McLean HS vs. Bishop O'connell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McLean is not as good as all privates, but it’s probably on par or even better than O’Connell. Gonzaga is a different league.

It’s a different experience for sure - more conservative and greater emphasis on moral education. But the kids we know at Gonzaga had no better outcomes when it came to college admissions than McLean or Langley kids.

[Anonymous]

It’s been a while, but back in the day we considered switching one of our kids from Yorktown to BOC but couldn’t bring ourselves to do it when we visited the school and saw posters of aborted fetuses in the hallway. Before seeing that, we had done enough research on BOC to conclude that, academically, it was actually slightly below Yorktown but not so much that it mattered for a kid like ours (smart but not a genius). I’d be very surprised to learn that, since we looked at BOC, its academics have improved to the point of being on par with McLean.

I’m with other posters who would not make this decision based on academics alone. But, if that were the sole issue being considered, McLean is clearly better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean is not as good as all privates, but it’s probably on par or even better than O’Connell. Gonzaga is a different league.

It’s a different experience for sure - more conservative and greater emphasis on moral education. But the kids we know at Gonzaga had no better outcomes when it came to college admissions than McLean or Langley kids.

Except maybe for Heisman Trophies. That USC kid is damned good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean does have a stronger academic reputation than O’Connell but that’s not the only consideration. What does DS want? It seems an introverted kid might want to stay with as many of his current friends as possible.

It's not an option. They are scattering to different public schools, none of which we are zoned for.

In that case I’d go with McLean. It’s apparently your base school, it’s stronger academically than O’Connell, and it has lots of ECs where an introverted kid can find his niche.

It's not actually our base school; we would have to move. Or rent something there for 4 years. I hate my current house so this is kind of a plus, but also irrelevant. I don't like our base school, and the scores there are abysmal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean does have a stronger academic reputation than O’Connell but that’s not the only consideration. What does DS want? It seems an introverted kid might want to stay with as many of his current friends as possible.

It's not an option. They are scattering to different public schools, none of which we are zoned for.

In that case I’d go with McLean. It’s apparently your base school, it’s stronger academically than O’Connell, and it has lots of ECs where an introverted kid can find his niche.

It's not actually our base school; we would have to move. Or rent something there for 4 years. I hate my current house so this is kind of a plus, but also irrelevant. I don't like our base school, and the scores there are abysmal.

What’s your base school and why do you hate it? What experience do you actually have with it? Have you actually sent a kid to it? This is relevant to this discussion for sure.

[Anonymous]

It’s kind of sweet that your DH went to McLean and would be happy for your DS to go there as well. Schools change - McLean is no doubt a lot more diverse and also more crowded than when your DH went there - but that tells you something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean does have a stronger academic reputation than O’Connell but that’s not the only consideration. What does DS want? It seems an introverted kid might want to stay with as many of his current friends as possible.

It's not an option. They are scattering to different public schools, none of which we are zoned for.

In that case I’d go with McLean. It’s apparently your base school, it’s stronger academically than O’Connell, and it has lots of ECs where an introverted kid can find his niche.

It's not actually our base school; we would have to move. Or rent something there for 4 years. I hate my current house so this is kind of a plus, but also irrelevant. I don't like our base school, and the scores there are abysmal.

What’s your base school and why do you hate it? What experience do you actually have with it? Have you actually sent a kid to it? This is relevant to this discussion for sure.

It's Lake Braddock. I heard we can also go to Robinson if we wanted IB, since LB doesn't have that. But the scores of Robinson are even worse than LB. We have friends at both, and haven't heard anything good. They say both schools are huge and basically a free for all, with the Covid effect causing most kids to be so far behind that teachers aren't even teaching the regular curriculum. That's aside from the social aspects, like widespread bullying. Anyway, that's what friends say, although they still send their kids there. After our poor public ES experience, I'm wary of going through something similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean does have a stronger academic reputation than O’Connell but that’s not the only consideration. What does DS want? It seems an introverted kid might want to stay with as many of his current friends as possible.

It's not an option. They are scattering to different public schools, none of which we are zoned for.

In that case I’d go with McLean. It’s apparently your base school, it’s stronger academically than O’Connell, and it has lots of ECs where an introverted kid can find his niche.

