Better college outcomes: Burke or JRHS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of a Burke grad in college, I can say a few things: 1) the rigor/homework increases pretty substantially between middle and high school. That said, Burke is not about doing homework for the sake of doing homework- it's about giving your kid a strong prep for college while keeping them "whole" through high school. 2) my kid that transitioned to a SLAC found the transition pretty seamless. In particular, the ability to write effectively and efficiently was a huge asset. 3) if you are looking for Ivy league admits as your maker of college success, your expectations are pretty out of line withe the reality of college admissions these days. Over the last few years, many many kids at Burke have gone to highly ranked colleges including art and music programs. Some kids have gone on to lesser known colleges with significant merit aid. The college counseling program at Burke is excellent and helps every single student find a good fit.

Same experience here. (I'm not the poster who wrote the prior post.)

As for questions about how Burke changes from middle school to high school, there was a very noticeable increase in homework over time. The feedback on writing became more demanding. Classes leading to potential AP tests were comparable to AP classes around the country, but with plenty of individual attention. Burke still made a big effort to meet students "where they were," and the homework load was less than a Big 3 homework load, but the curriculum became more traditional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really? You're worrying about what college she gets into? Please worry about whether she is happy and thriving at Burke and whether Jackson-Reed would be a better fit.

I didn’t get into all the factors in my OP. She is doing OK at Burke, but I wouldn’t say it’s amazing. The best things is that she likes her friends who seem like a good group. I know this is really important.

She is not being challenged academically (not to brag or anything, not claiming she is a genius). One thing we were looking for when we left DCPS is her coasting through classes because the teachers were focused on lifting up the kids who were struggling.
Even though it’s a small school, I don’t feel like she is being “seen” or encouraged to do things out of her comfort zone.

School feels too small. She thinks it’s only OK and says she wants to go to JR for HS, but is on the fence because of her friend group. If she could magically import her friend group to JRHS, she would do it.

All in all, not sure it’s worth another $200K. I asked about college for more data to go into the decision, but it’s obviously not a deciding factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? You're worrying about what college she gets into? Please worry about whether she is happy and thriving at Burke and whether Jackson-Reed would be a better fit.

I didn’t get into all the factors in my OP. She is doing OK at Burke, but I wouldn’t say it’s amazing. The best things is that she likes her friends who seem like a good group. I know this is really important.

She is not being challenged academically (not to brag or anything, not claiming she is a genius). One thing we were looking for when we left DCPS is her coasting through classes because the teachers were focused on lifting up the kids who were struggling.
Even though it’s a small school, I don’t feel like she is being “seen” or encouraged to do things out of her comfort zone.

School feels too small. She thinks it’s only OK and says she wants to go to JR for HS, but is on the fence because of her friend group. If she could magically import her friend group to JRHS, she would do it.

All in all, not sure it’s worth another $200K. I asked about college for more data to go into the decision, but it’s obviously not a deciding factor.

My kid was ready to move one from a small K-8. So I understand. Sounds like maybe Walls could be an option. It doesn't have of the extras that JR has but also not so large she'd get lost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? You're worrying about what college she gets into? Please worry about whether she is happy and thriving at Burke and whether Jackson-Reed would be a better fit.

I didn’t get into all the factors in my OP. She is doing OK at Burke, but I wouldn’t say it’s amazing. The best things is that she likes her friends who seem like a good group. I know this is really important.

She is not being challenged academically (not to brag or anything, not claiming she is a genius). One thing we were looking for when we left DCPS is her coasting through classes because the teachers were focused on lifting up the kids who were struggling.
Even though it’s a small school, I don’t feel like she is being “seen” or encouraged to do things out of her comfort zone.

School feels too small. She thinks it’s only OK and says she wants to go to JR for HS, but is on the fence because of her friend group. If she could magically import her friend group to JRHS, she would do it.

All in all, not sure it’s worth another $200K. I asked about college for more data to go into the decision, but it’s obviously not a deciding factor.

I think if she wants to go to JR I would support her in that move. She sounds like a kid that doesn't need handholding. I wouldn't expect "better" college admissions outcomes from JR, but you can use the money saved to hire a college counselor to help with applications.

