How do people afford private schools?
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DawnE
May 17, 2011, 1:21:44 PM5/17/11
to Philly School Search Parents Discussion
I come from a world where most kids go to public schools. They're fine
schools that provide a solid education. In fact, I didn't know a
single 'private school kid' growing up.
We're recent transplants to the area and the school culture here is
different. As residents of Philadelphia and we're unsure our city
public school can give our kids what they need (esp with the pending
budget cuts). But when I do the research into private schools, the
cost of tuition overwhelms me. Most of the ones we've been
"recommended" are around the $20K/year mark. With two children, that
amounts to more than my family can afford. We do okay financially so
I'm pretty sure we wouldn't qualify for financial aid at these
institutions, but at the same time we'd never be able to pay $40K for
both of our children to attend private school.
So my question is: How do families in the proverbial vacuum between
"getting by" and "being well-off" financially afford to send kids to
private schools? Is there an angle I don't know about b/c I'm from
the public school world?
schools that provide a solid education. In fact, I didn't know a
single 'private school kid' growing up.
We're recent transplants to the area and the school culture here is
different. As residents of Philadelphia and we're unsure our city
public school can give our kids what they need (esp with the pending
budget cuts). But when I do the research into private schools, the
cost of tuition overwhelms me. Most of the ones we've been
"recommended" are around the $20K/year mark. With two children, that
amounts to more than my family can afford. We do okay financially so
I'm pretty sure we wouldn't qualify for financial aid at these
institutions, but at the same time we'd never be able to pay $40K for
both of our children to attend private school.
So my question is: How do families in the proverbial vacuum between
"getting by" and "being well-off" financially afford to send kids to
private schools? Is there an angle I don't know about b/c I'm from
the public school world?
Alisa
May 17, 2011, 1:29:17 PM5/17/11
to pss-dis...@googlegroups.com
I wonder as well. My understanding (I grew up with a elementary private school education, along with a move out of district & public high school) is:
-Alisa
- Using your local school,
- hope for the (school or financial) lottery,
- or move out of Philly for a suburban district.
-Alisa
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Holly Adams
May 17, 2011, 1:49:21 PM5/17/11
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My family will be in the same position in a few years. My husband and I are attorneys, but we work for the federal government, we have over $200K in student loans to pay off, and our house is not currently worth what we mortgaged it for in 2006 :-) So, $40K per year is also not an option for us.
I have heard that some of the $20K schools are very generous with financial aid, so it would not hurt to have a discussion with some of their financial aid departments. I have also heard that they take into account debts as well as income. I just visited GFS and their financial aid department said that as a general guideline a family making $130,000 with 2 children would be able to afford one student at GFS, but not two, which I guess means you would receive financial aid for the second?
Personally, my family will be looking into Greene Street Friends, a relatively more affordable school for about $12K per year, and I have also heard good things about Project Learn, which I believe is about $8,000 per year.
It is not a pleasant situation. It would be nice to hear if anyone else has had any experience with financial aid from private schools.
--- On Tue, 5/17/11, DawnE <dawnla...@gmail.com> wrote: |
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Monica Golphin
May 17, 2011, 3:08:19 PM5/17/11
to pss-dis...@googlegroups.com
Have you considered Catholic School? They are not as prestigious as many of Philadelphia's private institutions, however they do well academically, and they are affordable. Many Philadelphia families who are in the financial category you guys have described utilize parochial schools. I realize that some people feel uncomfortable sending their children to a school with a religious affiliation (particularly if it is not your religion) but it's a suggestion. My family is not Catholic, yet two of my siblings attended Catholic School for a few years. My family has run the gamut from public schools (Strawberry Mansion H.S., Northeast H.S., Samuel Fels H.S.), Catholic schools (St. Williams Elementary School, Cardinal Dougherty), private schools (GFS) and charter schools (Franklin Towne, Walter D. Palmer) - my mother raised four children and exhausted all options when selecting schools. It is a deliberative and exhausting process.
