High School magnet results are out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those of you worrying, my kid came from eastern magnet with top scores in everything and awards etc and didn’t get a spot in CAP. It was heartbreaking and seemed to make no sense. BUT it’s funny how things work out - tons of AP courses and opportunities for rigor that mean you can carve your own program and it’s turned out my kid has taken advanced courses in areas that wouldn’t have been options in CAP.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking life is somehow over or great colleges aren’t an option if you don’t do a magnet. Your kid is still the same smart, hardworking person they were before the application.

My son this year was similar and WL for 3 magnets he applied for. Fortunately he got in to one so far but it’s been so stressful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crapshoot!

Sorry that your kids are not being selected for academic merit but being rejected for other reasons.

All I can say is you can rock your HS years in a normal year with some good strategy and guidance from private college counselors. Maybe the end result will be that you will be the top student in your school and get into an Ivy.

I am so sorry that your children will be missing their friends and will not have a cohort that they were friends with in MS. This is the biggest point of concern here in a pandemic.

I am sending hugs to all the kids who have been rejected unnecessarily. MCPS sucks!

+100

+1000. Kids do not suddenly become "not gifted". There should be more spots in gifted and talented programs at all levels. Once you are in you stay in.

Absolutely untrue, at least for the highly gifted. Highly gifted are the ones with true needs - 90th percentiles kids can be enriched in the regular classroom.

A study was done (can't find citation) on NYC gifted kindergarteners as defined by the test they take (WPPSI?). Then at the end of high school gifted was defined as acceptance at a highly selective college.

There was a 70% turnover between the two groups. The determinants of being highly gifted shift over time, and not all smart 5-year olds grow into motivated, focused, articulate kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crapshoot!

Sorry that your kids are not being selected for academic merit but being rejected for other reasons.

All I can say is you can rock your HS years in a normal year with some good strategy and guidance from private college counselors. Maybe the end result will be that you will be the top student in your school and get into an Ivy.

I am so sorry that your children will be missing their friends and will not have a cohort that they were friends with in MS. This is the biggest point of concern here in a pandemic.

I am sending hugs to all the kids who have been rejected unnecessarily. MCPS sucks!

+100

+1000. Kids do not suddenly become "not gifted". There should be more spots in gifted and talented programs at all levels. Once you are in you stay in.

Absolutely untrue, at least for the highly gifted. Highly gifted are the ones with true needs - 90th percentiles kids can be enriched in the regular classroom.

A study was done (can't find citation) on NYC gifted kindergarteners as defined by the test they take (WPPSI?). Then at the end of high school gifted was defined as acceptance at a highly selective college.

There was a 70% turnover between the two groups. The determinants of being highly gifted shift over time, and not all smart 5-year olds grow into motivated, focused, articulate kids.

There's actually a link between giftedness and disconnecting from the educational system. It's incredibly difficult to see that love of learning get squelched.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crapshoot!

Sorry that your kids are not being selected for academic merit but being rejected for other reasons.

All I can say is you can rock your HS years in a normal year with some good strategy and guidance from private college counselors. Maybe the end result will be that you will be the top student in your school and get into an Ivy.

I am so sorry that your children will be missing their friends and will not have a cohort that they were friends with in MS. This is the biggest point of concern here in a pandemic.

I am sending hugs to all the kids who have been rejected unnecessarily. MCPS sucks!

+100

+1000. Kids do not suddenly become "not gifted". There should be more spots in gifted and talented programs at all levels. Once you are in you stay in.

Absolutely untrue, at least for the highly gifted. Highly gifted are the ones with true needs - 90th percentiles kids can be enriched in the regular classroom.

A study was done (can't find citation) on NYC gifted kindergarteners as defined by the test they take (WPPSI?). Then at the end of high school gifted was defined as acceptance at a highly selective college.

There was a 70% turnover between the two groups. The determinants of being highly gifted shift over time, and not all smart 5-year olds grow into motivated, focused, articulate kids.

The big issue in NYC is they identify giftedness in preK. Hardly valid data and it’s typically because those parents prepped. My BIL is currently prepping their 3 1/2 year old for the evaluation. It’s ridiculous, but it’s a free program in an otherwise expensive area.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:For everyone concerned about missing out: my kid didn't get into either of the programs he applied to, and went to his local HS. He was disappointed.

Four years of HS later, he was accepted - early decision - to a top 10 school. Life goes on. Make of it what you can.

Hang in there!

