How to handle course selections if moving into area after deadline

[Anonymous]

Question--we are potentially moving to the area next year and would send DC to a MCPS high school, but will not know for sure about job transfer until April or May of next year. Obviously, once we get confirmation about the transfer, we will need to find a house and that will determine school, but that might not happen until even later--summer. How do we handle course requests for schools since we would be submitting after the deadlines (which looks like this year was mid-February at the latest)? Or do we just submit courses once we've bought a house and DC gets stuck with whatever courses are available at that point? I can't imagine this is an unusual scenario so wondering if anyone else has BTDT. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it's stressful, because a lot of courses fill up quickly.

If I were you, I'd start scouting various areas now, in terms of schools and commute. The "best" public schools are in south and west MoCo: Whitman, Walter Johnson, Winston Churchill, Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Thomas Wootton. It's also where real estate is the most expensive.

Then when you've decided on which high school you want that's compatible with your commute and general housing budget, you find a rental (apartment might be easier) within the school boundary that you can live in temporarily while you look for a nice home. As soon as you know you're moving, you immediately rent. This will give you resident paperwork that you can quickly submit to enroll your kid and register for courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question--we are potentially moving to the area next year and would send DC to a MCPS high school, but will not know for sure about job transfer until April or May of next year. Obviously, once we get confirmation about the transfer, we will need to find a house and that will determine school, but that might not happen until even later--summer. How do we handle course requests for schools since we would be submitting after the deadlines (which looks like this year was mid-February at the latest)? Or do we just submit courses once we've bought a house and DC gets stuck with whatever courses are available at that point? I can't imagine this is an unusual scenario so wondering if anyone else has BTDT. Thanks.

Yes, this is what you do. But really students aren't being assigned into particular course sections until summer anyway. And there are changes made until late August.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question--we are potentially moving to the area next year and would send DC to a MCPS high school, but will not know for sure about job transfer until April or May of next year. Obviously, once we get confirmation about the transfer, we will need to find a house and that will determine school, but that might not happen until even later--summer. How do we handle course requests for schools since we would be submitting after the deadlines (which looks like this year was mid-February at the latest)? Or do we just submit courses once we've bought a house and DC gets stuck with whatever courses are available at that point? I can't imagine this is an unusual scenario so wondering if anyone else has BTDT. Thanks.

Don't worry about it. MCPS high schools are huge and offer a large variety of courses and sections. We enroll students during the summer (and fall) all the time - they get placed in appropriate core classes without a problem. There might be limitations on some upper classmen electives which have limited sections, or you might have to choose between two courses offered at the same time. Once you have a contract on a house (need evidence of residence), you contact the counseling department at the high school to be enrolled and the counselor will work with your student for course placement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question--we are potentially moving to the area next year and would send DC to a MCPS high school, but will not know for sure about job transfer until April or May of next year. Obviously, once we get confirmation about the transfer, we will need to find a house and that will determine school, but that might not happen until even later--summer. How do we handle course requests for schools since we would be submitting after the deadlines (which looks like this year was mid-February at the latest)? Or do we just submit courses once we've bought a house and DC gets stuck with whatever courses are available at that point? I can't imagine this is an unusual scenario so wondering if anyone else has BTDT. Thanks.

Yes, the only issue our DC encountered was with the popular electives. She didn't get her first choice PE or arts class but it was fine.

[Anonymous]

Lots of class changes happen at the beginning of the year. You might have to be a little flexible, but it generally works out.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the area (hopefully)! Counselors won't say this publicly but there are always spots open for students in your exact situation. Barring something drastic, you'll get what you need. For certain AP classes, you may have to reach out to the department head for permission but even that isn't hard. For example, I moved to B-CC a few weeks before freshman year and wanted AP NSL - I just spoke to the dept. head and got in.

[Anonymous]

You will only have issues if you are seeking out specific classes with limited enrollment and a Senior Preference. In our school those are AP Bio, Sociology, and AP Music Theory.