McLean or Marshall?

[Anonymous]

if you had the choice, would you pick Marshall or mcLean and why? Which is the best for getting into a selective college for a bright AAP type child?

[Anonymous]

They are both great schools. We chose Marshall for IB and social reasons.

[Anonymous]

We chose McLean because our children are science and math oriented and have issues with written language expression. So the AP curriculum works for them and the IB would not. Plus most of their friends were headed to McLean and not Marshall. So if all things were equal we would have still chosen McLean. I know a few who have chosen the IB becasue their children do well in and are interested in the humanities more than ther sciences.

Neither will give an edge to "selective colleges".

[Anonymous]

I've had kids at both schools.

On balance, McLean has more of a community-school feel and the quality of the teachers has been better. While the bulk of McLean's enrollment comes from McLean south of Dolley Madison and the adjacent parts of West Falls Church, Marshall's boundaries encompass a "grab bag" of neighborhoods in Falls Church, Vienna and Dunn Loring. On the other hand, Marshall had a more relaxed feel, and there was more focus on individual kids and less concern with things like rankings. "Small school, big heart" was the motto. The whole brouhaha over the validity of Marshall's recent US News ratings has made me question whether Marshall is now more overtly focused with how the school compares to its "rival" schools (Madison and McLean).

As the other poster noted, McLean is AP and Marshall is IB.

The demographics at McLean are somewhat more affluent than at Marshall. It's not a big difference (McLean and Marshall are more alike than McLean and Langley), but it does mean that more Marshall students end up at state colleges and universities (including top ones like U. Va. and W&M), whereas you'll see more McLean students focusing on selective private colleges.

Marshall is currently the smallest HS in Fairfax County, with fewer than 1700 students (McLean has about 2150). Because of the growth in the Tysons area, however, Marshall's enrollment is expected to exceed that of a few other high schools in the county (Falls Church and perhaps Edison) within the next year or two. Fortunately, it's currently getting a very nice renovation that will expand its capacity to roughly 2000 students.

[Anonymous]

Let me also point out, though, that plenty of Marshall kids -- including mine -- also go on to "selective private colleges." I think the AP/IB choice is the biggest deal. (See the whole debate on IB vs AP on other threads, please!)

Marshall has a terriffic drama and music program (though I think McLean's band is better if that matters to your kid). We also have smaller class sizes and are in the process of a renovation bringing brand new science classrooms and a new music wing, among other things. Our experience with teachers and admin has been excellent. I think you can't really go wrong no matter which school you pick.

[Anonymous]

As an investor and someone with fore sight I would buy into marshall to reap the benefits of the perception of it not being as good as mclean when in reality it is.

In a decade no one will even think Marshall is any less because of all the redevelopment going on and affluent people who don't see mclean as worth the extra cost. Mean while I will have paid less for my home as more affluent people with the means to push their kids move in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an investor and someone with fore sight I would buy into marshall to reap the benefits of the perception of it not being as good as mclean when in reality it is.

In a decade no one will even think Marshall is any less because of all the redevelopment going on and affluent people who don't see mclean as worth the extra cost. Mean while I will have paid less for my home as more affluent people with the means to push their kids move in.

I think you decide what school, whether it's McLean or Marshall, you think is best for your kid now, recognizing that predicting the real estate market is hazardous and your child may have graduated by the time these purported gains are realized.