Holy Price Cut!

[Deleted]

I don't know if anyone remembers, but I'd been struggling with the decision to send my oldest to private school for Jr/Sr High.  It's one of the top college prep schools in the state and is very heavily subsidized by benefactors so it's reasonably priced (3K/year for 7th and 8th grade and 6K/year for 9-12)  I'd been working with them for a couple years and when still married they figured I would get at least $1000 grant.  Well, even with that, the recent fiasco with the ex pretty much nixed any plans for anything but public. 

Now today I just read a press release.  The school got a huge anonymous endowment of many millions to cut tuition in HALF for the next 6 years!  Now I'm torn again. 

With financial aid he could potentially go to high school there for 2K/year, and every student gets a four year scholarship upon graduation.  It varies based on ACT scores, class rank and extracurricular participation, but the average is $1500 renewable for 4 years. 

So freaking tempting...

[The Captain]

I know things are really tight for you, but I'd take a second job to make sure my kid got access to the best education possible if needed.


Go for it, you've been doing an amazing job of figuring things out.  Does your state have an education credit that may help cover some of the shortfall?

[sheilaincali]

I know things are really tight for you, but I'd take a second job to make sure my kid got access to the best education possible if needed.

Not to get all "peer pressure" up in your business but DO IT DO IT DO IT.

Honestly it sounds like it would be a really good program for him.  If we had something similar here in my town I'd do it in a heartbeat for DS. 

[Sam_2.0]

I would absolutely go for it!! Can his dad help out at all with the cost? From what you've said about him he seems very reasonable and a very involved parent.

[tcu2003]

Jul 30, 2014 12:38:38 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

I would absolutely go for it!! Can his dad help out at all with the cost? From what you've said about him he seems very reasonable and a very involved parent.

This!

[alabamagal]

We struggled for years and sent all 3 kids to private school for all but the early years of my first 2.  Tuition started at ~$2k per year when they were younger, and was up to $6k per year when youngest was in 12th grade.  Overall, we spent a little over $100k for the 3 kids!  And I would do it again.  They all got full tuition scholarships in college and have kept them (so far).

[Gardening Grandma]

What an opportunity for him! Could his dad come up with half? What about his paternal grandparents? (I sure would for my grandchild)

[raeoflyte]

Can you tap his college savings funds if needed?  Or stop contributing for a bit since you're paying for private tuition to help him get college scholarships?  

And I'll 3rd, 4th, 5th--do it! do it! do it!

[Deleted]

I'm thinking of saving what I can for the next couple years and starting him in 9th grade. The original plan was to start in 7th to get him used to a traditional school and homework before high school when it really counted (he's in a Montessori charter now), so I've already saved a few thousand for it as well as opening a Scrip account with the school which has several hundred in it. 

He's starting 7th in just a few weeks, so it would be a lot of scrambling to get him placement tested and admitted, plus if he's a current student at the charter his brother has a lot better shot at the Kindergarten lottery this spring and I definitely want him to get in. 

[Deleted]

Oh, and when I emailed his Dad his reply was "Better get him on the list".  So I'm sure he'd like him to go.  I don't know if I'd get more help financially though.  He already pays a lot of child support, has a new baby on the way and will be housing his Chinese in-laws for 6-8 months after the baby shows up.  Plus, DS said his Dad said they're going to get a new house before the baby comes.  I know he's stretched to the max.

[Deleted]

Jul 30, 2014 12:32:33 GMT -5 The Captain said:

I know things are really tight for you, but I'd take a second job to make sure my kid got access to the best education possible if needed.


Go for it, you've been doing an amazing job of figuring things out.  Does your state have an education credit that may help cover some of the shortfall?

No credit for tuition, but it looks like you can subtract up to $2500 of private school tuition paid from state income.

[Deleted]

unless the public school was a disaster, I wouldn't struggle financially to do it if it meant giving up other things that I felt were important.  also, will you be able to do the same thing for the younger one?  I struggled with possibly having to come up with $15-$20k a year for DD for high school if her high school hadn't gotten the IB programme and had no idea how I was going to do it, luckily I didn't have to.

[Blonde Granny]

Just a couple of thoughts...our grandson was accepted into the Intl. Baccalaureate Program for high school last year.  His Mom was over the moon with the idea, our son.....not quite so much, but not against it.  Our grandson weighed the options, first being he would only know a few of the incoming freshman, and none were considered close friends.  If he stayed where he was, he would move into HS with all his friends he had known since pre-school as they all live in the same area.  He opted for standard high school and takes ALL AP classes.  In the end, he'll probably come out the same as if he did the IB program.  With a little guidance from his parents, our GS made the decision.

My other thoughts....does you son make friends easily? will he be able to make a smooth transition into the private school for his freshman year? or would it be better to enroll him now when he's a little younger and possibly better able to deal with new friends and a new school.  Just remember how most of us felt getting dumped into high school. 

Best wishes for making a good decision.....

