Sidwell - 2023-24 tuition for PK-2 will be $50k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s a full $10K more than we pay for K and will pay for 1st grade next year at a well-regarded K-8. Does Sidwell truly provide $10K more in value?

It’s a full 50k more than we paid at a well-regarded k-2.

I have no doubt it does provide the value. I wish it were cheaper but I’ve never laid awake at night wondering if I’m wasting my $$$. I would do at -$10k in most schools that are not NCS, STA, SFS. Maybe GDS

Can you tell me what the value is? Like can you quantify what makes Sidwell worth 10, 20, 30, 40, 50k more than other schools? I would be curious to know.

Only people with multiple kids and multiple schools can really answer this question. As a parent with two current/former Sidwell students, it was worth every penny, even with the flaws. Every school has flaws, no one is perfect, but for our family, it was a great option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s a full $10K more than we pay for K and will pay for 1st grade next year at a well-regarded K-8. Does Sidwell truly provide $10K more in value?

It’s a full 50k more than we paid at a well-regarded k-2.

I have no doubt it does provide the value. I wish it were cheaper but I’ve never laid awake at night wondering if I’m wasting my $$$. I would do at -$10k in most schools that are not NCS, STA, SFS. Maybe GDS

Can you tell me what the value is? Like can you quantify what makes Sidwell worth 10, 20, 30, 40, 50k more than other schools? I would be curious to know.

Name brand. You can go anywhere in the country, and many places around the world, and the name Sidwell is known. Not true for most of these other schools.

No one gives a *&%$ in the real world

Really? The historically unprecedented low upward mobility and high wealth gap beg to disagree.
Of course we need to change the real world. But it is misleading to not acknowledge the facts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, three quarters of a million dollars before you even get to college. It sure will suck to find out the neighbor’s kid went to MCPS for free and is going to the same college as your kid.

More than that when you factor in opportunity cost. The joker scene in the dark knight where he's burning all the mob's money is what comes to mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are Sidwell’s athletics facilities so average given these numbers?

???

They have a relatively new athletic facility that puts many small colleges to shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s a full $10K more than we pay for K and will pay for 1st grade next year at a well-regarded K-8. Does Sidwell truly provide $10K more in value?

It’s a full 50k more than we paid at a well-regarded k-2.

I have no doubt it does provide the value. I wish it were cheaper but I’ve never laid awake at night wondering if I’m wasting my $$$. I would do at -$10k in most schools that are not NCS, STA, SFS. Maybe GDS

Can you tell me what the value is? Like can you quantify what makes Sidwell worth 10, 20, 30, 40, 50k more than other schools? I would be curious to know.

Name brand. You can go anywhere in the country, and many places around the world, and the name Sidwell is known. Not true for most of these other schools.

No one gives a *&%$ in the real world

Really? The historically unprecedented low upward mobility and high wealth gap beg to disagree.
Of course we need to change the real world. But it is misleading to not acknowledge the facts

Not in the DMV. Private schools are now a net negative in college admissions and job applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s a full $10K more than we pay for K and will pay for 1st grade next year at a well-regarded K-8. Does Sidwell truly provide $10K more in value?

It’s a full 50k more than we paid at a well-regarded k-2.

I have no doubt it does provide the value. I wish it were cheaper but I’ve never laid awake at night wondering if I’m wasting my $$$. I would do at -$10k in most schools that are not NCS, STA, SFS. Maybe GDS

Can you tell me what the value is? Like can you quantify what makes Sidwell worth 10, 20, 30, 40, 50k more than other schools? I would be curious to know.

Only people with multiple kids and multiple schools can really answer this question. As a parent with two current/former Sidwell students, it was worth every penny, even with the flaws. Every school has flaws, no one is perfect, but for our family, it was a great option.

For a DC parent, the calculus is:

DCPS or private, especially for middle and high schools?

If private, the tuition difference between Sidwell and most other privates is minimal.

So now, you’re paying 45-53 no matter what, so why not 55 for the top school?

Obviously this is a gross oversimplification but I bet if we did one of those studies of how much are degrees from different colleges worth in the real world (like the wage potential), the Big 3 gain would make it 100% worth the extra tuition difference (provided all else being equal including chance of admission)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, three quarters of a million dollars before you even get to college. It sure will suck to find out the neighbor’s kid went to MCPS for free and is going to the same college as your kid.

t

Just take a gander over to the MCPS board and I think you'll see why people are willing to pay this much. Top threads are about drug overdoses in the bathrooms, petition to bring back SROs and lockdowns because of all the violence, complaints about the lousy curriculum and benchmark, poor test scores, etc. Sure, some kids do fine despite that, but I think most parents would rather avoid all that if they have the means to do so.

This, exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s a full $10K more than we pay for K and will pay for 1st grade next year at a well-regarded K-8. Does Sidwell truly provide $10K more in value?

It’s a full 50k more than we paid at a well-regarded k-2.

I have no doubt it does provide the value. I wish it were cheaper but I’ve never laid awake at night wondering if I’m wasting my $$$. I would do at -$10k in most schools that are not NCS, STA, SFS. Maybe GDS

Can you tell me what the value is? Like can you quantify what makes Sidwell worth 10, 20, 30, 40, 50k more than other schools? I would be curious to know.

Name brand. You can go anywhere in the country, and many places around the world, and the name Sidwell is known. Not true for most of these other schools.

No one gives a *&%$ in the real world

Really? The historically unprecedented low upward mobility and high wealth gap beg to disagree.
Of course we need to change the real world. But it is misleading to not acknowledge the facts

Not in the DMV. Private schools are now a net negative in college admissions and job applications.

You’re oversimplifying by stopping at college and job entry. Do the lifetime wealth and earning potential. Let’s see in aggregate how it looks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are Sidwell’s athletics facilities so average given these numbers?

???

They have a relatively new athletic facility that puts many small colleges to shame.

Well I would hope so, if it costs 50k to send a 4 year old who won't even be able to use the athletic facilities there.

Seriously, at these prices, it should be a palace with the best teachers, no student should ever experience bullying, the school should be able to guarantee entry into the college of your choice, and all the kids should get a puppy. Arts programming should be top notch, children should be able to publish novels before the graduate, their writing should be so good.

Everyone saying this is worth it is insane. I think the main allure is the prestige of the name ("presidents' kids" is such a selling point for Sidwell) and the idea that it puts you in a specific peer group. The idea that the school is inherently worth this much money is garbage. Sidwell is a good school but literally no school is this good.

[Anonymous]

You’re pretending like it’s $0 or $50k. That’s not the choice. It’s whether you pay 54500 for Bullis or 55000 for Sidwell.

Otherwise it’s move out of DC (where though?) or go to Wilson? Many of us did the math and did what we could and though was best for our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are Sidwell’s athletics facilities so average given these numbers?

???

They have a relatively new athletic facility that puts many small colleges to shame.

Well I would hope so, if it costs 50k to send a 4 year old who won't even be able to use the athletic facilities there.

Seriously, at these prices, it should be a palace with the best teachers, no student should ever experience bullying, the school should be able to guarantee entry into the college of your choice, and all the kids should get a puppy. Arts programming should be top notch, children should be able to publish novels before the graduate, their writing should be so good.

Everyone saying this is worth it is insane. I think the main allure is the prestige of the name ("presidents' kids" is such a selling point for Sidwell) and the idea that it puts you in a specific peer group. The idea that the school is inherently worth this much money is garbage. Sidwell is a good school but literally no school is this good.

Faculty and staff salaries, benefits (including 401K matched contributions), etc., eat up a significant portion of total tuition dollars. It usually costs schools more to educate, feed, etc., each student than the price of the tuition.

[Anonymous]

That this thread is focused on Sidwell, when all the schools cost about the same, is a great example of why OP is a breathless shitstirrer who doesn’t actually care about the issue.

It’s also a great example of the power of brand. The other, far more thoughtful two threads on the topic are languishing.

I think that was the answer you were looking for PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Name brand. You can go anywhere in the country, and many places around the world, and the name Sidwell is known. Not true for most of these other schools.

You cannot possibly believe this. Wow, you live in a very small bubble.

It’s actually true. I don’t have a kid at Sidwell but years ago we were traveling out of the country and we were talking to a non-American woman who asked if we’re planning on sending our kid to Sidwell or a school like Sidwell. People know about it for whatever reason. Now whether that leads to better outcomes is a debate.

[Anonymous]

50K for preschool?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That this thread is focused on Sidwell, when all the schools cost about the same, is a great example of why OP is a breathless shitstirrer who doesn’t actually care about the issue.

It’s also a great example of the power of brand. The other, far more thoughtful two threads on the topic are languishing.

I think that was the answer you were looking for PP.

Actually, it’s an example of a Sidwell parent who doesn’t like a thread repeatedly trying to re-direct attention to other threads they like more and not getting their way.