<p>Hello. I am in the 8th grade and will be applying to some private prep schools this year. My dilemma is that the public school system in my town is very competitive and academically strong, so I am wondering if the extra $30,000 a year is really worth it, especially considering my family is not made of money. I do very well both in school and out of school and I am highly motivatated. That will probably mean that I will do well wherever I go, but I am very impressed with some aspects of the private schools that would never be available at my local public high school. My question is, do these pluses really justify the huge price tag? Also, I have noticed that the colleges that kids from private schools are accepted to every year are much more prestigious than at my high school. Are these differences because you need to be succesful already to be accepted to these prep schools, the quality and reputation of the schools are better, or that a lot of kids just have rich donor parents or legacy connections? Any input, especially from people who have attended both public and private schools, will be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>i went to public. and though i never considered going to a private school when i was in middle school, i now wish that i had. I don't think going to a public school really hurt my chances of going somewhere prestigious, kids from my school have gone to harvard, northwestern, berkeley, rice, cornell, and.. some other places that aren't coming to mind at the moment. it's a very small minority that goes to those places, but it's still very possible. the main reason i wish that i had gone to private is because i wish i was with people who are there to learn, more highly motivated, and just people who are more similar to me than the people i know at the moment. however, i would never put my family under that kind of financial burden. i feel guilty enough going to college out of state which is costing around 30k a year, but hopefully i get scholarships. so if i were you, i'd consider it, but keep in mind that college may end up being really expensive too, and that you may get into these great colleges without going to a private hs.</p>
<p>If your parents can afford it, the education is definitely worth it. The student teacher ratio lets you get more personal help, and the alumni connections will stay with you for life. Also, if you are considering boarding school, the study abroad opportunities, diverse people you can meet, and being independent at a great school are, in my opinion, totally worth it. Without the work, it's like summer camp, fun. However, I wouldn't suggest shelling out 30-40k for high school just to get into a good college. That would be totally worthless.</p>
<p>It really depends on what your public high school offers. Is there an optional/honors program full of AP classes and excellent teachers? Are you willing to work to stand out from 100+ other students to have a good relationship with a teacher for a teacher rec.? Is the guidence office efficient and competant with a history of dealing with top students? Try asking current/former students from the high school who went on to top colleges (the school's guidence office might have their e-mails). I go to one of the top public schools in my state and I have never felt my education was inferior to a private school. I have friends at private schools and really see no big difference other than some students who need more personalized attention probably would do better at small private schools. If you're motivated enough, you could probably make a bigger impact at a public school than a private one. Cost-wise too, publics can't be beat. Are you sure the students from the public schools aren't not going to Ivies because of cost? I know some people who couldn't afford the prestigious schools they got into who are now having a blast at stateUs and other schools on full ride+ scholarships.</p>
<p>It depends on the private school. The one I attended was based on a French Curriculum (French Baccalaureat) not to get confused with the International Baccalaureat which is much easier. The atmosphere was competitive and somewhat intellectual, however there are kids who are just there since their parents are wealthy.</p>
<p>Agree that it depends on the private school... we have some around here(Wash, DC) that charge huge amounts and are for the rich kids who are stupid. You'll get a great transcript when you graduate but only because you paid the bill... I think that at a public school you can do well if you have the motivation and the drive to be different. I went to private school/home schooled up until high school and I wan't like everyone else. In high school I continued many of my extracurriculars outside of school and that has made me different. Academically, it doesn't really matter, IMO, but the opportunities you have to search for at a public school are provided to you at a private school. </p>
<p>Also, it depends how much $30,000 is compared to you families income... if you can afford it MAY be worth it, but if not, it will not ruin your future. Also remember that private schools contain the top 25% type public school... there will always be a higher private school acceptance rate than public school rate.</p>
<p>Depends on the private high school.</p>
<p>Some, like Westminster in Atlanta, are really good. Extremely dedicated teachers and a good environment.</p>
<p>Others, like Pinewood Christian Academy in south Georgia, suck.</p>
<p>Personally, I think private education before college is not necessary.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot. Loomis Chaffee and Suffield Academy are the most apppealing to me, Suffield especially because of its leadership program and Leadership Scholar scholarships. Has anybody attended either of these, or know anything about them?</p>
<p>I have heard of both of those schools and they both have pretty good college matriculation stats. I have a friend that went to Tabor though and said that those types of private baording schools are completely overrated. Having gone to a boarding school in Switzerland myself, I have to agree with him. Every kid there came from a rich family and the school had roughly a 50% acceptance rate, but there were some real morons there that seemed like they belonged in a special ed program. As a person who has experienced the entire spectrum of schools (religious, private, boarding, public, rich communities, and poor communities) my assessment is that no matter how rich the family or how small the class size, the students that are the most motivated and go on to attend the most prestigious schools are the ones whose parents are the most educated and stress education with their kids. For example, the kids that I went to school with that went on to attend the most prestigious schools were the public school kids in Chatham, NJ and the public school kids in an IB program in Ocala, FL. One was a rich community and one was a poor community but it was the parents that made the difference. Even if a private school is better, its not 35K better. The only advantage I can see to going to one of those New England boarding schools is the alumni connections. I have to admit, they were pretty strong at my boarding school. If you plan on going into business or politics in the New York or DC area then perhaps one of those schools is worth your while.</p>
