Eton college can boast of educating more than a third of Britain’s 57 prime ministers over its 583 years. Less impressive is the fact that the number of its pupils winning places at the universities of Oxford or Cambridge fell by more than half between 2014 and the 2021-2022 school year. Some parents pick private schools in the hope that their kids will benefit from more attention or less bullying. Others bet that these institutions will lead to a better education, higher grades and a place at a venerable university. But soaring costs and changing university admissions policies are prompting discussion of whether private schools are worth it.

Recent evidence suggests that for most privately schooled children in Britain and those who attend elite private institutions in America, the advantages of an expensive education remain robust. Costs in Britain are among the highest in the world. Fees in America are lower on average, but also rocketed by 60％ in the first decade of this century. Measuring what benefits flow from these expenses matters both to critics of private schooling and to those who pay for it. At first glance, the pay-offs are clear: all around the rich world privately educated pupils do better in exams, go to better universities and end up with better-paid jobs. But some of that success derives from advantages outside the classroom, such as having wealthy, encouraging or intelligent parents.

Picking apart the benefits of private education in America is difficult, because that is more complicated than Britain’s. America’s elite universities welcome those from private high schools with open arms. Money helps, too. Whereas English universities charge every domestic student the same tuition fees, America’s best universities vary the cost according to means. This allows exceptional pupils from poor backgrounds to study for little or nothing. But it also gives universities good reason to keep in with dependable “feeder” schools, full of clever pupils with ample wealth.

America may be on the verge of change, however. Imminent rulings from its Supreme Court could ban the use of affirmative action in university admissions. And if colleges and universities can no longer boost applicants from underrepresented minority groups, the advantages enjoyed by posh pupils may receive greater scrutiny. Private schools in Britain face a bumpy ride, too. The Labour Party, which looks likely to win power at elections due in the next 18 months, talks of abolishing private schools’ charitable status and stripping them of tax breaks. That could cause tuition fees to jump. Meanwhile, the paths to Oxford and Cambridge will keep narrowing. Expect a growing gang of Brits to head across the Atlantic.

It can be inferred that students in American elite universities________.