OT: How do you "shop" for a private HS? Best in SE Mich.?
For those familiar with the Michigan private school landscape, how does a family determine, for example, Detroit Country Day over Cranbrook, Roeper, Greenhills, Liggett, Notre Dame Prep, UofD-Jesuit, & Brother Rice/Marian? I'd like to say it's largely geographical, but I know families that lived in Bloomfield Hills and sent the boys to UofD-Jesuit, Grosse Pointe families that drove the kids all the way to Country Day, and Detroit proper families that commuted to Cranbrook. And there are apparently a decent amount of Ann Arbor families that send their boys to Catholic Central in Novi, over nearby FGR and Greenhills.
Is there really much academic difference between these schools, or is it a reputation and "so and so's go to X, so and so's go to Y" sort of thing?
August 17th, 2015 at 10:50 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 9:42 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 9:46 PM ^
The best day school in Buffalo (Nichols) was around half the tuition of Manhattan and Connecticut day schools as of five years ago. Quality was on par, some things better, some worse.
August 17th, 2015 at 9:56 PM ^
NDP, UofD-Jesuit, Brother Rice/Marian, CC/Mercy are around $13K.
Ligg, Greenhills, DCDS, Cranbrook, Roeper are $25K-30K. Cranbrook is the most, I think, at $31K. But I don't think families value shop one over the other to save a few grand a year.
August 17th, 2015 at 9:43 PM ^
Wow, tons of snark on this thread. Not cool.
So you know where I'm coming from: I don't know the scene in Michigan especially well. I know NYC, Buffalo, and Indianapolis quite well, and I know a lot of general stuff and some specific stuff about the East Coast elite and wannabe-elite boarding and day schools. But I don't think the schools in Michigan like Cranbrook, LIggett, etc are too different.
1) Good call. I very much wish my kids could go to a school like the ones we're talking about, but in the small town we're in now, it's impossible. Our small town is awesome, but that's one of the drawbacks for sure. Private schools like this really do make a difference. I can go back over the Twitter and Facebook feeds of my former students, and the ones from the fancy private schools are much kinder, more intellectual, more friendly and tolerant, more what I want my kid to be.
2) As far as how to shop:
a) ask for the list of where graduates go to college (NOT the college acceptance list because that sometimes is inflated by one kid getting into like 20 good schools).
b) have your kid shadow at the school for a day. Every school like this has a shadow program. Even if you're looking now for the 15-16 school year, I'd start at public and then shadow at different schools during the first couple of weeks. Then transfer. In almost all cases, they'll be happy to have you - I doubt it's that much of a seller's market in Michigan that the schools won't accept kids this way.
c) ask for the curriculum guide.
d) ask the admissions department for parent references. Obviously the parents they refer you to will say great things about the school, but look for what they say is great: sports, science classes, English classes, social atmosphere, caring teachers, etc. Everyone's looking for something different. Also, meeting parents this way gives you a start on knowing people in the school.
e) see if they have a public facebook page or group. Read up. If you're inclined to creep, creep on alumni and see what they're like.
f) do the obvious stuff like take a tour, ask about financial aid (they all have it), ask your tour guide (usually a student) questions.
3) Different schools are better for different people. Ask your kid what he's looking for in a school. Find a school where he feels comfortable; that's more than half the battle, imo.
August 18th, 2015 at 1:43 AM ^
I'm kind of surprised someone who doesn't appreciate "snark" would even come to this board or blog... and criticize others who do enjoy themselves some snark while at it!
I come from generations of teachers - both U of M and AA Public schools. So I hesitate to criticize you, a teacher who either went to Michigan or is from there.
Howeva (as is often stated on this blog)... your incredibly ingenuous answer to the OP seemed to me both bordering on patronizing, as no one would seriously come on this board seeking actual guidance on how to go about making this serious decision, as well as incognizant of the opportunity to poke some fun at someone trying to make us think that they would.
As proud alumni of the finest PUBLIC University in the land, you can imagine - as the OP surely should have - that when someone throws out on this blog a list of possible schools to send their children to whose tuition begins around $25,000 per annum... Well, there's gonna be blowback!
