Choosing not to go to Beauvoir

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Just for a point reference so we are all on the same page--what in your book qualifies as middle class? It seems like peoples definition of middle class runs the gamut especially in DC.

In NW DC, Middle class is : college educated , earning between 75 K and 300K a year ( oro slightly less than 75 K if you are a teacher or gov't employee .

I'm a college educated teacher (with a Master's) who makes more than slightly less ($60K). Do I qualify as middle class? If so, what in God's name do I have in common with people who make $300K?

I was wondering the same thing. I am married to a teacher who is in the exact same position as you education wise and salary wise. I am a government attorney so our HHI is close to $175K. His coworkers (who don't know what I do for a living) constantly question how he can afford to live where we do (which is not some rich fancy area) or how he can afford to drive the car he does (a 2005 car with 200,000 miles). When he tells me this I seriously wonder how a single teacher or even two married teachers are living a so called middle class lifestyle? Sorry, but $75K a year is NOT middle class. I do consider my husband and I to be middle class, but given our student loans (over $300K) we are teetering on the lower middle class side. The only thing I have in commone with someone who makes $300K is that my student loan bill is that high. LOL

That being said, as you commented in your most recent post we too are committed to sending our DC to private school even if that means working a second job to make it happen.

New poster here. I just read the thread above and wanted to offer a little advice to the poster (the government attorney married to the teacher). They have an HHI of 175K, and they have students loans of $300K! That student loan figure is staggering. Nevertheless, they say they are committed to sending their DC to private school even if working a second job to make it happen.

I work as a financial planner. Forgive the unsolicited advice, but it is imperative that you not spend any money on private school tuition. Instead, you should be focusing on the student loans. If you can get full financial aid for your children, then go ahead and send them to private school. But with that amount of student loans, you'll greatly regret it later if you spend money on tuition. If your public schools are not good where you live, then you should move. At your salaries, it's not like you're making a great income now as it is. I would just try to move to a place where there is a lower cost of living.

What kinds of colleges/universities did you attend? Was it worth it to go to those particular schools? Perhaps not for the income you're making.

[Anonymous]

Another vote here for following your own experiences instead of reputation. We almost didn't tour Beauvoir b/c of the reputation. On the first tour, we met another prospective parent who reinforced all of the stereotypes, and while we enjoyed the tour, we were turned off. But we decided to go back to their Open House (do they still do that?) and were so, so impressed by the teachers. So we decided to apply, DD loved her playdate, and was admitted. We have now had two kids there, and are so happy we chose to look beyond the stereotypes. We have had FA some years, but not others.

Sure, there are snobs there, but where in DC privates aren't there? Most people, though, are incredibly kind and welcoming, and we've made some great friends we (and DCs) expect to keep for years.

Trust your own judgment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Just for a point reference so we are all on the same page--what in your book qualifies as middle class? It seems like peoples definition of middle class runs the gamut especially in DC.

In NW DC, Middle class is : college educated , earning between 75 K and 300K a year ( oro slightly less than 75 K if you are a teacher or gov't employee .

I'm a college educated teacher (with a Master's) who makes more than slightly less ($60K). Do I qualify as middle class? If so, what in God's name do I have in common with people who make $300K?

I was wondering the same thing. I am married to a teacher who is in the exact same position as you education wise and salary wise. I am a government attorney so our HHI is close to $175K. His coworkers (who don't know what I do for a living) constantly question how he can afford to live where we do (which is not some rich fancy area) or how he can afford to drive the car he does (a 2005 car with 200,000 miles). When he tells me this I seriously wonder how a single teacher or even two married teachers are living a so called middle class lifestyle? Sorry, but $75K a year is NOT middle class. I do consider my husband and I to be middle class, but given our student loans (over $300K) we are teetering on the lower middle class side. The only thing I have in commone with someone who makes $300K is that my student loan bill is that high. LOL

That being said, as you commented in your most recent post we too are committed to sending our DC to private school even if that means working a second job to make it happen.

New poster here. I just read the thread above and wanted to offer a little advice to the poster (the government attorney married to the teacher). They have an HHI of 175K, and they have students loans of $300K! That student loan figure is staggering. Nevertheless, they say they are committed to sending their DC to private school even if working a second job to make it happen.

