Is the quality of the Blair Magnet Program going down?

[Anonymous]

Without making judgments regarding either programs, I find supporters on both sides less than credible. Poolesville is a smaller group, and without knowing where the students applied, the scholarships they received, etc., and the equivalent info from the Balir magnet, one cannot make an informed decision.

While the number of Intel finalists at Blair has seemingly declined, we don't know the cause.

The best bet is for any parent to visit the schools, have your child shadow a student, speak to magnet students who have not been preselected by administrators and make YOUR OWN CHOICE. Kids are remarkably honest about their programs and just visiting the school can be a revealing experience.

Good luck with your choice.[/quote]

This is news to me. I did not realize MCPS provided free choice and for any MCPS student regardless of where they live to attend Poolesville or Blair? This choice is not the same as equal access to all programs in 2 private schools than making an application to the one you prefer. Do you have inside information?

[Anonymous]

14:35, your post is reasonable. I'd only add that I wouldn't buy a house based on an expectation of getting into either magnet, because they are both hard to get into.

I have to say, after all the posts about how Blair is in the middle if the slums of Silver Spring, it's a little surprising to see a claim that the Blair kids might be LESS dependent on financial aid awards than the Poolesville kids. But haters aren't the most rational folks. On the other side if the coin, we don't have the number of MIT/Cal Tech matriculations for Poolesville, which could be 20 each.

[Anonymous]

Well, it is not 20 each for Poolesville. If you believe that there is a bridge in Alaska for sale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:35, your post is reasonable. I'd only add that I wouldn't buy a house based on an expectation of getting into either magnet, because they are both hard to get into.

I have to say, after all the posts about how Blair is in the middle if the slums of Silver Spring, it's a little surprising to see a claim that the Blair kids might be LESS dependent on financial aid awards than the Poolesville kids. But haters aren't the most rational folks. On the other side if the coin, we don't have the number of MIT/Cal Tech matriculations for Poolesville, which could be 20 each.

I am 14:35 and thank you. I'd absolutely agree that you shouldn't buy a house based on the assumption that your child would get into the magnet. However, one thing about Poolesville is that it is a whole school magnet and the first of its kind in Montgomery County. The Blair magnet, on the other hand has been in existence longer though there has been some turnover. Blair also hosts a CAP program.

There are other factors such as crime and neighborhoods that influence a purchasing decision, but I feel it is inappropriate to impose one's view on those factors on anyone else. It is a matter of personal preference.

Pick the best overall learning environment suited for YOUR child and family.

[Anonymous]

I have to be honest PP, you appear to be the Poolesville "drink the Kool-Aid" poster. Neednt worry, those of us keen on Blair are still just as keen. Your arguments for Poolesville just seem so far left field I doubt you have swayed anyone, but good luck in your PR endeavors.

[Anonymous]

Forgive the typo.

[Anonymous]

I really shouldn't read these threads. We live in the Wootton cluster and I was interested in Poolesville just because our whole lives seem so up-county oriented. But we are zoned for Blair WRT the magnet program. I couldn't imagine my kid being bussed down to Blair. Seems he'd spend half his life in transport.

But the thread makes it seem ugly all the way around. I will reiterate it does our entire county good if both schools are top performers. It really shouldn't be a competition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The magnet students at Blair went to HYP , Stanford as well as Carnegie Mellon, MIT and Cal Tech.
The magnet students at Poolesville went to CMU, Cal Tech and MIT and in lower numbers than Balir magnet.

Just for the record.

Absolutely, the magnet students went to the schools that accepted them. It's impossbile to do so otherwise.

I'm not agreeing with the persistently irrational PP who's a booster for Poolesville.

However, correllation and causation aren't the same thing. It's possible that Poolesville kids got more scholarship money from other schools and went there, or that culturally they were less inclined to apply to Ivy League schools, or whatever.

Without making judgments regarding either programs, I find supporters on both sides less than credible. Poolesville is a smaller group, and without knowing where the students applied, the scholarships they received, etc., and the equivalent info from the Balir magnet, one cannot make an informed decision.