I attended GFS, I loved it, and would recommend it to anyone can afford it; however most people (myself included) can not afford it. I can not speak to financial aid becuase I attended well over ten years ago. Currently we are aplying to Charter Schools for my niece who is enrolling in Kindergarten this fall. My sister is a single parent and can not afford private or catholic school. I researched all of the city's charter elementary schools and applied to 17 charter schools throughout Philadelphia. I also filled out the school district's voluntary transfer form for an additional five schools (which is the maximum allowed). I decided where to apply based solely on academics; things like diversity and proximity to home were not luxuries I could consider since admission is through a lottery and chances are already slim. I started this process in September 2010. To date she has been rejected by all 5 public schools on the voluntary transfer request and 11 of the charter schools. She was admitted by lottery into three charter schools and is still waiting to here from 3 schools. So that's an astounding twenty-two applications and three admissions! When applying to Charters I suggest casting a wide net. We ended up deciding on Tacony Academy Charter School. It is a new charter in it's second year, but it is run by the same group that operates First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy, which has performed well since it opened almost 10 years ago.
Monica
Heather Morrison
May 17, 2011, 6:05:03 PM5/17/11
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I think Catholic school can be an affordable option if the religious part isn't offensive. I think parish K-8 schools are about 3500 per year. I have my eye on st. Mary's at 4th and locust. My neighbor transferred his kids from annunciation in south Philly to st mary's and loved it.
Anyone know kids going there now?
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
DawnE
May 18, 2011, 11:11:16 AM5/18/11
to Philly School Search Parents Discussion
We are definitely exploring the Catholic schools in our area. I'm
just overwhelmed at the cost of most of the private schools and amazed
that families with 3+ kids are paying close to a full year's pay (for
some folks) to send their kids to school. It seems like there must be
a 'secret' to affording it... but like I said, I was raised in a blue
collar family. My husband was too. We've done alright for
ourselves... but not well enough that most of my salary can be put
toward education.
On May 17, 6:05 pm, Heather Morrison <moblandpropert...@gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> - Show quoted text -
just overwhelmed at the cost of most of the private schools and amazed
that families with 3+ kids are paying close to a full year's pay (for
some folks) to send their kids to school. It seems like there must be
a 'secret' to affording it... but like I said, I was raised in a blue
collar family. My husband was too. We've done alright for
ourselves... but not well enough that most of my salary can be put
toward education.
On May 17, 6:05 pm, Heather Morrison <moblandpropert...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> I think Catholic school can be an affordable option if the religious part isn't offensive. I think parish K-8 schools are about 3500 per year. I have my eye on st. Mary's at 4th and locust. My neighbor transferred his kids from annunciation in south Philly to st mary's and loved it.
> Anyone know kids going there now?
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On May 17, 2011, at 1:29 PM, Alisa <ali...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I wonder as well. My understanding (I grew up with a elementary private school education, along with a move out of district & public high school) is:
> > Using your local school,
> > hope for the (school or financial) lottery,
> > or move out of Philly for a suburban district.
> > Is there a magical 4th option that doesn't involve me quitting my job to home school? Because that is NOT an option.
>
> > -Alisa
>
> Anyone know kids going there now?
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On May 17, 2011, at 1:29 PM, Alisa <ali...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I wonder as well. My understanding (I grew up with a elementary private school education, along with a move out of district & public high school) is:
> > Using your local school,
> > hope for the (school or financial) lottery,
> > or move out of Philly for a suburban district.
> > Is there a magical 4th option that doesn't involve me quitting my job to home school? Because that is NOT an option.
>
> > -Alisa
>
> > On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 1:21 PM, DawnE <dawnlander...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I come from a world where most kids go to public schools. They're fine
> > schools that provide a solid education. In fact, I didn't know a
> > single 'private school kid' growing up.
