How to choose a neighborhood in light of HGC/magnet programs?

[Anonymous]

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/highly-gifted-centers.aspx

^^^

See? There is ONE (not two, ONE) tab for information about the Pine Crest/Oak View Center, and ONE for each of the other Centers.

Pine Crest/Oak View = ONE Center. Not two, ONE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree, easier to get into or off the waitlist and in if you live closer.
The real question to ask is what is the yield on accepted. If it is low, in the 60s, 70s or even 80s, then you have an easier shot.
Why?
Because many smarties self-select out and don't take the MS and HS tests due to terrible commutes and logistics. They live far away from HGCs, likely west MoCo.
Then those who take the test, get in and live far away, have to pause and think if it's worth it (long commute, missing extracurriculars, bussing 2 hours+ a day), and some turn down the offer.
What's left? (I)Those who got in and have a short commute and rarely turn it down, (2) those that got in and carpool their long commutes or just don't care, and (3) those who are waitlisted and get to hoover up the turned down spots!


**
The smart move would be Silver Spring, specifically the area of East Silver Spring that abuts Takoma Park and is within the Takoma Park Middle School boundary area.

Here's why:

There are two HGCs that serve those neighborhoods. The competition to get a slot in either is not as great as it is in other corners of the county where seemingly every kid is a super-achiever.

I concur, and would love to see the acceptance rates and reasons why acceptees decline. I would also imagine it puts a much higher 'hit rate' on applicants closer by.

Good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree, easier to get into or off the waitlist and in if you live closer.
The real question to ask is what is the yield on accepted. If it is low, in the 60s, 70s or even 80s, then you have an easier shot.
Why?
Because many smarties self-select out and don't take the MS and HS tests due to terrible commutes and logistics. They live far away from HGCs, likely west MoCo.
Then those who take the test, get in and live far away, have to pause and think if it's worth it (long commute, missing extracurriculars, bussing 2 hours+ a day), and some turn down the offer.
What's left? (I)Those who got in and have a short commute and rarely turn it down, (2) those that got in and carpool their long commutes or just don't care, and (3) those who are waitlisted and get to hoover up the turned down spots!


**
The smart move would be Silver Spring, specifically the area of East Silver Spring that abuts Takoma Park and is within the Takoma Park Middle School boundary area.

Here's why:

There are two HGCs that serve those neighborhoods. The competition to get a slot in either is not as great as it is in other corners of the county where seemingly every kid is a super-achiever.

I concur, and would love to see the acceptance rates and reasons why acceptees decline. I would also imagine it puts a much higher 'hit rate' on applicants closer by.

Good luck OP!

You concur with what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree, easier to get into or off the waitlist and in if you live closer.
The real question to ask is what is the yield on accepted. If it is low, in the 60s, 70s or even 80s, then you have an easier shot.
Why?
Because many smarties self-select out and don't take the MS and HS tests due to terrible commutes and logistics. They live far away from HGCs, likely west MoCo.
Then those who take the test, get in and live far away, have to pause and think if it's worth it (long commute, missing extracurriculars, bussing 2 hours+ a day), and some turn down the offer.
What's left? (I)Those who got in and have a short commute and rarely turn it down, (2) those that got in and carpool their long commutes or just don't care, and (3) those who are waitlisted and get to hoover up the turned down spots!


**
The smart move would be Silver Spring, specifically the area of East Silver Spring that abuts Takoma Park and is within the Takoma Park Middle School boundary area.

Here's why:

There are two HGCs that serve those neighborhoods. The competition to get a slot in either is not as great as it is in other corners of the county where seemingly every kid is a super-achiever.

I concur, and would love to see the acceptance rates and reasons why acceptees decline. I would also imagine it puts a much higher 'hit rate' on applicants closer by.

Good luck OP!

