Moving HS student to DC area. Need school advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What would be the top 3 VA public HSs?

TJ (competitive STEM magnet), Langley and McLean.

[Anonymous]

Heard Langley was having problems and/or redistricting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Funny. We know a family whose daughter attended that school and has done quite well. However, I think an all-girls Catholic school would be my daughter's very last choice. But we can't rule it out!

The other Catolics are Holy Cross, Holy Child and St John's. St. john's is co-Ed, and none of the three are known for their academics. Stone Ridge is also Catholic, with smarter girls, but also no co-Ed.

There are other smaller Catholic High Schools as well. Some coed. Some not. Check out the ADW and Arlington websites if you want a comprehensive list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would be the top 3 VA public HSs?

TJ (competitive STEM magnet), Langley and McLean.

I would put Yorktown in Arlington ahead of McLean. TJ is application only, so scratch that. Also consider that VA public colleges are far better than MD ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, nearly all privates in this area offer AP. The actual type and number of courses offered will vary of course, but this is also true of the publics. WJ in MoCo has a robust offering of APs, but also has an application only program that includes extra support for AP students. This has never made sense to me. Why accept only top 8th grade students to a program that provides extra help for AP? Top students at other schools are earning 4s and 5s without this scaffolding. But I digress. The point is that you can find a good college prep program for your DD almost anywhere in this area. So think about what other factors matter to you. Sounds like you don't want single sex. Scratch Visi and Stone Ridge. Is your DD athletic? Does she want to run for student government or participate in a robotics club? Are you always going to drive her or would she ever take public transportation to school?

She plays a little sports but not truly athletic, does robotics...likes not loves...but loves theatre. But, we don't need a spectacular theatre program. All schools will seemingly provide enough options.

[Anonymous]

So, in terms of VA public it would be Yorktown, Langley and McLean? All would provide an approximate 30 minute commute?

[Anonymous]

Why not apply now before the deadlines? The commute time - is that no more than 30 minutes to school or to work or both? It is not easy to get 850k and within 30 minutes of tenley and school. There should be condos available for that. Possibly something in east Bethesda closer to silver spring, but it would likely be un renovated. You can finding housing for 850k in the north Bethesda and Rockville areas and close to a few private schools, but that would be pushing the 30 minute trip to tenley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, in terms of VA public it would be Yorktown, Langley and McLean? All would provide an approximate 30 minute commute?

Follow-up to this would be would your chances at UVA and W&M be better from these schools? Or, would DC private be better option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not apply now before the deadlines? The commute time - is that no more than 30 minutes to school or to work or both? It is not easy to get 850k and within 30 minutes of tenley and school. There should be condos available for that. Possibly something in east Bethesda closer to silver spring, but it would likely be un renovated. You can finding housing for 850k in the north Bethesda and Rockville areas and close to a few private schools, but that would be pushing the 30 minute trip to tenley.

Would any housing in the VA public school areas qualify?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heard Langley was having problems and/or redistricting.

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Langley is not having problems. The enrollment has been down because some of the neighborhoods that feed into the school are aging. However, to put it in perspective, there are more kids at Langley (1966) than at Yorktown in Arlington (1778).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, in terms of VA public it would be Yorktown, Langley and McLean? All would provide an approximate 30 minute commute?

Follow-up to this would be would your chances at UVA and W&M be better from these schools? Or, would DC private be better option?

OP's kid isn't from here so she may want more options than a Virginia university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What would be the top 3 VA public HSs?

All would be more than a 30 minute commute from Tenleytown, and housing outside the OP's budget.

If you are thinking of public, you could get the Eastern part of BCC or the northern part of Walter Johnson. If your definition of good schools includes places that are rich and full of diversity and opportunity but with more unevenness in test scores, I'd look at Takoma Park, and the closer in parts of Silver Spring that feed to Blair or some of the neighborhoods right along the park in DC that feed to Tenleytown.

For Catholic, I would look at St John's and Good Counsel (she would ride a bus North while your DH is traveling South). If she is open to single sex then add Stone Ridge, Holy Cross and Visitation.

For independent you have a top tier of

Sidwell
Georgetown Day
Mater

All of which would be new impossible to get into late in an off year, but might make an exception if your current Head of School is a strong advocate and there is unexpected withdrawal.

Potomac (in VA but they have a bus)
Holton (all girls, which you said she didn't want)
And National Cathedral (also all girls)

There are also a number of excellent privates that serve kids well, and tend to be a little more forgiving admissions wise. I'd look at

St. Andrews
Field
Burke
Bullis
Sandy Springs Friends

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, in terms of VA public it would be Yorktown, Langley and McLean? All would provide an approximate 30 minute commute?

Follow-up to this would be would your chances at UVA and W&M be better from these schools? Or, would DC private be better option?

OP's kid isn't from here so she may want more options than a Virginia university.

What options disappear when you move to VA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would be the top 3 VA public HSs?

TJ (competitive STEM magnet), Langley and McLean.

I would put Yorktown in Arlington ahead of McLean. TJ is application only, so scratch that. Also consider that VA public colleges are far better than MD ones.

Why? McLean has had higher SATs than Yorktown for many years. For the class of 2015 the average SAT scores at McLean and Yorktown were 1813 and 1768, respectively. In addition, McLean had 16 National Merit Semifinalists this fall (Class of 2016) while Yorktown had two, and McLean is ranked more highly by US News (#4 in Virginia vs. #12 in Virginia). The differences aren't huge, but I'd include Yorktown among a larger group of public high schools in NoVa that are also very good, including Madison, Woodson, Oakton, and Marshall in Fairfax, George Mason in Falls Church, and Washington-Lee in Arlington.

So, if OP wanted to know the top #3 in terms of overall reputation, I'd go with TJ, Langley and McLean. If she wanted to know about those that are both highly regarded and the shortest commute to DC, I'd say Yorktown, Washington-Lee, McLean and George Mason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would be the top 3 VA public HSs?

All would be more than a 30 minute commute from Tenleytown, and housing outside the OP's budget.

30 minutes to Tenleytown would be pushing it, but they would not blow OP's budget.