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The differences depend on which private school and which public school you are talking about. There are myriad varieties of each, and myriad reasons for a family to prefer one over the other.
Good colleges look at each student as an individual.
My son got a 4-year scholarship after 12 years of Catholic school, but plenty of public school kids also get scholarships.
The differences depend on which private school and which public school you are talking about. There are myriad varieties of each, and myriad reasons for a family to prefer one over the other.
Good colleges look at each student as an individual.
My son got a 4-year scholarship after 12 years of Catholic school, but plenty of public school kids also get scholarships.
Right. Being the no. 1 ranked student at a poor performing private school that doesn't have AP/honors classes and didn't adequately prepare you for the SAT will not get you into a "good" college over a someone in the top 20% of his graduating class at a strong public school who did well in AP classes and scored within the median range of the "good" college's SAT range. This example can work in the reverse, too.
Note, even at mediocre (as judged by graduation rates and average SAT scores, etc.) public and private schools, there is often a solid core group within the higher ranks of the school who will be competitive for admission to the "good" colleges because they have high GPAs, excel in challenging classes and perform well on the SAT/ACT. I went to one such public school and attended an Ivy League university for undergraduate.
Good colleges can afford to cherry pick the best students to the point that it becomes irrelevant whether the student came from a public or private school. Also, a lot of "good colleges" including some ivies nowadays refuse to teach - they just want to collect smart ambitious students and let TAs do much of the instruction.
But if you're asking about pedagogy and execution, it boils down to 3 things (all related): funding, class size and teacher training/experience. The first 2 are relatively easy to figure out. The last is hard because not all schools disclose the specific academic majors of their teachers. For example, have the physics or math teachers actually majored in physics or math?
Contrary to myth, private schools are not better. They are designed to keep the so-called riff-raff out. Public schools have to take all comers, and they do a very good job of educating the 90 percent of the student population that uses them. This despite tons of propaganda by interests who want loot public coffers for private gain.
Contrary to myth, private schools are not better. They are designed to keep the so-called riff-raff out. Public schools have to take all comers, and they do a very good job of educating the 90 percent of the student population that uses them. This despite tons of propaganda by interests who want loot public coffers for private gain.
What kind of
Quote:
so-called riff-raff
? The ones who can afford coke as opposed to pot? Or the gang-banger types who, along with their lovely parents, attack cops after a HS dance (happened at a local public HS in my area)?
If you can pay the tuition without financial aid or with financial aid, don't have a juvenile record, meet the testing requirements, you are welcome at any private school that I know of.
In general, it won't make that much difference for private school vs. public school. I would say as long as the public schools available to you are at least decent, and you don't fear for your child's safety then it isn't worth the cost for a private school. The only times where it would be worth it is if the private school offers something the public school doesn't, say a Japanese language immersion program, that you really want your child to be a part of or if you live in the hood and your child will be going to school with gang members.
What matters far more than the school to determining a child's success is the participation of the parents in the child's education. The best private school in the world won't do much for a kid if the parents don't value education, don't read to their child starting from a very early age, don't help with homework and just generally leave their child to fend for themselves. I knew how to read and write before I even started school thanks to my parents; they put me ahead of most of my class before kindergarten and I stayed ahead throughout my schooling all the way to a Masters degree.
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