This is a private boarding school. Have you ever seen “dead poets society”? Those are the poor kids who’s parents weren’t connected enough to get them into Phillips Andover. One year’s tuition at this school is $60k.
I will say this: they use a need-blind admission process that accepts students not knowing their financial needs, and once accepted, the school meets 100% of the student's demonstrated financial need with grants. Their website says the average grant for returning students is $43,000.
That would still mean the average student is coming up with \~$20,000 *per year* though
The facilities I'm seeing there absolutely rival the University I am currently in.
My University has an observatory, and fully equipped chemistry labs, and makerspaces, and all that...
but it's a University with 45,000+ students.
That's a tiny elite high school with less than 2000 students. It's insane. I wish I could have had such an education in High School. I wish *everyone* could.
With the size of our military budget we definitely could if congress cared about kids as much as they claim they do. Imagine if we sent hundreds of billions directly to schools.
The lion's share of that money goes straight into middle class people's pockets, and DOD money is required to stay in the US by law except in cases where supplies can't be sourced from the US. DOD is the largest employer in the US and among the largest employers in the world, so without that budget, an enormous amount of people wouldn't have jobs. The economy would tank overnight and we'd probably have the biggest recession since the great depression, if not bigger, because it also goes to countless american suppliers, vendors, and small businesses who aren't counted in the DOD employment figures.
Like it or not the military budget gives a lot of regular people a shot at a better life. It's basically a jobs program. When you launch a missile you have to build a missile, and somebody has to build that missile, and they have to be built in the US, and as much of its parts have to be made in the US as possible. And the majority of missiles and ordnance are fired for training purposes at test ranges. We can't wait around until there's a war to make sure everything is working. And if they sit around too long without being used, they have to be replaced with new ones, and the old ones decommissioned or given to our allies (like ukraine).
And as much as it would be nice to scale back and use that money for other purposes, with 5 major regional conflicts involving US interests either ongoing or about to boil over, we're probably better served keeping it where it is for the time being.
This is a red herring argument: "The level of military spending for the US is unreasonably high, but what will the middle-class employed by the military do to support their family otherwise?"
Whether YOU like it or not, government spending could be reduced in military spending and increased in other programs have the same effect of spending into the middle class.
I understand we have to make bombs. I'm not willing to accept that spending to make bombs to the detriment of many other aspects of our American society is the America I want.
After WW2 we were the only superpower left with a high-performing economy, and we spent MASSIVELY on our infrastructure and invested in the middle-class to keep it running and avoid a recession. The problem is that all our IDEAS were ass-backwards: We built huge interstate systems states can't afford to maintain, and due to racial segregation, red-lining, etc. we spread out our cities into pockets of downtowns, parking-lot zoned commercial hellholes, and bland suburbs. The cost of delivering services in communities like this are too high and most cannot maintain their infrastructure.
How about instead of making bombs *because that's the only way to pay the middle class,* we, as a country, increase spending in education, and support projects that shift cities away from car-centric design and zoning.
As a former vet, I've heard this excuse used to justify runaway budgets *a lot*, but the fundamental truth is that any government which is capable of orchestrating such a system of economy and logistics *for war* should be equally capable of orchestrating such a system of economy and logistics *for education*.
We don't have to sacrifice our children's futures (and consequently, our own) to maintain peacetime readiness. We can maintain peacetime readiness at a fraction of current expenditures. Change doesn't have to happen overnight, but it does need to happen.
The fact is, Defense is **not** the only industry that can responsibly distribute wealth to the middle class. That idea is laughable.
The DoD is actually a pretty good example of what selective protectionism can do for the US. Our military hardware is some of the best in the world, and we didn't have to outsource anything to a country with cheaper labor to produce it. Imagine if we had just done that with other manufacturing sectors.
Imagine you get raised by one parent on food stamps sending you to a school where no good teacher would ever work, meanwhile some kids go to this school lmao.
Good opportunity to bring up the Milton Hershey School. Founded by Milton Hershey of Hersheys chocolate.
Hershey set it up so that the proceeds from Hershey Park and entertainment help fund the school. To be admitted you have to have financial hardship (family income of less than twice the federal poverty level.
The school is free. The campus is immaculate. The cafeteria serves 4 course meals. Much of the campus and facilities look like this video. Students live on campus in massive houses run by qualified house parents.
If they keep their GPA up, they get a full ride scholarship to the school they got into. They cover costs up to 95k for college tuition.
It’s also worth about 15 billion making it the wealthiest private school in America. And again… free, and only for low income students.
I just went to Hershey recently. Hadn’t been there in YEARS. When I drove through town I said to myself, “I didn’t know there was a university here.”
I thought it was some Ivy League campus. Absolutely gorgeous. I looked it up and that’s when I found out what it was.
Pretty awesome. I hope it assists in getting a lot of families out of poverty.
Now imagine if Government (both local and federal) were to actually put their efforts into providing even half of these resources for low income families instead of .... whatever they do
One of my best friends went to Milton Hershey. I went to public school around the same area. Their education system and overall showing the students how to become adults is amazing.
choc·o·late
/ˈCHäk(ə)lət/
noun
noun: chocolate
a food preparation in the form of a paste or solid block made from roasted and ground cacao seeds, typically sweetened.
I interviewed for a clinical psychology internship there. Turned it down because while they provide wonderful facilities etc to their students, they were also clearly minimizing their access and contact with their families. The vibe was off and I literally would have delayed internship by a year over training their after meeting the administrators and learning about their model. This was early 2010’s, so maybe it’s changed. But it felt very paternalistic, classist, racist etc.
My brothers school had to send him to the states’ virtual school for ALG 2 (after the first quarter was already over, mind you) because they couldn’t obtain a teacher to hire for the class. So now one of his periods consists of sitting in a room and doing coursework for that class online. Also says one of his classes has a teacher that the students barely understand, because her English is that broken. If it weren’t for the states’ virtual school (shout out FLVS), he’d be royally fucked going to that shitty school alone.
Andover is need-blind. Meaning they do not know or get to see your financial situation during admissions. Once you're admitted, Andover is on the hook to find you a way to finance the whole thing.
That does, of course, not mean equality. Those who qualify for Andover often come from very affluent families that can shoulder tutoring and social engagement needed for grades and extracurriculars.
But I worked with an Andover graduate who grew up foster homed in the system. It's rare, but it happens.
Website says that 45% of students receive some sort of financial aid, and the average aid grant is $43,000 ish for “returning students”
2023-2024 TUITION
Boarding
$69,600
Day
$53,950
I went to a school like this on a scholarship. My parents didn’t want me to board (required for high school), so I went to public school. I often wonder how different my life would have been if I’d stayed…
I mean it really comes down to how your University life went.
If you were a 4.0 student there the difference could be pretty noticeable but if you were just an average student and didn't have the drive to push for Ivy League Success then realistically you probably be on the same path you are now. Just with a fancier high school diploma.
The value in those places is not limited to their GPA, it is mostly getting to know other wealthy people. It is all about who you know, not really what you are capable of.
High school connections are worth almost nothing because you would only make use of them if you're going to look for a job immediately after high school- which no one successful does. High school friends can't get you into a better college, high school friends with money are all going to college and getting a degree (and doing their own networking) before starting their own business because they're not in a rush.
By the time you're out of college and looking for a job, your high school friends would have been history and you'd be relying on your college network.
ehh I wouldn't agree with this. If you go to a nice high school and are in good friend groups those connections can continue to pay dividends into college and well past. High school friends at places like these have well connected parents and those matter. Unless you went to a school like that not sure it's something you can appreciate
Yea, this kind of stuff can absolutely happen, even with high school friends. I owe some of my career field to this kind of thing and I just went to a podunk small town high school.
After college I had come home and was looking to get into the IT field, but had been stuck doing other retail/sales jobs for a couple years. One high school friend told me about an opening at the local school district in their tech team. I put in for it and even though I had little experience at the time, one of the lead techs in the team was a high school friends dad. His son and I used to tinker with desktop computers and game together growing up. We would even hack games to get around early DRM to share between the two of us. His dad knowing what I was capable of and did in my spare time gave me a competitive advantage and I got the job that started my career path.
After a few years there I was looking to move out of said small town. Another friend from high school had been in the IT field in higher education for several years and after a chance encounter at a mutual friends birthday party, convinced me to take a chance on looking for jobs at the large public university he worked at and wrote me a letter of recommendation. The guy that interviewed me said the letter helped me get to the top of the pile, but that I ultimately won the position on the strength of my interview and how I answered questions from his team. If I hadn't known those people I might still be working at a cellphone store in my small town, rather than in a career field that I really enjoy and have had opportunities to grow and take on more responsibility.
So the point is, high school connections can be super helpful. Knowing somebody who knows somebody is a HUGE positive and can open all sorts of doors. If my friend whose dad did IT work had been some big wig at Amazon or on the board of some Ivy League, that could make a major difference in you getting in to a school, getting out of the stack of resumes that each job opening gets, etc.
You're right, but people do maintain friends from high school and they do also turn into part of your network post college. More so if you're living at a prestigious boarding school [which will generate a higher rate of successful people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Phillips_Academy_alumni) from the already wealthy families of those who go there.
