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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As someone who grew up in NYC, stayed here through college and law school, and has lots of friends who went to specialized high schools, Hunter, and privates ranging from TT to small independent schools, here's what I've seen:

Hunter kids tended to come from solidly middle class families, and now that we're in our 40s, have all ended up living solidly middle class lives. They're nurses, lawyers (personal injury or insurance defense, not big law), and teachers. They went to solid colleges and solid grad schools, but for whatever reason, never quite made it into the upper stratosphere. Small independent privates (catholic schools, charters) have ended up around the same.

TT private kids almost all fall in the upper middle class to upper class. They are big law partners, hedge fund managers, investment bankers, and CEOs. Many of them can attribute that primarily to having wealthy parents who set them on that path, but there are a few who didn't come from wealth but were able to ride the coattails of their peers in their private HS and have done very well for themselves. I wouldn't say the TT private kids are noticeably smarter than anyone else I know, generally, but they are among the most successful.

Specialized high school kids generally came from middle to upper middle class families, and have climbed the ranks to become very successful. They are also some of the most type A, intelligent, hard working people I know. They have the same types of careers as the TT private kids, but seem to be happier and more grounded. [/quote]

I don’t mean to spur a debate and won’t contribute anymore after this. But since this is one of the oldest, most boring and overly discussed arguments that arises whenever there’s a comparison made between private and specialized schools, I just have to say that obviously this isn’t true. the reality is more nuanced.

Yes, private schools do have lots of rich people, many of whom will get their careers through their parents and will wind up in big law or in management consulting or in pe or running their family companies. But many of us wind up working for DwB, for NGOs, or becoming DA’s and public defenders or local politicians. Lots of us became teachers. I even know a couple of traditional “healers”. There are writers, journalists, filmmakers, artists, archivists, etc. who make tremendous personal and professional sacrifices to achieve goals in pursuit of passion or a sense of justice and fairness, not simply financial gain or prestige. I can’t speak for anyone else - and I won’t - but I would say, aside from a handful of the SUPER wealthy and  those with very clear ambitions - a plurality of my graduating class, as well as many of our peer institutions - didn’t chase money.

This idea of lower-middle-to-middle class students coattailing to financial success isn’t limited to private schools - it occurs everywhere, in public and private schools. It continues in college, then in grad school if you wind up going to one. It’s just a means for survival in a competitive world. And there are plenty of quite wealthy kids at hunter, too.

Going to private school doesn’t preordain the outcomes of your contribution to society or your personal gains anymore than public school condemns you to others. And, of course, many, many private school students are wildly type a - i mean insanely, to the point of being anal, borderline in need of therapy type a. My classmates were and are wildly intelligent, curious, passionate, lifelong lovers of learning, and the sheer amount of homework you get once you hit high school requires an absurd amount of effort, time, and dedication to whatever subjects you’re doing. If you’re not a devoted student or a genius, you won’t survive.

None of this is to take away from the experience of a specialized high school nor the talents/work ethic/abilities. It’s just sort of, really? Are we going to fall back on these tired, old tropes?[/quote]

Not to pile on, but at the risk of getting pummeled here, the super rich, re:children of billionaires, at the TT private I went to (all girls) were very smart, hardworking, kind, and often quite shy to the point that you never would have known. One of my good friends, who I still see regularly, became an elementary school teacher and lives a lowkey existence. Another from a very prominent family helps run a nonprofit distributing grants to advance scientific discovery. she majored in biochemistry in college, graduating PBK - we went to the same college, she was two years before me.

I’ve heard horror stories, too: children of certain athletes and celebrities in some of the coed schools (shoutout trinity) being complete and total entitled d-bags, but i never experienced it. [/quote]

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