What are the “Big 3” or “Big 5” in Baltimore?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an alum of one of the schools in Roland Park and pretty much my entire family went to one of the Roland Park schools or McDonogh. I think people are right to say that it is tough to do an apples to apples comparison with DC. The biggest thing I would say is that the top kids from each school, despite the schools reputation for academic rigor, got into top schools. These schools also do not have an abundance of applicants where they are rejecting hoards of students or can fill classes with kids guaranteed to get 1500s on their SATs (this is the impression I am starting to get from the DC schools). Each school really emphasized fit. And a lot of my friends seemed to go to one school over another simple because it was close by or they had a family member (like a cousin) already going there. When I was there in the aughts, this was what the rep was for each school:

The Roland Park 5

Gilman - old money, elitist, more
academically rigorous

Boys Latin - lax jocks, less academically rigorous with more
emphasis on smaller class sizes/saying they were a family

Friends - art types with more programs focused on dance, music, etc. also the only coed school in the Roland Park 5. Emphasized quicker values.

Bryn Mawr - girl Gilman with a little less elitism and similar academic rigor

Roland Park Country School - girl Gilman with a little more focus on athletics with slightly less academic rigor

Catholic Schools (don’t know these reps as well)

Calvert Hall - large student body, opposite of elitist

Loyola - most elite catholic school (but not like in the same sense as gilman)

NDP - jocks

Maryvale - smallest student body catholic school

Burb Schools

Garrison Forest - wealthy (polo arena and boarders); skewed less academically rigorous

Park - Jewish artsy kids (I don’t think it ever had a religious affiliation unlike most the other schools, which is why it skews jewish)

St Paul’s - new money and skewed towards lax jocks

McDonogh - Similar to Gilman but coed and campus has more of a country feel due to location; felt less elitist and old moneyish/WASPy

There are other schools like St Tims and Oldfields that I really know nothing about.

It’s funny that people consider Maryvale “Baltimore” and St Paul’s a “burb school.”
St Paul’s is actually closer to the Baltimore Beltway than Maryvale is. They and St Tim’s are all within about two miles of each other

I think all the Catholic schools are in the burbs. I just divided the Catholic schools from the others since they skew so heavy from a specific demographic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one can agree with they are in DC so let's not start that for Baltimore. It really isn't necessary and just ends up being divisive.

Actually I’ve been pretty surprised by how much consensus I’ve seen about what the 3 are. I’ve heard similar things through word of mouth. I think there is less argument for Baltimore because people don’t feel like they have to have their kid at a big 3 as a status symbol. It is more about finding a good fit for your kid’s personality and interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an alum of one of the schools in Roland Park and pretty much my entire family went to one of the Roland Park schools or McDonogh. I think people are right to say that it is tough to do an apples to apples comparison with DC. The biggest thing I would say is that the top kids from each school, despite the schools reputation for academic rigor, got into top schools. These schools also do not have an abundance of applicants where they are rejecting hoards of students or can fill classes with kids guaranteed to get 1500s on their SATs (this is the impression I am starting to get from the DC schools). Each school really emphasized fit. And a lot of my friends seemed to go to one school over another simple because it was close by or they had a family member (like a cousin) already going there. When I was there in the aughts, this was what the rep was for each school:

The Roland Park 5

Gilman - old money, elitist, more
academically rigorous

Boys Latin - lax jocks, less academically rigorous with more
emphasis on smaller class sizes/saying they were a family

Friends - art types with more programs focused on dance, music, etc. also the only coed school in the Roland Park 5. Emphasized quicker values.

Bryn Mawr - girl Gilman with a little less elitism and similar academic rigor

Roland Park Country School - girl Gilman with a little more focus on athletics with slightly less academic rigor

Catholic Schools (don’t know these reps as well)

Calvert Hall - large student body, opposite of elitist

Loyola - most elite catholic school (but not like in the same sense as gilman)

NDP - jocks

Maryvale - smallest student body catholic school

Burb Schools

Garrison Forest - wealthy (polo arena and boarders); skewed less academically rigorous

Park - Jewish artsy kids (I don’t think it ever had a religious affiliation unlike most the other schools, which is why it skews jewish)

St Paul’s - new money and skewed towards lax jocks

McDonogh - Similar to Gilman but coed and campus has more of a country feel due to location; felt less elitist and old moneyish/WASPy

There are other schools like St Tims and Oldfields that I really know nothing about.

