I agree with previous posters, only a very few private schools are truly worth the big tuitions. STA, NCS, Sidwell, and Holton (in my opinion). Other than those 4, I would not recommend wasting your hard earned $40K. The better option is to save your pennies and either send your child to a good public for elementary or a nice parish school. Make sure they keep their grades up and have lots of extra-curriculars. Then save for high school and get your child into one of the top privates. This way you pay for only 4 years of crazy tuition vs. 14! At current tuition rates that's $160,000 vs. $560,000! That's a savings of $400,000!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:01 - Why such negativity towards Catholic (and Jewish) schools. If they are such a different "product" why do STA and Prep grads get into the same colleges? Seems to me the Prep kids and families who paid a lots less for their education win in the end when they all end up at the same college.

http://www.gprep.org/page.cfm?p=1142

http://www.stalbansschool.org/Page/Academics/College-Counseling/College-Matriculations

College lists not that similar. Plus, Prep is only $6,000 or so behind STA in cost and Prep's teacher student ratio is not as good and your education us tinged with Catholic dogma. Not really a bargain any way you slice it. I think Prep is a great school but it certainly is not the equal of STA.

Wow. Bigoted much, PP? What a nasty way to put that. If you disagree with Catholic teachings, fine, but to imply that a school's Catholic identity is an undesirable stain on its overall reputation or academic quality is ridiculous. Would you say the same about Georgetown U.? (I'm not a GU grad, FTR, and we send our kids to a secular private.)

PP here. I grew up Catholic, sacraments of Baptism through Confirmation. Decided I did not agree with far too many of the church's teachings and switched to a Protestant religion with which I am much more comfortable. Many of my family members remain withint the Catholic church. I knew nuns and priest quite well growing up. I was exposed to both the old school types of Catholics as well as more modern Catholics. I am very familiar with the dogma of the Catholic church and it definitely does influence both what kids are taught, and the way they are taught and directed, in primary and secondary school. College is different, as you must know so please, accuse someone else of bigotry or nastiness if you must.

The contsant cries of "anti-Catholic bias" on the private school forum are absurd IMO. I stand by my educated opinion that an STA education is more rigorous, and lacks the bias of Catholic dogma, as compared to Prep. Prep is a good high school but is not in the same league academically as STA. I will certainly admit, however, that Prep is a better school for high-level, competitive sports.

Wake-up ignorant people! STA is an Episcopal school and provides an episcopal education. Boys have regular religion class, read the bible and go to mass regularly. There are a few differences, but not that dramatic. If you are concerned about the "dogma" the Prep boys are receiving then you should be similarly concerned about the "dogma" the STA boys are receiving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tuition will keep going up, though see the trends -- some schools have significantly higher tuition than others. E.g., Catholic schools are quite a bit lower. Maret has been noted as having a lower tuition than other top schools (by several thousand dollars).

Financial aid will likely become more and more the norm. At top DC private schools, about 25% of kids receive some financial aid. I can see that number continuing to rise (at many private colleges, the % of kids getting FA is around 50%, as a somewhat analogous example of where we could be going).

So, there may be no cap in sight, though I can see FA amounts and percentages going up bit by bit.

Catholic schools are a separate category, funded completely differently and also not the same product. See also, Jewish schools

Why don't you tell us just how Catholic schools are funded. And in what ways the "product" is significantly different.

The only real difference is who attends them. (Catholics).

Ummm...no. Independent Catholic schools are probably about 50% Catholic students (with the exception of schools like Heights and Oakcrest)

Anonymous wrote:I don't disagree PP. I know from the school I attended and the facilities upgrades that have taken place in the 30-40 years since I was there (a local "big 3"), it is transformative. The campus was great when I was there and it is generally the same, but so much better with so much more to offer for the students.

And it does beg the question if all the extra is actually providing a better education or just a better visual.

I don't disagree PP. I know from the school I attended and the facilities upgrades that have taken place in the 30-40 years since I was there (a local "big 3"), it is transformative. The campus was great when I was there and it is generally the same, but so much better with so much more to offer for the students.

