This is spot on. If you have the means, you are better off investing in a house and district with a good school system. The investment returns. Sending your kids to private school does not give your child an advantage unless they need extra care, small classrooms, or have learning disabilities. My kids are in the Atlanta Public School system and my daughter is a freshman at Georgia and turned down other top Uni’s (including Tech). Ultimately kids are a product of what is happening at home. Solid foundation at home translates down the line.
ND: Private School
- Thread starter untouchableobu
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Has been great reading this thread. We have a 9-month old so we are a ways out on schooling but never too early to think about. I’m pro-private school & wife is pro-public. She went to Columbus High & I went to Jefferson, so we both had great public school experiences. Guess it depends where we ultimately buy in the next year or two. Would like to move back to Athens/Oconee from Canton area. Athens would be a private school situation but Oconee could send them to Oconee or NOHS. Anyway, this thread has given me lots to think about!
The MOST IMPORTANT thing any parent who wants their kid to go to UGA needs to READ THIS. UGA admissions takes every high school GPA and recalculates it. EVERY parent needs to understand this. UGA strips out bonus GPA points for Honors classes and Dual Enrollment. They ONLY give you bonus GPA points for AP and IB courses. They also strip out fluff grades like Art or Physical Education from your kids GPA. Full stop - no exceptions. High Schools will tell a kid they have a 4.4 GPA. When UGA recalculates it, it is likely to be a 3.8 if they did not take AP classes. The good news is that UGA doesn’t punish kids at schools that have only 3-4 AP courses. But, your kid damn well better take all 3-4. Follow David Graves blog on admissions - it is the only source of truth. It is sad when parents say “my kid had a 4.4 GPA and was rejected at UGA”. The truth is that, in UGA’s eyes, your kid was nowhere near a 4.4. It is a damn lie. It is fiction created by the high schools. As parents, arm yourselves with facts, tell your kids the truth about UGA GPA recalculation, and there will be less disappointment over “vanity” GPAs the high schools give out.
https://www.admissions.uga.edu/blog/calculating-uga-gpa/
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If you end up in Oconee, I’d go ahead and just send them there. My brother and I went to Prince Avenue because we lived in Clarke and my parents weren’t going to send us there. But my brother has 2 kids who both go to Oconee schools now and like it. I also know several other people I went to Prince with that now have their kids in Oconee and have nothing negative to say about it. Of course I think many would still like to send their kids to Prince but it’s considerably more expensive now, so I’m sure that influenced some decisions as well. Haha
You have to remember that you are speaking to a very conservative message board when you read the replies. First off, I went to private school from K-8 and public school in high school. Both have their pros and cons. The teachers in private school were better, every student (for the most part) wants to be there to learn. I feel like private elementary school is better than public elementary by a big gap and then that gap starts to narrow if your kid is the type who wants to go to a university we've all heard of. Why? Because by the time they get to middle and high school the school is somewhat segregated by what level of course you take in public school. My AP/Honors classes were no different than my classes in private school regarding the teachers, students, etc. Then I would go to my electives like PE, Spanish, whatever and it was like being at a different school, but the kids there were great to. Going to public high school made me realize just how much of a sheltered life you live in private school.
If you live in a good school district I would not go private school unless your child has a disability. Here's the problem though. My daughter has discalcula (the math version of dyslexia). The district doesn't want to give her an IEP because while she has been diagnosed by a doctor with it, as well as OCD and ADHD, ADHD appears differently in girls. She doesn't get in trouble, she behaves herself, and because of that they think she's fine. We looked at what it would cost to send her to Woodward and a few other places and get her in a program to help with discalcula. To get into that program at Woodward it is north of $50,000 dollars a year. Now, I know everyone on here is a billionaire but my family can't afford that. Normal students its like 25-30K which is damn near what it cost to send your kid to an out of state college, and you have a great public school option. I go all around Metro Atlanta and there are people in North Fulton, East Cobb, who live in areas where housing values are what they are because people want to live there for the public school system and how great it is, then you have people who live in city of Decatur, pay like 10-15K a year in taxes and don't send their kids to the great public schools there but pay the taxes! That is lunacy to me!
