[quote=cvmom]Although I think BG is correct about elementary school, once you get up to middle and high school I lean toward sdr’s perspective. That is where the peer group begins to have a huge effect. I see my sister’s kid (just as bright as my kid) just coasting along because he is a smart fish in a small pond in a rural school. Whereas my kid is so much much more motivated because he is running full-speed (academically speaking) to keep up with his peers.[/quote]
Totally agree here, cvmom. However, the MORE “peers” your kid “associates” with (successful or not) the more “distractions” they have (texting/facebook, etc). The focused kid who is a little bit of a loner will probably get the higher GPA, IMHO. There is so much work to do to get through HS these days that I believe the less distracted the kid is, the better. For example, if your kid already HAS 397 online “friends,” why does he/she now need 512, even if these “add-on friends” make good grades or come from “more affluent” families??
How many times can you rescue your kid from an “impromptu afterschool party” at one of the neighborhood “McMansions” before their interim grades determine that they have too much on their plates??
You make a good argument here for just “renting” for 4-6 years if the “coveted, high-scoring” HS you want your kid to go to is surrounded by expensive HOA’s and CFD’s (which have 20-45 yrs of MR left).
Why imprison yourself for life with HOA/exorbitant MR and possibly not even be able to recover your purchase price in the foreseeable future if you can just “borrow” the property only for the few years that you need it for your kid and then move out??
Many newly minted HS graduates are just itching to spread their wings and work and/or attend school in another locale. As a parent, if you “downsize” out of their old “stomping grounds” after your kid(s) graduate from HS, hopefully they won’t later try to come back to “haunt you” as “boomerang kids.”
Of course, this suggestion would not apply if the great-scoring school is not surrounded by expensive HOAs/MRs (such as LJHS – primarily surrounded by older homeowners). In that case, buy property whenever you are able to there and “retire in place.” :=]
