school for nerdy, not super-rich kids?

[Anonymous]

DCUM needs a like button and a comfort button. From where I sit many of the people have grandparents secretly (or not) picking up the tab.

[Anonymous]

Just 400? You can afford BIM.

[Anonymous]

Back to op’s question:
Honors programs at Catholics (SJC, good counsel, etc)
St Anselm’s for a boy

[Anonymous]

I also have an only who’s in one of the $40k+ privates for ES. HHI low 300s, would not dream of asking for FA. I’d guess we are in the bottom 3rd of HHI, but l think most below us probably get FA or grandparents are chipping in…also most have more than 1 kid in private. There are some seriously wealthy people who have lavish lifestyles, maybe the top 1/4. So there is a spread. I don’t really fit in with the auction / room parent moms who are mostly very wealthy, but l fit in with plenty of others. My kid gets along with everyone. It doesn’t bother him that we don’t have multiple vacations homes and a Bentley. Our relatives and family friends are not wealthy - he isn’t just surrounded by wealthy people.

[Anonymous]

I mean I don't think it's about money but the kind of person you are.

I grew up the only kid of millionaires - immigrant parents who worked as entrepreneurs. I went to private (not in DC) for HS and I saw kids who had more, same and less money than us. It never changed who my family or who I was - my best friends never had as much money as we did. In fact, my best friends even today aren't as well off but it just doesn't matter. Even today, most of my kids' friends have less than us but that doesn't mean we don't love them and we don't flaunt that we were fortunate enough to travel 1/2 the summer around the world for example.

I never judge and I teach my kids never to look at wealth to judge anyone. I can talk to a taxi/uber driver as easily as a CFO - it's just people. Folks get intimidated on their own. Good folks, real people - those who you'd want to be friends with or care about what they think - it's never going to be because of how wealthy you are. The ones that do aren't the ones you'd want in your life anyway. By the same token, I know plenty of not very wealthy people who are judgmental, mean and rude. They aren't super rich but let me tell you - they are worse than some mega rich ones!! It takes all kinds.

Be comfortable and confident in yourself - go to whatever school you want. It's nonsense to worry about a school because there may be people with too much money there - that's life! There's people of all kinds everywhere. Teach your kids to have the confidence to be proud of who they are - money or no money.

[Anonymous]

My daughter attended Holton. Our income at the time was $130,000. (I guess we were super poor. I didn't know.) They have aid you can apply for.
It was the best decision for her. She loved it and excelled. Just make sure you have a confident kid who can be okay with friend's garages being larger than your home and not having the newest things. (Although $400,000 is very wealthy so I don't know how this post is even real.)

[Anonymous]

We're also around $400k and thinking through this question. Genuinely curious how the $200k people are doing this with no aid. We have two kids and tuition for them at some of these places would be roughly half or more than half of our take home pay, unless I'm doing the math wrong. That's a choice we could make but also leaves very little cushion for things like needing a new roof or your HVAC breaking. Definitely no room to save for college and do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're also around $400k and thinking through this question. Genuinely curious how the $200k people are doing this with no aid. We have two kids and tuition for them at some of these places would be roughly half or more than half of our take home pay, unless I'm doing the math wrong. That's a choice we could make but also leaves very little cushion for things like needing a new roof or your HVAC breaking. Definitely no room to save for college and do this.

We pinch pennies and go to cheaper schools. That's basically it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In Arlington, the public option schools may meet your needs:

For middle school consider the HB lottery for 6th.

For public high school in Arlington you have rigorous option programs like IB @ WL. If anything parents complain it may be too rigorous. Also, due to enrollment imbalances, transfers between certain high schools are fairly easy this year.

You could also enter into the HB lottery for 9th grade. Or look into Arlington Tech for 9th—it’s a great and very unique program.

For progressive private schools, maybe look into GDS (Georgetown Day School). Or Edmund Burke School. The highly regarded Emerson Institute might have been a good fit but sadly they shut down during the pandemic.

Arlington parents have also paid tuition to DCPS in the past for the Duke Ellington School for the Arts. Of course there is an application process and auditions.

WTF? Emerson was for f**k ups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP - also in 400k HHI range. We have one child who currently is in fifth grade, and he has applied to private middle schools for next year because our public middle school and high school are not very good. Of course he might not get in, but we've applied pretty widely and hopefully will get in somewhere.

Now I'm starting to second-guess the financial wisdom of spending 50k/year for the next seven years. Our mortgage is about $3,900/month. We currently have been saving about $4,000/month outside of our 401Ks. We have about 170k in liquid savings (only recently started making 400k - had been closer to 250k until two years ago).

Is it crazy for us to spend so much money on private school at our income level? We had decided to do it, but now that we'll only have two weeks to decide for sure, we're getting cold feet.

Can't answer this without stating your:

1) total retirement savings
2) parents age
3) 529 savings and savings rate
4) prospect for income increases
5) one or two incomes
6) home equity

Different Poster but I'm having the same thoughts. We just started making in the 400k range and have always been huge public school proponents but after dealing with DCPAS for a number of years am considering private but keep getting cold feet.

I'll provide this info but please don't eviscerate me. I was raised blue collar and never had money growing up so it's a different feeling for me at least.

1. 1.7 mil retirement and investment bt me and my partner
2. Partner and I are 35 and 40
3. 529 savings 60k for 2 kids
4. 2 incomes - 1 can go up, 1 is about maxxed out
6. About 600k home equity

Also can't decide if private school is "worth it". Also, I'm pretty anti-catholic but the closest school is a Catholic school and so trying to negotiate my feelings about that.

A top private high school is worth it. Before that, no. Problem is it's harder to get in at ninth so you are taking a risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry if this has been asked before and I couldn't find it. We're in Arlington and very new to considering private school, because public isn't rigorous enough. We're poor by private school standards (upper 400s HHI), and I hate the thought of my daughters feeling "less than" or wanting designer clothes/cars/etc. to fit in. Catholic school wouldn't be ideal, because I think one of my kids is gay. Are there any schools you'd recommend with a nerdy, quirky, non-1%ter dominated vibe? Or resources you'd recommend for doing my own research? Thank you!

clearly a troll post

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Arlington, the public option schools may meet your needs:

For middle school consider the HB lottery for 6th.

For public high school in Arlington you have rigorous option programs like IB @ WL. If anything parents complain it may be too rigorous. Also, due to enrollment imbalances, transfers between certain high schools are fairly easy this year.

You could also enter into the HB lottery for 9th grade. Or look into Arlington Tech for 9th—it’s a great and very unique program.

For progressive private schools, maybe look into GDS (Georgetown Day School). Or Edmund Burke School. The highly regarded Emerson Institute might have been a good fit but sadly they shut down during the pandemic.

Arlington parents have also paid tuition to DCPS in the past for the Duke Ellington School for the Arts. Of course there is an application process and auditions.

WTF? Emerson was for f**k ups.

yeah, that was like an alternative–alternative school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was ready to offer some suggestions until I read that OP is “poor” making in the upper $400s. 🙄

Same! Has to be a troll. $400k is well-off OP

[Anonymous]

Rich people are ruining this country with smugness that contributes to how the world views America in a negative light.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're also around $400k and thinking through this question. Genuinely curious how the $200k people are doing this with no aid. We have two kids and tuition for them at some of these places would be roughly half or more than half of our take home pay, unless I'm doing the math wrong. That's a choice we could make but also leaves very little cushion for things like needing a new roof or your HVAC breaking. Definitely no room to save for college and do this.

One or two kids and we aren't living in expensive housing, traveling, driving expensive cars, etc. and/or family help.