If money is no object then I could see it paying off, but as a kid who went to private school, the kids at private school are absolutely 100x more cruel, mean, and arrogant than the public school kids I had experience with and they are totally sheltered from the real world. I'm not talking about real world like going to Bankhead or Grove Park in West Atlanta, I'm talking about the real world as in, not swimming in cash where money is no object. If your kid has a last name as a first name he will fit in well. The money does not seem worth it to me, especially if you have multiple kids, but if money is no object then it could be worth it. I would try to find the most normal sane private school you can. They all aren't the same. If you live in a not great school district it would probably be worth it, but I can't stress enough how much private school kids absolutely suck and the older they get the worse they get.
If you live in a good school district I would not go private school unless your child has a disability. Here's the problem though. My daughter has discalcula (the math version of dyslexia). The district doesn't want to give her an IEP because while she has been diagnosed by a doctor with it, as well as OCD and ADHD, ADHD appears differently in girls. She doesn't get in trouble, she behaves herself, and because of that they think she's fine. We looked at what it would cost to send her to Woodward and a few other places and get her in a program to help with discalcula. To get into that program at Woodward it is north of $50,000 dollars a year. Now, I know everyone on here is a billionaire but my family can't afford that. Normal students its like 25-30K which is damn near what it cost to send your kid to an out of state college, and you have a great public school option. I go all around Metro Atlanta and there are people in North Fulton, East Cobb, who live in areas where housing values are what they are because people want to live there for the public school system and how great it is, then you have people who live in city of Decatur, pay like 10-15K a year in taxes and don't send their kids to the great public schools there but pay the taxes! That is lunacy to me!
If money is no object then I could see it paying off, but as a kid who went to private school, the kids at private school are absolutely 100x more cruel, mean, and arrogant than the public school kids I had experience with and they are totally sheltered from the real world. I'm not talking about real world like going to Bankhead or Grove Park in West Atlanta, I'm talking about the real world as in, not swimming in cash where money is no object. If your kid has a last name as a first name he will fit in well. The money does not seem worth it to me, especially if you have multiple kids, but if money is no object then it could be worth it. I would try to find the most normal sane private school you can. They all aren't the same. If you live in a not great school district it would probably be worth it, but I can't stress enough how much private school kids absolutely suck and the older they get the worse they get.
Dang those are two great schools. We’re looking at Trinity Christian Academy in Addison.
That has nothing to do with what I said.
I was responding to his point that his kids went through a significantly more rigorous curriculum than a Westminster student and used the number of APs as evidence.
If your #1 priority is to get your kid into UGA, Westminster is not for you. I was probably bottom 20% academically at Westminster and thought I was dumb until I got to college because I was surrounded by UVA/UNC/Ivy league students. As a result, I was extremely prepared when I got to college.
I can go into the other reasons why my parents elected to send me to private school, but getting into Georgia certainly wasn’t the #1 priority.
I agree with this. Westminster is where my oldest went to high school. He went to Notre Dame. It would have been very difficult to get into UGA because there are only so many kids UGA can take from Westminster. That said, if your goal is to get an unbelievable education, Westminster is terrific. Westminster has many many warts though.
For sure. School selection should be heavily family specific, and even child specific within the family. Many of friends had siblings that went to other schools in the area and had phenomenal experiences as well. There is no one size fits all option.
For me, I was able to start on varsity sports teams, take a AP marine biology class in Hawaii, and my network is extremely beneficial in my professional life. Those things were way more important to my parents than the prestige of the school or the “ideals” of Westminster.
My wife and I both went to Westminster and are undecided on the plan for our kids right now.
That is so far off, I dont even know where to start.
It’s all been said I these comments. In full disclosure, all three of my daughters graduated from a Catholic high school, where the academics were on par with the IB programs at the best public high schools in Raleigh. For me the decisions/questions came down to:
1) Will the school provide a quality education (including things like teaching critical thinking skills, self advocacy, etc.)?
2) What worldview will frame their education (this was critically important to me but not at the expense of a poor education)?
3) What is the socio-economic make up of the student body (I did not want my daughters attending a school that only drew the ultra wealthy. Catholic schools generally have built in mechanisms that limit this.)
