Expat Community > Costa Rica

CostaRicaLady
Joined 2013
Posts: 21

The Truth - Costa Rica School System, 8th grade through college, Personal 13 year experience

11 years ago

Hi all, here is (from my perspective) The Truth concerning the Costa Rica School System, my personal 8th grade through college experiences.

I've read some questions and even some negative things regarding Costa Rica schools, private vs public, etc.

and even some negative comments, but my own personal "real person" experience was pretty different.

When we 1st came here from "up north" in 1999, we moved around a lot.

My father is Canadian but now also Costa Rican, and my mother is native born Costa Rican.

So with a Costa Rica mother, she had 11 brothers and sisters,
so I also have the experiences of all my 100 Costa Rica cousins and nieces and nephews :-), and they are in every part of Costa Rica, and therefore I have been all over Costa Rica, every area of the country.

I ended up going to three public high schools here (from 8th grade to 11th);
one in San Ramon, one in Jacó, and the other in Desamparados.
The "poorest" by far was the Jacó high school, but even it wasn't bad, just warm.

Costa Rica boasts a 98% literacy level, the highest in all of Central America. Education in Costa Rica is free and mandatory by law, and the country has over 6,000 elementary and high schools, even in the most remote areas of the country. English classes are mandatory at all public schools. All three high schools that I attended had computer labs. All three had sports and extracurricular activities. I played on the basketball team in San Ramon, and at Desamparados there were several sports teams, including a swimming team (they do have a pool, which admittedly not every public school has). They also frequently had after-school activities, especially sports games. The high school in Jaco took us on field trips to Carara and Manuel Antonio National Parks. Besides my own experience, I have two younger sisters who attended public elementary and high schools in Escazú, Miramar de Puntarenas, Santa Barbara de Heredia and Santa Lucia de Heredia, all with similar experiences to my own.

In regards to private schools, they can vary in price anywhere from $120 x month to $1,000 x month. My youngest sister is in one of the more affordable private schools, but they do admittance testing and only about half the kids who apply are able to get in, so they are very academically demanding of their students, which is a good thing. Besides the regular classes, this school (and several private schools) offers several classes completely in English, Mandarin-Chinese lessons, additional sports like Taekwondo, etc. The only down side I see is that the child socializes almost exclusively with rich and bratty kids, and I've noticed a definite change in attitude since my sister started there.

Now, I would agree wholeheartedly that any American bringing school-aged children down here should probably enroll them in private school, if they are planning to live in a remote or rural area. However, if the family is planning to live anywhere in the central valley, or near any of the larger cities around the country, I would recommend checking out the public schools in the area.

I think it´s the best way to have them immersed into the Costa Rican culture, and especially for them to learn Spanish quickly. I was very nervous about starting school in a public institution, especially since I barely spoke any Spanish, but looking back, I regard it as one of the best, most defining moments of my life. I think that it truly taught me to adapt to new situations and socialize with many different types of people.

Regarding higher education, I would recommend a state university over a private university any day. The University of Costa Rica holds a spot of prestige, being in the top 500 best universities worldwide, ranking #287 worldwide and #11 in Latin America. Even if you do decide for a private university, several of which are bilingual, prices are a fraction of those in the US. A bachelors' degree with a 4 year study plan at one of the more expensive and prestigious private universities here would set you back around $10,000 USD, much less than a similar degree in the US, which normally would cost between $25,000 and $85,000 USD.

We are actually building a combination private / public bilingual school up at our MonteCielo Community kinder-12th, similar to Country Day up in Escazu, all modern standards and internationally recognised degrees, as there is already several expat communities within 15 - 20 minutes in all 3 directions.

And we are installing Free computer labs and english language labs at the 4 closest local towns to MonteCielo, BiJagual, Orotina, Tarcoles and Quabrada Ganado, part of giving back and being part of the community.

Hope that helps, anyone wants to email me for more specifics, glad to help

Dominique
[email protected]
www.MonteCieloCostaRica.com

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The Truth - Costa Rica School System, 8th grade through college, Personal 13 year experience

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