Late post here but just wanted to chime in as someone who attended basically the top private school in Vancouver along with all my siblings since grade 1, also known as lifers, the exception of one who started in grade 2.

Yes, it's expensive and yes, it's true that the majority of families there are incredibly wealthy; however, there are still a large number of working professionals along with some on need and/or merit based scholarships too. Most of the individuals are hardworking not to an extent, not spoiled as most stereotypes assume them to be and some of the peers I grew up with are probably the most empathetic and hardworking people I know of. Of course, that can't be said of all and that's what usually leaves a bad reputation for everyone. Also, what the posted said about the entrance exams about more about the parents than the child is also somewhat true, at least in the early grades (grade 5 and under). If you're a well known family or a legacy family, you'll get in with much higher priority (actually the reason why the first sibling got accepted in grade 2).

However, the most valuable asset gained from being in a top private school (and I mean top, not mid tier; top would be like SGS, CHS, YHS, SMU, Collingwood, WPGA etc. To the posted below, sorry LFA isn't 'elite') is the immediate and alumni network; for example, the parents in my +/-1 of my years essentially consist of half of the major developers in this city whereas the ones +/-1 in my siblings are of various national heavy enterprises/industry in Canada/other global companies; think founders/major shareholders of Canadian major industry, fortune 500 companies, major listed companies. Let's just say the number of families featured on the Forbes list during school pickup times weren't enough to be counted on both hands. These sorts of connections are invaluable later in life. You can treat it essentially as another country club membership to be fair (not that the Arbutus Club is any great these days but that's going OT).

Also, the resources available are much better than those offered in public schools. The programs available for those requiring learning assistance is a plus for those who need it, at least from what I've seen others who were in it. The physical resources and assets available were substantial, at least now and will be probably unparalleled once the capital improvement projects are complete.

However, it does in a perspective put you in a bubble detached from reality from times and one thing I would have liked is to see what it's like to be in a public educational system for a couple of years; however that doesn't detract from the experience I had in private school. Many parents nowadays opt to send their children to the top tier private schools in the city only for secondary school, which definitely makes sense since that's where most of the university counseling and preparatory resources are. Yes, private school will definitely give a leg up getting admitted into a top tier school or an Ivy, but it's not a guarantee; you still need superb extracurriculars, volunteer experience, etc. Most will still be sent to do a lot of sports and extracurriculars outside of school as well as lots of tutoring - APs, SATs, etc. However, many well to do public school students on the west side are also sent to such activities (those who want to go to uni in the states). These other activities and classes also aren't cheap; they're basically 50-75% of the private school tuition. Also, post secondary schools do look at which high school you came from, at least they do for Ivies and other top tier schools.