<p>Public schools rock.</p>
<p>I think that each school has it's advantages. Public schools are very diverse but usually don't offer the quality of education of private schools. I wanted to go to private school this year, but too expensive. I think it definitely makes a difference though because private schools can offer a lot more specialized education and personalized attention. Deep down, I'm kinda jealous of all the people that get to go to better schools just because they can afford them.</p>
<p>If the huge price tag will make you take out lots of loans or draw from money that would otherwise go to college, no. If you can afford it, yes.</p>
<p>It depends....i go to a private school right now. I liked it at first, but im starting to doubt the quality of the education im getting. If I had to do the whole thing over again, i wouldve gone to public school instead and wouldve tried to get into Governor's School.</p>
<p>Yeah, a lot of my friends that go to private schools don't like some of the requirements and restrictions that private schools have that others don't.</p>
<p>I think it really depends on where you live. The public schools here are pretty horrible (at least in my opinion), but the private ones aren't incredibly good either. The only decent schools in our state is probably the top private schools.</p>
<p>i agree. i used to attend this private school, but then we moved and i attended this public school that was waaaaay better than than the previous one.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the quality of the school system. When I lived in America I went to public school for two years, my first in kindergarten (where the quality was so terrible my parents chose for me to repeat the grade in private school) and again in fifth grade. I had terrible experiences in public school, both academically and socially. </p>
<p>But again I reiterate its the school system. With all my private schools I've had wonderful experiences, 4 different ones: 2 montessoris, one prep, and one international. I feel I definitely received a much better education at private school, especially in primary school. Its a matter of personal choice and whether or not you can afford it. But if I made the choice again, I would always pick private school.</p>
<p>i live a nice area of NJ where the public schools are supposedly really good.. in my experience, the public schools don't measure up to a good private school. i know of not so great private schools where almost anyone can get in provided they have money.. these are basically public schools with a higher concentration of wealthy people. unless you're wealthy and unmotivated, i wouldn't recommend bothering with these.
as far as the public schools in areas like chatham, nj like someone mentioned before... i live very close to know many kids from chatham, and the school definately does not compare to the good private schools around. granted, chatham HS is not the public school to end all public schools, but from what i've heard is one of the better publics. </p>
<p>At the school i attend, almost all of the people are very motivated, self-disciplined, and don't feel like just because they have money they are entitled to everything. my teachers are amazing. i have 6 other girls in my english class and my biggest class has 12 girls. another thing... at my school, i feel like the principal & administration are really concerned with our well-being. for instance: there is a school-wide rule that one student can't have more than 2 tests per day.
if you can't afford it, don't put a strain on your parents, but if it's possible, i would definately recommend going to a private school. it is possible to succeed at a public school, but in my experience there are so many unnecessary distractions, unintelligent people, and students & faculty who don't care that it's not a great learning environment.</p>
<p>I don't think your family should have to go into horrible debt, but if it needn't go deeply into debt to get you into private school, I say go for it! I went to one (In Canada admittedly, but same difference), and I found that the most important difference was the student body - Smart, fun, and generally very friendly and accepting. Also, I had some amazing teachers (only maybe 2 duds in 6 years), which unfortunately are somewhat rarer in the public system. </p>
<p>In applying to college, I'd say there are both advantages and disadvantages in going to private high school. Competition is much fiercer, and so you will either have to kill yourself (almost literally) to get the highest grades, or allow yourself to settle for a somewhat lower "rank." On the other hand, the admissions officers know that private school competition is much fiercer, and they will take it into consideration; and they will like the fact that you've gone to a private school because it guarantees them that you didn't go to a "sucker school," that you got a very good eduation and are "preped" for a good college.</p>
<p>The private school I go to is a mixture of super smart kids who are placed here because they're really smart and got bored at public school, and kids whose parents are really rich. It's a day school and around $20K which is expensive but worth it for certain kids.</p>
<p>I have a love hate relationship with it. Right now though, I really like it. The workload is incredibly intense, and while it's annoying, I think it will pay off. Kids get excited when their 6 hours of homework is all b****work and not studying or writing papers. That's like a night off lol.</p>
<p>The other thing is that the school really becomes your out of school community. Most public schools leave little room to really do good work with the school as a whole, but when there's only 250 kids you can do things as a school that are pretty special.</p>
<p>Sometimes I wish there was a broader curriculum, the only subject we have leeway in is art. There are something like 40 art, theater, music classes. But English is just English IX, X, XH, XI, XIH, XII, XIIAP, plus yearbook. And history is just AmGov/Foundations, WH/APWH, USH/APUS, APGOV, and they have 8 electives they can teach, they pick the 4 most highly enrolled, but they're only open to juniors and seniors which I think is silly.</p>
<p>Student awareness and intellectual curiosity is high, which I like, but there are still many times where I feel like so many kids are ignorant of the rest of the world. Occasionally we'll bein USH and someone says: "like, genocide? What's that!" and I slam my head against the desk.</p>
<p>All in all, it's worth it for me, but it may not be for other kids. You should visit. Every private school I know of lets you visit whenever you want as long as you give them a few days notice.</p>