Private school is a terrible ROI for middle class people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

Sounds like bs. You have no idea what outplacement results kids from the whole public and whole private have. Even if you did, enhanced college placement isn’t the point of private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

Sounds like bs. You have no idea what outplacement results kids from the whole public and whole private have. Even if you did, enhanced college placement isn’t the point of private.

Oh please. A lot of these privates list acceptances, not just outplacements. And it was a bunch of mediocre schools, which shouldn't be surprising when the test scores are also mediocre. If you're there for something other than academics, that's one thing, but academically it was not impressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

Sounds like bs. You have no idea what outplacement results kids from the whole public and whole private have. Even if you did, enhanced college placement isn’t the point of private.

Oh please. A lot of these privates list acceptances, not just outplacements. And it was a bunch of mediocre schools, which shouldn't be surprising when the test scores are also mediocre. If you're there for something other than academics, that's one thing, but academically it was not impressive.

Some kids post on Instagram. Feel free to share a link to the list of the full graduating class and their college placement publicly.

Maybe you’re just looking at mediocre privates and the kids don’t have good results. The same would be true for public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

This is VERY common. Go on any of the education forums and you will find this story over and over again. You can justify your decision all you want, but the fact of the matter is that Catholic schools are SIGNIFICANTLY stronger for English and Reading than public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

Sounds like bs. You have no idea what outplacement results kids from the whole public and whole private have. Even if you did, enhanced college placement isn’t the point of private.

Oh please. A lot of these privates list acceptances, not just outplacements. And it was a bunch of mediocre schools, which shouldn't be surprising when the test scores are also mediocre. If you're there for something other than academics, that's one thing, but academically it was not impressive.

LOL again very uninformed comment here. The middle to most elite private schools have matriculations that put even the best public schools to shame. Only 5% of matriculations at the strongest high schools in Bethesda area end up in T20 schools. It is 20 percent in my daughter's Catholic HS and 30% in some of the more elite high schools in the area. You should educate yourself before you chime in. And I am talking enrollment, not acceptances, so don't try to use that narrative with me. And I have no idea what kind of test scores you are trying to push here. No private school student takes any of the tests that public students take beyond the SAT/ACT. And those are self reported stats, which is not good data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

Sounds like bs. You have no idea what outplacement results kids from the whole public and whole private have. Even if you did, enhanced college placement isn’t the point of private.

Oh please. A lot of these privates list acceptances, not just outplacements. And it was a bunch of mediocre schools, which shouldn't be surprising when the test scores are also mediocre. If you're there for something other than academics, that's one thing, but academically it was not impressive.

LOL again very uninformed comment here. The middle to most elite private schools have matriculations that put even the best public schools to shame. Only 5% of matriculations at the strongest high schools in Bethesda area end up in T20 schools. It is 20 percent in my daughter's Catholic HS and 30% in some of the more elite high schools in the area. You should educate yourself before you chime in. And I am talking enrollment, not acceptances, so don't try to use that narrative with me. And I have no idea what kind of test scores you are trying to push here. No private school student takes any of the tests that public students take beyond the SAT/ACT. And those are self reported stats, which is not good data.

OK, you're clearly talking about a top well known school. The way PP was talking it gave the impression people could just go to ANY catholic HS and their kids would come out with 36 ACTs. Not happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

Sounds like bs. You have no idea what outplacement results kids from the whole public and whole private have. Even if you did, enhanced college placement isn’t the point of private.

Oh please. A lot of these privates list acceptances, not just outplacements. And it was a bunch of mediocre schools, which shouldn't be surprising when the test scores are also mediocre. If you're there for something other than academics, that's one thing, but academically it was not impressive.

