Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
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Anonymous
If what you are saying is true, wouldn't that mean 36 out of 100 kids were NMSF? If so, kudos to Blair. But again, they are not apples to apples. GDS has lifers, siblings, etc. and isn't using the same criteria for admission as a county-wide highly competitive magnet. One could also argue that someone admitted to Blair might more easily rise to the top at GDS than at Blair, so wouldn't that be an advantage? |
Anonymous
| We are deciding between Potomac School and Blair. Because of our unique circumstances commuting to either schools is not an issue. While the discussion applies to a certain extent, not sure if the SERC program makes a difference? |
Anonymous
By that same token, most of the kids at Blair don’t have parents who are willing to pay 55k a year for tuition like parents at GDS who can pay for every tutor or enrichment support imaginable. And MCPS classes are large (30+ kids on average), while GDS kids get more attention. So yes, not “apples to apples” indeed. |
Anonymous
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One important thing to consider is the social aspect. There are both pros and cons - at Blair magnet, for shy kids it may be harder to make friends if they don't come from Takoma Park or another middle school that sends a lot of kids. On the other side, the school is huge so likely they will find a friend group somewhere.
In privates, GDS / Potomac, the school builds in events at the beginning to foster connections and help with transition. |
Anonymous
| What about sports? Do magnet kids at Blair have time to play sports? In terms of pressure cooker environment, which is worse - these high performing privates or Blair. |
Anonymous
| All the Blair supporters. Tell his the Ivy placement track record compared to GDS. |
Anonymous
If you know your goal is specifically “Ivy” then you probably want GDS. If you know your goal is a top tech program: MIT, Caltech, CMU, GTech you probably want Blair. If you believe that 14 is still to young to know, then understanding that both schools lead to excellent outcomes will probably make this not the top factor. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
But GDS may have parents who went to Ivy leagues so this hard to measure. Making high school decisions based on college prospects becomes about the final outcome and not the journey! |
Anonymous
| Maybe this is not a big deal to some, but I'd encourage you to evaluate the social environment of the two schools. There is a lot of privilege at GDS vs Blair and this definitely impacts the social scene. Where will your child feel more comfortable? Blair is huge and might feel overwhelming but will allow for a more "real world" experience, which is valuable to our family, as is saving the $60k for college tuition. |
Anonymous
Blair sends more to Ivy schools than GDS |
Anonymous
What percent of Blair’s student body attends Ivies? What percent of GDS? Absolute numbers aren’t relevant. |
Anonymous
not interested in Ivy, just curious how many kids were sent to MIT/Caltech by these two? |
Anonymous
| Blair, as kid seems stem inclined. We had same choice, coming from TPMS magnet. It was clear at GDS admitted students the math offerings were not even close to Blair. Also without APs, there is no testing out of lower level math at college, which we have found really important to align DS with most kids at his school. |
Anonymous
| I don’t think the college outcomes are reflective of the education experience. The kids at GDS more likely to have the privilege of legacy admissions and being able to afford an Ivy league tuition. On the other hand, Blair students may be capable to getting into Ivy but prefer state flagship engineering colleges like Purdue / GTech or get offered a full ride at UMD. |