1) Will the school provide a quality education (including things like teaching critical thinking skills, self advocacy, etc.)?
2) What worldview will frame their education (this was critically important to me but not at the expense of a poor education)?
3) What is the socio-economic make up of the student body (I did not want my daughters attending a school that only drew the ultra wealthy. Catholic schools generally have built in mechanisms that limit this.)
To your point about private school kids being sheltered, I think it’s quite a bit more nuanced than you are making it. Yes, some sheltering may not be a bad thing especially in the situations you laid out.
The negative comes more from private school kids not really gaining any grasp of the real world. They don’t get to experience having friends/classmates from very different backgrounds and cultures. Private school kids can sometimes tend to be less compassionate and empathetic towards people less fortunate than them, which is wild considering how many private schools are Christian based but that’s a different topic.
There are positives and negatives to both sides and the only real answer is, well, it depends. 😂
Like others say, depends on the public feeder system. Most in Georgia make private the better option if you can handle the financials. I will say the home environment plays a huge roll regardless.
I sent 3 through public but we bought a home in a Walton HS feeder because of the school. Mine are all out of college now, working and doing well in their respective careers. If you have the option of a top public then there are also the advantages of having relationships with your neighbors as students and parents. While mine were there, Walton sent 5 players off their football team to Ivy’s in one year. If your child applies themself, they will receive an excellent education but it’s a big school so it can be easy to get lost in the mix. They have to establish their zone just like they do at UGA as freshmen.
Something not mentioned on here is sports. Depending on the sport, big publics like Walton can be difficult to make certain teams. Tryouts are competitive and spots are few. Your child can be a good baseball player but he’s competing against kids that may play in college.
I sent 3 through public but we bought a home in a Walton HS feeder because of the school. Mine are all out of college now, working and doing well in their respective careers. If you have the option of a top public then there are also the advantages of having relationships with your neighbors as students and parents. While mine were there, Walton sent 5 players off their football team to Ivy’s in one year. If your child applies themself, they will receive an excellent education but it’s a big school so it can be easy to get lost in the mix. They have to establish their zone just like they do at UGA as freshmen.
Something not mentioned on here is sports. Depending on the sport, big publics like Walton can be difficult to make certain teams. Tryouts are competitive and spots are few. Your child can be a good baseball player but he’s competing against kids that may play in college.
If you want an unbelievable education at a public school, Walton is fantastic. If you want your kid to play high school sports, you better be a top 5% athlete to play at Walton. If you want to go to UGA, you will have a very tough row to hoe at Walton - too much competition for UGA and you have to take a TON of AP courses. Walton is a meat grinder - worse than Westminster - which sensibly limits the number of AP classes - to protect their kids.
Thats because you know it is accurate. Imagine paying for private school for any number of years and having to send your kid to Auburn or for that matter Georgia. Where’s the bang for the buck? Your aspirations should be UNC, Emory, UVA, or even better-Ivy, but the vast majority of private school kids go to a run of the mill public University, or small private. Here is the thing, why send your kid to private grade school or high school only to send your kid to public university (I was in private religious school thru 7th grade)? Private schools were created as a “class” separation, for special needs, or religious reasons. I’m not saying its wrong, but its not the meal ticket to success.
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That’s a fair point, and definitely agree it depends on quite a bit.
My personal opinion is that those things you mention about empathy and compassion are more able to be learned from the home and parental direction can help emphasize those. So, if it’s more difficult by not being around a more ‘real world’ experience, I will gladly accept that increased difficulty of teaching in Order to to limit exposure to things that I think are more damaging.
I’ve enjoyed all these post but haven’t seen one that asked this question. Can you afford it? Will sending your kid to a private school break the bank or cause the family to skimp of a lot of things or impact what you can do for your kid when they do go to college. Or how about your kid being on a bus 2 hours a day or drive 30 min back and forth.
Both my kids go to Maynard Jackson. It’s “Ok”. But like others have said we are very involved and make sure we maximize every opportunity and make sure our kids do their best. My son has a 108.8 average taking AP classes and is in the IB DP.
We have the money to go to private but the costs are insane to justify…..and we dont have grandpa chipping in either.
