Private School Merit Scholarships For Gifted Students (Dallas, Plano: top schools, living in)

[Keepforgettingpw]

A friend of mine has an overachiever child who wants to go to some fancy private school but parents are happy with public school and not willing to shell out private school fee. I was wondering if kid can get into a private school on merit scholarship but not sure if this is a possibility in top tier private schools of DFW. Any one else with a suggestion? Some elite schools welcome gifted students to artificially boost their results but guess it's not an option here?

[debtex]

Most do give scholarships, but they are pretty uniformly needs-based. Meaning the kid needs to be an overachiever in a household that couldn't (as opposed to wouldn't) pay the full freight.

Even so, many ask the family to contribute something to the cost.

Deb

[Keepforgettingpw]

Oh, ok! So overachiever children must have underachiever parents to qualify for merit scholarship, strange! His parents can uncomfortably afford tuition but they are self made people and wish for him to do the same.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Keepforgettingpw

Oh, ok! So overachiever children must have underachiever parents to qualify for merit scholarship, strange! His parents can uncomfortably afford tuition but they are self made people and wish for him to do the same.

debtex is correct. And it's not strange at all. It makes perfect sense if a family wants to exploit an opportunity and can pay for they should. If a family can't pay but their child is very deserving that kid may earn a break.

Purely merit based scholarships are few and far between at Dallas area private schools.

Most of the schools do offer something like a Math and Science scholarship but that is typically a few grand for a year or two.

[Keepforgettingpw]

I totally agree apreciate need based scholarships but going to an elite private school is not a need for any body.My friends can pay fee but they will have to do major cut downs on other children's lifestyle and their retirement savings, that's why they don't want to do private schooling. This kid is asking for top schools like Hockaday, GreenHill, St.Mark's which cost almost as much as another mortgage.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Keepforgettingpw

I totally agree apreciate need based scholarships but going to an elite private school is not a need for any body.My friends can pay fee but they will have to do major cut downs on other children's lifestyle and their retirement savings, that's why they don't want to do private schooling. This kid is asking for top schools like Hockaday, GreenHill, St.Mark's which cost almost as much as another mortgage.

The kid is a minor under the legal guardianship of his parents. Thus, they make the decisions whether he agrees or not. It's no different than a kid wanting to play an expensive sport (golf, tennis) or wanting a car on his 16th birthday -> he can certainly ask, but in the end it's fully the parents' choice to spend their money as they choose. Is it fair? Maybe, maybe not.

You'll find most private school families ARE willing to sacrifice lifestyle to afford the hefty tuition rates. A family who isn't willing to sacrifice isn't a good fit for private school even if the kid could perform well academically there

Sounds like someone needs to give the kid good life advice to "bloom where you're planted". He needs to maximize all academic opportunities in his current district- AP, TAG, magnet school, independent study under teachers, etc). He also needs to be fully prepared that he could get into a Harvard or Princeton and not be able to attend if his parents won't pony up-> Ivies don't offer merit scholarships. Just financial discounts to families making under approx $180k.

[Keepforgettingpw]

That's what I told him but it's sad that kid is working so hard and neither his parents nor anybody else can grant his wish. He can't blame his parents either because they have three kids so they need to be fair to all.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Keepforgettingpw

That's what I told him but it's sad that kid is working so hard and neither his parents nor anybody else can grant his wish. He can't blame his parents either because they have three kids so they need to be fair to all.

Do you know why, specifically, he wants to go to St Mark's (or equiv) vs his current school? Is he bored? Does he have friends? What does he think willbe signficantly different at St Mark's?

If you are an influential adult in his life, try to figure out what the root problem is and find a way to solve it within his current school environment.

[debtex]

I send my kids to private, but we were both educated in public schools all our lives - through grad school - and have done exceptionally well in life. Bloom where you're planted indeed! (I like that a lot!)

Private school is nice but few of the very successful people I see around me were afforded that opportunity. If the kid has ambition and intelligence and a good work ethic, that will get him/her where they want to go.

[TX75007]

Originally Posted by Keepforgettingpw

I totally agree apreciate need based scholarships but going to an elite private school is not a need for any body.My friends can pay fee but they will have to do major cut downs on other children's lifestyle and their retirement savings, that's why they don't want to do private schooling. This kid is asking for top schools like Hockaday, GreenHill, St.Mark's which cost almost as much as another mortgage.

These schools are 30K a year.

Tuition does not include summer, after school care, trips, and various other sundry fees and costs. Maybe the kid can get a job to pay for it?

Originally Posted by Keepforgettingpw

That's what I told him but it's sad that kid is working so hard and neither his parents nor anybody else can grant his wish. He can't blame his parents either because they have three kids so they need to be fair to all.

Its not clear to me that the privates are academically better than the Tier 1 publics, ie Plano, Flower Mound, Coppell, and HP once the kids get into HS. PISD's Math Rocks programs really raises the bar on math education as well with the large number of kids in it doing VERY well on the AMC tests.

TC80 has pointed out that with 2+ kids living in HPISD is almost the smarter equivalent.

An astute parent with 30K to blow each year might think that publics with after school and summer tutoring and trips is a better use of money.