PSA for Parents Considering HS Magnets

[Anonymous]

Still, your middle of the road at a magnet program kid probably is also not getting into an ivy as a top grad from Rockville HS…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Still, your middle of the road at a magnet program kid probably is also not getting into an ivy as a top grad from Rockville HS…

Nowadays only kids with extraordinary extracurricular awards get into Ivy. Simply being the top of the school isn’t enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still, your middle of the road at a magnet program kid probably is also not getting into an ivy as a top grad from Rockville HS…

Nowadays only kids with extraordinary extracurricular awards get into Ivy. Simply being the top of the school isn’t enough.

My kid was towards top of magnet class. Placed nationally in several academic competitions but still overshadowed by several classmates. Feel free to not believe me but odds would likely have been better at home HS. Luckily we are not hung up on Ivy and did not attend for this reason. But I met many families who were and were disappointed.

[Anonymous]

Each university only takes so many kids from each school. Is this a surprise to you? So, when parents brag about their W school kids, that's great but I think it much harder to get into colleges that are popular as the majority of the grade will have over a 3.0-3.5 or even 4.0 (or higher with AP's). Each Ivy may only take 1-4 kids per grade. That's why we choose to stay at our home school and supplement outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still, your middle of the road at a magnet program kid probably is also not getting into an ivy as a top grad from Rockville HS…

Nowadays only kids with extraordinary extracurricular awards get into Ivy. Simply being the top of the school isn’t enough.

My kid was towards top of magnet class. Placed nationally in several academic competitions but still overshadowed by several classmates. Feel free to not believe me but odds would likely have been better at home HS. Luckily we are not hung up on Ivy and did not attend for this reason. But I met many families who were and were disappointed.

The reason to do the magnets is because they have classes other schools don't have. But, outside that, there is nothing special but bragging rights.

[Anonymous]

Our home school is Blair so…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids (and families) should not make a decision on whether to attend a magnet solely on whether they think it will get them into an ivy or any other selective school. You should choose magnet if you want your kid to learn the material, be with a like-minded cohort, and if you want them to have a magnet high school experience. Attending a magnet is not a free ticket to college.

OP here. I completely agree but just wanted to make people aware of this. I see many magnet parents surprised with this come senior year.

I find this surprising for Blair SMCS since Ostrander says this repeatedly, beginning with the 8th grade info session before they even apply. I guess people just don’t believe him?

Tell that to the parent of the kid over on the College forum whose kid just got rejected from UMD with a 1540 SAT and 4.7 WGPA

From Blair SMCS? When did UMD become that competitive?

I just question that post. DS is at Blair, not magnet, and was accepted at UMD.

[Anonymous]

it is that competitive for restricted majors like CS and Biology

[Anonymous]

This was not our experience. 2 kids at different magnets both at Ivies. One had several T15 admissions, the other in early and done. I think the real issue is how to stand out from peers. Mine had complementary ECs (w/ honors in various arts areas) along with honors for stem interests. Also, colleges do not have quotas. Sure, they won't take 20 kids from a school, but they might take 3 one year and 5 another. The magnets helped my kids find what they were interested, and sometimes find what they weren't (#1 ditched CS after required class was done and never looked back). We saw a lot of kids on what seemed to be a prescribed path -- similar clubs (Sci bowl, Robotics), enrichment (CTY and AOPS anyone?), music (violin/piano), sports (tennis/golf). Were all these kids really interested in all the same things? Even if they were, it makes it harder to stand out, but my guess is that some of that was parents setting a "path to success." The problem is, there isn't one path!

[Anonymous]

It's a lottery at big schools. No. Your kid didn't not get into UMD because they did robotics or played the cello. UMD does not care that deeply about your child. They do not care if their ECs were cliches or exciting and different.

It's also not helpful or particularly kind to chime in with stories about how all the enrichment art classes you paid for is what helped your kid get in.

It's a lottery.

What I sincerely advise is that every one of you should get your mind off of big schools--sure, send your kid to a big school if you want, that's fine--but stop thinking the "rank" of a school with 30,000 students matters one iota. It rarely does. Every big research U in the country has opportunities. So do many smaller universities and many smaller schools.

