Workload at Richard Montgomery IB magnet program

[Anonymous]

I am not sure when the letters will arrive but once they do there will be very little time to make a decision. I feel like we know enough about what the different magnet programs are like (RMIB vs. Blair Math and Science vs. Blair CAP for example) but one major concern I have as a parent is the workload especially at RMIB.
So I am hoping that parents with direct experience will post on this topic. I am sure it varies from year to year so it would be helpful to know what it is like for freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year.
I am mostly wondering how many hours your child had to spend on homework every night on average and how many hours of sleep they managed on average.
Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

I graduated the program. It was brutal. I would say 4-5 hours per day on homework and a significant amount of Sunday getting ready for the week. I probably went to bed around 1am most nights.

As a graduate, I will not be allowing my kids to apply. I missed out on a lot of the typical HS experience because of the program.

It did prepare me for college though and I cruised through Georgetown. I was so well prepared academically that it gave me a lot of time to explore the dormant social side of life in college. Again, now as a parent-- this isn't a good thing.

The curiculum is amazing and the depth of knowledge is incredible. But the workload is nothing to dismiss. I will also mention that I played sports and had a part time job. It was a hard balancing act that taught me time mangement skills that I still use today.

Good luck to your child. It's a hard decision.

[Anonymous]

I also graduated from the program in the 90s. It was as brutal as the other poster has indicated. Average 4-5 hours of homework a day plus extra curricular activities like sports. I also missed out a lot on high school social scenes but college was easy. Went to UC Berkeley magna cum laude and even graduated early (3.5 years). And all this while working a part time job.

I won't be having my kids apply for the program for sure. I think it is just too much and they really miss out on the high school experience.

[Anonymous]

It is relentless amount of hard work, huge workload and very tough curriculum. My kid found it overwhelming in 9th and 10th. Once my kid was admitted in college (December of senior year), the RMIB office did a fantastic job of making sure that did stay motivated and on track and fulfilled the IB diploma requirement.

Benefits in hindsight from parent's perspective - An amazing world-class education unlike what the rest of US high-schoolers are getting. A lack of energy and time to get into the mischief and mayhem like other hs kids. Easy college application. College is ridiculously easy now. Boatload of college credits and merit scholarships. Friendships with an amazing group of high achievers.

Cons - The biggest fallout is stress, lack of sleep and resulting health issues. I do not want to minimize that at all. Make sure that your kid chooses this program and not you. I found that the students who were not doing this because their parents wanted them were happier and less stressed.

In the end, they all came out with flying colors. It is amazing that only one or two dropped out and every single one got their diploma.

[Anonymous]

This is a great thread to read today...

-a parent who is not sure that she wants her child to get in to a magnet.

[Anonymous]

My two kids went thru the program. It is a very demanding program as above posters stated. But, in terms of college readiness, you don't need to worry. Would I want my kids to do it again? Yes, I certainly would.

[Anonymous]

what do you mean by missing out on the high school experience? Would a student have enough time for an extracurricular activity (sports, theater, orchestra, whatever) if they are in the program?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what do you mean by missing out on the high school experience? Would a student have enough time for an extracurricular activity (sports, theater, orchestra, whatever) if they are in the program?

Most kids are in more than one EC activity and excelling in them. It is just that they do not have the kind of leisure time that other HS kids have. My kid went to all the Homecoming celebration and Prom etc. - only a lot of planning had to go for weeks so that they could carve out the leisure time to do these kinds of activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a great thread to read today...

-a parent who is not sure that she wants her child to get in to a magnet.

That it is.
I have a smart girl and when she was applying for high schools I called some parents of kids in various public magnet programs.
One mom told me that the 'special program' at our local high school wasn't good enough because the kids 'have time for things like sports' whereas in the magnet programs they don't. What? I was shocked at how these parents thought their child being stressed out and overwhelmed was the ultimate badge of honor.
Another program (not a magnet) was described as a 'full time job' with papers 'of length rather than substance' that needed to be churned out every day.
Kind of like having a bad desk job as an adult? She said her child needed a gap year and some meds to recover from the stress.

We ended up sending DD to a private school that has a great program but that has learned to scale down the excessive work so that there is balance.
It's been great for her.
I wonder why some of the public programs don't consider this? Is it because the parents would wig out about the lack of work?

