Expensive private schools

[dejan91]

My school charges $20,000 a year, and printing in colour costs like 70 cents.  Right.

Anyway, VN is similarly banned for us.  Most likely because of the complete ban on forums though.

Tell me, what makes the school so good (apart from facilities) that is worth $20000 a year, when obviously not even printing credit is included!? I never really understood the point of private schools...

More to the topic, our school hasn't banned VN...no one goes on apart from me (at least I think)

EDIT: LOL thanks for the split in topic! Now my post of being 'more to the topic' seems out of place

[Gloamglozer]

My school charges $20,000 a year, and printing in colour costs like 70 cents.  Right.

Anyway, VN is similarly banned for us.  Most likely because of the complete ban on forums though.

Tell me, what makes the school so good (apart from facilities) that is worth $20000 a year, when obviously not even printing credit is included!? I never really understood the point of private schools...

More to the topic, our school hasn't banned VN...no one goes on apart from me (at least I think)

Most of that $20 000 is the reputation I think.  Your mostly paying for the reputation that elite private schools have garnered through their notable alumni, outstanding VCE results, etc.  I mean, when someone says that they go to a grammar school, pretty much everyone has heard of it.  Whereas if you say I go to "So and So Secondary College", most people just go, "Who?"

Also, the school's also got staff salaries to pay as well and that $20 000 does help. 

[lynt.br]

It really puts the education system in perspective knowing there are schools out their which charge $20000 annually while my current school costs less than $100 for the entire year. (I believe this year my school fees were only $64, which was about the same I paid for my year 12 hoodie.)

10c per page printing here as well. Is VNotes allowed at the school I go to? Put it this way, even YouTube isn't blocked at my school....

[shinny]

My school charges $20,000 a year, and printing in colour costs like 70 cents.  Right.

Anyway, VN is similarly banned for us.  Most likely because of the complete ban on forums though.

Tell me, what makes the school so good (apart from facilities) that is worth $20000 a year, when obviously not even printing credit is included!? I never really understood the point of private schools...

More to the topic, our school hasn't banned VN...no one goes on apart from me (at least I think)

Most of that $20 000 is the reputation I think.  Your mostly paying for the reputation that elite private schools have garnered through their notable alumni, outstanding VCE results, etc.  I mean, when someone says that they go to a grammar school, pretty much everyone has heard of it.  Whereas if you say I go to "So and So Secondary College", most people just go, "Who?"

Also, the school's also got staff salaries to pay as well and that $20 000 does help.  

I think for many parents, a lot of it is more about the kinds of people their children end up hanging with since this definitely helps to determine how their children will turn out to an extent. With the exception of perhaps Xavier in recent history, you could say that most of the private schools would probably provide peace of mind (or at least, more peace of mind) for parents in this regard.

[Edmund]

HA! I was at a private school and they used to charge 10c for B/W and $1.00 for colour. That wasn't a problem, we found a student-teacher account and shared it among ourselves before it got deleted According to the print client, we used about $200 worth of print credits and $50+ of internet data heehee

[EvangelionZeta]

My school charges $20,000 a year, and printing in colour costs like 70 cents.  Right.

Anyway, VN is similarly banned for us.  Most likely because of the complete ban on forums though.

Tell me, what makes the school so good (apart from facilities) that is worth $20000 a year, when obviously not even printing credit is included!? I never really understood the point of private schools...

More to the topic, our school hasn't banned VN...no one goes on apart from me (at least I think)

Most of that $20 000 is the reputation I think.  Your mostly paying for the reputation that elite private schools have garnered through their notable alumni, outstanding VCE results, etc.  I mean, when someone says that they go to a grammar school, pretty much everyone has heard of it.  Whereas if you say I go to "So and So Secondary College", most people just go, "Who?"

Also, the school's also got staff salaries to pay as well and that $20 000 does help. 

I think for many parents, a lot of it is more about the kinds of people their children end up hanging with since this definitely helps to determine how their children will turn out to an extent. With the exception of perhaps Xavier in recent history, you could say that most of the private schools would probably provide peace of mind (or at least, more peace of mind) for parents in this regard.

I'd say that's pretty much it.  I mean, not to sound pretentious or anything, but there are a lot of absolutely amazing people at my school, like kids who've already gotten perfect SAT scores, kids who do Spesh in year 9, kids who are already more or less professional actors or singers, etc. 

Not only that, but there are just some ridiculously awesome opportunities presented - the school orchestra has played for the Queen of England and (more recently, last year on orchestra tour) the ex-King of Malaysia, and our sporting teams are often on par with professional ones (our 1sts Rowing Crew actually broke the national record). 

You do get the unfortunate side effects of inherent elitism (if you thought what I wrote sounded stuck-up, wait until you see some other kids at school), but really it's well worth the investment if you can afford it. 

The other thing is that I'm on a scholarship, so I only have to 40% of the $20,000 anyway.  >_>

[dejan91]

My school charges $20,000 a year, and printing in colour costs like 70 cents.  Right.

Anyway, VN is similarly banned for us.  Most likely because of the complete ban on forums though.

Tell me, what makes the school so good (apart from facilities) that is worth $20000 a year, when obviously not even printing credit is included!? I never really understood the point of private schools...

