Private Schools in Phili Area? (Philadelphia, Chester: house prices, catholic schools, universities)

[Poshr]

We a family of 5, who are relocating to Philadelphia for business purposes. In the country we live in now, the children attend a co-ed k-12 non-denominational private school, with gorgeous grounds and not a huge student population.
We've been looking for schools like this within an hour commute into center city, but the only one's we've found are outrageously expensive.
Is there anything you could suggest?
Also, is there any suburb that you would particularly recommend? We are currently looking at Flourtown, Blue Bell, Villanova.
Thanks in advance

[TexanJax]

Hey there,

I am looking for the same kind of info! It's for work though as we help people relocate and are researching the Devon, PA area. Did you consider Devon?

Jax

[maf763]

If you can give a sense of what is not outrageously expensive, I could better answer your question.

As far as part 2, I like Flourtown for being closer to the city and Chestnut Hill than Blue Bell, which is more spread-out, further out suburbia. I've never lived on the mainline so I can't compare Villanova to other towns there . . . but Villanova is probably mroe expensove than the other two (though both Flourtown and Blue Bell have some very high-end estates).

[sbhubbell]

I am guessing that you aren't going to find any private schools that aren't outrageously expensive, except for Catholic parochial schools which doesn't sound like what you are looking for. That said, some private schools do offer scholarships and financial aid to families who really want to attend. You might look into that. I attended Delaware County Christian School in Radnor/Newtown Square, which is non-denominational but promotes Biblical values, academically excellent, very nice campus and not as many students as a public school. (My graduating class had 66.) I would still consider it very expensive, but worth every penny. Not as expensive though as some other private college-prep schools locally, such as nearby Episcopal Academy.

It all depends on what you are looking for, if you could be more specific maybe I could help more. I'm pretty familiar with a lot of the private schools along the Main Line, and in Delaware, Chester and Montgomery Counties.

[Poshr]

Thanks for the replies.
maf763,we were looking to pay no more than about $15,000 per child - at absolute max!
And sbhubbell, I have actually looked at DCCS and it seemed quite nice. Christian schools are fine, but I just wanted to make it clear that we aren't fundamentalist Christians.

So what we need is :
Under $15,000 per child
Non Denominational or subtle Christian
Co-ed
K-12
Somewhere on the mainline would be GREAT
Within an hour commute
Not extraordinary house prices

On some of the websites for schools, I can;t find the fees. If anyone could tell me what the fees are for Abington Friends School, Episcopal Academy and the Sanford School would be great.

Thanks so far

[maf763]

Abington Friends & Episcopal are over your range. Don't know the Sanford School. It will be tough to find what you are looking for at <15K. There is a site called advis dot org (Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools) to get a sense of more possibilities, but as you noted, not everyone lists their tuition.

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by Poshr

Thanks for the replies.
maf763,we were looking to pay no more than about $15,000 per child - at absolute max!
And sbhubbell, I have actually looked at DCCS and it seemed quite nice. Christian schools are fine, but I just wanted to make it clear that we aren't fundamentalist Christians.

So what we need is :
Under $15,000 per child
Non Denominational or subtle Christian
Co-ed
K-12
Somewhere on the mainline would be GREAT
Within an hour commute
Not extraordinary house prices

On some of the websites for schools, I can;t find the fees. If anyone could tell me what the fees are for Abington Friends School, Episcopal Academy and the Sanford School would be great.

Thanks so far

Although potentially more expensive than what you are looking for, I think you should reconsider PA and look into Moorestown Friends in Moorestown, NJ. It was Quaker founded in 1785 and is the premier K-12 private school in the region. SATs for this past year were 1,900 (on the new scale), probably ranking #1 in the Philly region and easily in the Top 10-15 in the entire state of NJ which has exceptional public and private schools. If you want your kids to get into the most competitive universities, like Princeton, Stanford, MIT, you should consider it. The Quaker values are 'light Christian' and would be a match for what you are looking for. College admission is taken very seriously at MFS. Kids have a two year hands on program with counselors with a list of colleges identified early on, coaching, etc.

I think tuition ranges from 15K for K, up to $20K for grades 9-12.

Moorestown Friends School

Moorestown is also a very prestigious address and an even better location than the Main Line IMHO. Your kids will have easy access to the shore, Philly, Princeton, and northern NJ/NYC. Moorestown public schools are also top notch, reputationally considered better than many private schools in the region. The % of kids in AP classes is among the highest in NJ. Top students in the public schools go to the same colleges as those at MFS. But tuition there is 0. Of course you pay a housing premium and high taxes. If $$$ is a big concern, you might be better off elsewhere.

[juniperbleu]

I went to Norwood in Chestnut Hill, the only problem is that it's K-8 and Catholic. It's in your price range, though, pretty small (my graduating class had about 60 students), and the campus is nice. I thought it was a great education, and is basically a feeder school for LaSalle and St. Joe's Prep (boys high schools) and Mount Saint Joesph's (girls high school). I went to St. Basil's for high school and loved every minute out there. I don't know about the other three, but Basil's is in your price range, although it's in Jenkintown.

Again, with all of these they're Catholic. St. Basil's wasn't too heavy duty with it, and there were a good number of non-Catholics. There are required religion courses, but they're more along the lines of the history of the church, how the Bible was written & why, and the background instead of "this is what God says, this is what you should believe." Might be worth checking out, you can always ask about the religion issue and if you get a bad vibe just leave.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by MoorestownResident

Although potentially more expensive than what you are looking for, I think you should reconsider PA and look into Moorestown Friends in Moorestown, NJ. It was Quaker founded in 1785 and is the premier K-12 private school in the region. SATs for this past year were 1,900 (on the new scale), probably ranking #1 in the Philly region and easily in the Top 10-15 in the entire state of NJ which has exceptional public and private schools. If you want your kids to get into the most

Take what this ^^poster^^ says with a grain of salt. Habitual penchant for making unsubstantiated claims glorifying Moorestown/South Jersey/New Jersey . Its time for said Poster to provide some trustworthy information verifying their boasterous claim that Moorestown Friends is the best Private School in the region. But that wont happen because there is none.


For the record Moorestown Friends came in at 19th in regards to best private schools in the area. The bad news all of the top 40 all appear well over $15,000. The Pa. burbs have some outstanding public + catholic schools which to choose from.

Good luck

Top 40 Private schools in Philadlephia area including S.J and De.

Use the zoom tool
http://philly4.phillymag.com/images/...chool_chrt.pdf

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by rainrock

Take what this ^^poster^^ says with a grain of salt. Habitual penchant for making unsubstantiated claims glorifying Moorestown/South Jersey/New Jersey . Its time for said Poster to provide some trustworthy information verifying their boasterous claim that Moorestown Friends is the best Private School in the region. But that wont happen because there is none.


For the record Moorestown Friends came in at 19th in regards to best private schools in the area. The bad news all of the top 40 all appear well over $15,000. The Pa. burbs have some outstanding public + catholic schools which to choose from.

Good luck

Top 40 Private schools in Philadlephia area including S.J and De.

Use the zoom tool
http://philly4.phillymag.com/images/...chool_chrt.pdf

What are the highest SATs in Philly/PA?