Admissions to Blair SMAC and CAP, Wheaton engineering and RMIB

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a kid who got into many of the magnet programs. What worked for us was a strong portfolio of achievements showcased through the three 25 word essays and one 250 word essay. Strong grades and standardized test scores is a basic requirement, but the schools also want kids who have interests beyond school work.

I have a very smart but introverted kid. Social and good working in a team but doesn’t volunteer for a ton of clubs and likes downtime. Does this rule her out? No math team or science bowl, just doesn’t like that type of aggressive competition. Enjoys coding, robotics, has some sports awards, plays in advanced orchestra, basic academic recognition, usually heavily praised by teachers for work ethic, being supportive of classmates and academic attainment (but none of that in formal ways). Breezing though geometry and getting As in all classes without much effort. MAP scores are 99th percentile consistently both MAP-r and MAP-m, but not 99.9%.

Worth applying? Or is it mostly the math team kid with 300+ MAP scores they are looking for, who also have won national competitions and already organized community service events and designed new software to solve a problem or meet a need?

The application is pretty simple at this point, so it can't hurt to apply unless your kid would find it super stressful. While it's not officially a lottery, they have so little data to look at, I'd say it's lottery-adjacent. It's impossible to say what they're looking for. My 10th grader got into RMIB and Blair STEM with 99%ile MAPs, all As, and extracurriculars mostly in the arts - music, theatre, a creative writing award, and some volunteer math tutoring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a kid who got into many of the magnet programs. What worked for us was a strong portfolio of achievements showcased through the three 25 word essays and one 250 word essay. Strong grades and standardized test scores is a basic requirement, but the schools also want kids who have interests beyond school work.

I have a very smart but introverted kid. Social and good working in a team but doesn’t volunteer for a ton of clubs and likes downtime. Does this rule her out? No math team or science bowl, just doesn’t like that type of aggressive competition. Enjoys coding, robotics, has some sports awards, plays in advanced orchestra, basic academic recognition, usually heavily praised by teachers for work ethic, being supportive of classmates and academic attainment (but none of that in formal ways). Breezing though geometry and getting As in all classes without much effort. MAP scores are 99th percentile consistently both MAP-r and MAP-m, but not 99.9%.

Worth applying? Or is it mostly the math team kid with 300+ MAP scores they are looking for, who also have won national competitions and already organized community service events and designed new software to solve a problem or meet a need?

This was my kid, except that she had no interest in coding. She does play a travel sport, FWIW. All As and high MAP scores. Also in Advanced Orchestra, chosen for Honors Orch, etc. No Math teams or anything.

She got into Blair, RMIB and Poolesville.

Glad she applied and is doing well so far. I definitely say it’s worth applying with the caveat that it is partially all luck and even if she deserves to be at a Magnet HS, she might not get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what they are looking for? I know they are highly competitive but what types of students get in? What scores, what extracurricular activities, what was it about current students that got them selected? Trying to work out how much of a shot my kid might have at any of them.

It's explained on their website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mbhs.edu/departments/magnet/apply_test.php

so MAP-M now

It says “part” of the process. What else? And what scores? Can anyone share scores of admitted students?

I can't remember where I saw this but I'd swear I'd seen some data a few years ago that showed the mean map-m of 8th graders admitted to SMCS was around 275.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what they are looking for? I know they are highly competitive but what types of students get in? What scores, what extracurricular activities, what was it about current students that got them selected? Trying to work out how much of a shot my kid might have at any of them.

It's explained on their website.

No it is not.

[Anonymous]

The problem with parents trying to figure out a MAP score is that it's all over the place. A high MAP score doesn't guarantee that your kids get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with parents trying to figure out a MAP score is that it's all over the place. A high MAP score doesn't guarantee that your kids get in.

Right but does a 270 score rule you out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with parents trying to figure out a MAP score is that it's all over the place. A high MAP score doesn't guarantee that your kids get in.

Right but does a 270 score rule you out?

Not if 275 is typically the mean. I think it would depend on a number of factors as MCPS states on their website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with parents trying to figure out a MAP score is that it's all over the place. A high MAP score doesn't guarantee that your kids get in.

Right but does a 270 score rule you out?

For wha? MAP-R or MAP-M?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mbhs.edu/departments/magnet/apply_test.php

so MAP-M now

It says “part” of the process. What else? And what scores? Can anyone share scores of admitted students?

My kid got in to Blair and RMIB the first year where they didn’t have an admissions test. His MAP-M was around 300 I think, maybe 295. His MAP-R was high, much above minimum for 99th percentile, but I don’t remember the number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a junior at RMIB. She did her own application and I never saw it so can’t speak to the essays. Her grades were good but not straight a’s. Her maps were good but not sky high. She had a couple of MS academic type clubs she was enthusiastic about. I think she was enthusiastic about the program, seemed self motivated, and her teachers appreciated her as really engaged.

This also describes my DC. Not a superstar, but really dedicated and hard working. Also demonstrated interest in a couple particular activities over time and through various outlets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a junior at RMIB. She did her own application and I never saw it so can’t speak to the essays. Her grades were good but not straight a’s. Her maps were good but not sky high. She had a couple of MS academic type clubs she was enthusiastic about. I think she was enthusiastic about the program, seemed self motivated, and her teachers appreciated her as really engaged.

This also describes my DC. Not a superstar, but really dedicated and hard working. Also demonstrated interest in a couple particular activities over time and through various outlets.

I keep reading that magnets are not for super hard workers but kids who "think differently" and need more challenge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is a junior at RMIB. She did her own application and I never saw it so can’t speak to the essays. Her grades were good but not straight a’s. Her maps were good but not sky high. She had a couple of MS academic type clubs she was enthusiastic about. I think she was enthusiastic about the program, seemed self motivated, and her teachers appreciated her as really engaged.

This also describes my DC. Not a superstar, but really dedicated and hard working. Also demonstrated interest in a couple particular activities over time and through various outlets.

I keep reading that magnets are not for super hard workers but kids who "think differently" and need more challenge.

I'd imagine you'll find quite of few of both kinds in these programs and maybe a few that are even a bit of both.