[Anonymous]

She should leave if she wants to. I will tell you my DD who went to JR certainly didn't feel "seen" there. The school and classes are too big for that but she actually loved that aspect of the school. She preferred being left to her own devices and not being singled out by teachers. If you are looking for rigor, I'm not sure it is the best place (even the AP courses were pretty non-challenging) but it is a vibrant, fun community with lots of different groups of friends to choose from. That is really what high school should be about.

[Anonymous]

I have two Burke grads. One went to the MS as well and the HS *is* a different experience. That said, several kids went to J-R from Burke and I don't think they regretted the move.

College matriculation lists at Burke are very student specific. I don't agree that they are unimpressive...they just reflect that specific cohort of 50 kids. Very few of them may have had an interest in the Ivys you mention because by the time a kid is ready for college they know more about what they want and that might not be it. I think its so interesting to see the variance from year to year personally. And in the time we were at Burke there were kids who went to Columbia, Cornell, Williams, etc. and I know there's at least one Ivy admit this year (but again you may not see that because they may not go!)

My kids were very challenged in their time at Burke and loved their teachers. That was not as true in MS (the challenge, they did love the teachers). Burke is a place where its up to your kid to make of it what they will. If they choose, they can have rigor, leadership opportunity, they can make connections with mentors...or they can coast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? You're worrying about what college she gets into? Please worry about whether she is happy and thriving at Burke and whether Jackson-Reed would be a better fit.

I didn’t get into all the factors in my OP. She is doing OK at Burke, but I wouldn’t say it’s amazing. The best things is that she likes her friends who seem like a good group. I know this is really important.

She is not being challenged academically (not to brag or anything, not claiming she is a genius). One thing we were looking for when we left DCPS is her coasting through classes because the teachers were focused on lifting up the kids who were struggling.
Even though it’s a small school, I don’t feel like she is being “seen” or encouraged to do things out of her comfort zone.

School feels too small. She thinks it’s only OK and says she wants to go to JR for HS, but is on the fence because of her friend group. If she could magically import her friend group to JRHS, she would do it.

All in all, not sure it’s worth another $200K. I asked about college for more data to go into the decision, but it’s obviously not a deciding factor.

What did your kid’s advisor say when you or your child brought this up at conferences? It should be a red flag for any school when a parent says they don’t feel like their kid is being seen. Then again, if you aren’t communicating this, it’s a disservice to the school and your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? You're worrying about what college she gets into? Please worry about whether she is happy and thriving at Burke and whether Jackson-Reed would be a better fit.

I didn’t get into all the factors in my OP. She is doing OK at Burke, but I wouldn’t say it’s amazing. The best things is that she likes her friends who seem like a good group. I know this is really important.

She is not being challenged academically (not to brag or anything, not claiming she is a genius). One thing we were looking for when we left DCPS is her coasting through classes because the teachers were focused on lifting up the kids who were struggling.
Even though it’s a small school, I don’t feel like she is being “seen” or encouraged to do things out of her comfort zone.

School feels too small. She thinks it’s only OK and says she wants to go to JR for HS, but is on the fence because of her friend group. If she could magically import her friend group to JRHS, she would do it.

All in all, not sure it’s worth another $200K. I asked about college for more data to go into the decision, but it’s obviously not a deciding factor.

What did your kid’s advisor say when you or your child brought this up at conferences? It should be a red flag for any school when a parent says they don’t feel like their kid is being seen. Then again, if you aren’t communicating this, it’s a disservice to the school and your child.

My kid is in MS at Burke. I would definitely bring it up for discussion to your kid's advisor, if you haven't yet. My kid's advisor had all kinds of terrific insight that I would never have gotten from just talking to my kid and has been very helpful with resolving a couple of our concerns. The MS is so tiny! All kids are "seen" whether or not they know it, like it or not But maybe your kid needs a little more than they're getting and I've found the school to be helpful in that regard, in our situation anyway.

[Anonymous]

Put your kid at JR, take the $ you would've spent at Burke and put into 529.
Hire solid independent college counselor unrelated to JR.
Done.