I work as a financial planner. Forgive the unsolicited advice, but it is imperative that you not spend any money on private school tuition. Instead, you should be focusing on the student loans. If you can get full financial aid for your children, then go ahead and send them to private school. But with that amount of student loans, you'll greatly regret it later if you spend money on tuition. If your public schools are not good where you live, then you should move. At your salaries, it's not like you're making a great income now as it is. I would just try to move to a place where there is a lower cost of living.

What kinds of colleges/universities did you attend? Was it worth it to go to those particular schools? Perhaps not for the income you're making.

While I appreciate your advise as a financial planner it's not what we are going to do. First, we don't anticipate ever being able to zero out our student loan balances. So we will pay on them what we can and have accepted it's a lifetime debt we are going to have. However, to the extent we can make other sacrifices to afford a good education for our children then we will make them. That being what it is, We would move if it where a reasonable option but it's not. We wouldn't reduce our monthly mortgage amount even if we moved. Relatively speaking our mortgage is reasonable. I checked current rent prices in the surrounding areas and to move into a better school district would actually cost us more per month even if we were renting a 2 bedroom apartment.

We both went to top 25 universities for undergrad and law/graduate school. In hindsight no it wasn't the best decision given the career paths we chose. However, as first generation college students we didn't know any better. We certainly wouldn't advise our
Children to do the same. The bulk of the loans are mine from law school. We do hope to pay down my husbands at some point (a portion will be forgiven after a certain time period) but that's only going to move the needle marginally. Either way I won't be held hostage by my student loans and I'm certainly not going to move my kids in a ghetto over them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Just for a point reference so we are all on the same page--what in your book qualifies as middle class? It seems like peoples definition of middle class runs the gamut especially in DC.

In NW DC, Middle class is : college educated , earning between 75 K and 300K a year ( oro slightly less than 75 K if you are a teacher or gov't employee .

I'm a college educated teacher (with a Master's) who makes more than slightly less ($60K). Do I qualify as middle class? If so, what in God's name do I have in common with people who make $300K?

I was wondering the same thing. I am married to a teacher who is in the exact same position as you education wise and salary wise. I am a government attorney so our HHI is close to $175K. His coworkers (who don't know what I do for a living) constantly question how he can afford to live where we do (which is not some rich fancy area) or how he can afford to drive the car he does (a 2005 car with 200,000 miles). When he tells me this I seriously wonder how a single teacher or even two married teachers are living a so called middle class lifestyle? Sorry, but $75K a year is NOT middle class. I do consider my husband and I to be middle class, but given our student loans (over $300K) we are teetering on the lower middle class side. The only thing I have in commone with someone who makes $300K is that my student loan bill is that high. LOL

That being said, as you commented in your most recent post we too are committed to sending our DC to private school even if that means working a second job to make it happen.

New poster here. I just read the thread above and wanted to offer a little advice to the poster (the government attorney married to the teacher). They have an HHI of 175K, and they have students loans of $300K! That student loan figure is staggering. Nevertheless, they say they are committed to sending their DC to private school even if working a second job to make it happen.

I work as a financial planner. Forgive the unsolicited advice, but it is imperative that you not spend any money on private school tuition. Instead, you should be focusing on the student loans. If you can get full financial aid for your children, then go ahead and send them to private school. But with that amount of student loans, you'll greatly regret it later if you spend money on tuition. If your public schools are not good where you live, then you should move. At your salaries, it's not like you're making a great income now as it is. I would just try to move to a place where there is a lower cost of living.

What kinds of colleges/universities did you attend? Was it worth it to go to those particular schools? Perhaps not for the income you're making.

I've got a better idea for the PP. If you are an excellent teacher, why not look for a job at a top tier ( re: deep endowment ) Private that shows its respect for teachers where it counts: tuition remission, 503B matching, mortgage assistance and professional development.

Play your cards right and your kids can get an excellent education and you never have to leave Petworth, Bloomingdale, Ledroit Park, NOMA or CoHi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Just for a point reference so we are all on the same page--what in your book qualifies as middle class? It seems like peoples definition of middle class runs the gamut especially in DC.