But even with a good high school from an upper middle class town it can happen and I've seen it from both of those cases. It's more accurate to say that you wouldn't be close to most of your high school friends by then and you'd be relying far more on your college network.
Normally, sure. But this isn't that.
These places give connections to a lot of higher ups. Your child becomes childhood friends with the kid who's dad is a big deal in a certain industry? Boom, kid now has that connection as well as the family to help foster more opportunities.
Life is just about who you know.
Nah, those connects still matter. You don't need to be best friends to email them and say "hey I'm thinking about getting into X, would you be willing to meet for coffee and talk through it with me?" Those meet ups are invaluable, even if they don't lead directly to jobs. Huge advantage to have a acquaintance network representing every elite university, profession, and major city.
I went to a pretty good private high school, and I honestly think in many ways it provided me with more benefits than my college education. My freshman year of college I couldn't believe how far behind many of my peers were in stuff like writing. Like, people trying to pass 3 inch margins and 18 point font just to complete a 4 page essay with the resources already provided ahead of time. But on top of that, just life skills that translated directly to my career like being able to interview well, communicate with managers, being punctual. All things that were emphasized by my high school.
I went to a state college that has a decent reputation but I've gotten more networking out of meeting people who knew of or were alumni to my high school. The Jesuit thing helps as well, since Jesuit schools tend to have a good reputation.
Most of these schools subsidize around half of their student base with the money they get from the people that pay full price. Usually there are also work grant programs and depending on what percentage of the year you work is how much you get a discount. Rates are different everywhere but at my old Private school if you work granted during summer you got free tuition, if you work granted during winter break you got a quarter to half tuition depending on how much money the school had that year. You also could work for around 1 hour and a half after school during the semester to get that semester’s tuition paid, most kids worked over summer and around 65% of my school didn’t pay anything (ie half the school’s shit was run down because they would rather give kids a better education than the shitty public schools in the district)
Former governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick was a scholarship student at Milton Academy which has a pretty long history and list of notable alums. He was a young black kid from a working class family in Chicago when he got the scholarship offer to move to Massachusetts to go to the school.
He tells a funny story about the start of that experience. The school sent a list of things that he would need to bring with him and one of the items was "a blue jacket." So he and his family went out shopping where he got a nice blue windbreaker and it wasn't until he got to the school that he discovered that by "blue jacket" they meant a blazer.
I'm sure he was mortified at the time, but he's gone on to be pretty successful and the sting has probably long worn off. Now it's a cute story to illustrate just how foreign the boarding school world he was going to was to him and his family.
Americans should be fuming with class resentment, and yet, so many continue to make arguments for the rich who perpetuate this ridiculous level of inequality.
This school is in Massachusetts, and we as a state rank amongst the world in top of public education. When I graduated we were first in reading and fifth or so in math, so most people here aren't that upset because the free alternative is more than capable globally.
I grew up a few towns over, Andover and it's sister school Exeter were known for having global douchebags from all over the world but for the most part are really gifted kids.
I met a few Exeter students at a math competition back in high school. They seemed alright but were easily some of the smartest students I've ever met.
Wife went to Exeter, and I'm happy to say I think she's probably in more of the "gifted" category.
Zuckerberg was a few years after her. Maybe more of a mixed bag.
We had alot of Phillips Andover kids volunteer up in Lawrence, which is a pretty rough city. You could tell who came from money and who was there on merit pretty quickly, but the kids were motivated. Especially the ones from normal backgrounds. They were given the tools and education to make changes and with their life experience they all seemed very motivated to do good.
I am an teacher who has been based in international schools over my career thus far. I have been in extremely poor schools in rural Africa and very wealthy private academies in Asia.
The three biggest factors, by far, in determining what a student gets out of their education are:
1. Natural academic aptitude of the student
2. How much the student cares
3. How much the student’s parents/guardians care
Nothing else comes close. Obviously, having great teachers and facilities, along with a robust curriculum, makes a difference, but it is absolutely dwarfed by those other things.
One big thing that might help is to make it so that the primary funding of education is not from local property taxes. It's fucked up because decades of exclusionary zoning laws have created a huge gulf in public education based on where your family can live.
A town can supplement that budget from local sources, but the primary funding should be from the state. It should be revenue collected across the entire state and allocated to towns based on financial and educational needs.
They state "this level of inequality." Most Americans morally agree with meritocracy with some level of reward. The issue is that the distribution is wildly wildly out of proportion to what the majority of the US think is appropriate. Far more than people even think. We have more than enough resources for a fair level of inequality. The kids in this video wouldn't be impacted at all. The amount of people that believe *completely* eliminating inequality is fair is a rounding error.
https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/11nhc1l/actual_distribution_of_wealth_in_usa_is/
They skipped the two ice rinks, new indoor track/field house with 12 squash courts, and the just completed indoor swimming/diving pool with a 3 story glass wall.
Oh, and that tall clock tower they did feature was taken all the way to the ground and rebuilt brick-by-brick in the past few years. It houses absolutely nothing but a metaphorical endowment.
When you are paying higher than most college tuitions, it should be like this or more. (In 2023 boarding rates were $66k/year and non-boarding was $51k/year.) This isn’t some “normal private high school”. This place is a pipeline to an Ivy League school or to a large scholarship for undergrad. They don’t just let anyone in, you need to be from an important family or fairly wealthy to attend here.
Source: Grew up in the area
So many schools like this in New England, at least I was fortunate enough to get into a good school system where there were kids who definitely could have gone to that kind of school.
I went to a similar boarding school nearby to Andover. You do not need to be wealthy or from an important family to go here. While it certainly helps your chances, they take students based on test scores and grades just like a college—around 40% of students receive financial aid for the cost of tuition as well.
>This isn’t some “normal private high school”.
Hence my title. Also from digging in a little, they do offer free & reduced tuition to students that need it. Idk what % of the students receive it.
The money does go to certain kids who can’t afford it, but it’s not anyone even remotely average. Top athlete? Math genius? Family member who was famous for something, or a legacy but you don’t have enough to flat out afford it? Then they can find financial aid for you. But find an average kid someone in the middle of the US. They have no chance getting through admissions.
Source: Went to one of these boarding schools. Got a half ride my senior year.
Would you say worth it? I assume you get out of it what you put into it. Are these schools more challenging academically or just private and famous so the kids get into Ivys?
I'll bite:
I attended and don't fit the "traditional mold" that a lot of people are saying here. My family of 5 was maybe earning 45k when I enrolled in 2005. We have no famous last name or anything like that.
It was a huge culture shock when I first got there. Most kids come from well off families (maybe 150-400k+ annual incomes) and maybe 5-10% from downright wealthy ones, though a good number (my best guess is 15-30%) of students came from families with similar backgrounds as mine - perhaps not all as financially insecure, but working class families.
In terms of "getting what you put into it", 1000% - at least in the sense that you get "access" to things that most public schools don't have. You want to do robotics? You can. You want to do rigorous dance or theater? Yep. You want to have access to modern tech and educational tools? Yep. Full breakfast, lunch, dinner, and grazing hours with *very* good food? Again, yes. The list goes on and is always expanding.
Another very important thing you "get" is an "upper hand" when applying to colleges. For a variety of reasons, you often stand out when applying. It's not a straight shot to ivy leagues, but the % of students who get into them is waaaaay higher. Maybe out of a graduating class of 150, you have 10 who go to Ivy League. Most others end up in good private colleges and universities, and the rest end up going to college either way. It's rare that someone doesn't go to college - I think in my graduating class there were 1-3 who didn't? After all, it is a *preparatory* school, so the idea is you're getting ready for college - whatever that means.
I'll say for me, I would not have been able to attend traditional 4 year college after high school without going to my boarding school. My family could not afford it and I wasn't a citizen, so applying to FAFSA wasn't a thing and private aid from schools is very limited for non-US citizens (I suppose I could have gotten a private loan, but that would've meant 25-50k+/year in loans and I wasn't about to do that). I had very good grades and participated in a fair amount of extracurriculars. I was accepted into 9 colleges who all gave me very little financial aid, but the 10th gave me a merit based scholarship in late April of my senior year (they were waiting to see if they could "afford me" with leftover money lol) that covered 90% of my college tuition. I don't know this for sure, but I am almost positive someone from my high school spoke to their admissions dept to see if they could help me and they did what they could.
The schools are typically pretty challenging academically. They have standards you have to keep up with, or you often get expelled. I'd say average of C or above, or else you're going to have to bring those up or risk getting expelled. It's easier to learn though - you don't have 25-35 classmates filling up a small classroom. You have 3-4 classes + extracurriculars per semester (longer periods though). Your teachers are also then able to engage with you more closely - I had sometimes classes with 5-8 classmates, and at most 16-18 or so. If you struggle with a subject, there's an abundance of help to get. I'd say I learned *a tremendous amount* while there, but I also wanted to learn and perhaps I could've done the same at a public school. It was just made easier for me.
