Blair vs St. John’s

[Anonymous]

Given that it's a close call, I don't know why you would choose private. Save yourself the money. Blair is a great school.

[Anonymous]

Middle school friendships change a lot in high school. I wouldn't let that be a deciding factor. It's much easier to be involved in a smaller school and SJC isn't small but you'd be surprised how big a school like Blair feels for a child not in a special program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sports, clubs, more interaction with teachers. A counselor who actually knows who you are. At St. John's you can be in the school play and be president of the robotics club. It's much harder in a school as competitive as Blair to stand out. I think people are delusional if they think a random kid can stand out against all the magnet and CAP students. There are always a handful of non-magnet, non-CAP kids who do but that's out of a class of 700-1000.

OP Here: That's my fear. I want DD to have a chance to shine and be known. She doesn't want a small school, which is why we only applied to SJC since it's large (1200 kids, about the size of my public school back in the day). She liked her visit but is apprehensive about leaving the friends she made in middle school. She also recognizes there's a lot of drama and rowdiness at her current school as well that may get better or worse in HS. Sports at SJC are competitive so I don't think she'd be very likely to get a spot on some teams but she's not very athletic and more of a STEM/Arts kid. Hard decision!

OP: What does your daughter like about SJC? What about your daughter makes you think she needs/wants/or would benefit from a change to Private.

I haven’t heard any compelling reasoning for your DD to be leaning towards SJC. It’s seems mostly you being worried by the size of Blair.

[Anonymous]

Einstein is a good choice if you want smaller but still public…

[Anonymous]

There are freshman sports teams that she can try out for at SJC. My daughter goes to SJC and has maintained her middle school friends. I think you’d be surprised that they may be even better and closer friends not being in the same environment. Most private schools pull from 50+ schools and as a result many freshman transition well because almost everyone is new (except Deale/Jackson Reed kids have a larger enrollment). You can always switch back to public if you find it’s not a fit.