In NW DC, Middle class is : college educated , earning between 75 K and 300K a year ( oro slightly less than 75 K if you are a teacher or gov't employee .

I'm a college educated teacher (with a Master's) who makes more than slightly less ($60K). Do I qualify as middle class? If so, what in God's name do I have in common with people who make $300K?

I was wondering the same thing. I am married to a teacher who is in the exact same position as you education wise and salary wise. I am a government attorney so our HHI is close to $175K. His coworkers (who don't know what I do for a living) constantly question how he can afford to live where we do (which is not some rich fancy area) or how he can afford to drive the car he does (a 2005 car with 200,000 miles). When he tells me this I seriously wonder how a single teacher or even two married teachers are living a so called middle class lifestyle? Sorry, but $75K a year is NOT middle class. I do consider my husband and I to be middle class, but given our student loans (over $300K) we are teetering on the lower middle class side. The only thing I have in commone with someone who makes $300K is that my student loan bill is that high. LOL

That being said, as you commented in your most recent post we too are committed to sending our DC to private school even if that means working a second job to make it happen.

New poster here. I just read the thread above and wanted to offer a little advice to the poster (the government attorney married to the teacher). They have an HHI of 175K, and they have students loans of $300K! That student loan figure is staggering. Nevertheless, they say they are committed to sending their DC to private school even if working a second job to make it happen.

I work as a financial planner. Forgive the unsolicited advice, but it is imperative that you not spend any money on private school tuition. Instead, you should be focusing on the student loans. If you can get full financial aid for your children, then go ahead and send them to private school. But with that amount of student loans, you'll greatly regret it later if you spend money on tuition. If your public schools are not good where you live, then you should move. At your salaries, it's not like you're making a great income now as it is. I would just try to move to a place where there is a lower cost of living.

What kinds of colleges/universities did you attend? Was it worth it to go to those particular schools? Perhaps not for the income you're making.

While I appreciate your advise as a financial planner it's not what we are going to do. First, we don't anticipate ever being able to zero out our student loan balances. So we will pay on them what we can and have accepted it's a lifetime debt we are going to have. However, to the extent we can make other sacrifices to afford a good education for our children then we will make them. That being what it is, We would move if it where a reasonable option but it's not. We wouldn't reduce our monthly mortgage amount even if we moved. Relatively speaking our mortgage is reasonable. I checked current rent prices in the surrounding areas and to move into a better school district would actually cost us more per month even if we were renting a 2 bedroom apartment.

We both went to top 25 universities for undergrad and law/graduate school. In hindsight no it wasn't the best decision given the career paths we chose. However, as first generation college students we didn't know any better. We certainly wouldn't advise our
Children to do the same. The bulk of the loans are mine from law school. We do hope to pay down my husbands at some point (a portion will be forgiven after a certain time period) but that's only going to move the needle marginally. Either way I won't be held hostage by my student loans and I'm certainly not going to move my kids in a ghetto over them.

Your life choices suck!

[Anonymous]

I am confused. Your mortgage right now plus tuition (for 2? You mention kids in the plural) is equal to what rent costs for a 2 BR in a good school district. How is that possible? You can rent a 2 BR in a good school district for $2K. Even if your current mortgage is zero, you'd have to get huge amounts of financial aid to get down to $2K tuition, and awards that big are rare. Plus that doesn't take into account the fact that you would get more income for renting out your home.

I'm not saying you should do it, but your logic as to why it's not a possibility makes no sense at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We chose NPS instead as well.

We got turned off by the NPS admissions reps this year. We really like Beauvoir, so that's our first choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We chose NPS instead as well.

We got turned off by the NPS admissions reps this year. We really like Beauvoir, so that's our first choice.

We love it! Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

As a Beauvoir parent, this thread is CRAZY. Of course there are all types of people at Beauvoir (insert your choice: wealthy, snobby, liberal, conservative, rude, nice, etc.) just like any other independent school. Beauvoir does not have the market cornered on any of these "types". Any school that costs as much as independents do in DC is going to have some really wealthy people. We are in our second year at the school and have not had any negative experiences save one with a parent I've known since the preschool 2s. As an adult, you choose the people you interact with, right? There are plenty to choose from.

