My daughter (currently a straight A student in 8th grade) has been saying for the past year that she does not want to go to our public high school. I checked with our Board of Education, and there are no magnet schools on the high school level. So we went to a high school fair and talked to a few reps. I was completely overwhelmed. Can anyone offer any advise? The other thing is can not afford to pay fully for a private school and would require scholarships or financial aid. Has anyone had any experience with this?
I went to a private school 20+ years ago that cost nearly $18K a year at that time. I still gasp at the sound of it. Over 80% of the students received some financial aid and nearly 15% received full scholarships (grants not loans). If your daughter has good grades, active school participation, good PSAT scores, can interview well, and you have the economic need - you will qualify for significant grants. Also, and this goes for college, do not cross schools off the ist because the tuition is higher than others because they may be able to offer a larger scholarship package. Those are the nuts and bolts - on a personal note, I really appreciated my high school only many years after graduating. There is great diversity in the demands of different schools. I went to a highly competitive all girls school. I loved the fact that it was only girls because it gave me a sense of freedom and confidence that I think would have been hard to establish in a co-ed school. But, it was a very serious commitment. The expectations are high. I spent nearly every waking moment at school, studying, or doing homework. There was not much time for social events. I regretted that. However, when I got to college, I don't even remember studying. It was all so easy for me and I could see that I was far more prepared than many of my collegues. I knew how to budget time, study, etc. I hope this helps. If you decide to go down this road, your daughter should spend some time at each of the schools she is considering to determine what is right for her.
Good luck,
cathy
My niece goes to the Waterbury Arts Magnet school. She's always been an A student and continues to do so there! She loves what they offer. She started at 6th and is in 8th now, the school continues through high school.
Erin K. :-)
Hi Lori,
I have to thoughts. Check again for magnet schools. I know several kids that go to special magnet schools that may be a town over.
My other Idea is out of the box. Move. I know lots of people that move to get into a better school system. Good luck.