Here is my take, I sent my two kids to private schools, Baylor and TCU, they are expensive, not Harvard expensive, but expensive. The majority of the kids going to those schools are highly motivated with highly motivated parents, the faculty is motivated, the whole school is motivated. That is the environment that we wanted for our kids and it has worked. My son graduated in 4 years, had a job in sales in his field, lined it up before he graduated, he has worked for a year now and is the #3 salesperson in CA. for his firm. He is totally on his own and was able to save almost $20k in his first year. My daughter will graduated next spring, in four years. Surround your kids with achievers the best you can.