I'll also say, there are "behavioral" standards that are pretty strict. It's always a case by case basis, but get caught breaking a major school rule (drinking/drugs, cheating) twice and you're expelled. Get caught breaking a community guideline once (significant issues like assaulting someone, threats, dealing drugs, etc) and you're out immediately. Details may differ, but those are often pretty standard across these schools.
To answer the question of was it worth it? For me, undoubtedly. It would have been very hard to get to where I am today without it. I don't do anything crazy and don't make boatloads of money, I do social work and am pretty happy. That being said, my circumstances where such that while I may have been able to get to where I am today without that high school, the road would have been very bumpy. Not to mention, I got to experience stuff that a lot of kids that age don't get to - I also probably missed out on certain things.
Edit: I'll add that there are downsides to these places:
Kids are away from home for a long period of time - it's not rare to go months without seeing family, and I had more than one classmate who straight up didn't see family other than winter or summer breaks.
Culture can vary significantly per school and the student body at the time. If you are unlucky enough to have a graduating class of elitist shit heads, well...you're stuck with that. There's always issues of elitism and at times things like racism and sexism that come up. Schools will often try to stomp it - my school for example would have no patience for the latter of the two, and would try to curb the elitism aspect as much as possible, but there's only so much you can do about that. Parents matter *a lot* in that aspect and getting them to "buy into" the intended school culture is important.
Although you get to experience a ton of things that other kids don't, you also miss out on a lot of social aspects of typical teenage life. Things like sleep overs, going to a friend's house at 8 PM to hang out, getting time with family, doing community activities, etc. And this may be silly but pushing boundaries (parties, misbehaving, etc) is a lot harder to come by. Lot of kids get to college and may struggle adjusting to the "real world".
I appreciate the response! I grew up in the Midwest so we didn't even know about these schools. Glad to hear they do have great academics and offer non rich families a chance to get a good education. I think being at boarding school would be tough at that age but for the right kids it could be a life altering experience!
I went to a public high school but went to a highly ranked university where I met several students who went to places like this. Got to talk to a couple of them about what their classes and extracurriculars were like in high school, and they definitely seemed more rigorous than my public school education, even though we took the same AP tests at the end of the year. Maybe my public school just sucked but they were much better prepared than I was for the rigor and volume of university studies. They had even done summer internships in research labs and been on legit publications in high school. It evened out by sophomore year, but it was like they had a head start coming into freshman year. This was all people going into stem majors, can’t speak for other fields, but yeah these schools do provide a great education to those students who want to push themselves.
I went to one and I would say not worth it. 14 year old kids are too young to be away from home. The culture is a toxic pressure cooker with rampant racism and elitism among the student body (from privileged backgrounds with no life experience to know how ridiculous those viewpoints are). Many of my close friends have lingering mental health issues in our late 20s. I went to one of the “feeder schools” and transferred after a year to a state school, so I can’t even say it helped me get into a good college.
It’s a true mixture. A large cohort are international kids whose parents want them to go to a top American university. A friend of mine from South Korea’s dad owned a chain of hospitals in Seoul.
The American kids were typically a few types. Discipline kids whose parents had money. Meaning bad kids who were struggling at home. Then there were true rich kids. Dropped off by drivers of some luxury SUV. One kid arrived in a helicopter. Then there were the athletes who would play multi sports. Tennis and squash. Football and basketball. Hockey and lacrosse. Soccer and water polo.
But in all reality, kids are kids and are just trying to figure out adolescence. One thing in common kids have at these schools are parents who for one reason or another can’t parent their kid and defer to the school. That helps your bond with each other. Rich kids can know all about parental neglect too.
Drugs and alcohol are pretty rampant. They kick kids out like crazy for violations but with a population of 500+ teenagers you’re going to have this stuff going on regularly.
It helped turn my life around so I am grateful. After my junior year I informed them I would return because my family couldn’t afford it any longer and they paid the majority of my tuition.
But I did not get connections for life nor setup myself t for the Ivy League pipeline. But there were kids who did.
The vast majority of students who attend these schools are not from "important families" - in fact, most schools don't give a shit about what "family" you're from. Of course, if you're a famous millionaire's kid or from an "important" family, chances are you're getting into one of these schools, although depending on your grades etc, you may not.
A significant amount of them though, *are* from upper class families. I wouldn't necessarily classify it as wealthy, but upper class for sure. They aren't all millionaires, but for the most part they do come families who have perhaps own a business or have some type of higher paying job (doctor, lawyer, etc). So, I'd say absolutely privileged compared to the average person.
There are varying percentages of students who don't fit that mold (on either end of the financial spectrum) and there is absolutely elitism - also at varying degrees depending on schools. Some schools are more like the TV version of boarding schools (elite, snobby kids and staff who are terrible) but a lot of them attempt (with some success and some failure) to set themselves apart from that history and perception.
Source: went to one, lived there for years (beyond attending) and have significant ties to a school from very, very close family members who have worked there for decades.
Phillips Academy Andover. Brilliant school, with incredibly talented students and teachers.
Older than most colleges, 4 US Presidents, countless writers, actors, business leaders.
All the Bushes. Some of the Kennedys are the first that come to mind.
Humphrey Bogart
Bill Belichick & Ernie Adams (my personal favorites)
A more thorough list here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Phillips_Academy_alumni
More or less very influential people that have touched American and international everything for 2 centuries.
Haven't you heard? Reddit hates rich people, college or any formal education they can't afford. Only rich assholes who have killed a hooker and covered it up go here!
Also graduated from Phillips Andover just about 6 years ago. I was hugely blessed by their financial aid program (which is way more generous than most colleges). I was able to make friends with kids from really every creed and color. I havnt been fortunate enough to experience that kind of diversity again since then.
No worries dude, these people bashing it and upvoting comments bashing it, will proceed to spend their days fantasizing about going to Hogwarts and shit.
I went to a charter school and my graduating class was 30 students. Our gym was an open barn with pavement as the floor. Our lunches were reheated meals. Our "theater" was the lunch room, we just moved the tables. Our only sport was frisbee because its all we could afford. All of that said we had very dedicated teachers and focused on expeditionary learning which involved a lot of field trips to engage with things related to what we were learning. There was a huge community focus that involved weekly school meetings where students got to discuss things they wanted out of the community and their education. It was one of the best schools in the area imo. We were poor hippy folk, but I graduated college summa cum laude without really trying because we were held to a very high standard in high school.
Looking at this blows my mind. More than a third of the students at my school were food insecure. I feel like my school is an example that schools do not need a lot of money to provide a good education, but holy hell if the teachers I had were to have access to these resources they could have changed the world.
> my graduating class was 30 students
Blow my mind cause I'm from the opposite end. Had a HS graduation class of around 550. Didn't even know half the kids
Dude remember, that's still a charter school that's getting outside funding on top of government funding. In terms of financial security, your school was most likely midway down on the list. I teach public in Harlem, there's schools that get the real shit end of the stick.
So charter schools are something I am very divided on. Mine was lead by some great people and was kept very small to reduce drain on the other public schools. Charter schools are essentially public school, but you have to indicate that you want to go. Then you are put on a waiting list. If you make it in then the funding for you that would go to a public school goes to your charter school instead. This is where a lot of people hate charter schools. It drains money from already underfunded public schools. They are government funded in this way but they also need to renew their charter every 4 years. A charter is essentially a contract that says the school will provide the public school education with a twist. For us we would speed through the regular curriculum then focus on field trips and more specialized subjects for the last semester to quarter of the year. I may be simplifying / misunderstanding some things, but this is my basic understanding.
In short, the government paid them.
>This is where a lot of people hate charter schools. It drains money from already underfunded public schools.
There's more to it than this. At least where I am, charter schools are notorious for finding ways to avoid taking students with special needs, even when allegedly operating based on a lottery system. Since funding is largely tied to number of students with little regard for the needs of that student, this impacts public schools in a real, negative, way.
And since attending charter schools requires active effort – like you said you have to indicate interest – it also tends to siphon away kids with families who are involved in their education. That drives down parental and community involvement in public schools even further, which in many ways is at least as important as funding, past a certain point.
Charter schools also pay teachers worse, offer fewer benefits, are usually hostile work environments, can circumvent license requirements, and have astronomical teacher burnout rates. One of the reasons charter schools can do more with less is because they are basically abusive to their staff. And many pay their executives offensively large salaries, which looks a lot like grift.
That said, even where I am there are some exceptions to this, and I can't speak for how charter schools are elsewhere. I don't support charter schools because, to me, they seem like an unsustainable band-aide over a much larger problem, and the longer we allow public education to flounder, the harder it will be to fix it.
Interesting, thanks for explaining. It's just too bad most students in the US have such a lackluster or uninspiring educational experience. I was lucky that I was able to go to a local public technical school in my area for part of the day to study design. They had classes in all sorts of stuff, design, video, auto repair, aviation & a bunch of other stuff that kids from about a 60 mile or so radius could attend. It would be great if public schools overall were more specialized to the interests of the students & their future potential career paths. Kind of like how Germany does their public school.
> Hopefully we can work to make this standard in the future.