Oughts is now 20 years ago! Having watched changes from the 1990s heyday where all the schools were bursting at the seams (it helped to be a lot more affordable back then), Friends is probably the only Roland Park school that may have a majority of its students living inside the city limits but even I doubt that. The other RP schools all draw the majority of their students from the counties. In "those days" so many north Baltimore kids headed to the county for privates as well as the RP privates, making it a wash altogether. As it is, all I'm commenting is that RP versus County is a bit of a misleading binary.

Park, by the way, is significantly less "Jewish" than it was 25 years ago. It's firmly progressive. I have several friends who are Park alums who send their children to other schools because even they thought they needed something a bit more balanced.

[Anonymous]

Got it PP, yeah I think all the Catholic schools are technically burbs, and I think all are except for the Roland Park Five among those you mentioned.

The schools are all so different. A kid who might thrive at Park might hate the Jesuit structure of Loyola or jock mentality of some other school. A girl who is an extrovert might hate the small feel of St Tim’s, but another girl might love the international flavor of that school. It has students from all over the world. It is kind of a waste of time to try to “rank” them. Baltimore is fortunate to have a lot of good options

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd say Gilman, Bryn Mawr and St. Paul's.

I wouldn’t put St Paul’s above Loyola Blakefield

Loyola is Catholic and I wouldn't put it in the same category as the independent schools. But let's choose the best 3 Catholic schools. I pick Calvert Hall, NDP, Loyola in that order.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an alum of one of the schools in Roland Park and pretty much my entire family went to one of the Roland Park schools or McDonogh. I think people are right to say that it is tough to do an apples to apples comparison with DC. The biggest thing I would say is that the top kids from each school, despite the schools reputation for academic rigor, got into top schools. These schools also do not have an abundance of applicants where they are rejecting hoards of students or can fill classes with kids guaranteed to get 1500s on their SATs (this is the impression I am starting to get from the DC schools). Each school really emphasized fit. And a lot of my friends seemed to go to one school over another simple because it was close by or they had a family member (like a cousin) already going there. When I was there in the aughts, this was what the rep was for each school:

The Roland Park 5

Gilman - old money, elitist, more
academically rigorous

Boys Latin - lax jocks, less academically rigorous with more
emphasis on smaller class sizes/saying they were a family

Friends - art types with more programs focused on dance, music, etc. also the only coed school in the Roland Park 5. Emphasized quicker values.

Bryn Mawr - girl Gilman with a little less elitism and similar academic rigor

Roland Park Country School - girl Gilman with a little more focus on athletics with slightly less academic rigor

Catholic Schools (don’t know these reps as well)

Calvert Hall - large student body, opposite of elitist

Loyola - most elite catholic school (but not like in the same sense as gilman)

NDP - jocks

Maryvale - smallest student body catholic school

Burb Schools

Garrison Forest - wealthy (polo arena and boarders); skewed less academically rigorous

Park - Jewish artsy kids (I don’t think it ever had a religious affiliation unlike most the other schools, which is why it skews jewish)

St Paul’s - new money and skewed towards lax jocks

McDonogh - Similar to Gilman but coed and campus has more of a country feel due to location; felt less elitist and old moneyish/WASPy

There are other schools like St Tims and Oldfields that I really know nothing about.

Oughts is now 20 years ago! Having watched changes from the 1990s heyday where all the schools were bursting at the seams (it helped to be a lot more affordable back then), Friends is probably the only Roland Park school that may have a majority of its students living inside the city limits but even I doubt that. The other RP schools all draw the majority of their students from the counties. In "those days" so many north Baltimore kids headed to the county for privates as well as the RP privates, making it a wash altogether. As it is, all I'm commenting is that RP versus County is a bit of a misleading binary.

Park, by the way, is significantly less "Jewish" than it was 25 years ago. It's firmly progressive. I have several friends who are Park alums who send their children to other schools because even they thought they needed something a bit more balanced.

