BASIS high school versus middle school

[Anonymous]

Why were the Basis College matriculations so mediocre last year?
I just watched the commencement video.
Most "honors" grads going to places like Temple, Penn State, Michigan State.
Valedictorian to Duke
Salutatorian to NW
Only Ivy admits were Brown (URM), Yale (URM), Yale (kid who had done years of Latin quiz bowl competitions at Yale).
Less than 5% of the class to top 20 schools.

I know that college isn't everything but why take years of AP classes if you're going to end up at Penn State?
You could make it there on much, much less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wasn't alone. I was part of two different groups of parents asking admins for a little funding for extra curriculars parents were financing to the tune of hundreds, even thousands of dollars. The kids involved were representing BASIS at competitions out of state. We weren't given the time of day. Current school is a private.

FWIW this was true at my NYC public magnet as well. (One that one poster frequently mentions as a school BASIS can’t hope to live up to!) Fabulous academic extracurricular options which the school did not contribute to the cost of other than providing a room & allowing them to count towards a teacher’s clubs/extracurricular supervision quota. We fundraised some and applied for grants some and got some fee waivers for individual FARMS-eligible students, but primarily, our parents paid a ton. With limited public school budgets, I don’t think that is that unusual.

I went to a well resourced public school in the suburbs, and we paid for travel for extracurriculars with fundraising. Concession sales, candy, wrapping paper, grocery receipts. The school didn’t pay for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis College matriculations so mediocre last year?
I just watched the commencement video.
Most "honors" grads going to places like Temple, Penn State, Michigan State.
Valedictorian to Duke
Salutatorian to NW
Only Ivy admits were Brown (URM), Yale (URM), Yale (kid who had done years of Latin quiz bowl competitions at Yale).
Less than 5% of the class to top 20 schools.

I know that college isn't everything but why take years of AP classes if you're going to end up at Penn State?
You could make it there on much, much less.

You seem like a crazed stalker.

Feel free to share the college results of the DC public school your kids attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis College matriculations so mediocre last year?
I just watched the commencement video.
Most "honors" grads going to places like Temple, Penn State, Michigan State.
Valedictorian to Duke
Salutatorian to NW
Only Ivy admits were Brown (URM), Yale (URM), Yale (kid who had done years of Latin quiz bowl competitions at Yale).
Less than 5% of the class to top 20 schools.

I know that college isn't everything but why take years of AP classes if you're going to end up at Penn State?
You could make it there on much, much less.

Fair enough but Covid/virtual learning played a part. I see problems that never get fixed on top of pandemic induced problems:

- weak HS ECs complicated by a bad building and inadequate resources, parent fundraising not really supported by admins
- mediocre admins with no vision for program
- not enough differentiation in MS curriculum
- top teachers mostly quitting in less than 5 yrs due to inadequate pay, trend accelerating over time
- HS course work pushed into mandatory 3 yrs vs. 4, which promotes too many average AP scores; BASIS not jumping on Cambridge Exams given in Nov like some suburban schools.
- an overly rigid HS curriculum presenting particular challenges for students who aren't math stars
- mediocre writing instruction in MS which catches up with most HS students
- no language instruction before 8th grade, mostly average scores on AP language

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis College matriculations so mediocre last year?
I just watched the commencement video.
Most "honors" grads going to places like Temple, Penn State, Michigan State.
Valedictorian to Duke
Salutatorian to NW
Only Ivy admits were Brown (URM), Yale (URM), Yale (kid who had done years of Latin quiz bowl competitions at Yale).
Less than 5% of the class to top 20 schools.

I know that college isn't everything but why take years of AP classes if you're going to end up at Penn State?
You could make it there on much, much less.

You seem like a crazed stalker.

Feel free to share the college results of the DC public school your kids attend.

So anyone who questions Basis' results is a "crazed stalker."

Ok, got it.
Please ignore the actual college results and keep your kid plodding along in dark rooms or that Temple admit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis College matriculations so mediocre last year?
I just watched the commencement video.
Most "honors" grads going to places like Temple, Penn State, Michigan State.
Valedictorian to Duke
Salutatorian to NW
Only Ivy admits were Brown (URM), Yale (URM), Yale (kid who had done years of Latin quiz bowl competitions at Yale).
Less than 5% of the class to top 20 schools.

I know that college isn't everything but why take years of AP classes if you're going to end up at Penn State?
You could make it there on much, much less.

You seem like a crazed stalker.

Feel free to share the college results of the DC public school your kids attend.

Well, I'm not a crazy stalker. I'm your garden variety UMC BASIS high school parent. To my knowledge, the above list is accurate.

Most stakeholders would argue that 20% to top colleges in fantastic; better result than any other program in the area, public or private.

From my perspective, too many BASIS students sacrifice too much without a real chance to shine or enjoy HS. Their experience is reflected in the less than stellar college admissions results BASIS gets.

[Anonymous]

You all have too much money to see what’s actually going on.

Temple, Penn, and MSU all offer significant merit discounts, and AP credits act as another form of discount.

And yes, top schools promise to “meet demonstrated need.” But there’s a lot of families in DC with little to no “demonstrated need” who nevertheless can’t stomach the idea of paying an extra $200k for WUSL or Tufts over Penn State.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all have too much money to see what’s actually going on.

Temple, Penn, and MSU all offer significant merit discounts, and AP credits act as another form of discount.

And yes, top schools promise to “meet demonstrated need.” But there’s a lot of families in DC with little to no “demonstrated need” who nevertheless can’t stomach the idea of paying an extra $200k for WUSL or Tufts over Penn State.