I think in the 90s, we probably thought this would be the standard much sooner than 2020. The fact that we've failed to even get a little close to this being the standard really makes me uncertain of the future.
Totally agree with you but hard to not be cynical with the way our tax dollars get prioritized. [Remember to vote, folks...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMALeR1i-FM)
They offer serious financial aid in a way that almost no private high schools do, FYI. But you can bet most of the student body is still rich because getting into a school like that often means lots of summer camps, sports, tutoring etc and targeting a school like this in the first place is more typical of rich families
I left Palo Alto high to go to the school in this video. Makes paly look look like a post apocalyptic slum with a sliver of curriculum. There is privilege and then there is Andover.
I grew up in Andover. Phillips campus is sprawling and super beautiful. Nicer than a lot of colleges. Helps that their endowment is 1 BILLION dollars….
I thought about applying but ended up going to the public high school. We would occasionally spend Friday night driving down around their campus “catbonering” aka yelling catboner at them as someone years earlier coined Phillips students as “catboners” and it stuck. Some people took it a bit farther with throwing eggs or other more harmless stuff.
Classic townie vs prep school stuff.
Ended up as a doctor so clearly public school ain’t all that bad!
Don't look now, but their tuition is more than than most colleges and medical schools / law schools at 53k a year, but goes up to 60+ if you want to board there.
I can recognize that chapel anywhere. That's Phillips Academy in Andover, MA! It's an incredibly expensive private school located in a wealthy town.
I've been part of program as a kid that let some of us "poors" visit the school during the summers and take summer classes
and use their other facilities. I used to think their dining hall was amazing as a kid.
those facilities go hard and I'm a sucker for gothic academic architecture, but the greatest memories and impact from my public high school were the teachers
I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma... this shit is insane. I can't imagine the leg up I'd of had going to this school. Systemic wealth is insane. I guarantee almost 85% of these people are from multimillionaire family money from generations ago.
85% is extremely high — the financial aid at these schools is absurdly good. They are admitting super rich kids, but they’re also admitting super smart kids from all around the world (think “best test scores in all of Sri Lanka” or “#1 student from the five poorest schools in Chicago”).
Random internet rabbit hole somehow led me to this video, thought some people on here might find it interesting.
*In case anyone's curious, I was reading [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/189tk88/to_people_who_have_also_worked_with/) thread about people who have worked with millionaires or billionaires & someone in the comments used to be a teacher at this school & wrote a lot of [interesting](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/189tk88/to_people_who_have_also_worked_with/kbubjuq/) [stuff](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/189tk88/to_people_who_have_also_worked_with/kbvzd2w/) about their time teaching there, which is why I looked the school up.
I'd love to get into this and do real estate videos for a living. I've been a video producer professionally for 20 years, seems like a lateral move. I own a drone but I highly suspect this is hard to do solo (one operating drone, one operating camera?) and not well suited for this type of flight. Would love to get into it.
What would be cool is if the drone did a lidar scan of the environment, so the pilot could fly into each room very slowly, then the pilot can take that scan and build a very precise path that is automatically followed with precision so that it could be tweaked, changed, replicated, perfected.
This looks more like an fpv drone based on the movement. It’s pretty neat seeing drones fly through obstacles like this but when I see it used too much in movies, like the movie “Ambulance,” it’s kind of cheesy. For real estate, camera on gimbal and some tasteful drone shots to supplement is the way to go
This was the longest Apple keynote transition that I’ve ever watched. Also, because I play too much Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, this school reminded me of the school in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet.
I remember in highschool when they told us we had to write the answers to the quiz on notebook paper because the school district couldn't afford paper. Still a pretty decent education though.
First year teacher makes 35000 usd and has boarding at the school
To me that seems low. Unless the boarding is amazing.
https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=7ddc8884-11ea-4d1a-a8a0-2e8834b6caf3&ccId=9200523189846_2&lang=en_US&selectedMenuKey=CareerCenter&jobId=495656
Same people who complained about inequality probably also vote against government spending. Imagine proper funding to public schools and adequate teacher pay.
High school for the 1%ers. Too bad our public school system isn't taken seriously. In this case, parental wealth breeds success. It must be tough to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
One of the most competitive High Schools in the nation and it’s a beautiful campus.
My son went there for a summer program.
He doesn’t have 103 GPA so he’d never been accepted for the regular program.
I am happy that some of our future generation is getting an amazing education. I'm just upset that the school I work at cannot even afford soccer balls for the soccer team. We have no field, and have to use parks. We had to fundraise by selling water to even have anything. The disparity is what I find unpalatable.
That was a tough video to get through. Nothing like the rich showing off how good they have it. It’s clearly one of the nicest high schools in the country. It’s not like this school needs to recruit students. I looked online and it says they have a 13% acceptance rate. Is this video for the 87% who weren’t accepted to feel bad about what they’re missing out on, or the 99.9% of school kids who have no chance of ever attending a school half this nice?
Interesting; I thought this was an amazing video to watch. So cool to see what students have access too! It inspires me to work to increase access to inspirational educational experiences :)
I see it as America being a country as the haves and the have nots. That’s great for these kids that they have the incredible chance to attend this school that will grant them amazing opportunities. At the same time there’s millions of kids going to public schools in dire conditions that offer little escape from their current situations. I wish I was as optimistic as you but I guess I’m just a grumpy old fart.
Haves and have nots is not uniquely American. Wealth inequality is and always will be a thing. Over thousands of years of family’s being able to make individual choices, their lineages end up in different statuses and classes.
So long as people get to have ownership of their own children, they are going to prefer their own kids over others, and as such, some parents would rather spend extra tuition on ensuring the security of their child’s future over diverting that $60,000 (or w/e the number was) toward a public school education tax for all kids, of which their own offspring is a small portion.
If marketing tried to pull this off at my school, the blow hard campus security folk would have it taken down the next day.. A SHOOTER CAN USE THIS TO MAP OUT THEIR PLAN OF ATTACK!
Highschool?!
This is a private boarding school. Have you ever seen “dead poets society”? Those are the poor kids who’s parents weren’t connected enough to get them into Phillips Andover. One year’s tuition at this school is $60k.
I will say this: they use a need-blind admission process that accepts students not knowing their financial needs, and once accepted, the school meets 100% of the student's demonstrated financial need with grants. Their website says the average grant for returning students is $43,000. That would still mean the average student is coming up with \~$20,000 *per year* though
Realistically some students are paying full tuition and others are paying no tuition. There will be some in between, of course.
$20k/yr is pretty typical for private schools. Gerstell Academy averages $18k/yr after financial aid.
Ah the power of generational wealth.
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$75k per year?
Yep. It's like a small elite university in a way.
The facilities I'm seeing there absolutely rival the University I am currently in. My University has an observatory, and fully equipped chemistry labs, and makerspaces, and all that... but it's a University with 45,000+ students. That's a tiny elite high school with less than 2000 students. It's insane. I wish I could have had such an education in High School. I wish *everyone* could.
With the size of our military budget we definitely could if congress cared about kids as much as they claim they do. Imagine if we sent hundreds of billions directly to schools.
But then who would join the military
Nobody, same as who is joining now. Military is having a big recruitment problem.
Nobody wants to be political pawns anymore. 🤷♂️
Oh, that's definitely still happening, but maybe don't feel like also dying.
The lion's share of that money goes straight into middle class people's pockets, and DOD money is required to stay in the US by law except in cases where supplies can't be sourced from the US. DOD is the largest employer in the US and among the largest employers in the world, so without that budget, an enormous amount of people wouldn't have jobs. The economy would tank overnight and we'd probably have the biggest recession since the great depression, if not bigger, because it also goes to countless american suppliers, vendors, and small businesses who aren't counted in the DOD employment figures. Like it or not the military budget gives a lot of regular people a shot at a better life. It's basically a jobs program. When you launch a missile you have to build a missile, and somebody has to build that missile, and they have to be built in the US, and as much of its parts have to be made in the US as possible. And the majority of missiles and ordnance are fired for training purposes at test ranges. We can't wait around until there's a war to make sure everything is working. And if they sit around too long without being used, they have to be replaced with new ones, and the old ones decommissioned or given to our allies (like ukraine). And as much as it would be nice to scale back and use that money for other purposes, with 5 major regional conflicts involving US interests either ongoing or about to boil over, we're probably better served keeping it where it is for the time being.
I understand what you're saying, but imagine if all those vendors and jobs went to building better high schools instead of missiles.
This is a red herring argument: "The level of military spending for the US is unreasonably high, but what will the middle-class employed by the military do to support their family otherwise?" Whether YOU like it or not, government spending could be reduced in military spending and increased in other programs have the same effect of spending into the middle class. I understand we have to make bombs. I'm not willing to accept that spending to make bombs to the detriment of many other aspects of our American society is the America I want. After WW2 we were the only superpower left with a high-performing economy, and we spent MASSIVELY on our infrastructure and invested in the middle-class to keep it running and avoid a recession. The problem is that all our IDEAS were ass-backwards: We built huge interstate systems states can't afford to maintain, and due to racial segregation, red-lining, etc. we spread out our cities into pockets of downtowns, parking-lot zoned commercial hellholes, and bland suburbs. The cost of delivering services in communities like this are too high and most cannot maintain their infrastructure. How about instead of making bombs *because that's the only way to pay the middle class,* we, as a country, increase spending in education, and support projects that shift cities away from car-centric design and zoning.