While the number of Intel finalists at Blair has seemingly declined, we don't know the cause.

The best bet is for any parent to visit the schools, have your child shadow a student, speak to magnet students who have not been preselected by administrators and make YOUR OWN CHOICE. Kids are remarkably honest about their programs and just visiting the school can be a revealing experience.

Good luck with your choice.

What better way to judge education than acceptance to the most selective institutions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:14:35, your post is reasonable. I'd only add that I wouldn't buy a house based on an expectation of getting into either magnet, because they are both hard to get into.

I have to say, after all the posts about how Blair is in the middle if the slums of Silver Spring, it's a little surprising to see a claim that the Blair kids might be LESS dependent on financial aid awards than the Poolesville kids. But haters aren't the most rational folks. On the other side if the coin, we don't have the number of MIT/Cal Tech matriculations for Poolesville, which could be 20 each.

I am 14:35 and thank you. I'd absolutely agree that you shouldn't buy a house based on the assumption that your child would get into the magnet. However, one thing about Poolesville is that it is a whole school magnet and the first of its kind in Montgomery County. The Blair magnet, on the other hand has been in existence longer though there has been some turnover. Blair also hosts a CAP program.

There are other factors such as crime and neighborhoods that influence a purchasing decision, but I feel it is inappropriate to impose one's view on those factors on anyone else. It is a matter of personal preference.

Pick the best overall learning environment suited for YOUR child and family.

There are so many infinitely varied communities that lead into both to make this a moot point...

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain to me what "whole school magnet" means?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:35, your post is reasonable. I'd only add that I wouldn't buy a house based on an expectation of getting into either magnet, because they are both hard to get into.

I have to say, after all the posts about how Blair is in the middle if the slums of Silver Spring, it's a little surprising to see a claim that the Blair kids might be LESS dependent on financial aid awards than the Poolesville kids. But haters aren't the most rational folks. On the other side if the coin, we don't have the number of MIT/Cal Tech matriculations for Poolesville, which could be 20 each.

Wait, wait, I'm the one that posted this and I'm not a hater of either side!! I live half a mile from Blair. That's not what I meant -- what I meant was that you can't drw conclusions from this snippet of data. There could be a lot of reasons why ... and you point out another good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:14:35, your post is reasonable. I'd only add that I wouldn't buy a house based on an expectation of getting into either magnet, because they are both hard to get into.

I have to say, after all the posts about how Blair is in the middle if the slums of Silver Spring, it's a little surprising to see a claim that the Blair kids might be LESS dependent on financial aid awards than the Poolesville kids. But haters aren't the most rational folks. On the other side if the coin, we don't have the number of MIT/Cal Tech matriculations for Poolesville, which could be 20 each.

Wait, wait, I'm the one that posted this and I'm not a hater of either side!! I live half a mile from Blair. That's not what I meant -- what I meant was that you can't drw conclusions from this snippet of data. There could be a lot of reasons why ... and you point out another good one.

OK, that's different. Sorry, then, for lumping you with the haters!

[Anonymous]

Admittedly this was many years ago, but when I applied to college I got into Princeton with very little aid, got a full ride from Middlebury, and got a decent package of loans and grants from Georgetown. I went with Georgetown.

My family was pretty middle class but just couldn't turn down the financial aid. So yes, that does happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Admittedly this was many years ago, but when I applied to college I got into Princeton with very little aid, got a full ride from Middlebury, and got a decent package of loans and grants from Georgetown. I went with Georgetown.

My family was pretty middle class but just couldn't turn down the financial aid. So yes, that does happen.

I'm sure that's true, and that financial aid is important to many lower- and middle-income families. I just don't understand a PP's argument that Poolesville kids are more dependent on financial aid than those "slum-dwelling" Blair kids.

[Anonymous]

This debate is silly, so let's end it. I can get some recent matriculation data for Blair. If someone will post recent matriculation data (not the admitted data) for the Poolsville magnet program, I will post a comparison.