RMIB v. Blair SMAC for all-around kid who loves Computer Science?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a tough one for us too. RM is home school and Blair bus is ~1.5 hours EACH way! We also have a younger child who will have overlap with older child in HS.

Though I believe Blair is the stronger program, for the sake of our family, sibling relationship, and travel time, RMIB is the better choice external factors considered. I wish their locations were swapped!

We'll see what she chooses though!

RM is our home school and DC went to Blair (after getting into RMIB and with another child there). We drive to Ritchie Park for the bus and it was no where near 1.5 hours each way. It is the last stop on that route. The bus gets right on to 270 and the the HOV lanes. I can not remember the times exactly but it was more like 30 mins each way.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid in SMAC who is also very interested in politics, creative writing, foreign language, etc. I think Blair has been wonderful fit with many offerings that meet her interests. So I think if your kid really loves computer science but has strong interest in the humanities, too, it's a great place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a tough one for us too. RM is home school and Blair bus is ~1.5 hours EACH way! We also have a younger child who will have overlap with older child in HS.

Though I believe Blair is the stronger program, for the sake of our family, sibling relationship, and travel time, RMIB is the better choice external factors considered. I wish their locations were swapped!

We'll see what she chooses though!

RM is our home school and DC went to Blair (after getting into RMIB and with another child there). We drive to Ritchie Park for the bus and it was no where near 1.5 hours each way. It is the last stop on that route. The bus gets right on to 270 and the the HOV lanes. I can not remember the times exactly but it was more like 30 mins each way.

Oh, that's good! The bus picks up Blair, Eastern, and Takoma around 6:30 am in our neighborhood and drops off b/t 4:30 to 4:45, occasionally later. Must depend on traffic. The activity bus is much later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a tough one for us too. RM is home school and Blair bus is ~1.5 hours EACH way! We also have a younger child who will have overlap with older child in HS.

Though I believe Blair is the stronger program, for the sake of our family, sibling relationship, and travel time, RMIB is the better choice external factors considered. I wish their locations were swapped!

We'll see what she chooses though!

RM is our home school and DC went to Blair (after getting into RMIB and with another child there). We drive to Ritchie Park for the bus and it was no where near 1.5 hours each way. It is the last stop on that route. The bus gets right on to 270 and the the HOV lanes. I can not remember the times exactly but it was more like 30 mins each way.

Oh, that's good! The bus picks up Blair, Eastern, and Takoma around 6:30 am in our neighborhood and drops off b/t 4:30 to 4:45, occasionally later. Must depend on traffic. The activity bus is much later.

Investigate other bus routes/stops. You do not have to go to the closest stop. Many Rm kids take the Wooten bus because it is more direct.

[Anonymous]

Definitely Blair SMAC for kids who are into CS. I have mentored junior/seniors from these two programs for intern projects, and found visible differences in coding capabilities. Maybe just due to small samples, but heard similar experiences from my colleagues as well.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. The comments were really helpful! He’s leaning heavily towards Blair after perusing the cool courses offered there and hearing about the lack of CS at RMIB. The point someone raised about Blair having special classes that it created on its own was a really good one that I hadn’t considered. He’ll keep gathering info. Really appreciate the insights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid in SMAC who is also very interested in politics, creative writing, foreign language, etc. I think Blair has been wonderful fit with many offerings that meet her interests. So I think if your kid really loves computer science but has strong interest in the humanities, too, it's a great place.

+1