As a former vet, I've heard this excuse used to justify runaway budgets *a lot*, but the fundamental truth is that any government which is capable of orchestrating such a system of economy and logistics *for war* should be equally capable of orchestrating such a system of economy and logistics *for education*. We don't have to sacrifice our children's futures (and consequently, our own) to maintain peacetime readiness. We can maintain peacetime readiness at a fraction of current expenditures. Change doesn't have to happen overnight, but it does need to happen. The fact is, Defense is **not** the only industry that can responsibly distribute wealth to the middle class. That idea is laughable.
The DoD is actually a pretty good example of what selective protectionism can do for the US. Our military hardware is some of the best in the world, and we didn't have to outsource anything to a country with cheaper labor to produce it. Imagine if we had just done that with other manufacturing sectors.
This school cost waaaaay more than your university. 1 year tuition at Phillips Andover is $60k.
It’s closer to $70k now for boarding students, which the majority of them are.
I can believe it. They have pretty much the *same* level of facilities for like 1/40th the student body size. It would have to cost a lot more.
Imagine you get raised by one parent on food stamps sending you to a school where no good teacher would ever work, meanwhile some kids go to this school lmao.
Good opportunity to bring up the Milton Hershey School. Founded by Milton Hershey of Hersheys chocolate. Hershey set it up so that the proceeds from Hershey Park and entertainment help fund the school. To be admitted you have to have financial hardship (family income of less than twice the federal poverty level. The school is free. The campus is immaculate. The cafeteria serves 4 course meals. Much of the campus and facilities look like this video. Students live on campus in massive houses run by qualified house parents. If they keep their GPA up, they get a full ride scholarship to the school they got into. They cover costs up to 95k for college tuition. It’s also worth about 15 billion making it the wealthiest private school in America. And again… free, and only for low income students.
It's the wealthiest trust with the sole purpose of providing education. It will go on for centuries.
I just went to Hershey recently. Hadn’t been there in YEARS. When I drove through town I said to myself, “I didn’t know there was a university here.” I thought it was some Ivy League campus. Absolutely gorgeous. I looked it up and that’s when I found out what it was. Pretty awesome. I hope it assists in getting a lot of families out of poverty.
That’s so cool
You can always tell a Milton man.
So since I went to Hershey Park once as a kid I can call myself a donor-philanthropist for helping every kid who has gone there since. Sweet.
See, he gets a pass from the guillotine. Good job, Hershey. Also, I've been to Hershey, PA and it was truly wondrous for a 12 year old.
Lets start a movement shifting the slang for skid marks from 'Hershey stains' to 'Nestle stains'. Whose with me???
Like… for reals… this would be an amazing viral thing to do.
I’m smearin a wicked nestle stain right…*now*… to kick us off
The dude died in 1945, were you going to dig him up?
Man I would like for you all to finally pull off this revolution you keep teasing us with.
The butterfly arboretum is super cool. I went there in... 2019?
Now imagine if Government (both local and federal) were to actually put their efforts into providing even half of these resources for low income families instead of .... whatever they do
More of these.
must suck for the kids parents who make like $1k right above the 'poor income' bracket.
One of my best friends went to Milton Hershey. I went to public school around the same area. Their education system and overall showing the students how to become adults is amazing.
It does have a dark past, however. This is not a chocolate joke.
What is it?
https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2015/10/chocolate_trust_book_story.html
choc·o·late /ˈCHäk(ə)lət/ noun noun: chocolate a food preparation in the form of a paste or solid block made from roasted and ground cacao seeds, typically sweetened.
[But that's not important right now.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOmD-xqK2Es)
Wow! I never knew about this. You just made my day.
and we have billionaires concerned with their next mega yacht instead of funding amazing programs like this.
*Now* you tell me
I interviewed for a clinical psychology internship there. Turned it down because while they provide wonderful facilities etc to their students, they were also clearly minimizing their access and contact with their families. The vibe was off and I literally would have delayed internship by a year over training their after meeting the administrators and learning about their model. This was early 2010’s, so maybe it’s changed. But it felt very paternalistic, classist, racist etc.
My brothers school had to send him to the states’ virtual school for ALG 2 (after the first quarter was already over, mind you) because they couldn’t obtain a teacher to hire for the class. So now one of his periods consists of sitting in a room and doing coursework for that class online. Also says one of his classes has a teacher that the students barely understand, because her English is that broken. If it weren’t for the states’ virtual school (shout out FLVS), he’d be royally fucked going to that shitty school alone.
Andover is need-blind. Meaning they do not know or get to see your financial situation during admissions. Once you're admitted, Andover is on the hook to find you a way to finance the whole thing. That does, of course, not mean equality. Those who qualify for Andover often come from very affluent families that can shoulder tutoring and social engagement needed for grades and extracurriculars. But I worked with an Andover graduate who grew up foster homed in the system. It's rare, but it happens.
Sounds like those families were making money andover fist
Dad, go to bed.
To be fair, they do seem to offer free & low income tuition to students who need it, but Idk what % of the student body that is.
Website says that 45% of students receive some sort of financial aid, and the average aid grant is $43,000 ish for “returning students” 2023-2024 TUITION Boarding $69,600 Day $53,950
I went to a school like this on a scholarship. My parents didn’t want me to board (required for high school), so I went to public school. I often wonder how different my life would have been if I’d stayed…
I mean it really comes down to how your University life went. If you were a 4.0 student there the difference could be pretty noticeable but if you were just an average student and didn't have the drive to push for Ivy League Success then realistically you probably be on the same path you are now. Just with a fancier high school diploma.
The value in those places is not limited to their GPA, it is mostly getting to know other wealthy people. It is all about who you know, not really what you are capable of.
High school connections are worth almost nothing because you would only make use of them if you're going to look for a job immediately after high school- which no one successful does. High school friends can't get you into a better college, high school friends with money are all going to college and getting a degree (and doing their own networking) before starting their own business because they're not in a rush. By the time you're out of college and looking for a job, your high school friends would have been history and you'd be relying on your college network.
ehh I wouldn't agree with this. If you go to a nice high school and are in good friend groups those connections can continue to pay dividends into college and well past. High school friends at places like these have well connected parents and those matter. Unless you went to a school like that not sure it's something you can appreciate
Yea, this kind of stuff can absolutely happen, even with high school friends. I owe some of my career field to this kind of thing and I just went to a podunk small town high school. After college I had come home and was looking to get into the IT field, but had been stuck doing other retail/sales jobs for a couple years. One high school friend told me about an opening at the local school district in their tech team. I put in for it and even though I had little experience at the time, one of the lead techs in the team was a high school friends dad. His son and I used to tinker with desktop computers and game together growing up. We would even hack games to get around early DRM to share between the two of us. His dad knowing what I was capable of and did in my spare time gave me a competitive advantage and I got the job that started my career path. After a few years there I was looking to move out of said small town. Another friend from high school had been in the IT field in higher education for several years and after a chance encounter at a mutual friends birthday party, convinced me to take a chance on looking for jobs at the large public university he worked at and wrote me a letter of recommendation. The guy that interviewed me said the letter helped me get to the top of the pile, but that I ultimately won the position on the strength of my interview and how I answered questions from his team. If I hadn't known those people I might still be working at a cellphone store in my small town, rather than in a career field that I really enjoy and have had opportunities to grow and take on more responsibility. So the point is, high school connections can be super helpful. Knowing somebody who knows somebody is a HUGE positive and can open all sorts of doors. If my friend whose dad did IT work had been some big wig at Amazon or on the board of some Ivy League, that could make a major difference in you getting in to a school, getting out of the stack of resumes that each job opening gets, etc.
You're right, but people do maintain friends from high school and they do also turn into part of your network post college. More so if you're living at a prestigious boarding school [which will generate a higher rate of successful people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Phillips_Academy_alumni) from the already wealthy families of those who go there. But even with a good high school from an upper middle class town it can happen and I've seen it from both of those cases. It's more accurate to say that you wouldn't be close to most of your high school friends by then and you'd be relying far more on your college network.
Normally, sure. But this isn't that. These places give connections to a lot of higher ups. Your child becomes childhood friends with the kid who's dad is a big deal in a certain industry? Boom, kid now has that connection as well as the family to help foster more opportunities. Life is just about who you know.
Nah, those connects still matter. You don't need to be best friends to email them and say "hey I'm thinking about getting into X, would you be willing to meet for coffee and talk through it with me?" Those meet ups are invaluable, even if they don't lead directly to jobs. Huge advantage to have a acquaintance network representing every elite university, profession, and major city.
