Going to Richard Montgomery IB after Takoma Park MS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not there yet (child at Eastern Magnet), but what are the Standardized Tests that are taken for RMIB? I can't find that info online (maybe I'm not looking in the right place), and if my child is coming from Eastern to RMIB, will it be a disadvantage to not have been in the MYP in Middle School?

There are no standardized tests other than IB exams taken during Junior and Senior years. Your child will be fine without having been in the MYP program. Mine came without it and it was fine.

I'm sorry - I think my question wasn't clear - are there standardized tests to GET INTO RMIB - not once you're there? Like the tests the kids had to take for the MS Magnet schools?

There is a two hour test (1/2 math, 1/2 reading and logic) plus an untimed essay (usually takes 30 minutes).

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Goodness, people. We haven't heard from Blair yet.

Every year, there are a handful of kids from Eastern MS and Takoma MS (and I am sure several from non magnet MS) who get into both Blair and RMIB and have to choose. It is never an easy choice because while both programs are excellent they are not similar.
English and Social Studies will be better in RMIB and Math and Science will be better at SMAC. However, English and Social Studies at Blair will be just as strong as it would be at the best high schools in MCPS and Math and Science will be just as good at RMIB as they would be in any strong IB program. Math and Science will not be the same as it would be at SMAC though because the curriculum is unique and you have a group of very good teachers and a peer group that is highly engaged in these subject areas.
If your child does not get into SMAC, he/she will be assured of a wonderful education at RMIB but is likely to find the Math and Science offerings less exciting than the ones at Blair. If he/she gets into Blair and ends up accepting that spot, he/she will not get the same level of instruction in writing in particular.
I guess what I am trying to say is that there are clear tradeoffs but he/she will be challenged and get a fine education in either program.
If your child really only wants to go to Blair and does not get in, it is not obvious to me that he/she should attend RMIB. Yes it is an excellent program but it is extremely demanding and I imagine it would be pretty miserable to handle the heavy workload and stress unless you would thrive in a liberal arts program and love to write. I hope you can arrange for your child to shadow so he/she knows exactly what the four year experience would entail.
Also FWIW, according to friends who had one child at RMIB and one child at WJ, they felt the science and Math at WJ was better than those offerings at RMIB. RMIB was head and shoulders above WJ in the other subjects according to this same friend. She felt both kids made the right choice based on their interests. There are of course plenty of kids from RMIB who go onto study and excel in science and engineering in college and grad school so it is hardly a disadvantage for a child who wants to make a career in science to attend RMIB but if you are only interested in whether the four year experience at RMIB is ideal for a student who is passionate about math and science, you might want to consider SMAC or your home high school.

How is college placement if you end up in the bottom half of the RMIB program?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader is worried that RMIB math/science will be disappointing after going to the STEM program at TPMS. Can anyone address her concern?

Thanks

I'd be more worried that her writing and reading are behind. My Takoma magnet child is doing less reading and writing than he did in 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader is worried that RMIB math/science will be disappointing after going to the STEM program at TPMS. Can anyone address her concern?

Thanks

I'd be more worried that her writing and reading are behind. My Takoma magnet child is doing less reading and writing than he did in 5th grade.

+1

2 years in Roberto Clemente MS Math-Sci program and I have realized that the humanities side of education is substandard. I shudder to think what is being offered to regular students in MCPS middle schools.
Going to Poolsvile SMAC seems the obvious progression, but I am seriously considering RMIB for HS, just to make up for the gap in education.

[Anonymous]

I am interested to know how the bottom half does as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am interested to know how the bottom half does as well.

I have two kids graduated from RMIB. While I'd hate to characterize as "bottom half" vs "top half", I can try to answer your question. Kids usually end of one of three groups - top tier schools (Ivy, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, CMU...etc.) w/ full pay; UMD with significant merit scholarship; or UMD with smaller or no merit scholarship. The remaining students (i.e., the fourth group) end up all over the map for various reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am interested to know how the bottom half does as well.

I have two kids graduated from RMIB. While I'd hate to characterize as "bottom half" vs "top half", I can try to answer your question. Kids usually end of one of three groups - top tier schools (Ivy, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, CMU...etc.) w/ full pay; UMD with significant merit scholarship; or UMD with smaller or no merit scholarship. The remaining students (i.e., the fourth group) end up all over the map for various reasons.

NP here, I really appreciate your trying to answer this difficult question. I'm curious where you would put schools like UPenn, U Michigan, U Chicago and who goes to those schools -- to me, that is below the very top tier, and I am wondering if that is where the second tier goes, along with UMD on full scholarships, or if the third and fourth tier go there as well. Wondering the same thing about those small liberal arts colleges like Williams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am interested to know how the bottom half does as well.