Thanks - sounds great! And congrats!

Thanks. Kid's quite excited.

That's awesome. Magnets have lots of supports. Making it to a top school outside of a magnet program is hard. Your kid did really well!

Actually not quite right... Whitman's Ivy League intakes are about parallel with RMIB's Ivy League intakes. And then there are the privates...

+1 If you look at Bethesda magazine's yearly college acceptance lists you will see that many kids get into top schools outside the magnets. I'm sure if there was a list for upcounty, DCC, etc you would see similar data.

Here's a link: https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-magazine/september-october-2020/college-bound-5/

Thank you for the link.

Consider the impact of legacy status on these admission numbers.

And ability to pay $75K/kid/year for college.

Half of the Blair SMAC magnet goes to UMD-CP every year and it’s not because they don’t have the stats for elite schools.

This. If you look at the students who graduated in the top 20% of the magnet over half decided to attend UMD

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:For everyone concerned about missing out: my kid didn't get into either of the programs he applied to, and went to his local HS. He was disappointed.

Four years of HS later, he was accepted - early decision - to a top 10 school. Life goes on. Make of it what you can.

Hang in there!

Thanks - sounds great! And congrats!

Thanks. Kid's quite excited.

That's awesome. Magnets have lots of supports. Making it to a top school outside of a magnet program is hard. Your kid did really well!

Actually not quite right... Whitman's Ivy League intakes are about parallel with RMIB's Ivy League intakes. And then there are the privates...

+1 If you look at Bethesda magazine's yearly college acceptance lists you will see that many kids get into top schools outside the magnets. I'm sure if there was a list for upcounty, DCC, etc you would see similar data.

Here's a link: https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-magazine/september-october-2020/college-bound-5/

Thank you for the link.

Consider the impact of legacy status on these admission numbers.

And ability to pay $75K/kid/year for college.

Half of the Blair SMAC magnet goes to UMD-CP every year and it’s not because they don’t have the stats for elite schools.

Well, based on that bethesda article plenty of blair kids tried to get into elite schools and were rejected. It's not like they were accepted but chose not to go because of financial reasons.

That article doesn’t break numbers down among SMAC, CAP, and other Blair students.

but still, only a few kids from the whole blair made it to top colleges. it is quite disappointing.

And many do not apply because their parents can’t pay for them.

It doesn't matter how many apply or don't apply. Top schools will not accept the majority of magnet students, period. Not because they are unqualified but because there are limited spots for various reasons, e.g., geography, demographics/diversity, legacy, sports, etc.

This
For top tier colleges you need good stats but it is the hook that ultimately determines success.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For everyone concerned about missing out: my kid didn't get into either of the programs he applied to, and went to his local HS. He was disappointed.

Four years of HS later, he was accepted - early decision - to a top 10 school. Life goes on. Make of it what you can.

Hang in there!

Thanks - sounds great! And congrats!

Thanks. Kid's quite excited.

That's awesome. Magnets have lots of supports. Making it to a top school outside of a magnet program is hard. Your kid did really well!

Actually not quite right... Whitman's Ivy League intakes are about parallel with RMIB's Ivy League intakes. And then there are the privates...

+1 If you look at Bethesda magazine's yearly college acceptance lists you will see that many kids get into top schools outside the magnets. I'm sure if there was a list for upcounty, DCC, etc you would see similar data.

Here's a link: https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-magazine/september-october-2020/college-bound-5/

Thank you for the link.

Consider the impact of legacy status on these admission numbers.

And ability to pay $75K/kid/year for college.

Half of the Blair SMAC magnet goes to UMD-CP every year and it’s not because they don’t have the stats for elite schools.

Well, based on that bethesda article plenty of blair kids tried to get into elite schools and were rejected. It's not like they were accepted but chose not to go because of financial reasons.

That article doesn’t break numbers down among SMAC, CAP, and other Blair students.

but still, only a few kids from the whole blair made it to top colleges. it is quite disappointing.

And many do not apply because their parents can’t pay for them.

It doesn't matter how many apply or don't apply. Top schools will not accept the majority of magnet students, period. Not because they are unqualified but because there are limited spots for various reasons, e.g., geography, demographics/diversity, legacy, sports, etc.

This
For top tier colleges you need good stats but it is the hook that ultimately determines success.

You also need at least $250k which is not small change for most people.