I’m definitely seeing a trend where more people are opting for private schools again despite the exorbitant price tag. Several families I know who moved to the Dulaney or Towson area for public schools are now looking at private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an alum of one of the schools in Roland Park and pretty much my entire family went to one of the Roland Park schools or McDonogh. I think people are right to say that it is tough to do an apples to apples comparison with DC. The biggest thing I would say is that the top kids from each school, despite the schools reputation for academic rigor, got into top schools. These schools also do not have an abundance of applicants where they are rejecting hoards of students or can fill classes with kids guaranteed to get 1500s on their SATs (this is the impression I am starting to get from the DC schools). Each school really emphasized fit. And a lot of my friends seemed to go to one school over another simple because it was close by or they had a family member (like a cousin) already going there. When I was there in the aughts, this was what the rep was for each school:

The Roland Park 5

Gilman - old money, elitist, more
academically rigorous

Boys Latin - lax jocks, less academically rigorous with more
emphasis on smaller class sizes/saying they were a family

Friends - art types with more programs focused on dance, music, etc. also the only coed school in the Roland Park 5. Emphasized quicker values.

Bryn Mawr - girl Gilman with a little less elitism and similar academic rigor

Roland Park Country School - girl Gilman with a little more focus on athletics with slightly less academic rigor

Catholic Schools (don’t know these reps as well)

Calvert Hall - large student body, opposite of elitist

Loyola - most elite catholic school (but not like in the same sense as gilman)

NDP - jocks

Maryvale - smallest student body catholic school

Burb Schools

Garrison Forest - wealthy (polo arena and boarders); skewed less academically rigorous

Park - Jewish artsy kids (I don’t think it ever had a religious affiliation unlike most the other schools, which is why it skews jewish)

St Paul’s - new money and skewed towards lax jocks

McDonogh - Similar to Gilman but coed and campus has more of a country feel due to location; felt less elitist and old moneyish/WASPy

There are other schools like St Tims and Oldfields that I really know nothing about.

Oughts is now 20 years ago! Having watched changes from the 1990s heyday where all the schools were bursting at the seams (it helped to be a lot more affordable back then), Friends is probably the only Roland Park school that may have a majority of its students living inside the city limits but even I doubt that. The other RP schools all draw the majority of their students from the counties. In "those days" so many north Baltimore kids headed to the county for privates as well as the RP privates, making it a wash altogether. As it is, all I'm commenting is that RP versus County is a bit of a misleading binary.

Park, by the way, is significantly less "Jewish" than it was 25 years ago. It's firmly progressive. I have several friends who are Park alums who send their children to other schools because even they thought they needed something a bit more balanced.

I’m definitely seeing a trend where more people are opting for private schools again despite the exorbitant price tag. Several families I know who moved to the Dulaney or Towson area for public schools are now looking at private school.

What’s wrong with Dulaney or Towson area schools? I thought they were the best

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an alum of one of the schools in Roland Park and pretty much my entire family went to one of the Roland Park schools or McDonogh. I think people are right to say that it is tough to do an apples to apples comparison with DC. The biggest thing I would say is that the top kids from each school, despite the schools reputation for academic rigor, got into top schools. These schools also do not have an abundance of applicants where they are rejecting hoards of students or can fill classes with kids guaranteed to get 1500s on their SATs (this is the impression I am starting to get from the DC schools). Each school really emphasized fit. And a lot of my friends seemed to go to one school over another simple because it was close by or they had a family member (like a cousin) already going there. When I was there in the aughts, this was what the rep was for each school:

The Roland Park 5

Gilman - old money, elitist, more
academically rigorous

Boys Latin - lax jocks, less academically rigorous with more
emphasis on smaller class sizes/saying they were a family

Friends - art types with more programs focused on dance, music, etc. also the only coed school in the Roland Park 5. Emphasized quicker values.

Bryn Mawr - girl Gilman with a little less elitism and similar academic rigor

Roland Park Country School - girl Gilman with a little more focus on athletics with slightly less academic rigor

Catholic Schools (don’t know these reps as well)

Calvert Hall - large student body, opposite of elitist

Loyola - most elite catholic school (but not like in the same sense as gilman)

NDP - jocks

Maryvale - smallest student body catholic school

Burb Schools

Garrison Forest - wealthy (polo arena and boarders); skewed less academically rigorous

Park - Jewish artsy kids (I don’t think it ever had a religious affiliation unlike most the other schools, which is why it skews jewish)

St Paul’s - new money and skewed towards lax jocks

McDonogh - Similar to Gilman but coed and campus has more of a country feel due to location; felt less elitist and old moneyish/WASPy

There are other schools like St Tims and Oldfields that I really know nothing about.

