Reply to Is it really worth it to pay a premium for a house in a top school pyramid?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Honestly, buy in the best district you can afford that makes sense for your commute.  The rest of it is just noise.

We bought as close to our commute midpoints as we could within our budget.  The neighborhood has a well regarded elementary and middle school within walking distance.  The high school (also walking distance) is middle of the pack for FCPS, but that is still pretty darn good.  McLean and some of the other places with the better reputations made no sense for us commute-wise, and we couldn't have had a house with a yard there, anyway.

People get way too wrapped up in the "best of the best" here.  A good student can do well at any FCPS school.  The socioeconomics of the surrounding student body is the biggest difference among the schools, and in most cases, there is a high achieving, motivated group somewhere there.  Just have your son involved in activities, get to know the other parents, etc.  I grew up in a less affluent area, and still managed to do quite well in school as my parents were involved  in my life.  I never got in trouble and had a good group of friends.

The high-scoring schools have problems, too - just a different variety.[/quote]

Another one who agrees with this.  Plus, if you have a good student at a not-so-perfect school, that helps in the college application process.  The ones who shine at the not top 5  high schools often get into colleges where they would not had they been in the middle of the pack at the top 5 HS. [/quote]

There are a couple of issues here. One is based on perception, the other is reality.

The reality is oftentimes "middle of the pack" schools are, indeed, perfectly fine (although this notion that you'll stand out in the college application process if you succeed despite the school is just silly)

But equally too is the importance of perception. That affects current and future home values. Just as people ask themselves whether an updated kitchen or bathroom will help resale value, so too will the school pyramid. In fact, schools are MORE important from a real estate perspective than the perfect kitchen or bathroom -- the evidence is in the people who pay a premium to live in older, non-updated homes just to buy into the schools.

So, if you're asking from the perspective "can my kid get a good education if I choose a middle tier school district" the answer is, yes, probably.

If you're asking is it "worth it" to pay a "premium" in terms of your home holding its value, the answer there, too, is absolutely yes.[/quote]

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