Greetings from the “cone” of the Hurricane! Hope everyone had a great summer…Seems like we just went through this drill…We were just told of high probability for mandatory evac on Saturday night…Rolling Stones concert down here has been moved up to Friday night! Hoping to get a selfie with either Mick or Jim Cantore (Weather Channel)…Will evac early to ensure kiddo gets to school next week?
ChoatieDad attended the Stones concert here Monday night. Not my cup of tea, but he wanted to see the band before Mick expires. He said it was fun, lots of old rockers (people, not furniture).
Thinking about that awful day 18 years ago with my arms wrapped around my four year old as we watched those towers in disbelief, never dreaming he’d be in uniform one day part of that ongoing fight.
Never forget.
Thanks for remembering everyone and honoring our dear friends lost, as well as those who survived. Sending love up to the many angels.
A friend of mine made a comment about our local day schools that may well apply to boarding schools, too.
She said there are two kinds of private schools: The kind where the rich/elite pretend they aren’t… and those where they revel in it.
I don’t think things are as black and white as she posited, but I suspect most school cultures are somewhere along that continuum 
Thoughts?
The scenarios presented by your friend are not what we have experienced. In fact, it appears that the author is suggesting that private school kids / families of means are quite shallow. That they are either impostors by pretending to be something they are not, or entitled showoffs. At the private day / boarding schools in our area with which we are familiar, most families are genuine and warm regardless of economic means.
One can be kind AND downplay one’s wealth … or kind AND dress in the finest designer clothes every day.
Do you think they pretend they aren’t rich/elite to make other people feel more comfortable? I often find myself downplaying things (not talking wealth - sadly for me) in order to make others feel comfortable.
Or maybe they aren’t pretending not to be, they just don’t make it central aspects of their character. I know several very wealthy people in our town and I don’t think you would necessarily pick them out as different from any of the other parents at the LPS. But they aren’t hiding it. They just are who they are.
@dogsmama1997 - this also relates to “class” - the kind you can’t buy. Wealth and money were topics never to be discussed generations ago. Maybe it is also a regional/cultural thing? Also how parents raised children and behaviors that were modeled for them. I do believe that social media has provided a platform for much showing off, bragging @ $$, possessions, trips, status. It’s like that old story of the crow swooping down to find something that is gold shining in the corn field.
There are definitely regional variations…
This is one of those things - you will find varying levels of “taking on airs” inside the student body at any school, and the schools themselves vary in it, too.
Without a doubt, though, “taking on airs” doesn’t correlate to actual wealth.
“She said there are two kinds of private schools: The kind where the rich/elite pretend they aren’t… and those where they revel in it.
I don’t think things are as black and white as she posited, but I suspect most school cultures are somewhere along that continuum
Thoughts?”
Having been a 100% scholarship student (back when there were “Scholarship jobs”) almost everyone seemed wealthy to me!
In our more recent experience, international students seem more likely to display wealth as a badge. My daughter was in a dorm (01810) with the child of a Russian oligarch. She complained that the local CVS staff was not very kind to her. Turns out she regularly paid with a $100 bill, necessitating calling a manager to get change.
There is an article today in the Wall Street Journal @ FAFSA for students from non-traditional families (divorce, blended, etc).
https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-fafsa-and-divorce-11571623561
Paywall 
For those freaking out about the college application process, you might enjoy this conversation over on the big board:
Cute!
Also posting about college/applications on cc because your Senior has banned you from mentioning college or essays or applications since August!
(Maybe this only logistically works for BS families.)
@ChoatieMom thanks! Great read!
@carpoolingma what?!?! Banned from mentioning college applications??? ??
So funny (actually, really not at all so) story—my supervisor has a son who is also a junior. He took his SAT several weeks ago and just got his scores. So, I asked how’d he do (not wanting a specific number) and was he set to not have to take it again. She replies that he did ok but he definitely must retake it because out of his friends, he scored towards the bottom of the group. I was sympathetic and truly felt bad until she revealed he scored a 1540. Excuse me?!?! I’d be doing the Carlton happy dance if my kid did that at the start of junior year. So the obsessive nature is not exclusive to BS. As a matter of fact, it seems the public sector may have cornered the market. ?
Oh. And the only freaking out Ive done so far was about how DS was getting to his test site tomorrow - because no one had gotten back to him regarding transportation. But he just texted and said he had a driver for 7:15 am, so I’m back to sipping my tea.
@buuzn03 All I can say is thank goodness for ds’s excellent BS college counselor and adviser. I just occasionally email them “you still got this?” emails for reassurance.
It’s killing me. And so, fellow CC’ers, you get my angst instead and my relationship with my son is preserved. Thankfully we are happy with any of the possible outcomes.
Also, regarding the score craziness, it is so true! DS has a couple of friends from both BS and LPS who retook after getting scores 1550 and above.
^ ? that is crazy.