There is only one HGC that serves those neighborhoods, so I don't know what you concur with?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - Yes - he scored above the median by a lot, but the cut off is even higher than that (at least it was when he took it 2 years ago). And even if you make the test cut off they do also factor in certain demographics (I was told at least gender to try to make the classrooms more or less equal if possible - though doesnt always turn out that way) Also - he had great recommendations but not sure how much those really matter.
But now, 2 years later, everything turned out for the best in the end!

No. At our HGC, the Principal stated that there is no gender bias. Some years, HGC is mostly girls, some mostly boys, and some evenly distributed. This year, it happens to be mostly boys, but last year, it was mostly girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP - Yes - he scored above the median by a lot, but the cut off is even higher than that (at least it was when he took it 2 years ago). And even if you make the test cut off they do also factor in certain demographics (I was told at least gender to try to make the classrooms more or less equal if possible - though doesnt always turn out that way) Also - he had great recommendations but not sure how much those really matter.
But now, 2 years later, everything turned out for the best in the end!

No. At our HGC, the Principal stated that there is no gender bias. Some years, HGC is mostly girls, some mostly boys, and some evenly distributed. This year, it happens to be mostly boys, but last year, it was mostly girls.

+1

My son's Center class had 17 girls and 8 boys. We were told that selection does not take gender into account.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree, easier to get into or off the waitlist and in if you live closer.
The real question to ask is what is the yield on accepted. If it is low, in the 60s, 70s or even 80s, then you have an easier shot.
Why?
Because many smarties self-select out and don't take the MS and HS tests due to terrible commutes and logistics. They live far away from HGCs, likely west MoCo.
Then those who take the test, get in and live far away, have to pause and think if it's worth it (long commute, missing extracurriculars, bussing 2 hours+ a day), and some turn down the offer.
What's left? (I)Those who got in and have a short commute and rarely turn it down, (2) those that got in and carpool their long commutes or just don't care, and (3) those who are waitlisted and get to hoover up the turned down spots!


**
The smart move would be Silver Spring, specifically the area of East Silver Spring that abuts Takoma Park and is within the Takoma Park Middle School boundary area.

Here's why:

There are two HGCs that serve those neighborhoods. The competition to get a slot in either is not as great as it is in other corners of the county where seemingly every kid is a super-achiever.

I concur, and would love to see the acceptance rates and reasons why acceptees decline. I would also imagine it puts a much higher 'hit rate' on applicants closer by.

Good luck OP!

You concur with what?

He concurs with the top half of the post, which is tacked on to some old excerpt that you keep harping about and missing the real question and point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP - Yes - he scored above the median by a lot, but the cut off is even higher than that (at least it was when he took it 2 years ago). And even if you make the test cut off they do also factor in certain demographics (I was told at least gender to try to make the classrooms more or less equal if possible - though doesnt always turn out that way) Also - he had great recommendations but not sure how much those really matter.
But now, 2 years later, everything turned out for the best in the end!

No. At our HGC, the Principal stated that there is no gender bias. Some years, HGC is mostly girls, some mostly boys, and some evenly distributed. This year, it happens to be mostly boys, but last year, it was mostly girls.

+1

My son's Center class had 17 girls and 8 boys. We were told that selection does not take gender into account.

Then I was told wrong by one of the administrators. Go figure that there is bad information floating around MCPS with regards to HGC!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would try to get into the best school cluster you can afford. You don't want to pick a school cluster based on proximity to a HGC. What happens if your child does not get in or does not want to apply/go. I agree with one of the previous posters about looking carefully at the high school first. Many people are happy with their local elementary schools even in poor performing clusters. Middle schools seem to be the weakest link in MCPS as they are in many parts of the county.
People have mentioned the Takoma Park school cluster and I would agree with that recommendation. Another one to check out is Einstein. Oakland Terrace and Flora Singer are both very good elem. schools that feed into this high school. The middle schools have been in flux the last few years but I think both have improved on the whole. These neighborhoods are very close to both the elem. HGCs as well as to the MS magnets and to Blair if your kid ends up at the high school magnets. Einstein offers the IB program which is a plus and it is not as large as Blair.

