Private schools in this area vary wildly in their cost and their benefits. I wouldn’t sent my kid to 99% of them over W-L or YHS. But, there a very few that we considered on par and proving real benefits beyond what APS could provide — maybe 3-4 — and they cost an insane amount of money. Moreover, your chances of admission to them is like winning the lottery. If I were in your shoes, which I was, I would figure out which private schools you think might academically be on par with YHS and W-L, figure out what $60k x four would really mean for your budget, then go look at them during their open house/admission process. (Don’t go take your kid through that if you really aren’t going to pay). Then, if you apply and actually get admitted, you can make the really really hard decision of whether APS or those private schools are a better fit for your kid. For most people, they aren’t willing to go through it all and justify APS because it’s pretty great. There are reasons we made a different choice but people here in this particular forum are going to be behind APS. And I’m with them to a point.

How do you feel about AP or IB classes? If your kid is a top student and wants to be in classes with other top students, they will take a lot of these classes in APS. And some will be great but the teachers have little to no flexibility with the curriculum and your kid will be cramming for the tests every April/May. In contrast at some of the top privates there are no AP and the schools can get away with it because they are known quantities for top colleges. Again only you can decide if that is worth $60K a year.

Anonymous wrote:OP with all due respect you can’t swing a dead cat at W-L without hitting a kid who scores in the 98-99 percentile and who got straight As in middle school. Hell, I had three of them and I love them but know they’re not that special. But hey if you want to throw your money away on a private school when you have an excellent public school option, great—whatever floats your boat.

+1, true for all the APS high schools

OP with all due respect you can’t swing a dead cat at W-L without hitting a kid who scores in the 98-99 percentile and who got straight As in middle school. Hell, I had three of them and I love them but know they’re not that special. But hey if you want to throw your money away on a private school when you have an excellent public school option, great—whatever floats your boat.

The biggest weakness we have found in APS is the English classes. Even in intensified English, my kid has only read one book as a freshman and it was Night, which is very short. They were supposed to read Romeo and Juliet but then the teacher gave up and just had them read a summary in modern English. I think the problem is that any student can self-select into intensified classes and with English it is easier to dumb down the class than it is with math. Is that worth $60K/year, hard to say but something I think it is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the same position with one 1 in private and 1 in APS. I will say that your kid will be a dime a dozen at WL and the college app process will be worse than being in a smaller private. You'll have 50-100 kids applying to the same school as your kid as opposed to private... and you'll get more individual attention for the college process at a private. APS does pretty much nothing but send you webcasts to view to prepare for college apps.

Not going to comment on the idea of chances being lower from public (which is what you are saying) but many families in public pay a private college counselor and bonus, you pick someone you want who is a good fit for you not who your school employs. You can pay for the whole process to be supported or just out source some parts of it. Still a hell of a lot cheaper than private school.

I am the PP with the similar stat kid and this is my plan

Be careful who you choose because majority of these college counselors don’t have actual relationships with many of the schools. Not like a private school counselor and many cases does. Some of them claim to have “relationships“ but really they’re just looking at the kids stats to see where they think they’ll get in and help with essays.

That's more than my skillset!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the same position with one 1 in private and 1 in APS. I will say that your kid will be a dime a dozen at WL and the college app process will be worse than being in a smaller private. You'll have 50-100 kids applying to the same school as your kid as opposed to private... and you'll get more individual attention for the college process at a private. APS does pretty much nothing but send you webcasts to view to prepare for college apps.

Not going to comment on the idea of chances being lower from public (which is what you are saying) but many families in public pay a private college counselor and bonus, you pick someone you want who is a good fit for you not who your school employs. You can pay for the whole process to be supported or just out source some parts of it. Still a hell of a lot cheaper than private school.

I am the PP with the similar stat kid and this is my plan

Be careful who you choose because majority of these college counselors don’t have actual relationships with many of the schools. Not like a private school counselor and many cases does. Some of them claim to have “relationships“ but really they’re just looking at the kids stats to see where they think they’ll get in and help with essays.

