in PG county), and no financial aid. Works out okay!

[Anonymous]

PP again - I see you are concerned about your kids feeling like they have less. One thing I've found is that living in a truly working class neighborhood means that my kid can never think "everyone has more than me." He sees that many people at school have more than him, but that he has more than most people in our neighborhood. And mostly he just doesn't care. He has been in private school for 8 years now, and it is a non-issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We make in that range. We get some aid - but not a lot. Have friends with a lot more money - bigger houses - nice vacations....but also have friends in the same bracket. Nobody cares. Someone in admissions once told me that 25% are on aid, 25% have grandparents help etc. and 50% write the check without even thinking about it.

Thank you! I guess I never thought we might be eligible for financial aid. Will look into that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again - I see you are concerned about your kids feeling like they have less. One thing I've found is that living in a truly working class neighborhood means that my kid can never think "everyone has more than me." He sees that many people at school have more than him, but that he has more than most people in our neighborhood. And mostly he just doesn't care. He has been in private school for 8 years now, and it is a non-issue.

Good point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make in that range. We get some aid - but not a lot. Have friends with a lot more money - bigger houses - nice vacations....but also have friends in the same bracket. Nobody cares. Someone in admissions once told me that 25% are on aid, 25% have grandparents help etc. and 50% write the check without even thinking about it.

Thank you! I guess I never thought we might be eligible for financial aid. Will look into that.

you are well into the top 5% of incomes in America and want aid????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make in that range. We get some aid - but not a lot. Have friends with a lot more money - bigger houses - nice vacations....but also have friends in the same bracket. Nobody cares. Someone in admissions once told me that 25% are on aid, 25% have grandparents help etc. and 50% write the check without even thinking about it.

Thank you! I guess I never thought we might be eligible for financial aid. Will look into that.

you are well into the top 5% of incomes in America and want aid????

NP. I know at least one family who makes significantly more than this and gets aid for their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, we do. One kid, cheap house (small cape cod in a working class neighborhood in PG county), and no financial aid. Works out okay!

Wow! Don’t know how you do it. We get some aid and pay about 20K and it’s a struggle

[Anonymous]

We do. HHI is about $170K. We have some grandparent help (most years) adding up to about $15k/year, and our child's tuition is $21K. For a while we had two children at the school but now there is just one there. (Our other children attend public schools.) Cars are 10+ years old, house was purchased for a pretty low price in 2004. We live pretty frugally. My kids have always known that some of their classmates have a lot more money (extravagant vacations, new iPhones, etc) while others have less (smaller houses, fewer vacations). They are occasionally envious, but frankly they've also been envious of wealthy classmates in public school. It's a good life lesson: there will always be some people (fill in the blank: richer, smarter, luckier) than you, and there will always be other people who are (poorer, dumber, less fortunate). Be grateful for what you have and work to help those who might need your help.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we do. One kid, cheap house (small cape cod in a working class neighborhood in PG county), and no financial aid. Works out okay!


Wow! Don’t know how you do it. We get some aid and pay about 20K and it’s a struggle

Do you have more than one kid or significant student loans of your own? Because I'm in a similar financial/housing situation to PP, and we pay around $30K, and we also feel like it works out ok.

[Anonymous]

Public school is not less than everyone else. If DC works hard, s/he can get into a great public school and s/he will feel even better about her/himself.

Signed - parent of private/public schools’ students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do. HHI is about $170K. We have some grandparent help (most years) adding up to about $15k/year, and our child's tuition is $21K. For a while we had two children at the school but now there is just one there. (Our other children attend public schools.) Cars are 10+ years old, house was purchased for a pretty low price in 2004. We live pretty frugally. My kids have always known that some of their classmates have a lot more money (extravagant vacations, new iPhones, etc) while others have less (smaller houses, fewer vacations). They are occasionally envious, but frankly they've also been envious of wealthy classmates in public school. It's a good life lesson: there will always be some people (fill in the blank: richer, smarter, luckier) than you, and there will always be other people who are (poorer, dumber, less fortunate). Be grateful for what you have and work to help those who might need your help.

Ok, I'm missing something except your housing costs are very high because if grandparents are paying $15 and tuition is $21K, that only leaves you with $6K and you feel stretched?

We've done $14K for a child and didn't feel stretched at all. We went to a basic small private where child thrived till they aged out. It was the same cost as day care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We would like to (it will be a big stretch), but I don’t want my kids to feel like they have less than everyone else around them.
Would most likely be parochial vs. independent.

Thanks for any insight/experience!

Catholic schools (Bishop Ireton, etc.) have lots of families in that income range that prioritized catholic education. And many of them have multiple kids on that income (they do give a hefty discount for multiple kids). Some are two-earner families and some are single-earner families with a SAHM and multiple kids.