In terms of FA, I have absolutely no idea who had it and who doesn't. And I don't care!! And most importantly, my kid doesn't know and doesn't care either. She is having a fantastic experience and we feel fortunate to be there. I have never seen faculty and staff so engaged with children. It's a great school...for my child. If it's not for you, that's fine. But to put a blanket stereotype of snobbery and elitism on the community--it's simply not the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
New poster here. I just read the thread above and wanted to offer a little advice to the poster (the government attorney married to the teacher). They have an HHI of 175K, and they have students loans of $300K! That student loan figure is staggering. Nevertheless, they say they are committed to sending their DC to private school even if working a second job to make it happen.

I work as a financial planner. Forgive the unsolicited advice, but it is imperative that you not spend any money on private school tuition. Instead, you should be focusing on the student loans. If you can get full financial aid for your children, then go ahead and send them to private school. But with that amount of student loans, you'll greatly regret it later if you spend money on tuition. If your public schools are not good where you live, then you should move. At your salaries, it's not like you're making a great income now as it is. I would just try to move to a place where there is a lower cost of living.

What kinds of colleges/universities did you attend? Was it worth it to go to those particular schools? Perhaps not for the income you're making.

While I appreciate your advise as a financial planner it's not what we are going to do. First, we don't anticipate ever being able to zero out our student loan balances. So we will pay on them what we can and have accepted it's a lifetime debt we are going to have. However, to the extent we can make other sacrifices to afford a good education for our children then we will make them. That being what it is, We would move if it where a reasonable option but it's not. We wouldn't reduce our monthly mortgage amount even if we moved. Relatively speaking our mortgage is reasonable. I checked current rent prices in the surrounding areas and to move into a better school district would actually cost us more per month even if we were renting a 2 bedroom apartment.

We both went to top 25 universities for undergrad and law/graduate school. In hindsight no it wasn't the best decision given the career paths we chose. However, as first generation college students we didn't know any better. We certainly wouldn't advise our
Children to do the same. The bulk of the loans are mine from law school. We do hope to pay down my husbands at some point (a portion will be forgiven after a certain time period) but that's only going to move the needle marginally. Either way I won't be held hostage by my student loans and I'm certainly not going to move my kids in a ghetto over them.

You're making another financial mistake here. You should calculate your mortgage + children's tuition vs rent/mortgage in neighborhood with good schools. I seriously doubt that if you calculate it this way, that sending your kids to private school is worth it. Tuition for two + aftercare (which you will need, esp if you are planning on working a second job) will easily come to $6500/month. That alone will get you an amazing house in the area's best school district. Also, if you consider the cost of summer programs (which you will also need, since you are working all year around), various fees, school events, birthday parties, school parties, auctions, etc., you should expect to add on an additional $2-3K/child/year. Please think twice about this. It's really not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
New poster here. I just read the thread above and wanted to offer a little advice to the poster (the government attorney married to the teacher). They have an HHI of 175K, and they have students loans of $300K! That student loan figure is staggering. Nevertheless, they say they are committed to sending their DC to private school even if working a second job to make it happen.

I work as a financial planner. Forgive the unsolicited advice, but it is imperative that you not spend any money on private school tuition. Instead, you should be focusing on the student loans. If you can get full financial aid for your children, then go ahead and send them to private school. But with that amount of student loans, you'll greatly regret it later if you spend money on tuition. If your public schools are not good where you live, then you should move. At your salaries, it's not like you're making a great income now as it is. I would just try to move to a place where there is a lower cost of living.

What kinds of colleges/universities did you attend? Was it worth it to go to those particular schools? Perhaps not for the income you're making.

While I appreciate your advise as a financial planner it's not what we are going to do. First, we don't anticipate ever being able to zero out our student loan balances. So we will pay on them what we can and have accepted it's a lifetime debt we are going to have. However, to the extent we can make other sacrifices to afford a good education for our children then we will make them. That being what it is, We would move if it where a reasonable option but it's not. We wouldn't reduce our monthly mortgage amount even if we moved. Relatively speaking our mortgage is reasonable. I checked current rent prices in the surrounding areas and to move into a better school district would actually cost us more per month even if we were renting a 2 bedroom apartment.

