<p>jh1200...we aren't in South Korea, now are we?</p>
<p>So who cares which country is hard...we're in America</p>
<p>MaryCeleste...I don't know where you got the idea that people choose private school because of the advantages of getting into better colleges and having "connections." My family chose private because the education is superior to what I would have gotten at my district public school. </p>
<p>And, as others have suggested, there is something to be said for being in a class of engaged students with manners, morals, interesting ideas, etc. I like the environment, so that is why we "wasted" thousands of dollars.</p>
<p>"jh1200 ...um.... 1) most people don't go to graduate school 2) college grades don't matter for most jobs"</p>
<p>I think we missed the point of that post... Fact is, if grade inflation is problem that people are saying it is, the students who are "unfairly" admitted b/c of their fake GPAs won't have the necessary skills (writing, studying, etc.) to succeed in college. And if they can succeed without those skills, maybe it's time to make college harder, too...</p>
<p>"My family chose private because the education is superior to what I would have gotten at my district public school."</p>
<p>And what does a superior education get you? A better chance of getting into a better school! Come on, now.</p>
<p>Listen </p>
<p>this discussion is not getting anywhere. </p>
<p>people who go to public school will always think that spending money on private school is a waste.</p>
<p>people who go to prep school will always think that it is a great investment. </p>
<p>the bottom line.... all you public schoolers, stop trying to make prep schoolers feel foolish for spending there parent's 40k. think of it this way, if the parents were able to earn enough money to blow 40 grand on prep school, they GET HOW THE WORLD WORKS. MONEY IS IN THE HANDS OF THE FEW. AND THESE FEW ASSOCIATE WITH THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO GO TO PREP SCHOOL. BUSINESS IS ABOUT CONNECTIONS, NOT HOW SMART YOU ARE.</p>
<p>I agree with most of the last post.</p>
<p>But, really - it all depends on whether or not the public school (free) is a good school with lots of opportunities or a dead end. If the child can excell in the public school , no reason for them to go private. If they are lost in the shuffle , private school might be a good investment if the parents can afford it without going broke - especially if the child is "average". </p>
<p>In my own experience with one school system in the state of Georgia; one niece has excelled at the public, charter school that she is in (made 1600 on the SAT, 4.0, honors and opportunities galore - Harvard is even courting her this year). Her brother, intelligent but not labeled "gifted" (what an over used word), has had the worst experience that you can imagine (same school system). </p>
<p>It just all depends on individual circumstances and to label one as better than another without looking at the details of each situation, is foolish.</p>
<p>I live in a very affluent area where the public schools are excellent and there are tons of private schools. I got to a very challenging private school that does not have grade inflation. There are private schools in my area that do give grade inflation and they have a much better college placement than my school. The public schools in my area don't have grade inflation either yet less people get into elite schools. Most end up at Penn State. Even though the public schools are either on par or better than some of the private schools they still have worse collage placement than these other schools. Private schools will fight for their students to get into schools and public schools won't. GPA doesn't matter as much if you go to a private school than if you go to a public school. The top schools know the private schools better so the students there are more likely to go to an Ivy. Private school is not a waste of money if it is the best school environment for you. Don't knock private schoolers just because they have more advantages than you.</p>
<p>"The public schools in my area don't have grade inflation either yet less people get into elite schools"
they're not doing a good job of teaching grammar, apparently, at these elite private schools with really good teachers and students</p>
<p>yeah, mainliner's post looks like one giant run-on sentence in places. </p>
<p>What is "collage placement", anyway?</p>
<p>I'm sure there are a few great public schools out there. </p>
<p>after all these posts... i think the conclusion can be drawn </p>
<p>----Private schools are better, if you can afford it. ------</p>
<p>Interesting debate.</p>
<p>When I was trying to decide where to go to high school, I had to choose between a private school and a public school. Eventually went to and graduated this year from the public school. It was the best decision I ever made. Could I have gone private and afforded it? Yeah, but that doesn't mean it was better. My public school let me take a bilingual IB diploma and participate in better ec's than any school in the city (like a Model UN trip to Paris). </p>