It's not a race - kids don't have to do college level work starting at age 13 so that college is easy. Not only that but you have a lot more free time in college as you are never in classes from 8-2 every day (it's more like 11-1).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what do you mean by missing out on the high school experience? Would a student have enough time for an extracurricular activity (sports, theater, orchestra, whatever) if they are in the program?

Yes, I was wondering what this means too. I'm not too worried about my kid missing out on the "social scene" of high school, if that means parties and hanging out. I do, however, want my kid to have friends, and to be able to do things like sports or other fun interests. I am also concerned about stress, lack of sleep, and health issues. How did the PPs who graduated from the program feel about the stress, lack of sleep, etc? Were you "hating life" in high school because of the pressure of the program?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a great thread to read today...

-a parent who is not sure that she wants her child to get in to a magnet.

Yes, it is. My kid wants to apply, but this is not the program for my kid (who probably won't get in anyway).

[Anonymous]

Who wants their kid to do 4-5hrs of HW a night, pop ADD meds to stay up and work until 2am, have no social life, be ostricized from the rest of the school and have long commutes daily, That is child abuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what do you mean by missing out on the high school experience? Would a student have enough time for an extracurricular activity (sports, theater, orchestra, whatever) if they are in the program?

Yes they are all pretty much forced to - to look good on college apps. Hence why they are up until almost 2am doing homework.

They get home around 7pm, eat dinner, shower and start 4-5hrs of HW at 8pm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what do you mean by missing out on the high school experience? Would a student have enough time for an extracurricular activity (sports, theater, orchestra, whatever) if they are in the program?

Yes, I was wondering what this means too. I'm not too worried about my kid missing out on the "social scene" of high school, if that means parties and hanging out. I do, however, want my kid to have friends, and to be able to do things like sports or other fun interests. I am also concerned about stress, lack of sleep, and health issues. How did the PPs who graduated from the program feel about the stress, lack of sleep, etc? Were you "hating life" in high school because of the pressure of the program?

8:29 here---what I mean by missing out on the HS experience is that I never had time just to go hang out with my friends. Everything in my life was scheduled. If something was late, it caused a cascading effect. If practice ran over, I had to leave. Sorry--the practice said 4-6pm and I have to meet a friend for a project starting at 6:30. There just wasn't any downtime. If something came up for a Sat, chances are I couldn't go because I would have already had commitments. Planning your work load is critical and knowing that you need to start something 3-4 weeks in advance because you have another paper, 3 tests, a project, plus homework means that just hanging out with your friends isn't really an option. Going to a Friday night football game was a treat and and factored into the scheduling calendar. That was 3 hours that I wasn't being "productive". Same for going to the school play.

By the end of my senior year, I hated HS. The demands were overwhelming. When I got to college, academically I just shut down. I couldn't do it any more. I just didn't have it in me. I got used to the lack of sleep. And on the nights when I would crash, it was hard. I would sleep for hours and then panic because I would have screwed up my schedule and now I was behind and running late which then led me to stay up late that night to get back on track. Which negates the sleeping.

Stress wise--I didn't feel stress as we know it today. There was a lot of pressure to keep up with your classmates and the workload. I started in 10th grade and I just didn't know any different. I guess I just believed that that's what HS was like for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a great thread to read today...

-a parent who is not sure that she wants her child to get in to a magnet.

That it is.
I have a smart girl and when she was applying for high schools I called some parents of kids in various public magnet programs.
One mom told me that the 'special program' at our local high school wasn't good enough because the kids 'have time for things like sports' whereas in the magnet programs they don't. What? I was shocked at how these parents thought their child being stressed out and overwhelmed was the ultimate badge of honor.
Another program (not a magnet) was described as a 'full time job' with papers 'of length rather than substance' that needed to be churned out every day.
Kind of like having a bad desk job as an adult? She said her child needed a gap year and some meds to recover from the stress.

We ended up sending DD to a private school that has a great program but that has learned to scale down the excessive work so that there is balance.
It's been great for her.
I wonder why some of the public programs don't consider this? Is it because the parents would wig out about the lack of work?

It's not a race - kids don't have to do college level work starting at age 13 so that college is easy. Not only that but you have a lot more free time in college as you are never in classes from 8-2 every day (it's more like 11-1).

I meant to finish my thought...

High school shouldn't be more work than MIT. If your child is very smart it's great to get a higher level education in high school but there's no benefit from overworking them in high school. These programs should do some research and learn to scale it back appropriately.
Social and emotional development are important as is a persons health.
Also - with so much work how would the child have time for an original thought?