For the exceptional student public high school has more to offer! Catholic school is geared towards the average student.
You hit the nail on the head with this. If you are top notch student, your needs will be better served at a good public school. You will be able to take a wide range of advanced classes to meet your needs and you will be sitting in classes with students who are just like you. Most private schools "meet superior students needs" by having them take advanced classes with older students. For example an 8th grader who has already taken Algebra I, they would take Geometry with 9th/10th graders because the "normal track" has the majority of kids taking Algebra I in 8th/9th grade. If you don't believe that publics better serve the needs of advanced students, take some time to look up the course offerings of private and public. I think you will be shocked. If your kid is an average student who needs more attention, private is surely the way to go. But not if you are advanced at all.
