HousingNov 1, 2018
AppleRed99

Getting kids into Cupertino Schools

TC = 180k Not SWE. Live in a condo in San Jose, My kid is sharp and I want to send him to a better school in Cupertino/Palo Alto/Los Gatos etc. Cannot afford to buy or even Rent in those areas. Any innovative ways of getting my kid into the schools

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Amazon 2019 Nov 1, 2018

Why not private school or kumon? Or just dominate at his/her current school. Makes it easier when trying to get into college if you stand out.

Apple Red99 OP Nov 1, 2018

Pvt Schools are too expensive in long term

Chegg UzeP17 Nov 1, 2018

Check out other options. Some charter and magnet schools may be worth the hype and available in your area.

Apple applpark Nov 1, 2018

Truth be told I used to attend Lynbrook High which is pretty competitive in the area and by the end of high school my friends and I generally all agreed that there was really nothing that great about the teachers or curriculum. If you hear about kids from those competitive high schools winning big awards or whatever, it was mostly because their parents were all spending a fortune on after school tutoring and going to great lengths to help them, not because the school itself provided anything special. In fact most of the teachers I had were pretty meh, not really that hard working or interested in explaining the material. Overall unless your local schools are really ghetto I don't think it's worth the hassle at all to send them to some pressure cooker school in another district.

Intel metoohawny Nov 1, 2018

Thanks for the data point. I knew various "valedictorians (yeah they have multiple at those schools, right?)" from Lynbrook, Monte Vista, Gunn, etc that went to my college. They were pretty damn smart though, but I suspected it was due to inherent talent, not their HS teachers/experience. Problem is that almost all SJC schools ARE ghetto, except for the private Bellarmine, Harker schools, whose tuition fees are like Ivy League tuitions in the 90s or even more.

Lockheed Martin zVdH Nov 3, 2018

I went to lynbrook also and I don’t think it’s necessarily a special place. There were lots of kids who didn’t work hard and got mediocre grades, and I would say that how well the students did is mostly dependent on the family’s values. We did have some crazy smart kids and a really good math team, but I wasn’t a part of it. I ended up playing tennis and doing cross country. I guess the good part was that it was a safe environment without gangs and drugs, but those are probably available if I went to look for them. Since I don’t have any experience attending other high schools, I don’t know how lynbrook compares.

Cadence 13sc.ug Nov 1, 2018

There is a way. I believe if you or your spouse work at the school district x # of hours , your kid can attend the school. Look into individual school district policies. The other way is if you have a friend who resides in that school district and is willing to let your child stay at their house during the school year.

Hitachi Vantara aoej57 Nov 1, 2018

Your TC is 180 and you can't afford RENT in Cupertino?? Something is wrong with your finances. Not anything else.

Medallia mShU83 Nov 2, 2018

Those schools are overrated imho. Unless the schools your kids go to is not safe. The better investment is actually spending time with them. Teaching kids grit and hard work is more important.

Northrop Grumman grothendie Nov 2, 2018

The real benefit if good schools is to be in an environment with motivated peers and a healthy amount of competition. I went to a shit highschool and slacked off, because no one cared and most kids weren't going to college afterwards. Completely put me off course for a solid decade and still can't make the correction.

Oracle ToniBraxtn Nov 2, 2018

Re- evaluate your spendings and cut down on eating out. At 180k, you can very well afford renting in Cupertino

LeanTaaS thuglife Nov 4, 2018

OP - I would like to know why you cannot spend 2K per month on your kid specially when your TC is 180k.. also how come you cannot afford to rent in Cupertino?

Apple iPhone Xs Nov 10, 2018

You can easily rent in Cupertino for $3-4K for 2-3 bed homes. That is just 20-25% of your TC.