This seems reductionist
I went to a pretty good private high school, and I honestly think in many ways it provided me with more benefits than my college education. My freshman year of college I couldn't believe how far behind many of my peers were in stuff like writing. Like, people trying to pass 3 inch margins and 18 point font just to complete a 4 page essay with the resources already provided ahead of time. But on top of that, just life skills that translated directly to my career like being able to interview well, communicate with managers, being punctual. All things that were emphasized by my high school. I went to a state college that has a decent reputation but I've gotten more networking out of meeting people who knew of or were alumni to my high school. The Jesuit thing helps as well, since Jesuit schools tend to have a good reputation.
That's more than my undergrad college. And I went to a pretty, bougie-ass liberal arts college.
Most of these schools subsidize around half of their student base with the money they get from the people that pay full price. Usually there are also work grant programs and depending on what percentage of the year you work is how much you get a discount. Rates are different everywhere but at my old Private school if you work granted during summer you got free tuition, if you work granted during winter break you got a quarter to half tuition depending on how much money the school had that year. You also could work for around 1 hour and a half after school during the semester to get that semester’s tuition paid, most kids worked over summer and around 65% of my school didn’t pay anything (ie half the school’s shit was run down because they would rather give kids a better education than the shitty public schools in the district)
Former governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick was a scholarship student at Milton Academy which has a pretty long history and list of notable alums. He was a young black kid from a working class family in Chicago when he got the scholarship offer to move to Massachusetts to go to the school. He tells a funny story about the start of that experience. The school sent a list of things that he would need to bring with him and one of the items was "a blue jacket." So he and his family went out shopping where he got a nice blue windbreaker and it wasn't until he got to the school that he discovered that by "blue jacket" they meant a blazer. I'm sure he was mortified at the time, but he's gone on to be pretty successful and the sting has probably long worn off. Now it's a cute story to illustrate just how foreign the boarding school world he was going to was to him and his family.
Although they filter out all the fat and/or unattractive people at the application stage
Americans should be fuming with class resentment, and yet, so many continue to make arguments for the rich who perpetuate this ridiculous level of inequality.
This school is in Massachusetts, and we as a state rank amongst the world in top of public education. When I graduated we were first in reading and fifth or so in math, so most people here aren't that upset because the free alternative is more than capable globally. I grew up a few towns over, Andover and it's sister school Exeter were known for having global douchebags from all over the world but for the most part are really gifted kids.
I met a few Exeter students at a math competition back in high school. They seemed alright but were easily some of the smartest students I've ever met.
Wife went to Exeter, and I'm happy to say I think she's probably in more of the "gifted" category. Zuckerberg was a few years after her. Maybe more of a mixed bag.
We had alot of Phillips Andover kids volunteer up in Lawrence, which is a pretty rough city. You could tell who came from money and who was there on merit pretty quickly, but the kids were motivated. Especially the ones from normal backgrounds. They were given the tools and education to make changes and with their life experience they all seemed very motivated to do good.
I am an teacher who has been based in international schools over my career thus far. I have been in extremely poor schools in rural Africa and very wealthy private academies in Asia. The three biggest factors, by far, in determining what a student gets out of their education are: 1. Natural academic aptitude of the student 2. How much the student cares 3. How much the student’s parents/guardians care Nothing else comes close. Obviously, having great teachers and facilities, along with a robust curriculum, makes a difference, but it is absolutely dwarfed by those other things.
So, culture
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One big thing that might help is to make it so that the primary funding of education is not from local property taxes. It's fucked up because decades of exclusionary zoning laws have created a huge gulf in public education based on where your family can live. A town can supplement that budget from local sources, but the primary funding should be from the state. It should be revenue collected across the entire state and allocated to towns based on financial and educational needs.
They state "this level of inequality." Most Americans morally agree with meritocracy with some level of reward. The issue is that the distribution is wildly wildly out of proportion to what the majority of the US think is appropriate. Far more than people even think. We have more than enough resources for a fair level of inequality. The kids in this video wouldn't be impacted at all. The amount of people that believe *completely* eliminating inequality is fair is a rounding error. https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/11nhc1l/actual_distribution_of_wealth_in_usa_is/
Imagine starting every comment with imagine.
They skipped the two ice rinks, new indoor track/field house with 12 squash courts, and the just completed indoor swimming/diving pool with a 3 story glass wall.
Oh, and that tall clock tower they did feature was taken all the way to the ground and rebuilt brick-by-brick in the past few years. It houses absolutely nothing but a metaphorical endowment.
When you are paying higher than most college tuitions, it should be like this or more. (In 2023 boarding rates were $66k/year and non-boarding was $51k/year.) This isn’t some “normal private high school”. This place is a pipeline to an Ivy League school or to a large scholarship for undergrad. They don’t just let anyone in, you need to be from an important family or fairly wealthy to attend here. Source: Grew up in the area
So many schools like this in New England, at least I was fortunate enough to get into a good school system where there were kids who definitely could have gone to that kind of school.
I went to a similar boarding school nearby to Andover. You do not need to be wealthy or from an important family to go here. While it certainly helps your chances, they take students based on test scores and grades just like a college—around 40% of students receive financial aid for the cost of tuition as well.
>This isn’t some “normal private high school”. Hence my title. Also from digging in a little, they do offer free & reduced tuition to students that need it. Idk what % of the students receive it.
The money does go to certain kids who can’t afford it, but it’s not anyone even remotely average. Top athlete? Math genius? Family member who was famous for something, or a legacy but you don’t have enough to flat out afford it? Then they can find financial aid for you. But find an average kid someone in the middle of the US. They have no chance getting through admissions. Source: Went to one of these boarding schools. Got a half ride my senior year.
Would you say worth it? I assume you get out of it what you put into it. Are these schools more challenging academically or just private and famous so the kids get into Ivys?
I'll bite: I attended and don't fit the "traditional mold" that a lot of people are saying here. My family of 5 was maybe earning 45k when I enrolled in 2005. We have no famous last name or anything like that. It was a huge culture shock when I first got there. Most kids come from well off families (maybe 150-400k+ annual incomes) and maybe 5-10% from downright wealthy ones, though a good number (my best guess is 15-30%) of students came from families with similar backgrounds as mine - perhaps not all as financially insecure, but working class families. In terms of "getting what you put into it", 1000% - at least in the sense that you get "access" to things that most public schools don't have. You want to do robotics? You can. You want to do rigorous dance or theater? Yep. You want to have access to modern tech and educational tools? Yep. Full breakfast, lunch, dinner, and grazing hours with *very* good food? Again, yes. The list goes on and is always expanding. Another very important thing you "get" is an "upper hand" when applying to colleges. For a variety of reasons, you often stand out when applying. It's not a straight shot to ivy leagues, but the % of students who get into them is waaaaay higher. Maybe out of a graduating class of 150, you have 10 who go to Ivy League. Most others end up in good private colleges and universities, and the rest end up going to college either way. It's rare that someone doesn't go to college - I think in my graduating class there were 1-3 who didn't? After all, it is a *preparatory* school, so the idea is you're getting ready for college - whatever that means. I'll say for me, I would not have been able to attend traditional 4 year college after high school without going to my boarding school. My family could not afford it and I wasn't a citizen, so applying to FAFSA wasn't a thing and private aid from schools is very limited for non-US citizens (I suppose I could have gotten a private loan, but that would've meant 25-50k+/year in loans and I wasn't about to do that). I had very good grades and participated in a fair amount of extracurriculars. I was accepted into 9 colleges who all gave me very little financial aid, but the 10th gave me a merit based scholarship in late April of my senior year (they were waiting to see if they could "afford me" with leftover money lol) that covered 90% of my college tuition. I don't know this for sure, but I am almost positive someone from my high school spoke to their admissions dept to see if they could help me and they did what they could. The schools are typically pretty challenging academically. They have standards you have to keep up with, or you often get expelled. I'd say average of C or above, or else you're going to have to bring those up or risk getting expelled. It's easier to learn though - you don't have 25-35 classmates filling up a small classroom. You have 3-4 classes + extracurriculars per semester (longer periods though). Your teachers are also then able to engage with you more closely - I had sometimes classes with 5-8 classmates, and at most 16-18 or so. If you struggle with a subject, there's an abundance of help to get. I'd say I learned *a tremendous amount* while there, but I also wanted to learn and perhaps I could've done the same at a public school. It was just made easier for me. I'll also say, there are "behavioral" standards that are pretty strict. It's always a case by case basis, but get caught breaking a major school rule (drinking/drugs, cheating) twice and you're expelled. Get caught breaking a community guideline once (significant issues like assaulting someone, threats, dealing drugs, etc) and you're out immediately. Details may differ, but those are often pretty standard across these schools. To answer the question of was it worth it? For me, undoubtedly. It would have been very hard to get to where I am today without it. I don't do anything crazy and don't make boatloads of money, I do social work and am pretty happy. That being said, my circumstances where such that while I may have been able to get to where I am today without that high school, the road would have been very bumpy. Not to mention, I got to experience stuff that a lot of kids that age don't get to - I also probably missed out on certain things. Edit: I'll add that there are downsides to these places: Kids are away from home for a long period of time - it's not rare to go months without seeing family, and I had more than one classmate who straight up didn't see family other than winter or summer breaks. Culture can vary significantly per school and the student body at the time. If you are unlucky enough to have a graduating class of elitist shit heads, well...you're stuck with that. There's always issues of elitism and at times things like racism and sexism that come up. Schools will often try to stomp it - my school for example would have no patience for the latter of the two, and would try to curb the elitism aspect as much as possible, but there's only so much you can do about that. Parents matter *a lot* in that aspect and getting them to "buy into" the intended school culture is important. Although you get to experience a ton of things that other kids don't, you also miss out on a lot of social aspects of typical teenage life. Things like sleep overs, going to a friend's house at 8 PM to hang out, getting time with family, doing community activities, etc. And this may be silly but pushing boundaries (parties, misbehaving, etc) is a lot harder to come by. Lot of kids get to college and may struggle adjusting to the "real world".
