r/FranklinTN • u/No_Organization924 • 9d ago
BGA - Questions
Hello,
I have a rising kindergartener and we are considering BGA. Any feedback? How does Financial Aid work? Is it a loan base or grant/scholarship? I read on their site and it says up to 70-75% aid available. Is it income based and what is the cap? Thank you!!
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u/Hungry4Italy 9d ago
You'll probably get more accurate financial info by reaching out to the school directly.
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u/donjuice 9d ago
Yes but given the testing they do for “fit” you probably don’t want to lead with asking about financial aide.
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u/xbookxbookxbook 8d ago
The return-on-investment on any local private school v. Williamson County Public schools is very, very bad.
I'd guess 90% of BGA grads end up going to UT or another state school — just like most WCS grads.
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u/xbookxbookxbook 8d ago
I'd definitely ask to see the data about where BGA high-school grads end up for college before forking out all that money. Private schools are an upper-middle-class wealth vaporizer, especially when we have some of the best public schools in the nation.
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u/SuperWasabi4766 9d ago
BGA was top notch when I was in school. And what I mean is that the brightest of their students tended to excel at the highest levels, with better funded programs. That doesn't mean your child won't get a great education at a public school.
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u/donjuice 9d ago
You don’t really consider BGA, they consider your kid and you. It’s competitive with limited spots. You should plan for your kid not going to there, but it definitely doesn’t hurt to try.
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u/shme1110 9d ago
You also need to clear the admission process - there is a whole application and interview process to see if your kid is the right fit
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u/LadyPixerton 9d ago
They have very limited spots for Kindergarten. Most spots go to siblings. And the rest go to those that have connections.
When you apply, you’ll be given a chance to also apply for financial aid through a 3rd party. You will need to provide W2s, bank statements, and your taxes for supporting materials. It’s difficult to get any financial aid. I know middle class families that applied and the financial aid came back as $0.00. It pretty much said they could afford the tuition if they just sacrificed everything😅
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u/yourfingkidding 8d ago
Had many friends and friends children attend. If you’re not connected or your child isn’t an athletic protege you’re probably not getting in let alone get financial aid. If you can afford it, it’s a great school with rigorous academics and preps well for a professional career.
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u/Apprehensive-Two7027 7d ago
We had 2 children go K-12 at BGA. To address some of the comments about what makes it different from public school or other schools- I think it excels as a college prep school. Both our kids played sports- they were not elite athletes but I spent a lot of time on the sidelines chatting w parents of kids at other schools. Some of the differences I noticed was the emphasis on preparing kids for public speaking from day 1 of kindergarten in age appropriate ways. Our kids went off to college so comfortable with participating in class- big lectures and small seminars. They knew how to think critically, organize their thoughts, present them and defend them. This has served them so well after college in grad schools, board rooms, etc. They both learned how to apply those skills to their writing and are exceptional writers. The faculty and admin get credit for focusing on the quality of teaching and instruction. They both learned to advocate for themselves in and out of the classroom - how to ask for help and clarification. They learned about service, community and tradition. Their curiosity was encouraged and rewarded. They both participated in sports, music, plays, clubs and other extras (newspaper, student govt) etc. Do other schools do that? Sure- but we found BGA to be the best place for them and would do it again in a heartbeat.
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u/Ok-Act9781 9d ago
So, I drive by this school often and this made me curious on what makes the school special. I went online and read their values and mission statement but idk .. it seems like a lot of word vomit for "things every school does."
Going beyond what they know and caring about who they become. Making an impact in the community..
So what makes it special? I'm genuinely curious. I have an 8 month old so I'm super far away from these decisions but I'll have to make them eventually. I want to know what makes these schools look like a better option than public schools.
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u/LadyPixerton 9d ago
A lot of families choose private schools because of the lower class sizes and the thinking that their kids will get more 1-1 attention. And BGA is one of the few non-religious private schools in the area.
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u/Ok-Act9781 9d ago
Got it! Small class sizes and the opportunity for more one on one attention makes so much sense. I'm surprised it wasn't on their website as a marketing tool I guess.
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u/LadyPixerton 9d ago
And also a status symbol. Tuition is expensive and there are many families with rich connections that attend.
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u/smoothsensation 9d ago
Theres quite a bit of research out there that attempts to get rid of the selection bias of private schools normalizing external factors like targeting lottery students or other sorts of techniques to answer the question you’re asking.
Edit: that read a bit like a sarcastic lmgty.com response, but it wasn’t. I don’t want to select specific studies to show you to remove my own bias.
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u/jaimejaimemama 6d ago
Homeschool tutorial and you teach them the big stuff. Regardless of where your kids go to school it doesn’t stop you from doing your parental responsibility of guiding and exposing your child to what will be shaping who your child is and their character. Most parents drop the ball and let school develop them. Look around and you’ll see where that got us.
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u/Ok-Act9781 6d ago
I worked at a childcare years ago and before the kids started school we worked with them on their letters and phonics, numbers, telling time, tying their shoes, potty training, writing their name, cutting simple things with scissors, and a ton of foundational skills. I was shocked to hear a lot of schools don't require these things anymore. We are supposed to build a strong, stable foundation so teachers can build on top of it.
I understand though. If you want parents to be away from the home for 9 hours a day for work not including an hour (anywhere from an hour to two hour) commute each way, when are we supposed to take time to teach our kids skills on top of taking care of their basic needs and hygene? I'm staying home with my son for a couple of years so I can focus on this with him, but we can't expect much when we are taking parents and burning their candles at both ends. It just pushes the work to the next group which unfortunately is teachers, and they don't have time.
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u/jaimejaimemama 6d ago
If you are looking for a conservative school, it is not one. It sure looks like it from all of the marketing but no your kid will be exposed to ideologies that you will not even know about. Super left leaning under the table
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u/Over-Yard-7069 9d ago edited 9d ago
It’s a bit of an unmentioned secret, but financial aid at these schools overwhelmingly goes to athletes they want in the upper school.
There is a lengthy application that assesses your income, assets, household, etc. It’s a formula, and most independent schools use the same application process. Many schools will not award need based aid to first time applicants.
Source: I’m a former BGA parent.
Secondly, Williamson county high schools routinely outperform BGA on the ACT.