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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m the OP, and I’ll come clean.  Yes, I am (was) a public school parent.  But it was entirely and deliberately by choice.  We had more than enough money to pay for private, and our kids had the smarts and we had the connections to get them into a good one, but honestly we couldn’t stomach the idea because we dreaded the thought of having to mix with the parent community.  The incessant references to the “Big 3” on this board only reinforces that our decision was the right one.

I also wonder what these folks are paying for.  I always thought that one of the key benefits of paying tens of thousands of dollars a year for a top DMV private was better college counseling.  I can understand public school parents having to resort to a forum like this for college admissions advice, but is it really necessary for a Big 3 parent?   I’m guessing it’s not - it couldn’t possibly be! - but that those parents who come here anyway are simply too anxious about the whole process and too embarrassed to approach their schools directly.  Is that what’s going on?

Of course, many Big 3 parents will argue that they didn’t send their kids there for college admissions / counseling purposes but for the education, but we all know that’s not true.  I mean, sure they care about the education but, at least in part, they care because of college.  So you can’t separate the two.  [/quote]

Thanks for your honesty, OP.  There are lots of reasons to choose privates and lots of reasons to choose public school.  It sounds like you made a good choice for your family.  My kids are at private and are happy so that choice works for us.  Being at the end of this journey, I think the best parts for my kid have been the teachers, his friends and the traditions - but I happily admit there are great teachers, kids and traditions and lots of other public and private schools.

As to why a private school parent comes on this board, I have gotten some off-the-record tidbits that I wouldn’t get from the CCO.  And, sometimes I ask what I deem a silly question that I will try to figure out myself before emailing the CCO.  Actually, I have never emailed the CCO - I try to save that for my kid to do as he is driving this train … but sometimes this board assures me he is on the right track. :)  I can’t imagine those reasons are specific to private school parents.

And I too, dislike the term “big 3” as I find it pretentious and unhelpful as there are significant differences between privates.  But I admit, it is a quick shorthand, and therefore occasionally useful in realizing my kid’s grading scale or whatever is different than what another poster is mentioning.  I don’t think anyone would use it in conversation.

Like any community I have been a part of, private schools have stereotypical jerks but also fundamentally good humans that I feel grateful to know. I don’t think you can lump us all together any more than I would lump together all the parents at your kid’s school.

Your response makes me believe you see differences between posters when you come to this board but I am usually left feeling that we are all more alike than different - parents simply trying to do the best they can (with an occasional prankster high school troll). [/quote]

You’re welcome.

I totally agree that the vast majority of parents on this board, including the Big 3 parents, are “simply trying to do the best they can.”   But whenever I see a gratuitous reference (and, let’s be real, many of them are) to the Big 3 the clear sense being conveyed is one of superiority and entitlement.  The same goes with the [b]“we are full pay” [/b]references by the way.  Both references are like nails on a chalk board to me.  [/quote]

(I'm not the PP you replied to)

But SOOO many people saying full pay are public.

I think maybe you're real issue is people who are being more forward about showing their wealth.... and Big3 and full pay are just labels that project that.

As you say, people are doing the best they can.  I'd be willing to bet that you never hear anyone in real life say either of these in person. That's because they are being polite and low key and that this is how they normally operate and what their values are.  But DCUM is a place they can come and ask questions that in anonymity - and I have to be honest that full pay is relevant in many of these questions....and so is Big 3....so while knowing it would be super tacky to have a person to person conversation using these terms (or even asking the blunt question they want to know the answer to) DCUM is a place they can ask the question.

Out of curiosity ([/quote]

OP here.  Yes, “full pay” references often come from public school posts.   I agree with that.  I didn’t mean to suggest that they don’t.

As for your point about the effect of anonymity on posts, doesn’t that also prove my point about the true nature of Big 3 parents generally?   They sure are on here a lot. [/quote]

No it doesn't - there are plenty of parents from public posting a GPA/SAT-ACT and EC list along with questions about what their kids chances are for college admissions. The ones from public include contextual information on weighted or unweighted GPA, the ones at a private provide contextual information about BigX for the GPA.[/quote]

You missed my point.  Big 3 parents are only a fraction of one percent of the high school seniors in the DMV - but they pop up on every thread on this forum. [/quote]

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