Accepting or passing up Poolesville magnet seat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of College Student and HS student. Both were/are at MCPS test-in magnets. Poolesville doesn’t have any secret sauce. A smart motivated kid surrounded by smart motivated peers will do well anywhere.

I think it’s really depends on the home school option. If the home school option has enough high performers, I’ll let it be your child’s choice. If not, bribe your kid.

Almost every school has a sufficiently large cohort of high-performers.

This is debatable
Depends on your kid, OP

No really but it is counter to the popular myth that there are good and bad schools. The thing is with 2500+ kids at many of these schools you can find a few hundred that are doing great work so it's really not a problem.

[Anonymous]

Why asking this question now? Weren’t acceptances required for poolesville like three weeks ago?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why asking this question now? Weren’t acceptances required for poolesville like three weeks ago?

There are continuously new spots opening up since some invitees go to other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why asking this question now? Weren’t acceptances required for poolesville like three weeks ago?

There are continuously new spots opening up since some invitees go to other schools.

Can't students accept then decide to not enroll and switch back to their home school as well?

[Anonymous]

Just go to the home school. It is way easier to stand out and become a top student. The chance of getting into top university is way higher.
Most Poolesville magnet students end up going to UMD. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Most magnets from all the schools go to UMD because UMD gives them the most most. I know many that have given up ‘elites’ because of how much $$ UMD throws at them. Is it Global Ecology or SMAC. If it were SMAC I’d say yea immediately, if Global, I’d think more. It’s a heck of a commute for a lesser program.

[Anonymous]

*most money

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most magnets from all the schools go to UMD because UMD gives them the most most. I know many that have given up ‘elites’ because of how much $$ UMD throws at them. Is it Global Ecology or SMAC. If it were SMAC I’d say yea immediately, if Global, I’d think more. It’s a heck of a commute for a lesser program.

Although many do go to UMDCP, more magnet kids also go to elite schools than any other program.

[Anonymous]

Yes, of course magnets go to elites, but many give up the elite for the Full Ride Banneker Key or various President Scholarships in the UMD honors college

[Anonymous]

Did they send out wait pool acceptances? If so, for what programs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, of course magnets go to elites, but many give up the elite for the Full Ride Banneker Key or various President Scholarships in the UMD honors college

FWIW, I had to make the same decision for college (late 1990s) - UMD with full ride, stipend, lots of AP credits, Gemstone program, etc. vs. MIT with access to subsidized loans and pretty much nothing else (10 APs only got me out of Calculus I and taking the writing test at orientation). (I got into other top schools, but I had wanted to go to MIT since 7th grade.)

I picked MIT. I'm still paying off the loans 25 years later, and I hated my time at MIT (it was not a good fit for me as a depressed and homesick young adult), but it's been the key to my getting jobs and current career success (I'm a patent lawyer now). I also met my husband there, so if I hadn't gone, I wouldn't have my fantastic family. Playing the "what-if" game is hard. If I had to do it again, I would still have picked MIT because I'm happy with the end result, but I may have been happier in my undergraduate time at UMD.

I have counseled my own high-performing STEM-oriented kids to "aim" for MIT to keep them working hard through high school, but that it likely won't be a good fit for them, either, and there are plenty of great schools out there. Also, I've told them that grad school is more important in most STEM fields than undergrad, so there's no need to be at the very top and lose yourself.

[Anonymous]

What I’ve seen as a parent of a college student at UMD, is that it’s harder to get into Honors from magnet because there are so many strong students as compared to regular school. My DD was an “average” SMCs student and was accepted to Scholars rather than Honors at UMD. If I was looking just for college outcome, I would have chosen local school. However, my kid is doing exceptional at UMD once there.

You choose magnet for the next 4 years- not for the college options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of College Student and HS student. Both were/are at MCPS test-in magnets. Poolesville doesn’t have any secret sauce. A smart motivated kid surrounded by smart motivated peers will do well anywhere.

I think it’s really depends on the home school option. If the home school option has enough high performers, I’ll let it be your child’s choice. If not, bribe your kid.

Almost every school has a sufficiently large cohort of high-performers.

This is debatable
Depends on your kid, OP

No really but it is counter to the popular myth that there are good and bad schools. The thing is with 2500+ kids at many of these schools you can find a few hundred that are doing great work so it's really not a problem.

There are a couple of MCPS high schools where the top academic cohort is only 30-50 kids.