We both went to top 25 universities for undergrad and law/graduate school. In hindsight no it wasn't the best decision given the career paths we chose. However, as first generation college students we didn't know any better. We certainly wouldn't advise our
Children to do the same. The bulk of the loans are mine from law school. We do hope to pay down my husbands at some point (a portion will be forgiven after a certain time period) but that's only going to move the needle marginally. Either way I won't be held hostage by my student loans and I'm certainly not going to move my kids in a ghetto over them.

You're making another financial mistake here. You should calculate your mortgage + children's tuition vs rent/mortgage in neighborhood with good schools. I seriously doubt that if you calculate it this way, that sending your kids to private school is worth it. Tuition for two + aftercare (which you will need, esp if you are planning on working a second job) will easily come to $6500/month. That alone will get you an amazing house in the area's best school district. Also, if you consider the cost of summer programs (which you will also need, since you are working all year around), various fees, school events, birthday parties, school parties, auctions, etc., you should expect to add on an additional $2-3K/child/year. Please think twice about this. It's really not worth it.

There is no financial aid for mortgage or rent. While I appreciate what you are saying I'm not willing to dump our entire salary into a mortgage. God forbid something happened we can always ditch private school, but ditching a mortgage we have for at least 30 years won't be as easy. I have friends who made the decision to do exactly as you suggest and they are no more comfortable financially than we would be with private school tuition, and they too still have the added costs you mention. The reality is proving our kids a quality education will be a sacrifice either way. We currently pay mortgage and expensive daycare fairly comfortably. If we can keep our monthly payments in the same range (which of course we will need some FA to do) then it's doable. The headache of trying to sell or rent a home and find another in a good area that we can afford is more of a headache to me. I get its not what you would advise but it's a more comfortable approach for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Just for a point reference so we are all on the same page--what in your book qualifies as middle class? It seems like peoples definition of middle class runs the gamut especially in DC.

In NW DC, Middle class is : college educated , earning between 75 K and 300K a year ( oro slightly less than 75 K if you are a teacher or gov't employee .

I'm a college educated teacher (with a Master's) who makes more than slightly less ($60K). Do I qualify as middle class? If so, what in God's name do I have in common with people who make $300K?

I was wondering the same thing. I am married to a teacher who is in the exact same position as you education wise and salary wise. I am a government attorney so our HHI is close to $175K. His coworkers (who don't know what I do for a living) constantly question how he can afford to live where we do (which is not some rich fancy area) or how he can afford to drive the car he does (a 2005 car with 200,000 miles). When he tells me this I seriously wonder how a single teacher or even two married teachers are living a so called middle class lifestyle? Sorry, but $75K a year is NOT middle class. I do consider my husband and I to be middle class, but given our student loans (over $300K) we are teetering on the lower middle class side. The only thing I have in commone with someone who makes $300K is that my student loan bill is that high. LOL

That being said, as you commented in your most recent post we too are committed to sending our DC to private school even if that means working a second job to make it happen.

New poster here. I just read the thread above and wanted to offer a little advice to the poster (the government attorney married to the teacher). They have an HHI of 175K, and they have students loans of $300K! That student loan figure is staggering. Nevertheless, they say they are committed to sending their DC to private school even if working a second job to make it happen.

I work as a financial planner. Forgive the unsolicited advice, but it is imperative that you not spend any money on private school tuition. Instead, you should be focusing on the student loans. If you can get full financial aid for your children, then go ahead and send them to private school. But with that amount of student loans, you'll greatly regret it later if you spend money on tuition. If your public schools are not good where you live, then you should move. At your salaries, it's not like you're making a great income now as it is. I would just try to move to a place where there is a lower cost of living.

What kinds of colleges/universities did you attend? Was it worth it to go to those particular schools? Perhaps not for the income you're making.

