private high school payment

Parent Cafe
21

It sounds like the mom can’t afford the debt and the debt only exists because her ex-H insisted that their child attend there.

I don’t blame the mom for not “arranging for payments” or whatever. I’d give the school the exH’s contact info and let them pursue the debt…perhaps put a lien on his $3M home!!!

If I were the mom, I would figure out work-arounds…get GED, start at a CC, or find out how to create a homeschool transcript.

I hope this serves as a wake up call for anyone else that could end up in this situation.

22

[CT homeschool law](http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/curriculum/homeschool/home_schooling_information_packet_2013_14.pdf) requires that parents file paperwork with the district. That can’t be done retroactively.

That’s not always true.[Some CT community colleges](https://www.manchestercc.edu/enrollment/) apparently require [proof of high school graduation.](CSCU - Admission) NYS colleges do too.

The [url=http://www.xaverian.org/page.cfm?p=370]tuition[/url] at Xaverian is ~$13k this year, so I’m not sure how the amount owed can be $20k. I didn’t think schools would let you enroll if you owed a balance from the previous year, or let you return for a 2nd semester if you hadn’t finished paying for the 1st.

Does your son have high enough stats to qualify for merit aid? Can you arrange a payment plan with the school? What’s your ex saying about the bill and your son’s plans for college?

23

^^Xaverian’s website says current tuition is $18k (not $13k), but it’s due by June 1st or in monthly installments. I wonder why the school allowed him to continue to attend if they weren’t getting paid.

24

^^^
Does the school offer boarding? I noticed that it encourages int’l applicants. That suggests some sort of boarding options, but maybe not??

I’m surprised that any non-diocesan Catholic high school in NY is only $13k per year. Good deal

25

<<<
CT homeschool law requires that parents file paperwork with the district. That can’t be done retroactively.
<<<

Does it matter what CT law is? What if a college will accept something else? What if he was “home-schooled” in NY or elsewhere?

I’m not sure how CT law can really control except for truancy issues.

26

My homeschooled son applied to colleges in several different states. All of them wanted confirmation that he had completed a high school program according to our state’s regulations. That actually protects us because other states can’t impose extra requirements retroactively.

The difficulty for OP is that states that require paperwork to homeschool (NYS requires a letter of intent in Sept, a curriculum list, a yearly plan of instruction, quarterly report cards, year end reports, and yearly test results) are not going to provide the proof of high school equivalency without it. And colleges are going to demand all of that and more (counselor letter, outside teacher recommendation(s), & school profile), so you really can’t fake it.

OP could encourage her son to take the GED and enroll in the local community college, but then he loses out on any merit aid he may have gotten if they found a way to pay the high school. If it takes them a couple/few years to pay it off, would he be considered a nontraditional student who wouldn’t qualify for merit aid, or doesn’t that matter? Unless they can work out a payment plan or he can get merit aid later, I’d take the GED, start at cc, and work on getting that debt cleared. On the plus side, if he has a cc degree, he no longer needs his high school record when he applies to a 4-year-school, so they may be able to stretch the payment plan out a little.