LOL again very uninformed comment here. The middle to most elite private schools have matriculations that put even the best public schools to shame. Only 5% of matriculations at the strongest high schools in Bethesda area end up in T20 schools. It is 20 percent in my daughter's Catholic HS and 30% in some of the more elite high schools in the area. You should educate yourself before you chime in. And I am talking enrollment, not acceptances, so don't try to use that narrative with me. And I have no idea what kind of test scores you are trying to push here. No private school student takes any of the tests that public students take beyond the SAT/ACT. And those are self reported stats, which is not good data.

OK, you're clearly talking about a top well known school. The way PP was talking it gave the impression people could just go to ANY catholic HS and their kids would come out with 36 ACTs. Not happening.

The bottom line is that Catholic schools are known for teaching kids how to write, a sorely lost skill due to crappy standards in public schools...and they continue to erode. It doesn't matter if it is a small K-8 parish school or a tippy top independent K-12 -- the standards are the same and outperform public by miles. I am the PP and yes, my kid went to a top Catholic HS, but she went to a small parish K-8 before that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

Sounds like bs. You have no idea what outplacement results kids from the whole public and whole private have. Even if you did, enhanced college placement isn’t the point of private.

Oh please. A lot of these privates list acceptances, not just outplacements. And it was a bunch of mediocre schools, which shouldn't be surprising when the test scores are also mediocre. If you're there for something other than academics, that's one thing, but academically it was not impressive.

LOL again very uninformed comment here. The middle to most elite private schools have matriculations that put even the best public schools to shame. Only 5% of matriculations at the strongest high schools in Bethesda area end up in T20 schools. It is 20 percent in my daughter's Catholic HS and 30% in some of the more elite high schools in the area. You should educate yourself before you chime in. And I am talking enrollment, not acceptances, so don't try to use that narrative with me. And I have no idea what kind of test scores you are trying to push here. No private school student takes any of the tests that public students take beyond the SAT/ACT. And those are self reported stats, which is not good data.

OK, you're clearly talking about a top well known school. The way PP was talking it gave the impression people could just go to ANY catholic HS and their kids would come out with 36 ACTs. Not happening.

The bottom line is that Catholic schools are known for teaching kids how to write, a sorely lost skill due to crappy standards in public schools...and they continue to erode. It doesn't matter if it is a small K-8 parish school or a tippy top independent K-12 -- the standards are the same and outperform public by miles. I am the PP and yes, my kid went to a top Catholic HS, but she went to a small parish K-8 before that.

I think there is something to this. But unfortunately it is also true that catholic schools generally are woefully poor in math and science. Ask me how I know…

[Anonymous]

I regret sending my DD to private school that cost more than 60K a year. We don't belong there. We pull DD out at grade 11. DD was there from grade 6 to 10. She sees how top 1% live and friendship cannot last long bc of life style. Entitled kids with different lifestyle and doesn't need to work.

[Anonymous]

As a lower middle class kid you went to private for 12 long years, I agree. It was a lot of money wasted which could have been used to send me to a better college or just for a happier family life.

While I did receive a decent education, going to the local public school would have been significantly better for me from a social and general development standpoint. I could not participate in extracurriculars because I didn't have transportation other than the private school bus, I could do after school activities, my parents didn't fit in or participate socially which limited my experience at school.

[Anonymous]

Not everyone wants their kids on screens all day or reading Pride Puppy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

This is what I don’t understand … Private school doesn’t help your chances of getting into college (unless families are big donors to the college)… everyone I know who went to public schools are successful adults. Feels like we would be pissing away money if we sent our kids to private. We are top 5% income in this country (which doesn’t mean crap in DC anyway). Life is so expensive in general and you never know when you’re going to run into a financial minefield (caring for elderly parents and those associated expenses for one).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

Sounds like bs. You have no idea what outplacement results kids from the whole public and whole private have. Even if you did, enhanced college placement isn’t the point of private.

Oh please. A lot of these privates list acceptances, not just outplacements. And it was a bunch of mediocre schools, which shouldn't be surprising when the test scores are also mediocre. If you're there for something other than academics, that's one thing, but academically it was not impressive.