Anonymous wrote:It's not just the 1% that 'demands" these facilities. There are FA kids who are in high demand who have choices as well, and they want great music/theater/athletic facilities to spend their 4-6-8 years.

Well this makes me feel guilty. My DC is on FA, and if I am honest we where persuaded by the school with the nicer facilities and consequently the higher price tag. However, we were advised to go after those "type" of schools because they had a better FA budget and we would stand a better chance of getting the award we needed to make attending affordable. Our admission results reflected this. We were admitted to three schools and received no aid from one (price tag btwn $24-$26K), received $4,000 (price tag $24-$26K), received $18K (price tag $36K).

It makes me sad that so many hard working, high earning income people are priced out of the market. I consider myself one of them, and one of the few who got lucky to get FA. I guess I never considered that even though we are on FA we are contributing to private schools feeling the demand to offer over and above in terms of faculties and such that it's so expensive. I just never equated the same principal to private school but that's exactly how I feel about my undergrad. When I attended it was $27K and it's not teetering at close to $60K. The last time I visited I was amazed and appalled at the same time. All of the old style water fountains had been replaced with state of the art water machines with built in filters. Wi-Fi was available for free on the entire campus. The student center rivaled the lobbies of 5 star hotels. Maybe the Wi-Fi access is necessary but the other stuff doesn't add to the value of an education, just provided a cushy temporary living environment.

Where is the balance? I don't know. I don't even know how to no longer be a part of the problem. Of course taking my DC out isn't an option. I won't make the naive decision to not provide them a good education and I do think their current school is the best learning environment for them. But maybe I'll pay closer attention to how money is being spent on surplus items that don't contribute to a better education and speak up. *sigh*

It's not just the 1% that 'demands" these facilities. There are FA kids who are in high demand who have choices as well, and they want great music/theater/athletic facilities to spend their 4-6-8 years.

The other poster on the first page had it correct. As long as people are willing to pay, the tuition will go up. And the incomes of the top 1% has skyrocked relative to the rest of society, even the second 1% below them. They are the ones who dominate the private schools, so we have a scenario where even the 2nd 1% are now being priced out whereas 20 years ago they could easily afford the schools.

It's a scenario that feeds upon itself. The schools are now increasingly geared towards catering to the desires of the 1% so they spend fortunes on fancy campus improvements and facilities because the very rich demand those, which in turns causes them to raise tuitions to pay for those facilities. 20 years ago people were much more content with a less fancy, less extravagant campus (the same can be said for colleges).

This has been very much the case in the UK too. Private and boarding school fees were pretty reasonable in the 1980s and up through the 1990s because the bulk of their "buyers" were the upper middle classes, heck even normal middle class people could manage to scrape together the fees at a local day school. But then the top 1% saw their disposable incomes skyrock and demanded more, and fees went up sharply, and suddenly to keep attracting the top 1% the schools went on a building spree, adding fancy new science centers and new dormitories (where every student has his/her own room rather than sharing) and so on, and now much of the upper middle classes are being priced out of the independent sector altogether. Many UK schools now rely on having many international students paying full freight to balance the books.

About 25% are on FA at Sidwell so they're not paying that tuition. My wish is that the tuition at most grew at the rate of inflation but the 4% increase is more than double that. No end in sight. We'll be paying $60k+ by the time they're in high school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A school like GDS or Sidwell (pref Sidwell) could try putting a 4 year cap on tuition once they hit 40K (or maybe 39k) to send a strong message (quaker values or progressive inclusiveness). Not sure how much that would set them back.

Um the three best schools are already there or damn close. STA and NCS have already passed $40,000, and Sidwell isn't far behind.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:01 - Why such negativity towards Catholic (and Jewish) schools. If they are such a different "product" why do STA and Prep grads get into the same colleges? Seems to me the Prep kids and families who paid a lots less for their education win in the end when they all end up at the same college.

http://www.gprep.org/page.cfm?p=1142

http://www.stalbansschool.org/Page/Academics/College-Counseling/College-Matriculations

College lists not that similar. Plus, Prep is only $6,000 or so behind STA in cost and Prep's teacher student ratio is not as good and your education us tinged with Catholic dogma. Not really a bargain any way you slice it. I think Prep is a great school but it certainly is not the equal of STA.

