Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
New York Private Schools Top $40K In Tuition, Parents Yawn
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 20, 2011
Modified Jun 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 20, 2011
Modified Jun 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
With Riverdale Country School raising their tuition to $40,450 a year for high school students in 2011-2012, New York private schools have topped the $40K mark for the first time. Though the head of Riverdale tells the WSJ that he's "perturbed" by the rising education costs, he says that "our parents rightfully make it a priority for their children to have the opportunity of an amazing education and are willing to pay for that." Yes, but once you factor in tutoring that's the same price as tuition, and the apartment you have to buy your kids when they graduate, educating your kids costs a lot more than $40K a year. Nevertheless, money and influence do buy achievement.
Most alarming is that New York's private schools offer a significantly lower amount of financial aid to their students compared to Ivy League universities. Princeton and Harvard offer 60% of their students an average of $38,000 to defer their annual tuition of $37K and $34K respectively. In contrast, only 19.9% of the city's private school students receive aid, and the average grant is $21,350. Grace Church School's head asks, "The question is, when does it stop? And you have to assume that there will be a point at which is will stop." Forget this tuition thing: who wants to tell him about Santa Claus?
Because children who attend these schools are given fantastic opportunities that otherwise wouldn't be available to them (Mandarin lessons, high-tech facilities or in the case of the yet-to-open Avenues school in Chelsea: "Studying on Five Continents"). As the director at the Parents League of New York puts it, "parents, they just say, 'OK, this is the price we have to pay for an independent school education.' It's like the price we have to pay for living in New York City. Everything is expensive." Ahh, denial: where would we be without you?
Tagged
education
private schools
riverdale country school
tuition
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .