If my kid wants Wheaton engineering more than Blair but would take Blair if not offered Wheaton

[Anonymous]

Does it make sense to apply to Blair? I guess I don’t know how admissions is done.

[Anonymous]

Yes of course, because what if he doesn’t get into blair?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes of course, because what if he doesn’t get into blair?

My understanding is that Blair is harder to get into than Wheaton, so I am wondering if there is a chance he would get into Blair SMACS and not Wheaton Engineering?

Obviously I know he could get into neither.

— OP

[Anonymous]

There’s literally no downside to applying to both. It costs nothing but a few more minutes to knock out a tiny paragraph.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s literally no downside to applying to both. It costs nothing but a few more minutes to knock out a tiny paragraph.

Can you get into both, or do they choose one (or none) for you if you apply to both?

[Anonymous]

Yes the selection is independent and there are fewer spots at Wheaton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes the selection is independent and there are fewer spots at Wheaton

But also fewer candidates? Because Wheaton is just the DCC? Maybe I'm wrong, I thought I'd heard that Blair was the more selective program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes of course, because what if he doesn’t get into blair?

My understanding is that Blair is harder to get into than Wheaton, so I am wondering if there is a chance he would get into Blair SMACS and not Wheaton Engineering?

Obviously I know he could get into neither.

— OP

I meant to write what if he does not get into Wheaton. Yes apply to both.

Keep in mind that Wheaton has an engineering academy. My son got waitlisted for the magnet and is enjoying the academy. So that’s an option if he doesn’t get into either magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes the selection is independent and there are fewer spots at Wheaton

But also fewer candidates? Because Wheaton is just the DCC? Maybe I'm wrong, I thought I'd heard that Blair was the more selective program.

All students attending a DCC middle school can apply to Wheaton. This includes out-of-area students attending the MSMC (Parkland, Loiederman, Argyle). Wheaton also has many students apply but not get in. The two programs are different and appeal to different highly qualified students. Choosing one to apply to over the other based on popularity is a poor way to decide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does it make sense to apply to Blair? I guess I don’t know how admissions is done.

Are you in the DCC? Assuming so, which school is your home school? Son should apply to both magnet programs and put Wheaton as first choice for DCC lottery. If your home school is Wheaton he could put Blair first to have an option, but very unlikely to get in to Blair that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does it make sense to apply to Blair? I guess I don’t know how admissions is done.

Are you in the DCC? Assuming so, which school is your home school? Son should apply to both magnet programs and put Wheaton as first choice for DCC lottery. If your home school is Wheaton he could put Blair first to have an option, but very unlikely to get in to Blair that way.

Why put nay school other than home as a first choice? How does that impact magnet selection?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does it make sense to apply to Blair? I guess I don’t know how admissions is done.

Are you in the DCC? Assuming so, which school is your home school? Son should apply to both magnet programs and put Wheaton as first choice for DCC lottery. If your home school is Wheaton he could put Blair first to have an option, but very unlikely to get in to Blair that way.

Why put nay school other than home as a first choice? How does that impact magnet selection?

It has no impact on magnet selection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does it make sense to apply to Blair? I guess I don’t know how admissions is done.

Are you in the DCC? Assuming so, which school is your home school? Son should apply to both magnet programs and put Wheaton as first choice for DCC lottery. If your home school is Wheaton he could put Blair first to have an option, but very unlikely to get in to Blair that way.

Our home school is Einstein, although it's a joint custody situation, and we might pick the other parent's HS if he doesn't get Wheaton or Blair.

[Anonymous]

Last year, you just had to check boxes on a common app for programs that you wanted to apply to. It didn't even require responding to extra questions, so no reason not to apply to multiple programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes the selection is independent and there are fewer spots at Wheaton

But also fewer candidates? Because Wheaton is just the DCC? Maybe I'm wrong, I thought I'd heard that Blair was the more selective program.

All students attending a DCC middle school can apply to Wheaton. This includes out-of-area students attending the MSMC (Parkland, Loiederman, Argyle). Wheaton also has many students apply but not get in. The two programs are different and appeal to different highly qualified students. Choosing one to apply to over the other based on popularity is a poor way to decide.

Yes, so many non dcc kids at TPMS/Eastern will also apply.
They only take 30 students for each program.