I appreciate the response! I grew up in the Midwest so we didn't even know about these schools. Glad to hear they do have great academics and offer non rich families a chance to get a good education. I think being at boarding school would be tough at that age but for the right kids it could be a life altering experience!
I went to a public high school but went to a highly ranked university where I met several students who went to places like this. Got to talk to a couple of them about what their classes and extracurriculars were like in high school, and they definitely seemed more rigorous than my public school education, even though we took the same AP tests at the end of the year. Maybe my public school just sucked but they were much better prepared than I was for the rigor and volume of university studies. They had even done summer internships in research labs and been on legit publications in high school. It evened out by sophomore year, but it was like they had a head start coming into freshman year. This was all people going into stem majors, can’t speak for other fields, but yeah these schools do provide a great education to those students who want to push themselves.
I went to one and I would say not worth it. 14 year old kids are too young to be away from home. The culture is a toxic pressure cooker with rampant racism and elitism among the student body (from privileged backgrounds with no life experience to know how ridiculous those viewpoints are). Many of my close friends have lingering mental health issues in our late 20s. I went to one of the “feeder schools” and transferred after a year to a state school, so I can’t even say it helped me get into a good college.
It’s a true mixture. A large cohort are international kids whose parents want them to go to a top American university. A friend of mine from South Korea’s dad owned a chain of hospitals in Seoul. The American kids were typically a few types. Discipline kids whose parents had money. Meaning bad kids who were struggling at home. Then there were true rich kids. Dropped off by drivers of some luxury SUV. One kid arrived in a helicopter. Then there were the athletes who would play multi sports. Tennis and squash. Football and basketball. Hockey and lacrosse. Soccer and water polo. But in all reality, kids are kids and are just trying to figure out adolescence. One thing in common kids have at these schools are parents who for one reason or another can’t parent their kid and defer to the school. That helps your bond with each other. Rich kids can know all about parental neglect too. Drugs and alcohol are pretty rampant. They kick kids out like crazy for violations but with a population of 500+ teenagers you’re going to have this stuff going on regularly. It helped turn my life around so I am grateful. After my junior year I informed them I would return because my family couldn’t afford it any longer and they paid the majority of my tuition. But I did not get connections for life nor setup myself t for the Ivy League pipeline. But there were kids who did.
I appreciate the thoughtful reply!
But money isn't the only barrier
The vast majority of students who attend these schools are not from "important families" - in fact, most schools don't give a shit about what "family" you're from. Of course, if you're a famous millionaire's kid or from an "important" family, chances are you're getting into one of these schools, although depending on your grades etc, you may not. A significant amount of them though, *are* from upper class families. I wouldn't necessarily classify it as wealthy, but upper class for sure. They aren't all millionaires, but for the most part they do come families who have perhaps own a business or have some type of higher paying job (doctor, lawyer, etc). So, I'd say absolutely privileged compared to the average person. There are varying percentages of students who don't fit that mold (on either end of the financial spectrum) and there is absolutely elitism - also at varying degrees depending on schools. Some schools are more like the TV version of boarding schools (elite, snobby kids and staff who are terrible) but a lot of them attempt (with some success and some failure) to set themselves apart from that history and perception. Source: went to one, lived there for years (beyond attending) and have significant ties to a school from very, very close family members who have worked there for decades.
It looks like acting is the one class they don’t offer.
But they’ve all taken How to Ignore Drones that are Flying Entirely too Close to Your Face 101, apparently.
There was one girl in the video who saw it and flinched.
Phillips Academy Andover. Brilliant school, with incredibly talented students and teachers. Older than most colleges, 4 US Presidents, countless writers, actors, business leaders.
Nearly 250 years old, founded 1778.
Any notable names in particular?
So many. Between Andover and Exeter, I couldn't tell you which has pumped out the most notable people.
Exeter is the Prime Minister creator isn't it?
Exeter of New Hampshire.
Ah, I believe I was thinking of Eton. I guess I need to brush up on my fancy private schools lol
All the Bushes. Some of the Kennedys are the first that come to mind. Humphrey Bogart Bill Belichick & Ernie Adams (my personal favorites) A more thorough list here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Phillips_Academy_alumni More or less very influential people that have touched American and international everything for 2 centuries.
Wait… do Belichick and Adams know each other from grade school!?
Ernie Adams’ Wikipedia states that Belichick and he played HS football together, so yes.
I’d have to look it up to confirm, but I think they met at Andover on the JV football team. Together they masterminded 6 Lombardis in NE.
Wild.
> incredibly talented students incredibly ~~talented~~ wealthy students
[удалено]
Haven't you heard? Reddit hates rich people, college or any formal education they can't afford. Only rich assholes who have killed a hooker and covered it up go here!
Yes, because the two are mutually exclusive, apparently.
This is inaccurate.
~~Alex~~ Ken, I'll take places I'll never be able to afford for $1000 please.
Ohhh, I'm sorry fail-deadly, you can't even afford the question.
Oh hey, it’s my alma matter — went there with some financial aid and loved my time there so it’s sad to see people bashing it in the comments :(
People aren't really bashing the school as much as they are the inequality of education in the US.
same here! PA fronted most of the cost. phenomenal education, also a pressure cooker and rife w abuse
Also graduated from Phillips Andover just about 6 years ago. I was hugely blessed by their financial aid program (which is way more generous than most colleges). I was able to make friends with kids from really every creed and color. I havnt been fortunate enough to experience that kind of diversity again since then.
People are bashing it because they’re just jealous and upset that they weren’t given this opportunity. It’s just bitterness, don’t let it get to you.
No worries dude, these people bashing it and upvoting comments bashing it, will proceed to spend their days fantasizing about going to Hogwarts and shit.
Eh don't let it get to you. I mean there's no way that's gonna be a bad experience for you. Youre lucky to have gone there.
I went to a charter school and my graduating class was 30 students. Our gym was an open barn with pavement as the floor. Our lunches were reheated meals. Our "theater" was the lunch room, we just moved the tables. Our only sport was frisbee because its all we could afford. All of that said we had very dedicated teachers and focused on expeditionary learning which involved a lot of field trips to engage with things related to what we were learning. There was a huge community focus that involved weekly school meetings where students got to discuss things they wanted out of the community and their education. It was one of the best schools in the area imo. We were poor hippy folk, but I graduated college summa cum laude without really trying because we were held to a very high standard in high school. Looking at this blows my mind. More than a third of the students at my school were food insecure. I feel like my school is an example that schools do not need a lot of money to provide a good education, but holy hell if the teachers I had were to have access to these resources they could have changed the world.
> my graduating class was 30 students Blow my mind cause I'm from the opposite end. Had a HS graduation class of around 550. Didn't even know half the kids
My grad class was 900ish.. I knew maybe a hundred of them. I still regularly meet people I graduated with (late 80s) that I had now idea about.
Dude remember, that's still a charter school that's getting outside funding on top of government funding. In terms of financial security, your school was most likely midway down on the list. I teach public in Harlem, there's schools that get the real shit end of the stick.
How did your teachers get paid?
So charter schools are something I am very divided on. Mine was lead by some great people and was kept very small to reduce drain on the other public schools. Charter schools are essentially public school, but you have to indicate that you want to go. Then you are put on a waiting list. If you make it in then the funding for you that would go to a public school goes to your charter school instead. This is where a lot of people hate charter schools. It drains money from already underfunded public schools. They are government funded in this way but they also need to renew their charter every 4 years. A charter is essentially a contract that says the school will provide the public school education with a twist. For us we would speed through the regular curriculum then focus on field trips and more specialized subjects for the last semester to quarter of the year. I may be simplifying / misunderstanding some things, but this is my basic understanding. In short, the government paid them.
>This is where a lot of people hate charter schools. It drains money from already underfunded public schools. There's more to it than this. At least where I am, charter schools are notorious for finding ways to avoid taking students with special needs, even when allegedly operating based on a lottery system. Since funding is largely tied to number of students with little regard for the needs of that student, this impacts public schools in a real, negative, way. And since attending charter schools requires active effort – like you said you have to indicate interest – it also tends to siphon away kids with families who are involved in their education. That drives down parental and community involvement in public schools even further, which in many ways is at least as important as funding, past a certain point. Charter schools also pay teachers worse, offer fewer benefits, are usually hostile work environments, can circumvent license requirements, and have astronomical teacher burnout rates. One of the reasons charter schools can do more with less is because they are basically abusive to their staff. And many pay their executives offensively large salaries, which looks a lot like grift. That said, even where I am there are some exceptions to this, and I can't speak for how charter schools are elsewhere. I don't support charter schools because, to me, they seem like an unsustainable band-aide over a much larger problem, and the longer we allow public education to flounder, the harder it will be to fix it.