It's not actually our base school; we would have to move. Or rent something there for 4 years. I hate my current house so this is kind of a plus, but also irrelevant. I don't like our base school, and the scores there are abysmal.

What’s your base school and why do you hate it? What experience do you actually have with it? Have you actually sent a kid to it? This is relevant to this discussion for sure.

It's Lake Braddock. I heard we can also go to Robinson if we wanted IB, since LB doesn't have that. But the scores of Robinson are even worse than LB. We have friends at both, and haven't heard anything good. They say both schools are huge and basically a free for all, with the Covid effect causing most kids to be so far behind that teachers aren't even teaching the regular curriculum. That's aside from the social aspects, like widespread bullying. Anyway, that's what friends say, although they still send their kids there. After our poor public ES experience, I'm wary of going through something similar.

What scores are you looking at?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s kind of sweet that your DH went to McLean and would be happy for your DS to go there as well. Schools change - McLean is no doubt a lot more diverse and also more crowded than when your DH went there - but that tells you something.

It’s jammed to the gills. Overcrowded is putting it nicely.

[Anonymous]

Definitely a culture difference - BOC is very Catholic, McLean will be more diverse and generally way more liberal. What does your kid want to do? What are your politics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean does have a stronger academic reputation than O’Connell but that’s not the only consideration. What does DS want? It seems an introverted kid might want to stay with as many of his current friends as possible.

It's not an option. They are scattering to different public schools, none of which we are zoned for.

In that case I’d go with McLean. It’s apparently your base school, it’s stronger academically than O’Connell, and it has lots of ECs where an introverted kid can find his niche.

It's not actually our base school; we would have to move. Or rent something there for 4 years. I hate my current house so this is kind of a plus, but also irrelevant. I don't like our base school, and the scores there are abysmal.

What’s your base school and why do you hate it? What experience do you actually have with it? Have you actually sent a kid to it? This is relevant to this discussion for sure.

It's Lake Braddock. I heard we can also go to Robinson if we wanted IB, since LB doesn't have that. But the scores of Robinson are even worse than LB. We have friends at both, and haven't heard anything good. They say both schools are huge and basically a free for all, with the Covid effect causing most kids to be so far behind that teachers aren't even teaching the regular curriculum. That's aside from the social aspects, like widespread bullying. Anyway, that's what friends say, although they still send their kids there. After our poor public ES experience, I'm wary of going through something similar.

What scores are you looking at?

+1. There’s no way I’d move to McLean just to send my kid to high school there instead of either one of these schools. They’re just fine for most kids. Your friends sound like drama queens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean does have a stronger academic reputation than O’Connell but that’s not the only consideration. What does DS want? It seems an introverted kid might want to stay with as many of his current friends as possible.

It's not an option. They are scattering to different public schools, none of which we are zoned for.

In that case I’d go with McLean. It’s apparently your base school, it’s stronger academically than O’Connell, and it has lots of ECs where an introverted kid can find his niche.

It's not actually our base school; we would have to move. Or rent something there for 4 years. I hate my current house so this is kind of a plus, but also irrelevant. I don't like our base school, and the scores there are abysmal.

What’s your base school and why do you hate it? What experience do you actually have with it? Have you actually sent a kid to it? This is relevant to this discussion for sure.

It's Lake Braddock. I heard we can also go to Robinson if we wanted IB, since LB doesn't have that. But the scores of Robinson are even worse than LB. We have friends at both, and haven't heard anything good. They say both schools are huge and basically a free for all, with the Covid effect causing most kids to be so far behind that teachers aren't even teaching the regular curriculum. That's aside from the social aspects, like widespread bullying. Anyway, that's what friends say, although they still send their kids there. After our poor public ES experience, I'm wary of going through something similar.

What scores are you looking at?

+1. There’s no way I’d move to McLean just to send my kid to high school there instead of either one of these schools. They’re just fine for most kids. Your friends sound like drama queens.