[Deleted]

Jul 30, 2014 13:47:48 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

Just a couple of thoughts...our grandson was accepted into the Intl. Baccalaureate Program for high school last year.  His Mom was over the moon with the idea, our son.....not quite so much, but not against it.  Our grandson weighed the options, first being he would only know a few of the incoming freshman, and none were considered close friends.  If he stayed where he was, he would move into HS with all his friends he had known since pre-school as they all live in the same area.  He opted for standard high school and takes ALL AP classes.  In the end, he'll probably come out the same as if he did the IB program.  With a little guidance from his parents, our GS made the decision.

My other thoughts....does you son make friends easily? will he be able to make a smooth transition into the private school for his freshman year? or would it be better to enroll him now when he's a little younger and possibly better able to deal with new friends and a new school.  Just remember how most of us felt getting dumped into high school. 

Best wishes for making a good decision.....

No.  He doesn't.  But, on the plus side, his Boy Scout troop is sponsored by a Catholic parish (the school is Catholic), so several members of his patrol already attend the private. 

The best years to move him would be 7th or 9th.  Those are the natural breaks.  Our charter goes to 8th grade and then all of them have to move on to one of two schools.  The public or the private.  7th grade is another good year to start because all the kids are new at the private that year, although they've mostly been moving along with the same group of kids since Kindy, it's just they change campuses.

[Blonde Granny]

Don't you just hate that sometimes you have to be the grown-up?

[nutty]

That is awesome news MPL !!!!! I think you can make this work.

[Lizard Queen]

Does his current school keep pace with the private school?  I went from a small, private Catholic school to a very good public school in 6-7th grades.  7th grade was almost a complete repeat of 6th for me.  (If I were more outgoing, and had my parents advocated for me, I could have probably just skipped that grade.)  Anyway, going to a school that's ahead academically could be a disadvantage to your son.  Just something to look into/consider.

[Deleted]

Jul 30, 2014 14:20:25 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Does his current school keep pace with the private school?  I went from a small, private Catholic school to a very good public school in 6-7th grades.  7th grade was almost a complete repeat of 6th for me.  (If I were more outgoing, and had my parents advocated for me, I could have probably just skipped that grade.)  Anyway, going to a school that's ahead academically could be a disadvantage to your son.  Just something to look into/consider.

I'm not sure on the school, it's really hard to tell when you're dealing with a Montessori style that doesn't follow a normal curriculum, but my son personally I'm not worried about.  MN tests annually and he typically scores very high for the state...like 97th percentile in science, 90th percentile in math, and 90th percentile in reading.  Plus, the two summers prior to this one I had him take math classes put on by the private school and he did really well.  In fact when he was going into 5th, I had him enrolled in an Algebra series there and it wasn't until after he started that they called and said it was for kids going into 7th.  They said he was doing fine, so just left him. 

My big worry is he's lazy as all get out and getting hit with regular homework and projects is going to kill him. He's not used to that at all.  But, that would be an issue even with public high school. 

[Deleted]

Jul 30, 2014 13:24:58 GMT -5 @singlemominmd said:

unless the public school was a disaster, I wouldn't struggle financially to do it if it meant giving up other things that I felt were important.  also, will you be able to do the same thing for the younger one?  I struggled with possibly having to come up with $15-$20k a year for DD for high school if her high school hadn't gotten the IB programme and had no idea how I was going to do it, luckily I didn't have to.

Not sure. The deal will be long gone then, but they're 8 years apart, so at least it won't be like they're each in different schools at the same time.  Older will be done with college when younger starts high school, so going to the same one might not be as big a deal.  

[Deleted]

Minnesota, it sounds like a great opportunity. I think you should go for it.

Thoughts:
- Entering in 9th grade would be cheaper 
- But maybe it would be easier to enter in 7th grade
- Since this is your older son, and your first ex is doing well financially, would he contribute to this? 

I agree, you can probably make this work, and I think it's a good cause. If it's that tight, you can always try to get him into that school in 9th grade instead of 7th grade, as long as he has as good a chance of getting in then. 

ETA: Might this be a reason for you to consider downsizing? Again, there is a world between your farm and an apartment in town. You'd have plenty of time to find something to your liking. But I know you are REALLY attached to your place, so maybe not, just a thought. 

Good luck!!!

[Deleted]

I hope that when the time comes you're in a better place financially so you COULD do the same for the younger one. 

But if you can't, that's not a reason to deprive the older one of this opportunity. 

We have ALWAYS tried to be VERY fair with our (4) kids. But fair doesn't necessarily mean equal, and I think it's wrong to deprive one of an opportunity just because the other doesn't / may not have that same opportunity. 

Our 3 oldest kids went to 3 different high schools, because each of those high schools was the best option for them. Our 4th goes to the same HS as his oldest sibling (11 years later). The teachers still sometimes affectionately call DS3 "the baby in the stroller", because he was a newborn when DS1 started at that school. (DS3 is 16 now LOL.)

And even if your youngest doesn't end up going to this school, he will have other advantages compared to his older brother. When he's in HS, even if it's a different HS, you will have one already "out of the nest", and therefore more money.