August 18th, 2015 at 8:09 PM ^
Uh, I don't get your response. Yes, the OP may be trolling, but why assume so? I always assume people are honest unless they give me reason to think otherwise. And people have posted on here asking for advice/knowledge/ELI5 about life insurance, investments, SAT prep, the Higgs boson, etc. So... is the OP a known troll? If so, I failed to notice his username and identify it as such.
Not sure how my response came off as patronizing. But I seem to have been negged quite a bit - maybe it did come off as patronizing? Or maybe people didn't appreciate that I said that private high schools are, in general, better places to be than public high schools?
Who knows? But what I said was honest and based on my 20+ year career in several different schools, both public and private, elite and not-so-elite.
And as for your final paragraph, um, no. What the hell? I think you're saying that just because UM is a public university, its alums are going to be biased against private education. In my opinion, and speaking as a proud graduate of one of the finest Universities, PUBLIC OR PRIVATE, in the land, surely we should expect our fellow graduates to make evaluations of schools (or anything else) based on empirical evidence, not based on some misguided loyalty to one type of education or another.
August 17th, 2015 at 9:47 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 9:58 PM ^
Can you please elab. Thank you.
August 17th, 2015 at 10:17 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 9:48 PM ^
it fueled the rise of western civilization, educated these guys
and will save you the cost of a new car, annually.
August 18th, 2015 at 12:20 AM ^
Well, my kid's in public school, so while we do donate (unbelievably frequently, actually, considering I'm certain my parents never gave a Damn dime back to the AA Public schools that employed them) our donations probably amount to more like a new flat screen than a new car. And No, not an Ultra HD.
Well there is TIME we donate to the school also of course, but that pales in comparison to the time home-schooling parents put in, so I wouldn't dare even consider that.
August 17th, 2015 at 9:48 PM ^
Country day is the next academically but also has decent sports
Rice
St Mary's
Cc
Are great academically and in sports.
Jesuit
Shrine
De la Salle are a lil behind academically
August 17th, 2015 at 11:07 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 11:12 PM ^
Define major. They seem to dominate the patrician sports. I think they won state titles in hockey, M and W tennis, golf, crew, field hockey last year alone.
August 18th, 2015 at 8:16 AM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 9:57 PM ^
As a proud graduate of Cranbrook, class of 1977, I echo the posters who suggest if you can swing it financially and your kid can cut it academicaly Cranbrook is tough to beat.
And I can also say that my classes there were a LOT harder than the vast majority of classes I took at U of M - especially my first couple of years in Ann Arbor.
August 17th, 2015 at 11:19 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 11:24 PM ^
Not past 9th grade. Played basketball through my senior year though. And I'm sure it was quite entertaining to the 15 people or so who watched us play (hockey, not basketball was a pretty big deal there for some odd reason).
August 18th, 2015 at 12:36 AM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 12:07 AM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 10:01 PM ^
If political is off limits, let's talk Public vs. Private vs. Super douchey Private. (Disclaimer, my kid is going to the most latter).
August 17th, 2015 at 10:32 PM ^
"Super Douchey Private".
That fits.
And I find it more than a bit ironic that the "regulars" on a blog for the football team of one of the most expensive and challenging academic university's in the country are offended by me commenting that Cranbrook is expensive and challenging academically.
August 17th, 2015 at 11:10 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 10:05 PM ^
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August 17th, 2015 at 11:55 PM ^
Save money for what? Not too many better things to spend money on than your kids' education.
August 18th, 2015 at 12:28 AM ^
Not necessary at that level, especially if this OP lives in a presumably well-off suburb with solid public schools.
August 18th, 2015 at 1:29 AM ^
Yes, I believe you have succinctly put your finger on what is stirring the "snark" and borderline "politics" tone of many of these posts:
Anyone who can even consider the schools mentioned by the OP clearly already lives in a district which one would tend to assume has excellent public schools. Therefore the entire exercise would appear (to many of those who attended public schools, and/or send their children to them) to be one of trying to find out which school might offer the best "connections," rather than the best education.
