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I want to hear the pros of sending kids to private and weighing the both sides. However, it seems like a one-sided answer, at least in this forum
There are no "pro's" to not having adequately funded your retirement and since you posed the question as "should I save for retirement or pay $650k for private K-12?", that's why you're getting a resounding "no" for an answer re: private school.
While there isn't a lot of data about K-12 school graduates, if you consider public vs private colleges, 38 colleges produced at least 2 current Fortune 500 CEO's. 17 of the 38 are public schools. Texas A&M, Princeton, San Diego State, and Notre Dame all produced 3. In-state tuition at Texas A&M is $9k/year vs $42k/year at Princeton. Yet both produced F500 CEO's. I'd say the 3 CEO's who picked A&M got a huge bang for their buck. Same thing is true of a good public K-12 education.....a smart and ambitious kid with involved parents is likely to end up in the same place as his private school counterpart, but his parents will spend $300k less on his education.
Lastly, I cannot believe all of the private schools in Atlanta are $25k/year per child. Here in Dallas, the elite Catholic schools are significantly less expensive than the elite non-religious/parochial privates: Under $10k for K-8 vs $20-25k and around $15-18k for 9-12 vs $25k. That adds up to around $150k for K-12 Catholic vs $325k for non-religious/parochial.
There are no "pro's" to not having adequately funded your retirement and since you posed the question as "should I save for retirement or pay $650k for private K-12?", that's why you're getting a resounding "no" for an answer re: private school.
While there isn't a lot of data about K-12 school graduates, if you consider public vs private colleges, 38 colleges produced at least 2 current Fortune 500 CEO's. 17 of the 38 are public schools. Texas A&M, Princeton, San Diego State, and Notre Dame all produced 3. In-state tuition at Texas A&M is $9k/year vs $42k/year at Princeton. Yet both produced F500 CEO's. I'd say the 3 CEO's who picked A&M got a huge bang for their buck. Same thing is true of a good public K-12 education.....a smart and ambitious kid with involved parents is likely to end up in the same place as his private school counterpart, but his parents will spend $300k less on his education.
Lastly, I cannot believe all of the private schools in Atlanta are $25k/year per child. Here in Dallas, the elite Catholic schools are significantly less expensive than the elite non-religious/parochial privates: Under $10k for K-8 vs $20-25k and around $15-18k for 9-12 vs $25k. That adds up to around $150k for K-12 Catholic vs $325k for non-religious/parochial.
one of the most elite private schools in NJ is $35k/yr. so it would shock me that the only private school option in the atlanta metro area is $25k/yr.
another point - Princton's tuition is posted as $42k/yr, but what does a student actually pay, on average? I think they're a high endowment school where very few actually pay full tuition. just a side note.
one of the most elite private schools in NJ is $35k/yr. so it would shock me that the only private school option in the atlanta metro area is $25k/yr.
another point - Princton's tuition is posted as $42k/yr, but what does a student actually pay, on average? I think they're a high endowment school where very few actually pay full tuition. just a side note.
Well, there are options cheaper than the $25K tag. However, just to get into a private school is not my purpose.
While there isn't a lot of data about K-12 school graduates, if you consider public vs private colleges, 38 colleges produced at least 2 current Fortune 500 CEO's. 17 of the 38 are public schools. Texas A&M, Princeton, San Diego State, and Notre Dame all produced 3. In-state tuition at Texas A&M is $9k/year vs $42k/year at Princeton. Yet both produced F500 CEO's. I'd say the 3 CEO's who picked A&M got a huge bang for their buck. Same thing is true of a good public K-12 education.....a smart and ambitious kid with involved parents is likely to end up in the same place as his private school counterpart, but his parents will spend $300k less on his education.
Gold gonna shine anywhere. However, it is the average that needs some extra lighting (big name tags) to shine.
I see families went through that excise and they were happy about their decisions.
one of the most elite private schools in NJ is $35k/yr. so it would shock me that the only private school option in the atlanta metro area is $25k/yr.
another point - Princton's tuition is posted as $42k/yr, but what does a student actually pay, on average? I think they're a high endowment school where very few actually pay full tuition. just a side note.