Anonymous wrote:I would apply to TJ, enter the lottery for AT, and if you want, apply to a private or two. We did not consider private… my kid got into TJ but opted for an APS school in the end…. But I know people who took the route suggested above, especially for STEM-focused kids.

+1 My son's teacher said "apply for everything!" you can always change your mind (to an extent)

I would apply to TJ, enter the lottery for AT, and if you want, apply to a private or two. We did not consider private… my kid got into TJ but opted for an APS school in the end…. But I know people who took the route suggested above, especially for STEM-focused kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the same position with one 1 in private and 1 in APS. I will say that your kid will be a dime a dozen at WL and the college app process will be worse than being in a smaller private. You'll have 50-100 kids applying to the same school as your kid as opposed to private... and you'll get more individual attention for the college process at a private. APS does pretty much nothing but send you webcasts to view to prepare for college apps.

Not going to comment on the idea of chances being lower from public (which is what you are saying) but many families in public pay a private college counselor and bonus, you pick someone you want who is a good fit for you not who your school employs. You can pay for the whole process to be supported or just out source some parts of it. Still a hell of a lot cheaper than private school.

I am the PP with the similar stat kid and this is my plan

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We would go for Arlington Tech. It is a very good STEM school. Note that AT is not trying to be TJ.

Yes but admission to Arlington Tech is by lottery. Only 2 of my son's middle school friends got in, rest were waitlisted. I think there is a lottery for TJ also.

My understanding is that pretty much everyone gets off the wait list for Arlington Tech.

TJ is by application not by lottery.

At the end of last year's lottery, there were still 180+ kids on the waitlist. This year's class will be 150 larger but it's also a new building so expect a waitlist. PP above said her kid's friends are currently on the waitlist.

That said, the DE STEM classes are great.

PP did not specify if it was for the upcoming year. They will be increasing the class size even more by the time OP‘s kid is ready.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We would go for Arlington Tech. It is a very good STEM school. Note that AT is not trying to be TJ.

Yes but admission to Arlington Tech is by lottery. Only 2 of my son's middle school friends got in, rest were waitlisted. I think there is a lottery for TJ also.

My understanding is that pretty much everyone gets off the wait list for Arlington Tech.

TJ is by application not by lottery.

At the end of last year's lottery, there were still 180+ kids on the waitlist. This year's class will be 150 larger but it's also a new building so expect a waitlist. PP above said her kid's friends are currently on the waitlist.

That said, the DE STEM classes are great.

Anonymous wrote:We are in the same position with one 1 in private and 1 in APS. I will say that your kid will be a dime a dozen at WL and the college app process will be worse than being in a smaller private. You'll have 50-100 kids applying to the same school as your kid as opposed to private... and you'll get more individual attention for the college process at a private. APS does pretty much nothing but send you webcasts to view to prepare for college apps.

Not going to comment on the idea of chances being lower from public (which is what you are saying) but many families in public pay a private college counselor and bonus, you pick someone you want who is a good fit for you not who your school employs. You can pay for the whole process to be supported or just out source some parts of it. Still a hell of a lot cheaper than private school.

Anonymous wrote:We are in the same position with one 1 in private and 1 in APS. I will say that your kid will be a dime a dozen at WL and the college app process will be worse than being in a smaller private. You'll have 50-100 kids applying to the same school as your kid as opposed to private... and you'll get more individual attention for the college process at a private. APS does pretty much nothing but send you webcasts to view to prepare for college apps.

Depends. I don't think gaining admittance to ivy league schools or premier private / public universities would be any easier from St. Albans vs W-L for example.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We would go for Arlington Tech. It is a very good STEM school. Note that AT is not trying to be TJ.

Yes but admission to Arlington Tech is by lottery. Only 2 of my son's middle school friends got in, rest were waitlisted. I think there is a lottery for TJ also.

My understanding is that pretty much everyone gets off the wait list for Arlington Tech.

TJ is by application not by lottery.