Oughts is now 20 years ago! Having watched changes from the 1990s heyday where all the schools were bursting at the seams (it helped to be a lot more affordable back then), Friends is probably the only Roland Park school that may have a majority of its students living inside the city limits but even I doubt that. The other RP schools all draw the majority of their students from the counties. In "those days" so many north Baltimore kids headed to the county for privates as well as the RP privates, making it a wash altogether. As it is, all I'm commenting is that RP versus County is a bit of a misleading binary.

Park, by the way, is significantly less "Jewish" than it was 25 years ago. It's firmly progressive. I have several friends who are Park alums who send their children to other schools because even they thought they needed something a bit more balanced.

I’m definitely seeing a trend where more people are opting for private schools again despite the exorbitant price tag. Several families I know who moved to the Dulaney or Towson area for public schools are now looking at private school.

What’s wrong with Dulaney or Towson area schools? I thought they were the best

They are not terrible but they have their problems with behavior issues. As for academics, may still be ok for the brightest self-motivated kids but in general the curriculum is not as solid as it used to be, so kids have to fill in the gaps for themselves.

[Anonymous]

There is only one Big 3. There’s no “in Baltimore”

[Anonymous]

Dulaney facility is a dump. Outdated and I think in line for upgrades. Towson had about six trailers there last year, not sure if still there, but there have been behavior issues there. I know good kids at both, but I can understand parents looking for other options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an alum of one of the schools in Roland Park and pretty much my entire family went to one of the Roland Park schools or McDonogh. I think people are right to say that it is tough to do an apples to apples comparison with DC. The biggest thing I would say is that the top kids from each school, despite the schools reputation for academic rigor, got into top schools. These schools also do not have an abundance of applicants where they are rejecting hoards of students or can fill classes with kids guaranteed to get 1500s on their SATs (this is the impression I am starting to get from the DC schools). Each school really emphasized fit. And a lot of my friends seemed to go to one school over another simple because it was close by or they had a family member (like a cousin) already going there. When I was there in the aughts, this was what the rep was for each school:

The Roland Park 5

Gilman - old money, elitist, more
academically rigorous

Boys Latin - lax jocks, less academically rigorous with more
emphasis on smaller class sizes/saying they were a family

Friends - art types with more programs focused on dance, music, etc. also the only coed school in the Roland Park 5. Emphasized quicker values.

Bryn Mawr - girl Gilman with a little less elitism and similar academic rigor

Roland Park Country School - girl Gilman with a little more focus on athletics with slightly less academic rigor

Catholic Schools (don’t know these reps as well)

Calvert Hall - large student body, opposite of elitist

Loyola - most elite catholic school (but not like in the same sense as gilman)

NDP - jocks

Maryvale - smallest student body catholic school

Burb Schools

Garrison Forest - wealthy (polo arena and boarders); skewed less academically rigorous

Park - Jewish artsy kids (I don’t think it ever had a religious affiliation unlike most the other schools, which is why it skews jewish)

St Paul’s - new money and skewed towards lax jocks

McDonogh - Similar to Gilman but coed and campus has more of a country feel due to location; felt less elitist and old moneyish/WASPy

There are other schools like St Tims and Oldfields that I really know nothing about.

I would actually say Mcdonogh is more elitist, they get a fair amount of the conservative Calvert families these days plus Greenspring finance families.

[Anonymous]

Maryvale is literally adjacent with to Saint Paul’s, someone is not good with geography.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one can agree with they are in DC so let's not start that for Baltimore. It really isn't necessary and just ends up being divisive.

Everyone knows what they are; not everyone can bring themselves to admit it

[Anonymous]

You go out there in the world and find people from Baltimore who are doing amazing things as adults -- they all went to Poly or City.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would remove Gilman until they are cleared of wrongdoing

Declining interest in all-boys education is also real.