Elite Private School Tution: Income Needed for 2 kids (Dallas, Plano: for sale, real estate)

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Jayerdu

I used to teach at a catholic school and an independent private school. I was also on the admissions committee. I think you'd be surprised how much financial aid is out there. Also, I don't know about dallas because I taught in NC but Catholics got a special rate that was equivalent to about 50-75% of the originally tuition depending on finiancial aid. Also, where I taught teachers' kids got a 50% reduction.

E.g., my niece attended a catholic school and got a 50% reduction in tuition via financial aid. Their family income was 100K with 4 total kids in the family. They basically paid $500 a month which is comparable to a car payment.

It is my experience about 25% are uber rich 50% are upper upper middle class and 25% are middle to upper middle class.

It is my understanding that the Catholic discount in Dallas is nowhere near as deep as other parts of the country. Think it's closer to 25-30% off non-parishoner rates. Several of the Catholic schools here do discount further for your 3rd, 4th, etc kid though.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by aggie972

What is the value proposition for going private over buying in a suburb with a good school district like Plano or Frisco? I'm asking this honestly as someone who doesn't have kids yet; not someone who is trying to justify a choice they've already made. Houses in Plano and Frisco can be had for well under the $1MM plus it takes to get into the Park Cities. And while you could say that schools like St. Mark's, Hockaday, Greenhill, etc. are a cut above any public school offerings, how can you know before your kids are even school age if they'll even be accepted into schools like those? If you're forced to enroll them in that "next tier" of private schools, then does your argument that suburban public schools just aren't as good still hold water?

A couple of quick caveats: If your motivation for choosing a private school is based on a desire for religious instruction, "cultural fit", or greater odds of your kid making the football team then I respect that, but those likely won't be deciding factors for me, so I'm mainly looking for arguments based on academic merit and future opportunities for college and beyond.

For us, it isn't a value proposition. We just decided that we preferred to make the decision of where we want to live independent of the decision about where we will educate our three kids. We are willing to sacrifice some things for the sake of our children, but not the location of our home, neighborhood, social life. We also noticed early on that each kid is very different and that the idea of sending them to large, one size fits all public schools (whether in DISD or suburbs/HPISD) was not something we wanted. Our oldest child also has extreme social anxiety (along with other issues that affect her socially though not academically) and a small private school is infinitely more appropriate for her. Imagine our disappointment if we moved to a suburb we disliked only to find out that she needed something different.

But to your original question, there is no value proposition to it other than getting to live where we want without caring whether the public schools work for us. Though to be clear, we are zoned for a public school in DISD that is among the half dozen or so where parents with incomes that give them flexibility CHOOSE to send their kids. So it's not like we didn't investigate. It just wasn't a deciding factor for us.

[lakeside15]

Interesting responses so far. It looks like many are just willing to make a large financial sacrifice, at the expense of possibly saving more. No judgment here - it's just than $1M is a large sum for anyone, and particularly for someone making $250-$300k/yr (or less).


I do wonder how sustainable the ever-increasing tuition rates are. It seems like they rise 5-10% every year.

[lakeside15]

Originally Posted by Jayerdu

I used to teach at a catholic school and an independent private school. I was also on the admissions committee. I think you'd be surprised how much financial aid is out there. Also, I don't know about dallas because I taught in NC but Catholics got a special rate that was equivalent to about 50-75% of the originally tuition depending on finiancial aid. Also, where I taught teachers' kids got a 50% reduction.

E.g., my niece attended a catholic school and got a 50% reduction in tuition via financial aid. Their family income was 100K with 4 total kids in the family. They basically paid $500 a month which is comparable to a car payment.

It is my experience about 25% are uber rich 50% are upper upper middle class and 25% are middle to upper middle class.

Tuition at the Catholic schools here are much less ($8-$15k) and they dole out more financial aid. The "elite" schools I mentioned do not give out aid unless you are relatively low-income/lower middle class.

[lakeside15]

Originally Posted by numbersguy100

I would bet that there are lots of people with household income in the 200-300k range who are making it work by keeping housing and car expenses down. This can be done without living in places that are completely undesirable. But obviously if you want to live in a pricey place in Preston Hollow and send your two kids to private school, you will need lots of income to do so and your tuition checks will be a large line item.

I suppose so but nowadays its tough to get a family home in a decent area of Dallas for less than $500k.

[BayTexan]

I would disagree with that.

If a family home means brand new 4000 sqft with a big lot and a pool and the bells and whistles, then no.
If not, even in red hot areas like Plano (North and Central), you can easily get a nice home for 350-450K (3000+ sqft with a decent sized lot and upgrades etc.).

Originally Posted by lakeside15

I suppose so but nowadays its tough to get a family home in a decent area of Dallas for less than $500k.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by lakeside15

I suppose so but nowadays its tough to get a family home in a decent area of Dallas for less than $500k.

The fact that you don't think there are decent homes for under 500k is probably why you can't imagine how people send kids to private schools with an income of under 400k. If you have 2 kids, you only a 3/2 or 4/2, and it is still very possible to find this. It won't be brand new or newly renovated but it will be perfectly nice and functional.

[lakeside15]

I'm speaking of Dallas proper, not Plano or anywhere else. I said decent "area" not decent house. It's difficult to find a home less than $200/sq ft anywhere near the private school corridor in Dallas. A 4/2, 2500 square foot house at $200/sq ft = $500k, which would be nothing newer or renovated.

[brainofjjj]

Wow, this is an apt topic given we're closing on a house zoned to Withers tomorrow and just turned down a really awesome Dallas private last week. My wife and i struggled with these choices since we had our first child 4 years ago. We bought a home near St Rita almost 4 years ago thinking we'd either do privates or move to a burb for school. We both want our kids to be with kids from all different cultures and some of the privates had that in abundance, Withers has that as well. Our kids are also bi-lingual so the dual language program fits us well.

I work Uptown and she has an office downtown but works from home. We make close to 500k but aren't very frugal, i have a nice car and we eat well and travel. I also race cars so that can rack up expenses fast.

We decided last year to quit looking at Southlake given how bad traffic is (and only getting worse) and focus on options in Midway Hollow. All of our friends live around here and I do NOT want a commute more than 20 mins. I enjoy time at home and am not willing to spend 2 hours in the car daily. We struggled with the expense of privates but more with the idea of spending 50-60k per year on 2 kids. We have a nanny as well and would like to at least keep her part time.

It was a tough decision but given we had 2 needs, elementary education and the need for a larger home we toured Withers, talked to parents there and are buying a home nearby.

We will obviously be paying for privates one day but we are going to save now in preparation for that. I have trips i'd like to take with my kids and I don't want to give up my one hobby, even though it's expensive.

Most of our friends with kids in privates just make good salaries and some sacrifice niceties (travel, cars...) to do so but most do not.

This was the first time i heard of people taking out loans for school, i think that's nuts but it might be right for some, just not me.

[brainofjjj]

Originally Posted by lakeside15

I'm speaking of Dallas proper, not Plano or anywhere else. I said decent "area" not decent house. It's difficult to find a home less than $200/sq ft anywhere near the private school corridor in Dallas. A 4/2, 2500 square foot at $200/sq ft = $500k, which would be nothing newer or renovated.

This is right....if you want to live near privates in a SFH you're going to be paying $185 sg/ft and up, most likely closer to 200