LOL again very uninformed comment here. The middle to most elite private schools have matriculations that put even the best public schools to shame. Only 5% of matriculations at the strongest high schools in Bethesda area end up in T20 schools. It is 20 percent in my daughter's Catholic HS and 30% in some of the more elite high schools in the area. You should educate yourself before you chime in. And I am talking enrollment, not acceptances, so don't try to use that narrative with me. And I have no idea what kind of test scores you are trying to push here. No private school student takes any of the tests that public students take beyond the SAT/ACT. And those are self reported stats, which is not good data.

The top privates, yes. The middle? No. And you know why that is? Because there is a concentration among the top privates of Ivy alumni and wealthy parents who can pay to package their kids' applications.

Don't lie to yourself, PP. If you don't have money to burn, and did not attend XYZ yourself, your kid has a better chance at getting into a top college from public, not a top private. Maybe yours was the exception.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

Sounds like bs. You have no idea what outplacement results kids from the whole public and whole private have. Even if you did, enhanced college placement isn’t the point of private.

Oh please. A lot of these privates list acceptances, not just outplacements. And it was a bunch of mediocre schools, which shouldn't be surprising when the test scores are also mediocre. If you're there for something other than academics, that's one thing, but academically it was not impressive.

LOL again very uninformed comment here. The middle to most elite private schools have matriculations that put even the best public schools to shame. Only 5% of matriculations at the strongest high schools in Bethesda area end up in T20 schools. It is 20 percent in my daughter's Catholic HS and 30% in some of the more elite high schools in the area. You should educate yourself before you chime in. And I am talking enrollment, not acceptances, so don't try to use that narrative with me. And I have no idea what kind of test scores you are trying to push here. No private school student takes any of the tests that public students take beyond the SAT/ACT. And those are self reported stats, which is not good data.

The top privates, yes. The middle? No. And you know why that is? Because there is a concentration among the top privates of Ivy alumni and wealthy parents who can pay to package their kids' applications.

Don't lie to yourself, PP. If you don't have money to burn, and did not attend XYZ yourself, your kid has a better chance at getting into a top college from public, not a top private. Maybe yours was the exception.

100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine is 15k. A bargain! You need to find the no frills ones that provide a strong academic foundation at a reasonable cost.

I think that thing doesn’t exist.

Yeah, I think most parochial schools are pretty meh. If you're interested in the religious foundation, that's one thing (although couldn't you just use free Sunday school)?

For many, the religious aspect is secondary to the MUCH higher expectations that Catholic schools have for their students. That's mostly what I was paying for. My son (called a loser previously) gave exactly what was expected and got straight As in public school. The work he handed in was most definitely not A work. He coasted through school thinking the work he was doing was fantastic when it wasn't. The straight As disappeared when he got to Catholic school. He had to work MUCH harder to get Bs. He developed an actual work ethic. The public school policies of retakes and no late penalties are awful for developing actual EF skills.

This was our experience going from public middle school to Catholic HS. Our son was very strong in math but his writing skills were horrendous despite getting As on all his writing projects. In HS he actually learned how to write. My younger one went to Catholic throughout elementary into HS and she is a great writer by comparison. Aced the ACT english and reading sections with a 36 with no prep.

This is not common. Many of the private schools I looked at had worse test results than our assigned public school. College admission results were also not that impressive. And that's after cherry picking the kids they accept. I couldn't find much justification.

This is what I don’t understand … Private school doesn’t help your chances of getting into college (unless families are big donors to the college)… everyone I know who went to public schools are successful adults. Feels like we would be pissing away money if we sent our kids to private. We are top 5% income in this country (which doesn’t mean crap in DC anyway). Life is so expensive in general and you never know when you’re going to run into a financial minefield (caring for elderly parents and those associated expenses for one).

My first job in this area had a lot of local Catholic school grads but also a lot of FCPS/APS grads. I attended public out of state. Looks like we all ended up in the same place anyway.