More to the topic, our school hasn't banned VN...no one goes on apart from me (at least I think)

Most of that $20 000 is the reputation I think.  Your mostly paying for the reputation that elite private schools have garnered through their notable alumni, outstanding VCE results, etc.  I mean, when someone says that they go to a grammar school, pretty much everyone has heard of it.  Whereas if you say I go to "So and So Secondary College", most people just go, "Who?"

Also, the school's also got staff salaries to pay as well and that $20 000 does help. 

I think for many parents, a lot of it is more about the kinds of people their children end up hanging with since this definitely helps to determine how their children will turn out to an extent. With the exception of perhaps Xavier in recent history, you could say that most of the private schools would probably provide peace of mind (or at least, more peace of mind) for parents in this regard.

I'd say that's pretty much it.  I mean, not to sound pretentious or anything, but there are a lot of absolutely amazing people at my school, like kids who've already gotten perfect SAT scores, kids who do Spesh in year 9, kids who are already more or less professional actors or singers, etc. 

Not only that, but there are just some ridiculously awesome opportunities presented - the school orchestra has played for the Queen of England and (more recently, last year on orchestra tour) the ex-King of Malaysia, and our sporting teams are often on par with professional ones (our 1sts Rowing Crew actually broke the national record). 

You do get the unfortunate side effects of inherent elitism (if you thought what I wrote sounded stuck-up, wait until you see some other kids at school), but really it's well worth the investment if you can afford it. 

The other thing is that I'm on a scholarship, so I only have to 40% of the $20,000 anyway.  >_>

Reputation is exactly what it comes down to in the end I mean, I can understand why it would be great going to a private school, and there is no denying private school have many amazing people as you say, but half the reason is because they've poached from public schools. I remember one incident where a school was versing Haileybury in netball, and it just so happened the other school absolutely ripped apart Haileybury. So then, Haileybury offered the whole netball team scholarships. I'm sure this would apply academically too. Thus, reputation is maintained to a high standard...

I wouldn't call it 'robbing' from public schools, but it really does explain the inequality in public vs private. To me, it's just perceived elitism, really. Now, I'm not saying that's the reason all students attend private schools (obviously many arrived there like that), but just stating my observations. I actually didn't try out for any scholarships whatsoever (not even for MHS lol). Half the reason is because I forgot to apply for any and the other half is because I really do believe in the notion that "it's not the school that makes the student, it's the student who makes the school".

[QuantumJG]

I cannot believe that a school charges that much!

I don't think that my HECS debt will amount to that much, lol.

[IntoTheNewWorld]

^^I don't think it comes down to "reputation", but rather the things that EvangelionZeta mentioned that make up the reputation in the first place. BMWs are expensive for the badge, but hey, they make very good cool cars.

Although there is truth in "it's not the school that makes the student, it's the student who makes the school", a student with potential would most likely find more opportunities to pursue this potential in an elite private school than a standard local government school.

[EvangelionZeta]

Not all private schools function like Haileybury though; it's true that there are a fair few kids at the top end who get "bought" in by scholarships, but examples like Haileybury's buying of whole teams are very rare (for reference Haileybury is often considered a joke in regards to its scholarship teams for sports).  Generally speaking, for instance, of the 10 or so kids offered entrance scholarships for academics, only about 7 of them would be in the 25 students scoring 99+ ENTERs each year at MGS.

The other thing is that in my own observations, a lot of the scholarship kids probably would have gone to private schools anyway.  There are a few kids who most likely wouldn't have been able to afford a private education without their scholarships, but at the same time about half of the scholarship kids in my year went to private primary schools as well.  

That aside, I've spoken to kids who have moved from public schools to private schools, and in their words the private schools are a lot more accomodating for "excellence" in regards to atmosphere.  I agree with your statement about the students making the school; the thing with private education though is that you are actively encouraged to make the most out of your schooling, and the fact that your parents are paying about $20,000 a year really does weigh in on students' minds, hence the high ENTER averages, etc.  Not only that, but the kids who moved between schools said that private schools kids themselves will be more supportive of their peers in regards to achieving - one student complained that at her old school, "smart" people were made fun of, whereas after she moved she found that there was a lot more encouragement for her to do well from peers.  Whilst I can't say for certain, I'd wager this is similar to selective public schools, perhaps even moreso because it's often the kids who try to get in as opposed to the parents forcing them to.

Perhaps parents will often choose private schools because of the prestige attached, but the reality of private schools really do justify the costs - I came from a public school background as well, and I personally see very clearly the effects the complete change in environment has had on me as a person.

[GerrySly]

I'd say that's pretty much it.  I mean, not to sound pretentious or anything, but there are a lot of absolutely amazing people at my school, like kids who've already gotten perfect SAT scores, kids who do Spesh in year 9, kids who are already more or less professional actors or singers, etc.

Heh the other week I met Alan Stockdale's step-son at a LAN, he was fairly arrogant giving us life lessons and shit. Very articulate though (he's in your year level yeah? Peter Collins?)

[EvangelionZeta]

LOL!  Whilst I like him et al, he's (more than most) definitely on...one end of the extreme in regards to private school elitism.  Definitely wouldn't recommend judging private school kids' attitudes just on Peter...>.>

[excal]

TOP <-split-> IC

[hellomoto]

kids who are already more or less professional actors or singers, etc. 

*COUGH* summer heights high, Vincent? *COUGH*

[hellomoto]

For all that didn't understand my last post, EvangelionZeta was a prominent member of the SUmmer Heights High cast!!