just looked up how much these elite private high schools actually cost and wow, i had no idea it was this crazy. like the most expensive private school tuitions are hitting $60k+ a year now? that's insane. the article says the average private high school in the us is around $16k annually, but places like Milton School in Massachusetts are charging $63,950. that's literally more than a year of college at some state universities.

so apparently back in 2023 when they ranked all this, they found that the most expensive private school options were concentrated in New England and California. places like Phillips Academy Andover ($53,950), Groton School ($59,995), and Noble and Greenough in Massachusetts ($60,100) are absolutely wild. then you've got The Thacher School out in California charging $56,680 for a boarding experience on 427 acres.

what's crazy is these tuition numbers don't even include room and board for the boarding schools. so if your kid is staying on campus, you're looking at even MORE money. and the thing is, they're all super selective too - rigorous academics, leadership programs, the whole package. but still, most expensive private school tuition in Connecticut is averaging $28k, which is already more than in-state tuition at the University of Connecticut.

i'm genuinely curious how many families actually pay full price for this stuff without financial aid. like $60k a year for high school seems absolutely brutal unless you're seriously wealthy. does anyone here have kids in these kinds of schools or am i just discovering a whole world i didn't know existed?