>
> > We're recent transplants to the area and the school culture here is
> > different. As residents of Philadelphia and we're unsure our city
> > public school can give our kids what they need (esp with the pending
> > budget cuts). But when I do the research into private schools, the
> > cost of tuition overwhelms me. Most of the ones we've been
> > "recommended" are around the $20K/year mark. With two children, that
> > amounts to more than my family can afford. We do okay financially so
> > I'm pretty sure we wouldn't qualify for financial aid at these
> > institutions, but at the same time we'd never be able to pay $40K for
> > both of our children to attend private school.
>
> > So my question is: How do families in the proverbial vacuum between
> > "getting by" and "being well-off" financially afford to send kids to
> > private schools? Is there an angle I don't know about b/c I'm from
> > the public school world?
>
> > --
> > Philly School Searchhttp://phillyschoolsearch.com/
> > I come from a world where most kids go to public schools. They're fine
> > schools that provide a solid education. In fact, I didn't know a
> > single 'private school kid' growing up.
>
> > We're recent transplants to the area and the school culture here is
> > different. As residents of Philadelphia and we're unsure our city
> > public school can give our kids what they need (esp with the pending
> > budget cuts). But when I do the research into private schools, the
> > cost of tuition overwhelms me. Most of the ones we've been
> > "recommended" are around the $20K/year mark. With two children, that
> > amounts to more than my family can afford. We do okay financially so
> > I'm pretty sure we wouldn't qualify for financial aid at these
> > institutions, but at the same time we'd never be able to pay $40K for
> > both of our children to attend private school.
>
> > So my question is: How do families in the proverbial vacuum between
> > "getting by" and "being well-off" financially afford to send kids to
> > private schools? Is there an angle I don't know about b/c I'm from
> > the public school world?
>
> > --
>
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> > Groups "Philly School Search Parents Discussion" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to pss-dis...@googlegroups.com
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> > pss-discussio...@googlegroups.com
> > For more options, visit this group at
> >http://groups.google.com/group/pss-discussion?hl=en
>
> > --
> > Philly School Searchhttp://phillyschoolsearch.com/
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> > Groups "Philly School Search Parents Discussion" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to pss-dis...@googlegroups.com
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> > pss-discussio...@googlegroups.com
> > For more options, visit this group at
> >http://groups.google.com/group/pss-discussion?hl=en
>
> > --
>
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> > Groups "Philly School Search Parents Discussion" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to pss-dis...@googlegroups.com
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
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> > For more options, visit this group at
> >http://groups.google.com/group/pss-discussion?hl=en- Hide quoted text -
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> > Groups "Philly School Search Parents Discussion" group.
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> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
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> > For more options, visit this group at
>
> - Show quoted text -
Len
May 31, 2011, 9:08:09 PM5/31/11
to Philly School Search Parents Discussion
Great discussion!
There are definitely lower cost alternatives out there. The Waldorf
School, Greene Street Friends, Montessori Schools, Catholic Schools,
Jewish Day Schools are all less expensive, and there are probably
more. It should also be noted that the religiously affiliated schools
often have a mandate to serve their communities and will often be more
aggressive in their financial aid packages.
Len
There are definitely lower cost alternatives out there. The Waldorf
School, Greene Street Friends, Montessori Schools, Catholic Schools,
Jewish Day Schools are all less expensive, and there are probably
more. It should also be noted that the religiously affiliated schools
often have a mandate to serve their communities and will often be more
aggressive in their financial aid packages.
Len
miriam hill
Jun 1, 2011, 10:29:12 AM6/1/11
to pss-dis...@googlegroups.com
I also learned recently of Frankford Friends, which many people like. It's way up for Frankford, so for me, transportation is a huge issue, even if the district maintains busing. That said, I know a couple of parents who were thrilled w/ Frankford, and the kindergarten tuition is something like $8,000 or $9,000 yearly.
Miriam
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