I'm the kind of nosy lady who asks these questions, usually at some kind of St. X Mom Happy Hour. "So your kids are all heading to Private High? Wow, that sounds amazing. It must be really expensive though." And then nine times out of ten they say "My parents/inlaws pay for most/all of it since it's so important to them that their grandkids get a Catholic education."
All four of my kids' grandparents think we are wasting our money so we don't have that out....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the parents floss like they are paying for all of this on their own. Really their own mommy and daddy are paying for it. We have a family like this at our school. The mom went to college but doesn’t work and the dad did not work and is a solidly blue collar worker. Their house is in the mom’s parent’s name and the mom’s parents also pay tuition for the children. This family is applying to all of the same high schools the rest of us are and I presume the wife’s parents are going to foot the bill. The kid thinks she is rich and is always bragging about things her parents give her, vacations, etc. but it is all funded by the grandparents.

Why do you know who owns the house they live in and who pays their tuition?

Everyone in this kid’s grade knows for a variety of reasons. And, why do you care? Yes people look up your house to see where you live, how much you (or someone else) paid for it, who actually owns the house and or whether you rent or own. In Maryland, it’s all on https://sdat.dat.maryland.gov/RealProperty/. Have at it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the parents floss like they are paying for all of this on their own. Really their own mommy and daddy are paying for it. We have a family like this at our school. The mom went to college but doesn’t work and the dad did not work and is a solidly blue collar worker. Their house is in the mom’s parent’s name and the mom’s parents also pay tuition for the children. This family is applying to all of the same high schools the rest of us are and I presume the wife’s parents are going to foot the bill. The kid thinks she is rich and is always bragging about things her parents give her, vacations, etc. but it is all funded by the grandparents.

Why do you know who owns the house they live in and who pays their tuition?

Not PP, but seeing who owns a house is public information.

Anonymous wrote:Many of the parents floss like they are paying for all of this on their own. Really their own mommy and daddy are paying for it. We have a family like this at our school. The mom went to college but doesn’t work and the dad did not work and is a solidly blue collar worker. Their house is in the mom’s parent’s name and the mom’s parents also pay tuition for the children. This family is applying to all of the same high schools the rest of us are and I presume the wife’s parents are going to foot the bill. The kid thinks she is rich and is always bragging about things her parents give her, vacations, etc. but it is all funded by the grandparents.

Why do you know who owns the house they live in and who pays their tuition?

You think about this before you go to parochial school. Many people can easily afford it is how they afford it. I guess they make more than you? Sometimes grandparents pay too.

*meant dad did not go to college

Many of the parents floss like they are paying for all of this on their own. Really their own mommy and daddy are paying for it. We have a family like this at our school. The mom went to college but doesn’t work and the dad did not work and is a solidly blue collar worker. Their house is in the mom’s parent’s name and the mom’s parents also pay tuition for the children. This family is applying to all of the same high schools the rest of us are and I presume the wife’s parents are going to foot the bill. The kid thinks she is rich and is always bragging about things her parents give her, vacations, etc. but it is all funded by the grandparents.

It is hard for many families. Many parents we know started saving for HS during the ES years. They also minimize other expenses- cars, vacations, minimize retirement funding during the HS years.

Are you in NoVA? The diocesan schools are $15k to $20k, with discounts for the second child. Kids who do very well on the HSPT can get scholarships, and some families get aid.

For us, I’ve gotten a new job and went from 32 hrs/week to 40 hrs in anticipation of the new expense next year. So I’m making $30k more a year now. I also have an inheritance that I can dip into if we need to.

I will say at our K-8 school it’s a big mix for high school, and about half the class switches to public then. I wouldn’t pull a kid early from a K-8 if you plan on public for high school. Though I might set that expectation for them so they know that’s the plan.

We received financial aid in a similar situation, one more DC. We had at least 2 in high school for many years and then 1 and 2 in college with high school tuition. Your total tuition expenses are a factor for financial aid, at least in Catholic schools.

There are levels to how much catholic high schools are. O’Connell is $20k ($17k for second kid). Visi is $33k. You can stick with the lower costs ones and apply for financial aid.

We’ve been saving our tax returns for years in anticipation of the high school expense. We had three kids in five years.

A lot of these people have family help, but don’t admit it.

family help, financial aid, or they can afford it on their income.

I’ve 3 children currently attending our local parochial. Tuition is ~10k per year per child. It’s a do-able expense for our family, but we certainly notice it and have to be quite careful with discretionary spending. I’ve noticed that the majority of families have 3-4 kids, with
graduating 8th graders that go on to local Catholic high schools. Tuition is now in the 30-35k range for these schools!

How are these families affording this for multiple children?? Many, ours included, will have two children in high school at the same time. That’s a 40k increase in tuition! I’ve never felt that we are in a drastically different financial situation than the majority of the school, but perhaps I’m wrong?
Do the high schools give financial aid when families have younger children still in parochial?
My children love our school but part of me wonders if I should pull to public sooner than later before they get their hearts set on a Catholic high school.