While I appreciate your advise as a financial planner it's not what we are going to do. First, we don't anticipate ever being able to zero out our student loan balances. So we will pay on them what we can and have accepted it's a lifetime debt we are going to have. However, to the extent we can make other sacrifices to afford a good education for our children then we will make them. That being what it is, We would move if it where a reasonable option but it's not. We wouldn't reduce our monthly mortgage amount even if we moved. Relatively speaking our mortgage is reasonable. I checked current rent prices in the surrounding areas and to move into a better school district would actually cost us more per month even if we were renting a 2 bedroom apartment.

We both went to top 25 universities for undergrad and law/graduate school. In hindsight no it wasn't the best decision given the career paths we chose. However, as first generation college students we didn't know any better. We certainly wouldn't advise our
Children to do the same. The bulk of the loans are mine from law school. We do hope to pay down my husbands at some point (a portion will be forgiven after a certain time period) but that's only going to move the needle marginally. Either way I won't be held hostage by my student loans and I'm certainly not going to move my kids in a ghetto over them.

Your life choices suck!

And I'm sure all of yours have been brilliant. LOL. Good thing your opinion matters NONE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Just for a point reference so we are all on the same page--what in your book qualifies as middle class? It seems like peoples definition of middle class runs the gamut especially in DC.

In NW DC, Middle class is : college educated , earning between 75 K and 300K a year ( oro slightly less than 75 K if you are a teacher or gov't employee .

I'm a college educated teacher (with a Master's) who makes more than slightly less ($60K). Do I qualify as middle class? If so, what in God's name do I have in common with people who make $300K?

I was wondering the same thing. I am married to a teacher who is in the exact same position as you education wise and salary wise. I am a government attorney so our HHI is close to $175K. His coworkers (who don't know what I do for a living) constantly question how he can afford to live where we do (which is not some rich fancy area) or how he can afford to drive the car he does (a 2005 car with 200,000 miles). When he tells me this I seriously wonder how a single teacher or even two married teachers are living a so called middle class lifestyle? Sorry, but $75K a year is NOT middle class. I do consider my husband and I to be middle class, but given our student loans (over $300K) we are teetering on the lower middle class side. The only thing I have in commone with someone who makes $300K is that my student loan bill is that high. LOL

That being said, as you commented in your most recent post we too are committed to sending our DC to private school even if that means working a second job to make it happen.

New poster here. I just read the thread above and wanted to offer a little advice to the poster (the government attorney married to the teacher). They have an HHI of 175K, and they have students loans of $300K! That student loan figure is staggering. Nevertheless, they say they are committed to sending their DC to private school even if working a second job to make it happen.

I work as a financial planner. Forgive the unsolicited advice, but it is imperative that you not spend any money on private school tuition. Instead, you should be focusing on the student loans. If you can get full financial aid for your children, then go ahead and send them to private school. But with that amount of student loans, you'll greatly regret it later if you spend money on tuition. If your public schools are not good where you live, then you should move. At your salaries, it's not like you're making a great income now as it is. I would just try to move to a place where there is a lower cost of living.

What kinds of colleges/universities did you attend? Was it worth it to go to those particular schools? Perhaps not for the income you're making.

While I appreciate your advise as a financial planner it's not what we are going to do. First, we don't anticipate ever being able to zero out our student loan balances. So we will pay on them what we can and have accepted it's a lifetime debt we are going to have. However, to the extent we can make other sacrifices to afford a good education for our children then we will make them. That being what it is, We would move if it where a reasonable option but it's not. We wouldn't reduce our monthly mortgage amount even if we moved. Relatively speaking our mortgage is reasonable. I checked current rent prices in the surrounding areas and to move into a better school district would actually cost us more per month even if we were renting a 2 bedroom apartment.

We both went to top 25 universities for undergrad and law/graduate school. In hindsight no it wasn't the best decision given the career paths we chose. However, as first generation college students we didn't know any better. We certainly wouldn't advise our
Children to do the same. The bulk of the loans are mine from law school. We do hope to pay down my husbands at some point (a portion will be forgiven after a certain time period) but that's only going to move the needle marginally. Either way I won't be held hostage by my student loans and I'm certainly not going to move my kids in a ghetto over them.