[Anonymous]

Parent of a student who attended MCPS magnet programs from 4th grade through 12th grade
If your child got in and you are wondering whether they should attend, I personally think there is no right answer. It depends on your student
If your child really thrives in a challenging academic environment that is probably the most important reason to attend. DS went to Blair SMAC and while he found some of the classes difficult and time consuming it was not stressful because he enjoyed the material, appreciated the passion his teachers brought to the classroom and liked his peer group. It is also a big school with lots of ECs. 40% of magnet students are varsity athletes for instance. There are also tons of clubs with a great mix of students from the whole school.

If your child isn’t excited about science/math/CS please don’t push them to go. Ditto for RMIB. Some students love the intellectual rigor and the interdisciplinary approach of the IB program but if that isn’t your thing, it can be a real grind for four years

I would also suggest that college admissions is not a good reason to send your child to a magnet program. If that is their top priority they might be better off in their home school where they will likely breeze through AP exams, get great SAT scores, glowing teacher recs and have plenty of time to pursue the kind of activities the top colleges really value

My child would not have been happy at his home high school so that was an easy decision for him. It meant that he had a wonderful four years of high school.

One more thought. DS took many AP courses and they were all significantly easier than his magnet classes. So there is a real difference ito rigor, content and speed. It really comes down to whether this is what your child really desires/needs during high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's actually a link between giftedness and disconnecting from the educational system. It's incredibly difficult to see that love of learning get squelched.

Is there, or are you just trying to justify your kid's mediocre performance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Northwest HS middlecollege program vs Damascus HS , which one is a better?

I would really appreciate any inputs on the above question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's actually a link between giftedness and disconnecting from the educational system. It's incredibly difficult to see that love of learning get squelched.

Is there, or are you just trying to justify your kid's mediocre performance?

You're probably a troll. But if you're actually interested, there's literature: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1143330.pdf

[Anonymous]

My DC is on WL for several magnets. Anyone willing to share their kids scores 250 R 270 M?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC is on WL for several magnets. Anyone willing to share their kids scores 250 R 270 M?

Kid got into RMIB and Blair SMAC. 263 MAPR and high 280’s MAPM, I believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a student who attended MCPS magnet programs from 4th grade through 12th grade
If your child got in and you are wondering whether they should attend, I personally think there is no right answer. It depends on your student
If your child really thrives in a challenging academic environment that is probably the most important reason to attend. DS went to Blair SMAC and while he found some of the classes difficult and time consuming it was not stressful because he enjoyed the material, appreciated the passion his teachers brought to the classroom and liked his peer group. It is also a big school with lots of ECs. 40% of magnet students are varsity athletes for instance. There are also tons of clubs with a great mix of students from the whole school.

If your child isn’t excited about science/math/CS please don’t push them to go. Ditto for RMIB. Some students love the intellectual rigor and the interdisciplinary approach of the IB program but if that isn’t your thing, it can be a real grind for four years

I would also suggest that college admissions is not a good reason to send your child to a magnet program. If that is their top priority they might be better off in their home school where they will likely breeze through AP exams, get great SAT scores, glowing teacher recs and have plenty of time to pursue the kind of activities the top colleges really value

My child would not have been happy at his home high school so that was an easy decision for him. It meant that he had a wonderful four years of high school.

One more thought. DS took many AP courses and they were all significantly easier than his magnet classes. So there is a real difference ito rigor, content and speed. It really comes down to whether this is what your child really desires/needs during high school.

Thanks for your perspective. DC had “the best teachers ever” in a HGC/CES. DC was not sad when MS magnet rejection came as all of DC’s friends were also sent back to home MS thanks to the cohort criterion. DC has had a couple of good teachers at home MS. But overall home MS experience has been a rude awakening for DC and has made DC really bored and sad. DC really wanted to “go back” to a magnet program. Thankfully DC and most of DC’s HGC friends have been accepted by HS magnet programs. It has been a great relief for us because it has been so exhausting during the past 2.5 years just trying to keep DC interested in learning while watching several of DC’s friends having lost interests in learning. I realize that DC is lucky to be able to spends HS years in a stimulating environment and really wish MCPS could allow every child to be challenged at every school.

[Anonymous]

I agree 100 percent with 14:42. Don’t send your kid to a magnet unless your kid really wants it. I’ve seen kids pushed into IB SMCs etc and it never works out well. Mental health is so important! My DD is in a magnet program and is finding her “strong peers” at homeschool are having slightly better college admissions cycle. My DD went because she wanted the opportunities of the program.