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Post by greengirlpenguin on Jan 30, 2009 16:15:44 GMT -5
So most of you are out of high school and I was hoping you could help me. I was wondering if you had a choice of a private or public high school which would you pick? And why?
Thanks for all the help!
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Post by Hanna on Jan 30, 2009 17:25:38 GMT -5
I had that choice back when I was going to high school and I choose public. Part of the reason for that was that I had already spent three years on a private junior high (in Norway both junior high and high school are three years). Also in the Norwegian educational system your grades are all that matters when applying to college, so as long as I had good grades it didn't really matter at which school I'd gotten those grades. The US might be different though, at least that's the impression I get from TV and movies.
Anyways, I'm glad I got to try both private and public.
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sylviaplath
First short story featured in regional newspaper
Posts: 192
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Post by sylviaplath on Jan 30, 2009 18:49:42 GMT -5
I went to a private school from kindergarten through eighth grade, and I'm now in a public high school. I think it really depends on the schools in your area. In my city, there are several really strong magnet (accelerated or gifted) programs at the local public schools. I'm in a magnet program currently and I love it. The classes move more quickly and there are usually academic benefits such as a person hired solely to help you and those in the program with you (with college applications, trouble with teachers, etc). At the time I entered high school, I was trying to decide between continuing at the private school I had attended since I was three or moving to the school I attend now. I decided on public school based on the fact that it had more classes and the classes I was interested in taking (such as Latin, Anatomy and Physiology, etc). Also, the private school I attended had a pretty hefty price tag, so leaving to go into a public school freed up a lot of funds to be used for my college tuition, which is constantly rising, at least in the US.
So it really depends specifically on the schools in your area. If you have public schools with magnet programs I would recommend looking into those. I know it can be hard to move into public school if you have very close friends in private school, but I think concentrating more on what would be best for you academically will ultimately be the most rewarding.
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Halie
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
Posts: 982
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Post by Halie on Jan 30, 2009 19:23:24 GMT -5
You can't give a definitive answer to this. It depends upon so many factors. Generally, I would pick public unless A) you live in a very large city B) your districted high school sucks (and not based on "what your friends say" or any of that. Based on the amount that go to college, the amount that pass AP exams, the crime rate, the number of drug busts.) or C) there is a certain program you want that's only available at a private school (for example, you row and need a crew team. Most publics don't have them.) I'll explain choice A. A big part of life is diversity. If you've been going to the same school K-12, you ain't gonna know what the word means. Large public schools have this. Honestly, I don't think that wanting to stay with friends is a good excuse. Cliques completely change in high school, even if you know some of the same people. And more importantly, you need to leave the comfort of your bubble at some time or another. If you don't do it now, you'll be in for a huge shock when you get to college. If you live in a big city, you're already exposed to diversity on a daily basis, so that's why I said this. And when I say "you," I mean in a general way, not specific towards you. Besides, colleges won't look down on you if you come from a public school.
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thenephilim
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
Posts: 627
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Post by thenephilim on Jan 31, 2009 0:35:36 GMT -5
Back in eighth grade I had the choice of either public or private (Catholic) high school.
I chose public because:
1. I had already been at a private Catholic grade school since kindergarten and wanted a change of pace. 2. Private school was way too expensive, especially with college coming up. 3. A lot of people from my grade school were going to the one private high school (all-girls i might add) and I wasn't too fond of any of them. 4. My town has a great public school system with a level of education that I believe to be the same, if not better, than the one offered at the private school. 5. The public school was actually in my town, whereas the private one was several towns away, making commuting a pain.
These were my reasons for choosing public, but it really depends on your needs and wants and what is important to you. Hopefully this helps though! Good luck!
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katiaisme
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
Posts: 960
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Post by katiaisme on Jan 31, 2009 10:55:59 GMT -5
I never had the choice to pick between private or public, I went to the same school for 13 years, Pre-k to grade 12. It was a public school.
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Post by ace on Nov 6, 2012 19:37:34 GMT -5
I attended both public and private. I went to public for primary school for 6 years, then private for 3 years, then back to public high school for 3 years. I was on scholarship at the private school. I enjoyed public high school too but found the way of teaching there did not work for me, it was not the fact that it was public. I left early and went to college instead for my last year of school. I don't regret transferring from private back to public as it was costing my parents so much money and at the time I was unhappy. I regret not going back to private school for that last year. I think it really depends on the school, there were other public high schools I would have preferred but some only did French which I had not studied at my private school. Here when applying to university they mostly look at your grades, extra curriculars are not really a big thing here, but I do believe the name of your school carries some weight.
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