Wow. Bigoted much, PP? What a nasty way to put that. If you disagree with Catholic teachings, fine, but to imply that a school's Catholic identity is an undesirable stain on its overall reputation or academic quality is ridiculous. Would you say the same about Georgetown U.? (I'm not a GU grad, FTR, and we send our kids to a secular private.)

PP here. I grew up Catholic, sacraments of Baptism through Confirmation. Decided I did not agree with far too many of the church's teachings and switched to a Protestant religion with which I am much more comfortable. Many of my family members remain withint the Catholic church. I knew nuns and priest quite well growing up. I was exposed to both the old school types of Catholics as well as more modern Catholics. I am very familiar with the dogma of the Catholic church and it definitely does influence both what kids are taught, and the way they are taught and directed, in primary and secondary school. College is different, as you must know so please, accuse someone else of bigotry or nastiness if you must.

The contsant cries of "anti-Catholic bias" on the private school forum are absurd IMO. I stand by my educated opinion that an STA education is more rigorous, and lacks the bias of Catholic dogma, as compared to Prep. Prep is a good high school but is not in the same league academically as STA. I will certainly admit, however, that Prep is a better school for high-level, competitive sports.

Anonymous wrote:
Here is how it changes. Harvard decides that it will offer tuition-free undergrad education to all who are admitted on a need-blind basis (because the endowment is so large). That triggers a competitive free-for-all in the top colleges. There is an effort afoot right now to elect to the Harvard Board of Overseers a slate with this and other goals as their objectives. It just takes one to put the competitive pressure on the others to follow suit.

Same could happen for DC privates. Someone could step up and make it free for all admitted to attend Sidwell, GDS, or St Albans or NCS. Others would have to follow suit.

What happens when the money runs out?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:01 - Why such negativity towards Catholic (and Jewish) schools. If they are such a different "product" why do STA and Prep grads get into the same colleges? Seems to me the Prep kids and families who paid a lots less for their education win in the end when they all end up at the same college.

http://www.gprep.org/page.cfm?p=1142

http://www.stalbansschool.org/Page/Academics/College-Counseling/College-Matriculations

College lists not that similar. Plus, Prep is only $6,000 or so behind STA in cost and Prep's teacher student ratio is not as good and your education us tinged with Catholic dogma. Not really a bargain any way you slice it. I think Prep is a great school but it certainly is not the equal of STA.

Wow. Bigoted much, PP? What a nasty way to put that. If you disagree with Catholic teachings, fine, but to imply that a school's Catholic identity is an undesirable stain on its overall reputation or academic quality is ridiculous. Would you say the same about Georgetown U.? (I'm not a GU grad, FTR, and we send our kids to a secular private.)

The DC private schools would need 50x of their endowments to be able to do that.

Here is how it changes. Harvard decides that it will offer tuition-free undergrad education to all who are admitted on a need-blind basis (because the endowment is so large). That triggers a competitive free-for-all in the top colleges. There is an effort afoot right now to elect to the Harvard Board of Overseers a slate with this and other goals as their objectives. It just takes one to put the competitive pressure on the others to follow suit.

Same could happen for DC privates. Someone could step up and make it free for all admitted to attend Sidwell, GDS, or St Albans or NCS. Others would have to follow suit.

Anonymous wrote:15:01 - Why such negativity towards Catholic (and Jewish) schools. If they are such a different "product" why do STA and Prep grads get into the same colleges? Seems to me the Prep kids and families who paid a lots less for their education win in the end when they all end up at the same college.

http://www.gprep.org/page.cfm?p=1142

http://www.stalbansschool.org/Page/Academics/College-Counseling/College-Matriculations

College lists not that similar. Plus, Prep is only $6,000 or so behind STA in cost and Prep's teacher student ratio is not as good and your education us tinged with Catholic dogma. Not really a bargain any way you slice it. I think Prep is a great school but it certainly is not the equal of STA.