+1 (and we’re a happy McLean family).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean is certainly a more academically rigorous school then BOC. Now if your child needs a small environment because of anxiety or what not, BOC would be a better choice — McLean is large and competitive

A lot of kids who missed the cut for TJ go to McLean and Langley. I agree that the academics are strong. We moved our kids from a small private to public schools, and there was way more differentiation in the public schools and better paid teachers. There were large groups of very smart kids in the public, not just a few like at the private school. It's also nice to live close to your friends.

This is the opposite of what our elementary experience was like. The public elementary had a mix of good and bad teachers, some so bad that the principal expressed verbally that she wished she could fire them but central administration wouldn't allow it. The classes were overcrowded - 30 in K, for example - so all of the attention went to the super gifted kids and the problem kids. Any kid in the middle, like mine, was completely ignored and had to fend for himself. When we switched to private, there was a lot more personal attention, since only 10-12 kids were in a class. He learned a lot more and finally gained some of the academic skills that the public wasn't even teaching, like writing an essay and giving a presentation. I had imagined public HS would be similar, so I'm surprised to hear that Mclean would be more rigorous - unless it's a case where, like in our elementary, it's only the really self-motivated and self-advocating students that get enough attention to learn anything.

K classes have the lead Teacher and an Aide, the class size is effectively 15 kids per adult. the bigger issue at some schools is the wildly divergent level of preparedness for school. There are kids who don't know their letters, numbers, sounds, shapes or colors in K and other kids who are reading. There are kids who have been in preschool or day care for a good amount of time and are used to the routines (carpet time, reading circle, centers, playground, lunch) so they have a good idea about expected behavior and then there are kids who have never been to preschool or went to half day pre school and are overwhelmed by the change of pace and expectations in K. So, yeah, K can be an interesting experience. Most schools see a difference in behavior and ability in first grade where Teachers are able to start setting up groups based on ability to meet more kids needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean does have a stronger academic reputation than O’Connell but that’s not the only consideration. What does DS want? It seems an introverted kid might want to stay with as many of his current friends as possible.

It's not an option. They are scattering to different public schools, none of which we are zoned for.

In that case I’d go with McLean. It’s apparently your base school, it’s stronger academically than O’Connell, and it has lots of ECs where an introverted kid can find his niche.

It's not actually our base school; we would have to move. Or rent something there for 4 years. I hate my current house so this is kind of a plus, but also irrelevant. I don't like our base school, and the scores there are abysmal.

What’s your base school and why do you hate it? What experience do you actually have with it? Have you actually sent a kid to it? This is relevant to this discussion for sure.

It's Lake Braddock. I heard we can also go to Robinson if we wanted IB, since LB doesn't have that. But the scores of Robinson are even worse than LB. We have friends at both, and haven't heard anything good. They say both schools are huge and basically a free for all, with the Covid effect causing most kids to be so far behind that teachers aren't even teaching the regular curriculum. That's aside from the social aspects, like widespread bullying. Anyway, that's what friends say, although they still send their kids there. After our poor public ES experience, I'm wary of going through something similar.

What scores are you looking at?

+1. There’s no way I’d move to McLean just to send my kid to high school there instead of either one of these schools. They’re just fine for most kids. Your friends sound like drama queens.

+1 (and we’re a happy McLean family).

+1

Robinson 9-12 and McLean are very close in size and LB is bigger but has a larger facility so it doesn't feel overcrowded. If you're moving and concerned about school size, why look at McLean and not Langley?

Bishop O'Connell is a solid choice but it might depend on whether your child would be in all honors/APs at McLean or more so in grade-level classes. I'd stick with McLean if you know they'll be successful in the highest track all 4 years and can handle 10+ APs, and look closer at O'Connell if it will be mostly honors with just a few APs here and there. If it's all regular, I would definitely lean towards O'Connell.

[Anonymous]

OP, I would definitely not move from LB to McLean just for the school. If you want to move anyway, that's a different issue.

LB is great and if your kid will be in mostly/all Honors/AP classes, it will not be a "free for all" with kids who are "so far behind". Your kid will be in classes with other smart, motivated kids and will do fine.

FWIW, a friend's kid had a full scholarship to BOC and left after a year for LB because she found the academics to be seriously lacking at BOC. According to her dad, there weren't anywhere near the number of advanced math and science offerings and fewer AP classes overall. This kid went on to be a NMSF at LB, so clearly wasn't behind on anything.