Is all the cash for private worth it? Not for us.
Both my kids go to Maynard Jackson. It’s “Ok”. But like others have said we are very involved and make sure we maximize every opportunity and make sure our kids do their best. My son has a 108.8 average taking AP classes and is in the IB DP.
We have the money to go to private but the costs are insane to justify…..and we dont have grandpa chipping in either.
Is all the cash for private worth it? Not for us.
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Good post.
It is beyond "vanity" gpa's. It pisses me off that the SAT has been dumbed down twice since I took it (1978). The estimate is that it is 400 points off of what it was up to about 1984, though the latest dumb down was just a few years ago.
Our kids really are not smarter than us. If their parents have a had a real conversation with them they should know this.
Unrelated to the discussion, but thanks for getting “row to hoe” correct. 😂
Definitely worth it. I was hesitant at first due to the cost and that my kids were at a very good public middle school. Decided to make the move for 7th grade. Been there two years now and cost no longer matters, I would do whatever it took to keep them there. It’s a world of difference. Don’t let the government decide how to educate your kids.
Serious question, does it have to be Christian? I went to a non secular private school and loved it. Still went to church every Sunday. I am glad that religion was not mixed in with my education. It also exposed me to Hindu, Jewish and Islamic classmates that I possibly wouldn’t have met at a Christian school. Keep in mind although it was non secular, the student body was at least 90% christian.
I respect what you’re saying, but for us it definitely needs to be Christian. If I’m paying for private school, I want a Christian worldview to be part of that. Obviously, we are training that at home/church as well. And I understand that different people will have different priorities.
100% worth it. If she works there you will get a discount.
The last name is a first name is a dead giveaway. Historically, status-conscious parents used naming as a means of showcasing their ties to elite families.
I had the honor of going to undergrad with a lot of kids from Exeter, Andover, Groton, etc. They were all highly educated, very well off, and usually had the best drugs. Some were jerks, some weren't, just like anywhere else. They did have the ability to expand your social horizons. My favorite was a Jackie O sorrie where my friend and I proceeded to get trashed and ragged on Tom Wolfe.
Well worth it! My kids love our private Christian school… small but just big enough to have decent sports teams.
I understand feeling like you can teach those things at home but let’s be completely honest, what is more impactful, life experiences or parent talks?
I feel like parents can lead children in the right direction, but at the end of the day they have to buy in.
We had the choice to make about 24 years ago. I had a buddy on the Pautla Drug Task Force. He said the more money available the higher severity of the drugs. Public school (Marijana) private school (Cocaine). We ended up in public school and both of my boys have Batchlor of Science degrees from UGA. Christain Private School should be different.
Homeschooling > private school > public school
This is a big driver for us - here in South Charlotte the high schools are 3,000+ students. Good luck making a sports team, getting a role in the school play, etc. A small private will allow you to not have to specialize starting in 3rd grade if you want to have broad extracurriculars. That said, the top south Charlotte privates are very competitive post-covid - you are better off securing a spot in K rather than waiting until 6th or 9th grade where they are able to cherry pick students for academics, diversity, or athletics.
Like everyone else said, it depends on where u live. My best friend lives in Jefferson and they have an amazing public school. I live in a small town in south ga. The public school has become a charter school and the teachers are so overwhelmed with Hispanic and Haitian students that don't speak English. But even before all that, I starting paying attention to where the teachers at the public school sent their kids to school. When I realized most went to the private school, my decision was easy. Also our small town newspaper puts all the gradation pictures in it with their plans after school. The public school had georgia southern as the most popular (nothing wrong with it, it's local and I graduated from there. But the private school had most going to uga. So im assuming that their test scores were better than the public school. Lastly, in my line of work I see some pretty bad things at times and I wanna shelter my kids as long as possible and the cost of private school is worth them not learning about certain things at a young age.
Public and private >>>>>>>>>Home School!
Ha! I went to Walton and have kids at Westminster!
As you know, Westminster limits the number of AP classes a kid can take. Walton doesn’t - I know many Walton parents whose kids are suffering from depression and stress - it is a meat grinder.
“Non secular” would be a religious school
[I went to public school and knew this 😎]
Not to be confused with a secular public school
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