Why Apply Anywhere Other Than the Big Three?

[Anonymous]

Let me start off by saying Im not trying to start some huge fight which seems to happen often here. But, Im new to the area, moved here from Los Angeles so Im a little clueless on these issues. I visited the "Big Three" and agree that they all seem to be extraordinary schools and we would be honored to attend any of them. But, for those who live in Fairfax or Montgomery (like us), where they have some of the best public schools in the country for free, I cant fathom why you send your kids to a private school for a prince's ransom unless it is a pretty darn good school--which the Big Three seem to be. The other ones, I was a little underwhelmed and cant justify to myself paying that much for them. It seems lots of people seem angry that some people might only want to send their kids to the BIg Three, but (at least for me) this is not because Im being arrogant or pretentious, its that Im trying to make a rational cost-benefit calculation. Sure, if I won the lottery and my money was burning a hole through my pockets, I could do whatever the heck I wanted. But, it seems to me, in this economy, only the Big Three are worth the money they charge. The situation would also be different if we did not have access to Whitman and Churchill and Wayside and Hoover etc etc, but we do. So, like any good free market proponent, the independent schools should also step up to the plate and offer something other than a nice country club atmosphere to entice families and their kids (as well as their money).

[Anonymous]

I think some of the reason that people might apply to other private schools, are that even if academics are relatively similar (and you are going to get a WHOLE LOT OF COMMENTS on that), people think, probably rightly so, that their child will get more individualized attention, that the schools won't be constantly testing, and that the child can "love learning" more than just going through the paces. Full disclosure, my children will be going to MoCo public schools. This is primarily a cost decision (i.e. our budget can't afford $60,000 a year after taxes for two children), but it is a decision that I do not agonize over (or, honestly, only rarely agonize over...)

[Anonymous]

We felt the same way as the OP, but about WIS rather than the schools you mentioned. We were only willing to pay the money if the school offered real added value over our in-demand public school. Though we all have our own definitions of "added value," the draw for our family was bilingual education leading to real fluency, and the possibility of an IB degree in 2 languages.

[Anonymous]

11:05 here - Yep, WIS is one of the ones that I "rarely" agonize over. And I can honestly say, the Big Three I don't agonize over at all, but then, I'm a little off-the-beaten-path.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think your point is well made... but the flaw in the post is that there are only 3 DC area schools that belong in the top tier. You're buying into a DCUM PR campaign that's being especially promulgated by the parents/bootser of one of the so called "Big 3" schools. The reality is that K-12 schools like Maret and Potomac, and K-8 schools like Norwood and Langley, are stellar schools and are considered by many in the know, as well as local and national publications, as just as good if not better than some of the "Big XX" schools. Don't get sucked into the DCUM "Big 3" PR machine.

Now, if you were to rename your post "Why Apply Anywhere Other Than Top Tier Privates?", then I'd agree with you 100%.

[Anonymous]

Someone told me their K class in the top-rated public elementary school has 28 kids in it with one teacher. Our "top-tier" but not Big 3 private school has 17 kids and two teachers. Seems worth it to me so far.

[Anonymous]

Like the previous posters, I think your view of what schools are "better" is too narrow. You are not including also, the many people who live in DC and parts of MD and VA and feel like many (most) of the private schools are better than their local option. Also, as a PP wrote, there are advantages of privates over even the best publics in terms of approach to learning, extras, class sizes, etc.

If I lived in Fairfax, I probably would not do it, but I don't live there for many reasons. Finally, for many people in this area, the money spent on the tuition is not that big a factor in the household budget. That is particularly true over the years if, for example, you started out with an expensive nanny. We don't pay a whole lot more now for private school plus an au pair than we did for a ful time nanny plus preschool when our kids were younger.

[Anonymous]

Because I live in the District, and my zoned school is not as good as any of the top 13 or so privates that I personally toured.

I am never going to move to the suburbs, even Arlington or Bethesda, for a multitude of reasons.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Maybe Im on the wrong web site. I hate to admit this but $60,000 is a ton of money for us. We can afford it but it better be really worth it. Does everyone else on this site also agree that private school tuition is not a significant dent in their household budgets like the PP. If that is the case, I think Im asking the wrong people. If this is the case. you guys are just all a heck of alot wealthier than us.

[Anonymous]

To answer your question PP -- if by chance your kid is Ivy-bound -- the "Big 3" don't always have the most kids going to the Ivies. Sometimes its Potomac, Holton, TJ, or Whitman. So, it really depends on why someone wants a big 3.

I'd rather brag about the fact my kid is going to an Ivy rather than bemoan the fact they were rejected by a "Big 3" when they were younger. HaHa!

[Anonymous]

Well, as I posted, we will not be able to afford $60,000. But, the title of your post self-selects only the people who would consider applying to Big Three vs others. If people are only considering public school because of costs, they would not click on this thread, unless just curious what people have to say, and want to be helpful (like me).

[Anonymous]

We are in Fairfax county. Tried our public schools, didn't like them. I was not interested in commuting to "the big 3". Found a wonderful "no name" school in Fairfax county and my child received a wonderful education there. We went on to a DC private, but again, not interested in "the big 3" and my child is thriving at this wonderful school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11:05 here - Yep, WIS is one of the ones that I "rarely" agonize over. And I can honestly say, the Big Three I don't agonize over at all, but then, I'm a little off-the-beaten-path.

You and me both, sister, on all points you made.

[Anonymous]

I'm halfway with you. We live in Montgomery County, and sent our kids to public for elementary. When we started looking at the local middle school, we saw that while it might be adequate for each child, there were reasons to look elsewhere. We applied to only one school for the first, and only two for the second - they got in, we scrape up the money, and feel it is worth the sacrifices. We would not be paying out that money for a school which was only an adequate fit - we could get that for free.

Where you lose me is saying that the only schools worth the money are the "Big Three". For one of my DCs, one of the Big Three seemed (and seems) like a perfect fit, but the other two did not, and we did not apply, fabulous though they may be for other kids. For my other DC, none of the Big Three seemed like a great fit, but he is thriving at a less known school. So, I would only pay the money for a school which was much better than my local public school, but which school that is varies with the kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Does everyone else on this site also agree that private school tuition is not a significant dent in their household budgets like the PP.

We live in Fairfax, our tuition payment is our entire discretionary income. No vacations. No stuff. Kid is in a K-8 VA private and there's no way a public school could touch the kinds of experiences and personalized attention she gets. That said, I am looking forward to public HS, and some travel when we're done with this. (Ouch. Don't kill travel plans. I don't want to think about college tuition at this moment.)