Agree with this plus it is more on point wrt the OP's question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - Yes - he scored above the median by a lot, but the cut off is even higher than that (at least it was when he took it 2 years ago). And even if you make the test cut off they do also factor in certain demographics (I was told at least gender to try to make the classrooms more or less equal if possible - though doesnt always turn out that way) Also - he had great recommendations but not sure how much those really matter.
But now, 2 years later, everything turned out for the best in the end!

A student who is above the median of accepted students for all three parts should be admitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree, easier to get into or off the waitlist and in if you live closer.
The real question to ask is what is the yield on accepted. If it is low, in the 60s, 70s or even 80s, then you have an easier shot.
Why?
Because many smarties self-select out and don't take the MS and HS tests due to terrible commutes and logistics. They live far away from HGCs, likely west MoCo.
Then those who take the test, get in and live far away, have to pause and think if it's worth it (long commute, missing extracurriculars, bussing 2 hours+ a day), and some turn down the offer.
What's left? (I)Those who got in and have a short commute and rarely turn it down, (2) those that got in and carpool their long commutes or just don't care, and (3) those who are waitlisted and get to hoover up the turned down spots!


**
The smart move would be Silver Spring, specifically the area of East Silver Spring that abuts Takoma Park and is within the Takoma Park Middle School boundary area.

Here's why:

There are two HGCs that serve those neighborhoods. The competition to get a slot in either is not as great as it is in other corners of the county where seemingly every kid is a super-achiever.

I concur, and would love to see the acceptance rates and reasons why acceptees decline. I would also imagine it puts a much higher 'hit rate' on applicants closer by.

Good luck OP!

You concur with what?

He concurs with the top half of the post, which is tacked on to some old excerpt that you keep harping about and missing the real question and point.

What are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP - Yes - he scored above the median by a lot, but the cut off is even higher than that (at least it was when he took it 2 years ago). And even if you make the test cut off they do also factor in certain demographics (I was told at least gender to try to make the classrooms more or less equal if possible - though doesnt always turn out that way) Also - he had great recommendations but not sure how much those really matter.
But now, 2 years later, everything turned out for the best in the end!

A student who is above the median of accepted students for all three parts should be admitted.

Did you appeal? I don't understand why your child wasn't admitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP - Yes - he scored above the median by a lot, but the cut off is even higher than that (at least it was when he took it 2 years ago). And even if you make the test cut off they do also factor in certain demographics (I was told at least gender to try to make the classrooms more or less equal if possible - though doesnt always turn out that way) Also - he had great recommendations but not sure how much those really matter.
But now, 2 years later, everything turned out for the best in the end!

A student who is above the median of accepted students for all three parts should be admitted.

Did you appeal? I don't understand why your child wasn't admitted.

It's also a numbers game. There are many more students applying in than slots. There is also a subjective component. So even if your kid checks all the boxes, s/he will be competing with a large pool of qualified applicants who have also checked all the boxes.

I would buy affordable housing in a safe neighborhood (Silver Spring, TP) and make sure you are ok with your home school. Def don't count on HGC as a given or your kid's golden ticket. Also, you have the financial flexibility to go private if you feel that's best for your kid. I know several families who bought in the W clusters when their kids were little, then ended up sending them to private. So now they have a big mortgage and tuition.

[Anonymous]

I have found private schools lacking in academics. It is a choice only for a particular demographics that I did not care about.

I would buy in an area where mortgage was decent and schools were average and not underperforming. A good racial mix - reflective of the county demographic - would be fine. However, the poor performing schools lean heavily towards low income demographic and their racial mix is also skewed heavily towards Hispanics and AA, and the high performing schools have more Whites and Asians. In my opinion, neither is diversity.

[Anonymous]

A student who is above the median of accepted students should get in though. How is the cut off higher than the median of accepted students? That cannot be true given that half of accepted students are below the median.