College placement from Yorktown or Washington-Lee?

[Anonymous]

well with regard to OP's original question, I believe that Arlington is generally a much better deal than MoCo. That's a large reason why we live here. First, the income taxes are A LOT lower - in the mid 5s compared to up to 9. And for that you get great services from parks, libraries schools etc. Having lived in NW DC (so closer in than MoCo), i find the Arlington commute to downtown MUCH better. For elementary schools, there is some overcrowding in terms of space - trailers and such. But i think there is less overcrowding/budget cuts that are impacting class size, which in my view is much more impt. They just finished a huge beautiful renovation of W-L and Yorktown is underway. It is VERY well run county and it is small - much smaller than MoCo or Fairfax, which i think helps in terms of facing less pressure on cuts. I would think of the high schools as follows - W-L is more like BCC - more diverse, urban, and Yorktown is more like Whitman - slightly less diverse. I interview students for my Ivy League college, so I see the list from the region for my school every year and where they take kids from. I would say BCC and Whitman do slightly better every year at my college, although if you look at the number from Thomas Jefferson it dwarfs the other four. I think some of the top Arlington kids probably apply to go to TJ for high school (since they take some of Arlington's top kids) so if you add that pool back it's a comparable number. The other thing that Arlington has going for it is the kids on our street (W-L high school) have these amazing state college options. So the good students are going to places like UVA, Wash-Lee at more affordable rates. That's a big advantage if you think you'll be here that long.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that last very informative post. Washington and Lee is a private college, however, so it's not any more affordable for Virginia residents than anyone else. However, Virginia has UVA, William and Mary, Virginia Tech and JMU, all of which are considered good schools.

[Anonymous]

I don't know that the commutes from Arlington to DC are better than the commutes from close-in Montgomery County. The bridges from the Virginia side to DC can be a real pain, and that's not a factor for the MoCo people. (I come in from VA, my coworkers come in from MD so we compare notes.) Just wanted to throw that into the mix, though I think the PP's have given you a pretty good idea of how to compare the schools you're considering. In my circle, if people have the money ($700K or so, maybe $600's for a fixer-upper), they buy in Yorktown. If they're looking in the $500K+ range, especially if they want more diversity than Yorktown has to offer, or if they want easy access to the orange line metro stops, they do W&L. If they're looking for under $500K they're generally going to end up in Wakefield HS boundary.

From what i've read, Yorktown is pretty comparable in terms of test scores and diversity, etc. to the best schools in Fairfax, like Langley. Washington & Lee has gotten better rankings in recent years, so it can hold its own against the top and middle-tier Fairfax Schools, while having a commuting advantage over some of them. (I'm unfortunately in a lower-tier Fairfax school boundary, so we'll eventually have to move.)

[Anonymous]

oops 13:41 here - yes I meant William and Mary not Wash and Lee. I find commute much better even with bridges but I suppose depends where you are coming from and where you are going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were buying in Arlington, I would stick to North Arlington and especially Yorktown. Although Yorktown is probably the best in Arlington, it's probably not as good as the top schools in Fairfax County.

based on what exactly? test scores? college placement? where did you find these stats? we are currently debating between two neighborhoods (one in N Arlington and one in McLean) and this info would be very helpful...thanks!

[Anonymous]

2010 SAT avg NOVA top ten (excl.TJ):

Langley 1812 (Fairfax)
George Mason 1795 (Falls Church City)
McLean 1778 (Fairfax)
Yorktown 1741 (Arlington)
Woodson 1738 (Fairfax)
Madison 1734 (Fairfax)
Oakton 1729 (Fairfax)
Marshall 1690 (Fairfax)
Washington-Lee 1670 (Arlington)
Robinson 1665 (Fairfax)
---
Wakefield 1484 (Arlington)

* TJ 2200 (magnet)

** MoCo
Whitman 1879
Churchill 1824
Wooton 1822
Poolesville 1813
---
Bethesda-Chevy Chase 1734

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were buying in Arlington, I would stick to North Arlington and especially Yorktown. Although Yorktown is probably the best in Arlington, it's probably not as good as the top schools in Fairfax County.

based on what exactly? test scores? college placement? where did you find these stats? we are currently debating between two neighborhoods (one in N Arlington and one in McLean) and this info would be very helpful...thanks!

I think Yorktown, McLean, and Langley HS are all great HS's. For what it's worth though, check Greatschools.com and you'll see that Yorktown was given a 6 while McLean and Langley are usually 8, 9, or 10.

There's a lot more representation of Black and Hispanic kids at Yorktown compared to McLean schools, so if you're looking for a bit more diversity, consider Yorktown. Yorktown has 14% of its kids qualify for free or reduced lunch, while Mclean and Langley are 7% and <1% respectively.

Again, I don't think you can go wrong with either 3....McLean and Langley being the best of regular HS's in Fairfax Cty, and Yorktown being the best in a much smaller pool in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know that the commutes from Arlington to DC are better than the commutes from close-in Montgomery County. The bridges from the Virginia side to DC can be a real pain, and that's not a factor for the MoCo people. (I come in from VA, my coworkers come in from MD so we compare notes.) Just wanted to throw that into the mix, though I think the PP's have given you a pretty good idea of how to compare the schools you're considering. In my circle, if people have the money ($700K or so, maybe $600's for a fixer-upper), they buy in Yorktown. If they're looking in the $500K+ range, especially if they want more diversity than Yorktown has to offer, or if they want easy access to the orange line metro stops, they do W&L. If they're looking for under $500K they're generally going to end up in Wakefield HS boundary.

From what i've read, Yorktown is pretty comparable in terms of test scores and diversity, etc. to the best schools in Fairfax, like Langley. Washington & Lee has gotten better rankings in recent years, so it can hold its own against the top and middle-tier Fairfax Schools, while having a commuting advantage over some of them. (I'm unfortunately in a lower-tier Fairfax school boundary, so we'll eventually have to move.)

It's not so easy to typecast the Arlington schools and where people with different budgets who want Arlington decide to live. Arlington is expensive, and there are plenty of people spending more than $700K on houses in the W-L and Wakefield districts.

Yorktown isn't comparable "in terms of test scores and diversity" to Langley. Test scores are much lower, and the school's considerably more diverse. Yorktown's probably closer to McLean HS in Fairfax and George Mason HS in the City of Falls Church.

And why exactly do you "have to move" if you're in a "lower-tier" school boundary in Fairfax? Have you actually checked out the local schools, or are you just trying to keep up appearances?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were buying in Arlington, I would stick to North Arlington and especially Yorktown. Although Yorktown is probably the best in Arlington, it's probably not as good as the top schools in Fairfax County.

based on what exactly? test scores? college placement? where did you find these stats? we are currently debating between two neighborhoods (one in N Arlington and one in McLean) and this info would be very helpful...thanks!

I think Yorktown, McLean, and Langley HS are all great HS's. For what it's worth though, check Greatschools.com and you'll see that Yorktown was given a 6 while McLean and Langley are usually 8, 9, or 10.

There's a lot more representation of Black and Hispanic kids at Yorktown compared to McLean schools, so if you're looking for a bit more diversity, consider Yorktown. Yorktown has 14% of its kids qualify for free or reduced lunch, while Mclean and Langley are 7% and <1% respectively.

Again, I don't think you can go wrong with either 3....McLean and Langley being the best of regular HS's in Fairfax Cty, and Yorktown being the best in a much smaller pool in Arlington.

Thank you - those are great points to consider as well!