Here's what Blair SMCS can get you for sure: money. Get as much merit aid as you can from wherever you can and launch your brilliant kid in a space where they aren't just a number in a lottery, one out of 250 in a class taught by TAs.

[Anonymous]

I believe the Op and I’m a magnet parent of a senior and a former magnet kid. It’s fantastic science and math instruction with a great cohort. My kids loved it. Wouldn’t have done otherwise. But it does not help them for college applications to have that cohort. Ostrander says as much, which I love him for, but know this going in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a lottery at big schools. No. Your kid didn't not get into UMD because they did robotics or played the cello. UMD does not care that deeply about your child. They do not care if their ECs were cliches or exciting and different.

It's also not helpful or particularly kind to chime in with stories about how all the enrichment art classes you paid for is what helped your kid get in.

It's a lottery.

What I sincerely advise is that every one of you should get your mind off of big schools--sure, send your kid to a big school if you want, that's fine--but stop thinking the "rank" of a school with 30,000 students matters one iota. It rarely does. Every big research U in the country has opportunities. So do many smaller universities and many smaller schools.

Here's what Blair SMCS can get you for sure: money. Get as much merit aid as you can from wherever you can and launch your brilliant kid in a space where they aren't just a number in a lottery, one out of 250 in a class taught by TAs.

I am the arts poster. I do agree w/ you about being successful at a variety of schools, but you really missed my point. All the way around. It isn't strictly a lottery. (Sure, it can feel like it when you don't know what the schools are looking for in their class). My kids stood our, not because of "art classes," but because of cultivated talents demonstrated through awards and portfolios. BTW, we didn't pay a lot for classes. A lot less than others were paying for various CTY or AOPS! They also had excellent essays -- writing sometimes gets overlooked by the STEM community, and it's important.

Re: UMD. It's a great school and does care about your cello, but cares more about your stats. And stats will also help w/ merit at merit schools (as PP mentioned).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still, your middle of the road at a magnet program kid probably is also not getting into an ivy as a top grad from Rockville HS…

Nowadays only kids with extraordinary extracurricular awards get into Ivy. Simply being the top of the school isn’t enough.

My kid was towards top of magnet class. Placed nationally in several academic competitions but still overshadowed by several classmates. Feel free to not believe me but odds would likely have been better at home HS. Luckily we are not hung up on Ivy and did not attend for this reason. But I met many families who were and were disappointed.

The issue is if your kid would also win national academic competitions at home school. Home schools typically lack atmosphere for competition in national Olympiad and clubs lack sponsorship from teachers or have very inexperienced sponsors. Even schools like Churchill are not good at these competitions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Each university only takes so many kids from each school. Is this a surprise to you? So, when parents brag about their W school kids, that's great but I think it much harder to get into colleges that are popular as the majority of the grade will have over a 3.0-3.5 or even 4.0 (or higher with AP's). Each Ivy may only take 1-4 kids per grade. That's why we choose to stay at our home school and supplement outside.

There were years that Blair had 5-10+ MIT offers but other schools have 0.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids (and families) should not make a decision on whether to attend a magnet solely on whether they think it will get them into an ivy or any other selective school. You should choose magnet if you want your kid to learn the material, be with a like-minded cohort, and if you want them to have a magnet high school experience. Attending a magnet is not a free ticket to college.

OP here. I completely agree but just wanted to make people aware of this. I see many magnet parents surprised with this come senior year.

I find this surprising for Blair SMCS since Ostrander says this repeatedly, beginning with the 8th grade info session before they even apply. I guess people just don’t believe him?

Tell that to the parent of the kid over on the College forum whose kid just got rejected from UMD with a 1540 SAT and 4.7 WGPA

From Blair SMCS? When did UMD become that competitive?

The kid probably applied to CS or Engineering. It is that competitive for those majors.

Can PP clarify whether kid got rejected from UMD overall or from t he major? Because if just rejected from major would have been admitted to arts and sciences.