Perennial Is Private Better?
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Anonymous
| I would just stay the course where you are. Agreed with PPs that you can't really pick and choose how to spend grandparent's money. She may think private high school is where she wants to contribute. If/when you're facing decisions about college, you can figure out which things you're willing to give up if it comes to that. FWIW, colleges do not expect you to raid your retirement funds to pay for school, and they do take into consideration debts for real estate, etc. But honestly a good first step would just be to sit down with a financial planner and get a handle on your finances in the short term--even if you don't end up needing that money for college, there may be a lot of ways you can rein in your spending and better use or invest your money. It's a high cost area, yes, but $300K is still a very high HHI to have little left at the end if you're not paying for school, so I'd take a good look at that first, and focus on redirecting some of that to college savings. |
Anonymous
| Thanks guys very helpful. |
Anonymous
If she's subbing she has a job. |
Anonymous
|
My children go to a highly rated private school but I don't think an ivy is any of their futures. There are too many legacy kids in their classes. My brilliant and well rounded kids without a legacy aren't going to get in when there are a small handful of brilliant and well rounded legacies in their same pool of applicants.
Are you perhaps worrying about a future that is unlikely? |
pbraverman
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Two points occur to me. First: There are advantages to private school and advantages to public school. In general, the former include smaller classes, participation in more activities and athletics, access to teachers and administrators, and (usually) highly capable college counseling. In general, the latter include big-time sports, living closer to your child's friends, a more "real world" sense of how the bureaucracy works — and the money to pay for independent college counseling (!). As with car shopping, you can't have the Accord with the Camry's transmission. You have to pick one set of advantages; you can't mix and match. Second: If you prefer independent schools, and have limited funding for whatever reason, I would advocate spending that money as early as possible. What your children learn at an early age influences their view of the world and stays with them forever. My own children attended independent schools through grade 8 (one graduates this year), and MCPS thereafter. While MCPS was certainly not as fond an experience for the older, what she learned from ten years at an independent lower school has influenced every part of her life, from her ethical sensibilities, to an ability to play to strengths and compensate for weaknesses, to the way she approaches a calculus problem she doesn't understand at first. Obviously, I'm sure reasonable people will disagree. There are advantages to spending the money later, but, as above, you have to choose the set of advantages that makes most sense to you. Peter _____________________ Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I have counseled hundreds of students in finding their next schools. I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students and parents ahead of you.  If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com
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Anonymous
| the problem with this question: there is no universal answer, only personal ones. Every family does what works best for their kid, and their family. As much as I want to bash my stupid brother in law for the choices he makes, his situation is totally different than ours, and in HIS situation, the decisions make (some) sense. |
Anonymous
| I agree with the post that says perhaps you should see a financial advisor to get a handle on where your money is going. We have 3 kids and make the same income as you. We do public school as we would have to pay for private ourselves. However, we are saving for college and hope to be able to pay full for public or private for all 3 kids (assuming small amount of loans + kid working during school year and summers for spending money). |