The scene of International schools - Part $$

Can't believe I posted the part I about two months ago....

I guess most people would be most curious about the co$t of attending these international pre-schools in Tokyo. Well, to sum it up...it ain't cheap!!!

Before attending, just to get on the waiting list, some pre-schools will charge you a so-called application fee.  It's only a one-page document. But they charge you anywhere from $100 ~ $200 dollars ( USD).  Seriously, how hard it is to process a one-page doc???!!!  This is so much more expensive than the application fees of business schools. And let's not forget the "thickness" of the biz school applications.

What's worse, some really expensive schools here won't even refund you the app fee if the waiting list ended up being too long that they can't even grant your child a spot.  ( What a rip-off!!!)  The more reasonable ones won't charge you app fee if availability is an issue. 

After paying for the application fee( Thank God...some schools have no such fee), you definitely can't avoid the registration fee.  The reg fee has such a wide range from several hundred dollars to $1000 per child to OVER $2000 per family.   ( I guess you need to have at least 2 or 3 kids attending to bring down the CPC - "cost per child" of registration.)

Then the monthly tuition.  Most schools offers two ~ five days a week options for your child.  For example, three days a week could cost you anywhere from $800 to $1500. Oh, by the way, this is the cost for HALF day programs.  Some pre-schools offer after hours language, art, math, gym or music classes for additional fee$.  After hours childcare service is also available for a hefty $10 per half hour.

Besides tuition, some school will also charge a bunch of other fees( I think they are just made-off fees for additional revenues), such as building maintenance, earth quake rehearsal and fire drill fees.  Sounds a lot like our phone and cable companies in the states.  ( Haha.....) 

As you can see, fees are all over the place with no industry standards whatsoever.  Our relocation consultant said because most companies will pay for the tuitions and fees for their expats' kids once they turn 3 years old, the pre-schools can basically charge whatever they want.  ( Since the foreign companies are the suckers here...)  Because of the high cost, I've also heard some families decided to hold back their kids from going to pre-school till 3 yrs old.

I am alway curious about the cost of private schools in NYC.  Does anyone know??