Potomac and Holton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Holton is gross and toxic. Stay away. Bunch of entitled jerks and the teachers make things more difficult than they need to be. What teacher says no one gets an A in my class?

Potomac has had their share of grading issues too-read it and weep:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1031793.page

All of this information remains relevant to this day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because of hooks, college acceptance and matriculation data for local privates can be highly misleading with respect to an unhooked student's chances of admission to a particular college.

OP here. Thanks for the above, this is the kind of insight we’re hoping to gain. For example, which of these two schools enable more unhooked kids into better colleges?

Both schools are similar in this regard—both have wealthy connected families, kids going on to play D1/D3 sports, etc. The school that will matriculate your child to the highest ranked college is the one where your kid shines the most. The kids that fit in best at both are bright, outgoing, sporty kids. This is not to say others can’t make friends, or introverts and drama kids can’t succeed, but it’s harder.

[Anonymous]

I don't get the Potomac knee pads - the colleges these mostly spoiled kids go to don't impress in the least.

[Anonymous]

Don’t know what knee pads means-but by and large, at every DMV private, most of the kids going to Ivy’s and top 20 are hooked in some way (athletics, legacy, URM, big donor). Potomac is no different in this regard. Can’t speak to Holton but in reading this board I suspect it is the same.

If you are looking to go to college without any hooks choose the school where your kid can stand out from the pack in some way AND achieve top grades and test scores. It takes a lot of effort and luck too (teachers they get and other things out of your control). Your kid will likely wind up where they should and it all tends to work out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you all.

To help us understand where to further research, can someone elaborate on how Potomac is a tier higher than Holton?

Understanding it is cohort and child dependent, overall does Potomac have better college matriculation? Or better teachers? Or? Thanks.

I am a Potomac parent and I view the schools as academically comparable. When I meet someone whose child is at Holton I assume they wanted a great, single school education and preferred Holton’s culture over NCS.

They’re both great schools, one with the single sex component, and I don’t think either choice could be the wrong one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you all.

To help us understand where to further research, can someone elaborate on how Potomac is a tier higher than Holton?

Understanding it is cohort and child dependent, overall does Potomac have better college matriculation? Or better teachers? Or? Thanks.

I am a Potomac parent and I view the schools as academically comparable. When I meet someone whose child is at Holton I assume they wanted a great, single school education and preferred Holton’s culture over NCS.

They’re both great schools, one with the single sex component, and I don’t think either choice could be the wrong one!

Very nice post! Posters who pit one school vs. the other are ridiculous because in the overall scheme of things, each school has a relatively small number of spots compared to the number of people who'd like to enroll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because of hooks, college acceptance and matriculation data for local privates can be highly misleading with respect to an unhooked student's chances of admission to a particular college.

OP here. Thanks for the above, this is the kind of insight we’re hoping to gain. For example, which of these two schools enable more unhooked kids into better colleges?

You won't escape hooked problem anywhere among the highly selective DMV schools but I'd note that Potomac has a lot of athletic hooks.

As others have pointed out - these schools are both very strong academically and not different enough to outweigh the importance of fit. The schools are very different and most girls would have a clear preference for one or the other. If not, then pick the one on your side of the bridge in the lucky chance she is accepted to both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I am a Potomac parent and I view the schools as academically comparable. When I meet someone whose child is at Holton I assume they wanted a great, single school education and preferred Holton’s culture over NCS.

They’re both great schools, one with the single sex component, and I don’t think either choice could be the wrong one!

Holton parent here. We looked at both and came to the exact conclusion. We felt single sex was a better fit for our child. NCS was too far away and too intense for our DD. It boiled down to co-ed or single sex. Had we chosen co-ed, Potomac would have been our choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are considering switching our DD (rising 6th grader) to private school for 7th grade and are exploring Potomac and Holton. We understand that our DD needs to get accepted first but we’re looking for some insight. We are relatively equidistant from both schools and comfortable with either co-ed or single gender schools.

Looking at each of their school profiles which highlights college matriculation, SAT/ACT scores, class size, teacher years of experience, they both seem to be relatively similar (Holton being better in some years while Potomac being better in others). However, it seems Potomac is more widely known or sought after. Honestly asking to understand, is this because of stronger academics or otherwise?

Can folks share any perspective on which of these two schools they’ve found to be stronger when it comes to academic rigor, college destination and readiness?

You should definitely apply to both, OP. It may be that one of these schools is overenrolled for your DD’s grade and has several kids competing for few spots or that your DD has a particularly positive experience at one school over the other. It can’t hurt to cast a wide net.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because of hooks, college acceptance and matriculation data for local privates can be highly misleading with respect to an unhooked student's chances of admission to a particular college.

OP here. Thanks for the above, this is the kind of insight we’re hoping to gain. For example, which of these two schools enable more unhooked kids into better colleges?

You won't escape hooked problem anywhere among the highly selective DMV schools but I'd note that Potomac has a lot of athletic hooks.

As others have pointed out - these schools are both very strong academically and not different enough to outweigh the importance of fit. The schools are very different and most girls would have a clear preference for one or the other. If not, then pick the one on your side of the bridge in the lucky chance she is accepted to both.

This!! Consider the traffic and commute!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Potomac is a tier above Holton academically but Holton is still very strong.

They are very different schools, though, and not just because one is coed and one is girls. I’d urge you and DD to explore them further, definitely visit and shadow. I’d be pretty surprised for someone to really not have a preference between them.

They are more alike than different.

[Anonymous]

As a current Potomac parent, I strongly encourage you to speak directly with other Potomac high school parents. There are serious issues in the upper school with teachers.

[Anonymous]

Potomac BLOWS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a current Potomac parent, I strongly encourage you to speak directly with other Potomac high school parents. There are serious issues in the upper school with teachers.

What kinds of issues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have a hs daughter at Holton with a best friend at Potomac. School experiences have been similar (except the co-Ed/single sex part which has pros and cons to both).
Both have strong academics, sports, arts, college placement, etc. If given a choice, I would go to the school on the same side of the river as your home. Yes both have bussing, but crossing the AL bridge everyday is a pain—and nerve-wracking once your child starts driving. Yes people make both schools work from either side of the river, but it’s so much easier living closer to school. Especially socially—if you live on the other side, you are the one that has to make the effort to continuously cross over for events, hang-outs, etc.

+1 My daughter best friend drives to Holton from VA and can be stuck in traffic for 2+ hours!