Good point, however, if a student got into both Princeton and Texas A&M (or another state school), it's likely said student would receive a significant aid package at the state school, too, still making it much cheaper than Princeton (even with aid). The difference would be for the student whose parents make under $60k per year, then Princeton (and most all Ivies) are FREE. I just read that 60% of Princeton undergrads receive aid, covering 40% of their tuition. So 60% are paying an average of $25k for just tuition and 40% are paying the whole $42k. State school honors program still looks pretty good!
I see families went through that excise and they were happy about their decisions.
You know families who chose not to save for retirement who are happy about it?
Seriously, if you can't afford it, you can't afford it. I want a Land Rover but I can't afford a $90k car (while still saving & investing like we need to), therefore it's not even worth discussing. There's a thread on the Dallas forum now where a poster is whining that "middle class" people making $250-400k (her definition of middle class) can't pay $50k in private school tuition, but poor people can go for free and rich people can afford it and IT'S NOT FAAAAAAAAAIR!!!! Tough cookies, life isn't fair.
You know families who chose not to save for retirement who are happy about it?
Seriously, if you can't afford it, you can't afford it. I want a Land Rover but I can't afford a $90k car (while still saving & investing like we need to), therefore it's not even worth discussing. There's a thread on the Dallas forum now where a poster is whining that "middle class" people making $250-400k (her definition of middle class) can't pay $50k in private school tuition, but poor people can go for free and rich people can afford it and IT'S NOT FAAAAAAAAAIR!!!! Tough cookies, life isn't fair.
I was talking about families paying 42K/yr for colleges but forgoing free ride to decent top 20-30 schools. Some scarifies of course but by no ways wiping out all their savings. College education is more straight forward.
I do, on the other hand, hear stories about paying for kids education instead of saving for retirements. I am not sure how that will work out eventually and hence my question.
Good point, however, if a student got into both Princeton and Texas A&M (or another state school), it's likely said student would receive a significant aid package at the state school, too, still making it much cheaper than Princeton (even with aid). The difference would be for the student whose parents make under $60k per year, then Princeton (and most all Ivies) are FREE. I just read that 60% of Princeton undergrads receive aid, covering 40% of their tuition. So 60% are paying an average of $25k for just tuition and 40% are paying the whole $42k. State school honors program still looks pretty good!
i realize this varies by what one's specific major is...but if my kids get into Princeton & Texas A&M (if i lived in Texas), and Princeton was only $10,000 or $15,000 more per year - I'm giving in to societal stereotypes and pushing them towards Princeton if for nothing else than the connections they will make there. I know we all like to say how it "doesn't matter" - but when those resumes land on desks at my company, the one that says Princeton always gets more googlie eyes than the one that says Texas A&M. perception is reality, unfortunately.
One thing that's an interesting exercise that a classmate of mine did when applying to law school was he charted out every law schools avg income post graduation. he wanted to go to Pepperdine or Georgetown, but in the end, he went to Rutgers because it was substantially cheaper and the average income was something like only $10,000 less. It's not 100% fool proof - but if you do that as a 17/18 yr old applying to colleges, you can more easily determine your ROI once you see your aid packages for each school.
i realize this varies by what one's specific major is...but if my kids get into Princeton & Texas A&M (if i lived in Texas), and Princeton was only $10,000 or $15,000 more per year - I'm giving in to societal stereotypes and pushing them towards Princeton if for nothing else than the connections they will make there. I know we all like to say how it "doesn't matter" - but when those resumes land on desks at my company, the one that says Princeton always gets more googlie eyes than the one that says Texas A&M. perception is reality, unfortunately.
One thing that's an interesting exercise that a classmate of mine did when applying to law school was he charted out every law schools avg income post graduation. he wanted to go to Pepperdine or Georgetown, but in the end, he went to Rutgers because it was substantially cheaper and the average income was something like only $10,000 less. It's not 100% fool proof - but if you do that as a 17/18 yr old applying to colleges, you can more easily determine your ROI once you see your aid packages for each school.
While it's a interesting example the a&m degree in and around Houston would be more valuable. It is a one off but the A&M alum are cult-ish and a strong one at that
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