And then that begins to beg the question, "Best connections for whom"? Parent or child? And then let's add in even one more piece: the OP has followed this entire back and forth, admitted to having been prepared for a fair bit of snark in the reposnses, used the word "Patrician" to describe sports for which the common vernacular is "Olympic", and even entered follow-up and rebuttal questions. Such as, asking if Cranbrook is so great, then why do people who could afford it choose to send their children to other privates?
It really appeared to me (and clearly to many others here) to be a fishing expidition to determine which of these "Elite" private institutions would be most likely to attract the types of parents to which he would like to associate.
This blog is dedicated to following the University of Michigan, an elite Public institution of higher education. As OP states in one reply, having clearly done a pretty fair amount of research already, the "Elite" schools listed send a higher proportion of their graduates to Michigan than any other schools. But that just begs the question - how could a $25,000+ per year school possibly NOT send a higher proportion of their graduates to just about any top college than a large public school? But I doubt they send a higher total number of their graduates to Michigan than high acheiving public schools!
August 18th, 2015 at 10:26 AM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 12:53 PM ^
Your sharp retort without any refutation only reinforces my conviction about your motives.
If you feel you've gleaned ANY helpful insight from this board that meeting people from the respective schools couldn't have possibly provided, then for you posting this topic on Mgoblog has been worthwhile.
I know I've enjoyed it...
August 18th, 2015 at 9:15 AM ^
What the fuck is the point? I went to a small public school in the middle of nowhere here in Michigan, and got everything I could want....waste of money...donate all that money you're going to waste to a deserving charity....
August 18th, 2015 at 6:29 PM ^
How many other students from your high school made it to UofM, or a UofM caliber college? I'd assume not many, unless "middle of nowhere" means Midland Dow, making you an outlier. It's really challenging to rise above the fray, especially these days. Wealthy parents are throwing so much time and money into grooming their kids, leaving average middle and working class kids in the dust, as they clean up in college admissions and the prime careers. Google "achievement gap" for thousands of well-researched stories.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/opinion/brooks-the-opportunity-gap.ht…
August 18th, 2015 at 7:21 PM ^
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August 17th, 2015 at 10:06 PM ^
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August 17th, 2015 at 11:27 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 10:09 PM ^
just send them to a good public school like Novi or something. Private schools are too expensive and they turn your kid into an elitist jerk. Plus you get them exposed to more diversity.
August 17th, 2015 at 10:20 PM ^
That's not necessarily true about diversity. Private schools will draw from the entire metro area whereas a public school is just going to draw from its little geographical boundary.
As for elitism, hell, people say that about every good school (including U-M).
August 17th, 2015 at 10:23 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 10:29 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 10:39 PM ^
Right, because no kid from Detroit ever attended a private school.
Every school on the above list gives out scholarships and financial aid. The big problem is for those whose households earn too much for the financial aid but not enough to afford straight-up tuition.
August 17th, 2015 at 10:46 PM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 4:35 AM ^
If you're going to go to a good public school, doesn't that usually mean you'll have to pack up your family and live in that good school district to enroll? And aren't better school districts usually in more affluent, ie, less diverse areas? So you'll be surrounded by very similar people in the area. At least for private schools, you can choose where you want to live and still attend that school. And some private schools also have a very strong community service component to their curriculum.
August 18th, 2015 at 7:09 AM ^
allows you to live in adjacent districts and send your kid to that school as long as there is room.
Another of those neat things that has further decimated inner city schools.
August 18th, 2015 at 8:46 AM ^
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August 17th, 2015 at 10:13 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 10:29 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 10:22 PM ^
August 17th, 2015 at 10:23 PM ^
I put three kids through private school in Virgina. You contact those instutitons, you visit, you get a picture of the costs and finalcial aid situation. You cross some off the list immediately. You go on successive visits. You get your short list. You have your measurables and metrics - and then you make a decision based on your gut.
August 17th, 2015 at 10:25 PM ^
If you're willing to cross the boarder into Toledo (yes, yes, I know), Maumee Valley Country Day School is where I went and is a fantastic college prep school. A bit South of where you mentioned and a little too Ohio-y but that's about as much as I can contribute.
August 17th, 2015 at 10:45 PM ^
Speaking of Ohio-y, is cooler pooping a varsity sport there?
/jk