It's becoming rare for competitive colleges to offer AP credits as discounts in this century. Many competitive colleges have stopped offering AP credit discounts in recent years, to help make ends meet. An incoming student with a high AP score can place into a higher-level class, that's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis College matriculations so mediocre last year?
I just watched the commencement video.
Most "honors" grads going to places like Temple, Penn State, Michigan State.
Valedictorian to Duke
Salutatorian to NW
Only Ivy admits were Brown (URM), Yale (URM), Yale (kid who had done years of Latin quiz bowl competitions at Yale).
Less than 5% of the class to top 20 schools.

I know that college isn't everything but why take years of AP classes if you're going to end up at Penn State?
You could make it there on much, much less.

Dumb analysis. You just have a chip on your shoulder for some weird reason.

If you look at, say, Whitman High in Maryland (one of the top public high schools in the DMV), the percentage who get into a top 20 college is about the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis College matriculations so mediocre last year?
I just watched the commencement video.
Most "honors" grads going to places like Temple, Penn State, Michigan State.
Valedictorian to Duke
Salutatorian to NW
Only Ivy admits were Brown (URM), Yale (URM), Yale (kid who had done years of Latin quiz bowl competitions at Yale).
Less than 5% of the class to top 20 schools.

I know that college isn't everything but why take years of AP classes if you're going to end up at Penn State?
You could make it there on much, much less.

E
Dumb analysis. You just have a chip on your shoulder for some weird reason.

If you look at, say, Whitman High in Maryland (one of the top public high schools in the DMV), the percentage who get into a top 20 college is about the same.

Stupid comparison. Those kids are not all taking APs. Many take none.

[Anonymous]

A BASIS parent just pointed that out above. The analysis that the program can be a dreary grind for kids who don't move on to elite colleges is fair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis College matriculations so mediocre last year?
I just watched the commencement video.
Most "honors" grads going to places like Temple, Penn State, Michigan State.
Valedictorian to Duke
Salutatorian to NW
Only Ivy admits were Brown (URM), Yale (URM), Yale (kid who had done years of Latin quiz bowl competitions at Yale).
Less than 5% of the class to top 20 schools.

I know that college isn't everything but why take years of AP classes if you're going to end up at Penn State?
You could make it there on much, much less.

You seem like a crazed stalker.

Feel free to share the college results of the DC public school your kids attend.

Well, I'm not a crazy stalker. I'm your garden variety UMC BASIS high school parent. To my knowledge, the above list is accurate.

Most stakeholders would argue that 20% to top colleges in fantastic; better result than any other program in the area, public or private.

From my perspective, too many BASIS students sacrifice too much without a real chance to shine or enjoy HS. Their experience is reflected in the less than stellar college admissions results BASIS gets.

Sounds like you are not getting your money's worth. Oh, wait, BASIS DC is free.

Maybe consider private school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all have too much money to see what’s actually going on.

Temple, Penn, and MSU all offer significant merit discounts, and AP credits act as another form of discount.

And yes, top schools promise to “meet demonstrated need.” But there’s a lot of families in DC with little to no “demonstrated need” who nevertheless can’t stomach the idea of paying an extra $200k for WUSL or Tufts over Penn State.

It's becoming rare for competitive colleges to offer AP credits as discounts in this century. Many competitive colleges have stopped offering AP credit discounts in recent years, to help make ends meet. An incoming student with a high AP score can place into a higher-level class, that's it.

Yes, that’s why I suggested it as one reason a cost-conscious student might choose a lower-ranked school where the APs count for something over a higher-ranked college where they don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why were the Basis College matriculations so mediocre last year?
I just watched the commencement video.
Most "honors" grads going to places like Temple, Penn State, Michigan State.
Valedictorian to Duke
Salutatorian to NW
Only Ivy admits were Brown (URM), Yale (URM), Yale (kid who had done years of Latin quiz bowl competitions at Yale).
Less than 5% of the class to top 20 schools.

I know that college isn't everything but why take years of AP classes if you're going to end up at Penn State?
You could make it there on much, much less.

You seem like a crazed stalker.

Feel free to share the college results of the DC public school your kids attend.

Well, I'm not a crazy stalker. I'm your garden variety UMC BASIS high school parent. To my knowledge, the above list is accurate.

Most stakeholders would argue that 20% to top colleges in fantastic; better result than any other program in the area, public or private.

From my perspective, too many BASIS students sacrifice too much without a real chance to shine or enjoy HS. Their experience is reflected in the less than stellar college admissions results BASIS gets.

Sounds like you are not getting your money's worth. Oh, wait, BASIS DC is free.

Maybe consider private school?

No need to be nasty. My eldest has scored 5s on BC Calc, Physics C and AP Spanish (we paid for immersion camps and tutoring). But she has less academic pals, some low SES, who mostly score 3s. They would have benefitted from 4 years of high school classes. These "average" kids are wonderfully talented, artists, actors, musicians, athletes etc. Their parents didn't want to move to the burbs and couldn't afford privates. BASIS admins, the lead college counselor and some of their teachers don't seem to give a hoot about these kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all have too much money to see what’s actually going on.

Temple, Penn, and MSU all offer significant merit discounts, and AP credits act as another form of discount.

And yes, top schools promise to “meet demonstrated need.” But there’s a lot of families in DC with little to no “demonstrated need” who nevertheless can’t stomach the idea of paying an extra $200k for WUSL or Tufts over Penn State.

It's becoming rare for competitive colleges to offer AP credits as discounts in this century. Many competitive colleges have stopped offering AP credit discounts in recent years, to help make ends meet. An incoming student with a high AP score can place into a higher-level class, that's it.

Yes, that’s why I suggested it as one reason a cost-conscious student might choose a lower-ranked school where the APs count for something over a higher-ranked college where they don’t.

Not a great strategy. Better off shooting for bargain top universities in Canada or the UK.