Considering a move to private school starting in junior year

My child has not found Columbia to be a good experience. She think it's too big, not happy with the teachers and the facilities. Plus because she is quiet and not very self assertive, she has a harder time making the school her home. 


Wondering if anyone has any experience with moving their child from public to private in the students junior year. A little concerned bc it's such a big year for colleges to look at and it might be a more rigorous workload. Love to hear what others experiences were. 

Thanks for any help.



^Thread that @EBennett linked to was started by me. My daughter left CHS after 10th.  Her grades had  plummeted and she said that, "CHS killed [her] soul."  (Gotta love that teenage anxt!) Now there are days she wishes she never left.  (The days she forgets the soul-killing part.)  It has been a really interesting experience, on all levels. For her it was definitely the right thing but there are def. also drawbacks to leaving the community, and going to private.  As for us and CHS, my son is a frosh and we're giving CHS another chance with him--or rather, giving him the chance to appreciate CHS. Totally depends on the kid.  I'd be happy to share why my daughter left, what she regrets, and what she's happy for now, and, of course, share how I see it. She's now at Hudson School, in Hoboken.  



I think private school is a great choice if your daughter is not enjoying Columbia.  We switched our son to private school after his sophomore year.  He repeated sophomore year so he had three years at the private school.  He enjoyed the smaller classes, the smaller school, participated more in class discussions, loved the teachers.  He flourished there, when before he was content to just sit at the back of the class and not be noticed, do enough to get his B or B+, and move on to graduation.

The private school brought him out of his shell and opened doors for him that I don't think would have been opened otherwise.  He's at a great college (a freshman) that I don't think he would have gotten into had it not been for the private school.

The extra year of math, English and science really helped too.  At first we were concerned about having him repeat but he wanted to do it and in hindsight it was a great decision.  He matured, his academics improved, and it helped his SAT and ACT scores by taking them a year later than he otherwise would have.  

If she is not happy at Columbia and wants to try something else, private school is highly recommended.


 



Assuming it survives to the final version, the new tax bill includes tax benefits for people paying private school tuition.


If you can afford it, yes


Some of the private schools have a ton of money and they can offer significant tuition breaks to students they want.


I think that what BettyD described doing with her child makes a lot of sense. The junior year is a very rigorous year for college-bound kids, and college is a huge focus at most of the area private schools. I think to ensure a more positive experience (to allow a student time to adjust to workload expectations and a school environment they won't be used to right away) with better results to show to colleges, taking advantage of the opportunity to redo the sophomore year would be a great idea.

(also sending you a pm)



I'm really sorry to hear your daughter is struggling.  Like others have said, if you can afford private school, then I would go for it.  I'm a public school teacher and I believe there are many great things about it.  However, I can totally understand the need to have smaller class sizes and feeling overwhelmed.  I was one of those students who attended private school my entire life and loved having small class sizes and more personal attention.  In fact, I loved it so much that I decided I wanted a smaller liberal arts college education because the idea of a large university felt really overwhelming at the time.  There are some great schools in the area and each has its own culture.  Some are well suited to highly driven and competitive students.  Others are more nurturing.  



In order to add a comment – you must Join this community – Click here to do so.