I went to public schools K- undergrad. Private (grad school)
Up until recently, I thought I had had an ok education considering it was free. However, I met a guy who's family is fairly wealthy and we started talking about schools. He went to a private school - I think mostly for high school. It was a $40k a year school.
He showed me pics and we compared experiences. He was always fascinated with the John Hughes movies of the 80s' because he assumed that they depicted what real high school was like...
Anyway, I had a cafeteria and the best days were Friday for square pizza. He had a dining hall that looked like Hogwarts with prepared meals, real plates and silverware.
I took social studies and history (no field trips). He had similar courses and for his Biology class went to the Galapagos for a field trip. For a course in anthropology, he went to the Amazon... There were more examples like this but I don't remember.
We had track, swimming, basketball and football. He had crew, lacrosse, and sailing among other things! (kinda expected them to have quidditch too)
While these things are just the fluff, his knowledge on basic topics we all learned in high school seemed to dwarf mine. He seemed to have gotten more insight and more in depth study in a broader range of subjects than I was ever exposed to. Sometimes, I think that I might have been cheated. I feel as if I need to hit the books so I can catch up.
So, while I did turn out fine having attended the public schools, I think it might have been an interesting, if not enlightening experience, to have attended a private school. I suspect that I would be significantly better off today if that had been the case.