I live in City of Alexandria, and the simple reason why private is popular here in high school is because there is one high school and it isn't very good (despite what the TC trolls will say).

There are plenty of kids who live in bounds for decent options at the lower grades but when you get to high school it's all the same single underwhelming option.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Local public elementary schools are excellent, and your kids get to develop neighborhood friendships with (depending on where you live) a wide, uncurated variety of people.

Lol, local public schools are excellent. Ummm not even close.

Where we live there's a large selection of great local elementary schools. It's easier for people to be confident in a local elementary. Middle schools are where things start getting more complicated. Bigger, a bit more chaotic. And high schools vary greatly. The pattern is very much private enrollment starting at 6th or 9th grade intakes. Starting private in K is more rare although it does happen.

It does help to avoid paying tuition for elementary!

In some places the pattern can be the reverse, especially in urban areas without great local zoned elementaries but when you get to middle / high schools, you get good charter options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Local public elementary schools are excellent, and your kids get to develop neighborhood friendships with (depending on where you live) a wide, uncurated variety of people.

Lol, local public schools are excellent. Ummm not even close.

You get what you pay for.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better college counseling

Why do people keep posting that you get into better colleges if you go public?

It’s complicated, but *in general* colleges first and foremost compare a student against others from the same HS. So at top privates where 100% go to 4 year colleges the competition among your classmates is tougher than it would be at most public HS (magnets excepted). The same is true of top public HS vs merely “good” HS. For example, statistically speaking you’re more likely to get into UVA from a HS like Marshall where 75% go to 4 year college than it is from McLean or Langley. The students are just less homogeneous.

For us, we chose private because the rigor our DS is getting at private HS far outstrips what he’d be getting in the neighborhood public (Marshall, in our case). College acceptance is not the goal. Yes, we want him to have access to a good college, but I’d rather DS get a very demanding HS education in an small school environment, even if it somewhat kneecaps his college admissions. College is just one of many gates we go through in life, and eventually very few care where you went. But the skills that come from rigor translate into success in higher academics and in the professional sphere.

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents make financial calculations, weighed against when your transcript "counts". No college is looking at your elementary or middle school transcript (unless you accelerate to HS level coursework, which would then show on your HS transcript), nor are there many if any private schools in the DMV that are developing top athletes in MS (think IMG Academy and some others in CA and FL which are out recruiting middle school kids).

I am aware of many DCPS parents that evaluated the process that way...you run the risk of not getting accepted in HS, though it seems like the kids do fine getting accepted at GDS, SFS, etc.

To put it bluntly, you just saved $40,000 x 9 = $360,000, and you are no worse positioned then the kids that started in ES or MS.

I would not count on that. There are a lot more kids applying vs spots. I really do not think it matter much private or public if you have a motivated and capable kid. The big difference is the first semester of college. The private school kids are better prepared but everyone catches up.

Anonymous wrote:Local public elementary schools are excellent, and your kids get to develop neighborhood friendships with (depending on where you live) a wide, uncurated variety of people.

Lol, local public schools are excellent. Ummm not even close.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better college counseling

Why do people keep posting that you get into better colleges if you go public?

My local public high school would send 15-20% of the class to college. The private school I attended sent 100%. It creates a different environment.

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents make financial calculations, weighed against when your transcript "counts". No college is looking at your elementary or middle school transcript (unless you accelerate to HS level coursework, which would then show on your HS transcript), nor are there many if any private schools in the DMV that are developing top athletes in MS (think IMG Academy and some others in CA and FL which are out recruiting middle school kids).

I am aware of many DCPS parents that evaluated the process that way...you run the risk of not getting accepted in HS, though it seems like the kids do fine getting accepted at GDS, SFS, etc.

To put it bluntly, you just saved $40,000 x 9 = $360,000, and you are no worse positioned then the kids that started in ES or MS.

It's been tricky to impossible in recent years. Last year from Deal there were 2 accepts to SFS and something like 1-2 at GDS. I personally know 15+ kids rejected from GDS. The pandemic and the state of Wilson have made admisions really difficult.

I think many parents make financial calculations, weighed against when your transcript "counts". No college is looking at your elementary or middle school transcript (unless you accelerate to HS level coursework, which would then show on your HS transcript), nor are there many if any private schools in the DMV that are developing top athletes in MS (think IMG Academy and some others in CA and FL which are out recruiting middle school kids).

I am aware of many DCPS parents that evaluated the process that way...you run the risk of not getting accepted in HS, though it seems like the kids do fine getting accepted at GDS, SFS, etc.

To put it bluntly, you just saved $40,000 x 9 = $360,000, and you are no worse positioned then the kids that started in ES or MS.

Anonymous wrote:Better college counseling

Why do people keep posting that you get into better colleges if you go public?

We’re considering private because how large our public school is. At almost 2,500 students, it’s larger than some universities. But also uniforms and more individualized attention.

Local public elementary schools are excellent, and your kids get to develop neighborhood friendships with (depending on where you live) a wide, uncurated variety of people.

Better college counseling

Sports recruitment for rich people sports is much better in private.

I would have figured ES and MS would be the most popular years? It seems like those are the most important years of creating habits and long term memory. Also, you have better sports and extra curriculars in HS. Not to mention it's probably easier to get into a better college all things being equal if you come from public. However is seems like HS years are the expansion years in HS. And Lower schools are just for people trying to get into the HS with a guarantee. What am I missing?