I have two kids graduated from RMIB. While I'd hate to characterize as "bottom half" vs "top half", I can try to answer your question. Kids usually end of one of three groups - top tier schools (Ivy, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, CMU...etc.) w/ full pay; UMD with significant merit scholarship; or UMD with smaller or no merit scholarship. The remaining students (i.e., the fourth group) end up all over the map for various reasons.

Many of the students who go to UMD-CP and to second and third-tier schools do so not because they couldn't get into top-tier schools, but because their affluent families (who can neither afford to be full-pay, nor qualify for need-based aid) cannot afford to pay for such schools.

Name brands are often used as a proxy for achievement on DCUM, but there is far more to the story than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am interested to know how the bottom half does as well.

I have two kids graduated from RMIB. While I'd hate to characterize as "bottom half" vs "top half", I can try to answer your question. Kids usually end of one of three groups - top tier schools (Ivy, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, CMU...etc.) w/ full pay; UMD with significant merit scholarship; or UMD with smaller or no merit scholarship. The remaining students (i.e., the fourth group) end up all over the map for various reasons.

Many of the students who go to UMD-CP and to second and third-tier schools do so not because they couldn't get into top-tier schools, but because their affluent families (who can neither afford to be full-pay, nor qualify for need-based aid) cannot afford to pay for such schools.

Name brands are often used as a proxy for achievement on DCUM, but there is far more to the story than that.

Absolutely agree with the PP above. This is a huge issue that many people are unaware of.

[Anonymous]

I think the question about "college placement" for those in the bottom half of RMIB is about where the students have the choice to go, not where they actually go. It's a legitimate question, even if a family decides that it will place no or little weight on the answer. I went to a state school after being accepted at Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other top schools - and had a great education. I would still like to know the answer to this question and appreciate people's attempts to answer it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am interested to know how the bottom half does as well.

I have two kids graduated from RMIB. While I'd hate to characterize as "bottom half" vs "top half", I can try to answer your question. Kids usually end of one of three groups - top tier schools (Ivy, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, CMU...etc.) w/ full pay; UMD with significant merit scholarship; or UMD with smaller or no merit scholarship. The remaining students (i.e., the fourth group) end up all over the map for various reasons.

NP here, I really appreciate your trying to answer this difficult question. I'm curious where you would put schools like UPenn, U Michigan, U Chicago and who goes to those schools -- to me, that is below the very top tier, and I am wondering if that is where the second tier goes, along with UMD on full scholarships, or if the third and fourth tier go there as well. Wondering the same thing about those small liberal arts colleges like Williams.

The more you try to dissect the students into groups and colleges in tiers, the more problematic it gets (as you probably already know). Personally, I'd consider UPenn, UChicago, Williams, and Amherst) as "top tier" schools. Even the "below the VERY top tier" schools are very hard to get in (and harder to pay for). I've seen families with two incomes and 1 child or high income families (high power lawyers) or very low income families opt for this route. Upper middle class or middle class families w/ multiple kids usually chase money - many at UMD and many at other lower tier schools b/c they won't get FA from the top tier schools. I am pretty sure I didn't answer your questions but whatever it's worth...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the question about "college placement" for those in the bottom half of RMIB is about where the students have the choice to go, not where they actually go. It's a legitimate question, even if a family decides that it will place no or little weight on the answer. I went to a state school after being accepted at Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other top schools - and had a great education. I would still like to know the answer to this question and appreciate people's attempts to answer it.

Students whose families cannot afford Harvard, Yale, etc. do not apply to such schools. Why would they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am interested to know how the bottom half does as well.

I have two kids graduated from RMIB. While I'd hate to characterize as "bottom half" vs "top half", I can try to answer your question. Kids usually end of one of three groups - top tier schools (Ivy, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, CMU...etc.) w/ full pay; UMD with significant merit scholarship; or UMD with smaller or no merit scholarship. The remaining students (i.e., the fourth group) end up all over the map for various reasons.

NP here, I really appreciate your trying to answer this difficult question. I'm curious where you would put schools like UPenn, U Michigan, U Chicago and who goes to those schools -- to me, that is below the very top tier, and I am wondering if that is where the second tier goes, along with UMD on full scholarships, or if the third and fourth tier go there as well. Wondering the same thing about those small liberal arts colleges like Williams.

The more you try to dissect the students into groups and colleges in tiers, the more problematic it gets (as you probably already know). Personally, I'd consider UPenn, UChicago, Williams, and Amherst) as "top tier" schools. Even the "below the VERY top tier" schools are very hard to get in (and harder to pay for). I've seen families with two incomes and 1 child or high income families (high power lawyers) or very low income families opt for this route. Upper middle class or middle class families w/ multiple kids usually chase money - many at UMD and many at other lower tier schools b/c they won't get FA from the top tier schools. I am pretty sure I didn't answer your questions but whatever it's worth...

Yes, and this *does* answer the question about RMIB students, including "bottom half" students. The names of the schools they attend are to some degree meaningless, because a student with perfect scores and straight As may well attend UMD-CP because his parents cannot pay for Princeton.