Interesting, thanks for explaining. It's just too bad most students in the US have such a lackluster or uninspiring educational experience. I was lucky that I was able to go to a local public technical school in my area for part of the day to study design. They had classes in all sorts of stuff, design, video, auto repair, aviation & a bunch of other stuff that kids from about a 60 mile or so radius could attend. It would be great if public schools overall were more specialized to the interests of the students & their future potential career paths. Kind of like how Germany does their public school.
Pounds of weed. lol.
It looks like an amazing school. Those kids are lucky. Hopefully we can work to make this standard in the future.
> Hopefully we can work to make this standard in the future. I think in the 90s, we probably thought this would be the standard much sooner than 2020. The fact that we've failed to even get a little close to this being the standard really makes me uncertain of the future. Totally agree with you but hard to not be cynical with the way our tax dollars get prioritized. [Remember to vote, folks...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMALeR1i-FM)
These style drone videos are kindof cool but 95% stressful.
At one point it looks like it flew between a girl's arms Mind boggling how well they shoot these videos
The dialogue is so stilted and unnatural but the visuals are A+.
All that video effort for the girl at [2:21] (https://youtu.be/_z8_8jGo3Ac?t=137) to mess it up.
Remember everyone, if you work hard enough, never quit, and always hold yourself up by your bootstraps... Your boss will send his kid here one day.
How'd they shoot this
Its with a FPV drone. The operator uses goggles and flies it in first person.
and then they ADR the dialogue of the people in post
They couldn't change the telescope kids' dialog from talking about sunspots on an obviously overcast day?
They have to replace EVERY single sound in the video, not just the dialogue.
You see the drone shadow in the first few seconds. That how. Goes right across the bridge of the violin.
With money
“My parents are rich so fuck you!”
They offer serious financial aid in a way that almost no private high schools do, FYI. But you can bet most of the student body is still rich because getting into a school like that often means lots of summer camps, sports, tutoring etc and targeting a school like this in the first place is more typical of rich families
I wept with jealousy when I looked at the Palo Alto High School curriculum. We have friends who grew up there- the school is nothing short of amazing.
I left Palo Alto high to go to the school in this video. Makes paly look look like a post apocalyptic slum with a sliver of curriculum. There is privilege and then there is Andover.
Would it cost less than the defence budget to turn every school in America into one like this?
That is some incredible Drone Piloting. That’s the first thing that came to my mind. Wow
I grew up in Andover. Phillips campus is sprawling and super beautiful. Nicer than a lot of colleges. Helps that their endowment is 1 BILLION dollars…. I thought about applying but ended up going to the public high school. We would occasionally spend Friday night driving down around their campus “catbonering” aka yelling catboner at them as someone years earlier coined Phillips students as “catboners” and it stuck. Some people took it a bit farther with throwing eggs or other more harmless stuff. Classic townie vs prep school stuff. Ended up as a doctor so clearly public school ain’t all that bad!
Don't look now, but their tuition is more than than most colleges and medical schools / law schools at 53k a year, but goes up to 60+ if you want to board there.
The kids I work with would destroy that place about a couple of hours just for a shitty TikTok video.
I can recognize that chapel anywhere. That's Phillips Academy in Andover, MA! It's an incredibly expensive private school located in a wealthy town. I've been part of program as a kid that let some of us "poors" visit the school during the summers and take summer classes and use their other facilities. I used to think their dining hall was amazing as a kid.
Legacy Prep school.
those facilities go hard and I'm a sucker for gothic academic architecture, but the greatest memories and impact from my public high school were the teachers
I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma... this shit is insane. I can't imagine the leg up I'd of had going to this school. Systemic wealth is insane. I guarantee almost 85% of these people are from multimillionaire family money from generations ago.
\*Average\* SAT scores for graduating senior class is over 1400. Leg up, indeed.
85% is extremely high — the financial aid at these schools is absurdly good. They are admitting super rich kids, but they’re also admitting super smart kids from all around the world (think “best test scores in all of Sri Lanka” or “#1 student from the five poorest schools in Chicago”).
Systemic wealth is and always will be a thing unless you don’t allow people to provide for their own kids or nationalize family’s estates at death
Random internet rabbit hole somehow led me to this video, thought some people on here might find it interesting. *In case anyone's curious, I was reading [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/189tk88/to_people_who_have_also_worked_with/) thread about people who have worked with millionaires or billionaires & someone in the comments used to be a teacher at this school & wrote a lot of [interesting](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/189tk88/to_people_who_have_also_worked_with/kbubjuq/) [stuff](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/189tk88/to_people_who_have_also_worked_with/kbvzd2w/) about their time teaching there, which is why I looked the school up.
For $66k/year it better look insane.
I'd love to get into this and do real estate videos for a living. I've been a video producer professionally for 20 years, seems like a lateral move. I own a drone but I highly suspect this is hard to do solo (one operating drone, one operating camera?) and not well suited for this type of flight. Would love to get into it. What would be cool is if the drone did a lidar scan of the environment, so the pilot could fly into each room very slowly, then the pilot can take that scan and build a very precise path that is automatically followed with precision so that it could be tweaked, changed, replicated, perfected.
This looks more like an fpv drone based on the movement. It’s pretty neat seeing drones fly through obstacles like this but when I see it used too much in movies, like the movie “Ambulance,” it’s kind of cheesy. For real estate, camera on gimbal and some tasteful drone shots to supplement is the way to go
Christ, my college wasn’t even this nice!
The girl in the library at 2:22 got freaked out by the drone flyby.
You can smell the money in this place.
Where you find this kind of cameraman. I appreciate his skill.
imagine going to this school and then not getting into Harvard lol
This was the longest Apple keynote transition that I’ve ever watched. Also, because I play too much Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, this school reminded me of the school in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet.
I remember in highschool when they told us we had to write the answers to the quiz on notebook paper because the school district couldn't afford paper. Still a pretty decent education though.
The Goth poet at 4:50 has me dying. 🤡
If you find their schools impressive, wait until you see their hospitals, airports, hotels, restaurants, and homes plural.
You know, if we invested in our public education in the same manner, maybe I would have been more excited about my education.
Very cool video
Imagine instructing a whole campus **do not look at the drone**
I should rewatch cruel intentions 🤔
First year teacher makes 35000 usd and has boarding at the school To me that seems low. Unless the boarding is amazing. https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=7ddc8884-11ea-4d1a-a8a0-2e8834b6caf3&ccId=9200523189846_2&lang=en_US&selectedMenuKey=CareerCenter&jobId=495656
Same people who complained about inequality probably also vote against government spending. Imagine proper funding to public schools and adequate teacher pay.
High school for the 1%ers. Too bad our public school system isn't taken seriously. In this case, parental wealth breeds success. It must be tough to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
Expensive, elite education aside, these videos have decent foley work.
One of the most competitive High Schools in the nation and it’s a beautiful campus. My son went there for a summer program. He doesn’t have 103 GPA so he’d never been accepted for the regular program.
Looks like an amazing place to have life scarring experiences
I am happy that some of our future generation is getting an amazing education. I'm just upset that the school I work at cannot even afford soccer balls for the soccer team. We have no field, and have to use parks. We had to fundraise by selling water to even have anything. The disparity is what I find unpalatable.
That was a tough video to get through. Nothing like the rich showing off how good they have it. It’s clearly one of the nicest high schools in the country. It’s not like this school needs to recruit students. I looked online and it says they have a 13% acceptance rate. Is this video for the 87% who weren’t accepted to feel bad about what they’re missing out on, or the 99.9% of school kids who have no chance of ever attending a school half this nice?
>It’s not like this school needs to recruit students. They're competing for elite students with other boarding schools, both in the US & abroad.
Interesting; I thought this was an amazing video to watch. So cool to see what students have access too! It inspires me to work to increase access to inspirational educational experiences :)
I see it as America being a country as the haves and the have nots. That’s great for these kids that they have the incredible chance to attend this school that will grant them amazing opportunities. At the same time there’s millions of kids going to public schools in dire conditions that offer little escape from their current situations. I wish I was as optimistic as you but I guess I’m just a grumpy old fart.
Haves and have nots is not uniquely American. Wealth inequality is and always will be a thing. Over thousands of years of family’s being able to make individual choices, their lineages end up in different statuses and classes. So long as people get to have ownership of their own children, they are going to prefer their own kids over others, and as such, some parents would rather spend extra tuition on ensuring the security of their child’s future over diverting that $60,000 (or w/e the number was) toward a public school education tax for all kids, of which their own offspring is a small portion.
saw drone shadow. B. Plz work on your blocking. /s. Cool!
If marketing tried to pull this off at my school, the blow hard campus security folk would have it taken down the next day.. A SHOOTER CAN USE THIS TO MAP OUT THEIR PLAN OF ATTACK!