<p>Don't draw illogical conclusions.</p>
<p>my public school doesnt rank and has alot of grade inflation so i guess SATs and APs are used to show ability more than grades</p>
<p>cowgirl: "Don't draw illogical conclusions."</p>
<p>This is what irritates me. There is no need to be disagreeable. Like I said, I'm sure there are plenty of good experiences at public school, but BY AND LARGE, preps are better if you can afford. </p>
<p>Next time I'll be sure to put a disclaimer on any posts I make.</p>
<p>
[quote]
There is no need to be disagreeable.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>... says somebody who has helped draw out a thread for 12 pages. ;)</p>
<p>I was raised by lawyers. There is, however unfortunate it may seem, always the need to point out logical fallacy.</p>
<p>I have to second cowgirl on the ECs thing. </p>
<p>I was (and did well) in Band, Debate, Model UN, NHS, Student Council, UIL Academics, and Key Club...and was Treasure of all of the stuff that had officers. I got free trips to San Antonio, Austin, Cozumel, Orlando, and Philadelphia (and then an awesome road trip) out of them, too.</p>
<p>Last year I missed 35 days of school for ECs alone. There's no way I could have done all of that in a private school.</p>
<p>Yeah... at my school if you missed 35 days you'd be failing (besides the fact that they'd never allow anyone to miss 35 days because of ECs)</p>
<p>Oh, the make-up work sucked. My school has a three-day make-up work policy...and even if I had missed an entire week, I still had to make-up work in all seven classes in my next three days back.</p>
<p>I'm actually excited about not having to miss classes in college this year. Sad, right?</p>
<p>who gives a crap.</p>
<p>it is like it is.</p>
<p>deal with it.</p>
<p>seriously they need to change the A B C grading system. nowadays, a c is no average. to most people, it means you're retarded.</p>
<p>Pearl: "It just all depends on individual circumstances and to label one as better than another without looking at the details of each situation, is foolish."</p>
<p>Thank you.
That really is all it comes down to. I find fault with many posts on this thread simply because the poster has made a rash generalization or stereotype. </p>
<p>The success of a student at a particular type of school and the extent to which they enjoy their time there will be affected by so many factors other than if it's public or private. </p>
<p>I, personally, am glad I go to a public school for several reasons (which I won't list right now for the sake of keeping this post from being absurdly long). </p>
<p>MaryCeleste: you had a quite a good post a couple of pages ago (post #153)</p>
<p>In the end, grade inflation does suck. But if you know you're at a disadvantage because of it, work hard just like you claim to do and colleges will notice! Write a great essay! Have great ECs! Take the toughest courseload available. If it is an elite college, THEY WILL NOTICE. </p>
<h2>Kids in easy classes who do all the work well deserve A's. Kids in AP classes who do all the work well also deserve A's. Do colleges know the difference? Of course. That's why AP/IB classes are generally weighted and why they have a title and specific test that shows colleges just what they are. </h2>
<p>a little anecdote:<br>
I play soccer, and on my club team are about 5 kids who go to what it considered to be the best school (private) in town. Another seven or so attend a public school in the "rich, snobby" area of town that is thought of as having quite good academics. I attend a public school that is also in a wealthy area of town (though I live downtown, not there) that, though it does well on standardized tests and whatnot, has a reputation with highschoolers as being a "dumb" school (probably because it's also thought of as a party school).
When I first joined the team, and even now, I would get the occasional comment along the lines of "yea, but, you go to CDO." This would always frustrate me a bit because I was taking a very tough course load and knew that there were in fact some excellent teachers/classes/students at my school. However, once I began hearing teammates complain about the rigour of their courses and the facts that an A is 94+ and under 70 is failing, I thought, hey, I guess their school is a lot harder and they must be pretty smart considering they all have at least a 3.0, most 3.5+. </p>
<h2>That turned out to be wrong. Only one girl on the team scored higher on the either the SAT or PSAT than I, and, over a couple years of playing with my team, I realized that they really weren't all that smart. This was despite their talking of extra hours of tutoring and SAT prep and their grading scale and "superior" school. </h2>