Your life choices suck!

And I'm sure all of yours have been brilliant. LOL. Good thing your opinion matters NONE.

Can you two start your own thread? You have hijacked this thread and neither of your children attend Beauvoir.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
New poster here. I just read the thread above and wanted to offer a little advice to the poster (the government attorney married to the teacher). They have an HHI of 175K, and they have students loans of $300K! That student loan figure is staggering. Nevertheless, they say they are committed to sending their DC to private school even if working a second job to make it happen.

I work as a financial planner. Forgive the unsolicited advice, but it is imperative that you not spend any money on private school tuition. Instead, you should be focusing on the student loans. If you can get full financial aid for your children, then go ahead and send them to private school. But with that amount of student loans, you'll greatly regret it later if you spend money on tuition. If your public schools are not good where you live, then you should move. At your salaries, it's not like you're making a great income now as it is. I would just try to move to a place where there is a lower cost of living.

What kinds of colleges/universities did you attend? Was it worth it to go to those particular schools? Perhaps not for the income you're making.

While I appreciate your advise as a financial planner it's not what we are going to do. First, we don't anticipate ever being able to zero out our student loan balances. So we will pay on them what we can and have accepted it's a lifetime debt we are going to have. However, to the extent we can make other sacrifices to afford a good education for our children then we will make them. That being what it is, We would move if it where a reasonable option but it's not. We wouldn't reduce our monthly mortgage amount even if we moved. Relatively speaking our mortgage is reasonable. I checked current rent prices in the surrounding areas and to move into a better school district would actually cost us more per month even if we were renting a 2 bedroom apartment.

We both went to top 25 universities for undergrad and law/graduate school. In hindsight no it wasn't the best decision given the career paths we chose. However, as first generation college students we didn't know any better. We certainly wouldn't advise our
Children to do the same. The bulk of the loans are mine from law school. We do hope to pay down my husbands at some point (a portion will be forgiven after a certain time period) but that's only going to move the needle marginally. Either way I won't be held hostage by my student loans and I'm certainly not going to move my kids in a ghetto over them.

You're making another financial mistake here. You should calculate your mortgage + children's tuition vs rent/mortgage in neighborhood with good schools. I seriously doubt that if you calculate it this way, that sending your kids to private school is worth it. Tuition for two + aftercare (which you will need, esp if you are planning on working a second job) will easily come to $6500/month. That alone will get you an amazing house in the area's best school district. Also, if you consider the cost of summer programs (which you will also need, since you are working all year around), various fees, school events, birthday parties, school parties, auctions, etc., you should expect to add on an additional $2-3K/child/year. Please think twice about this. It's really not worth it.

There is no financial aid for mortgage or rent. While I appreciate what you are saying I'm not willing to dump our entire salary into a mortgage. God forbid something happened we can always ditch private school, but ditching a mortgage we have for at least 30 years won't be as easy. I have friends who made the decision to do exactly as you suggest and they are no more comfortable financially than we would be with private school tuition, and they too still have the added costs you mention. The reality is proving our kids a quality education will be a sacrifice either way. We currently pay mortgage and expensive daycare fairly comfortably. If we can keep our monthly payments in the same range (which of course we will need some FA to do) then it's doable. The headache of trying to sell or rent a home and find another in a good area that we can afford is more of a headache to me. I get its not what you would advise but it's a more comfortable approach for me.

FYI, you are not going to be able to keep your monthly payments in the same range. Tuition at Beauvior is $38K, and aftercare is going to cost you an additional $3k/year. For two children, that will cost $80K+ (especially if you include summer camps). Even expensive daycare in DC is only about half of that for two children. You realize that you will need FA in the range of 50-60% to maintain your current lifestyle? Also, home equity does count against you for FA.

[Anonymous]

As a lower middle class recipient of FA, I would like to point out the FA is not just for the family and child; the reason the top schools give generous financial aid is to attract students who can make a big contribution to their communities bringing diversity (racial, ethnic, cultural and economic), high intellect, leadership capacities, empathy and in some cases special talents and abilities. If the community did not have such students the learning environment would not be as good for all students.