Blair CAP Program or RM's IB?

[Anonymous]

I would appreciate hearing from people whose children had to pick between these two programs and what they decided and why. Both programs look amazing. Acceptance letters/rejections come out at the end of January but there is a short turn-around period to accept.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

RM is a lot of work -- a real grind. We were concerned that DC might burn out, and also worried about the distance/commute to school and its affect on our family.

Also, DC loves the interdisciplinary, media-heavy approach at the MS magnet and wanted to continue in that kind of program.

[Anonymous]

DC got into both and chose CAP. It seemed more interesting and creative to her, and is far better located for us (close to home).

No regrets here.

[Anonymous]

Depends on what you are looking for: Math/Science (Blair) or a balanced approach (RMIB). I spoke to those from both and have heard Blair alumni that did not pursue a science/engineering career say that they wished they had attended RMIB. Most everyone I know who attended RMIB were happy with their decision.

[Anonymous]

I graduated over 20 years ago from RM IB program. It was A LOT of work back then so I would think that it would be a lot of work now. After the IB experience college was easy. I even graduated in 3.5 years in a very competitive school. However, I am not sure that I would have my kids go through the same thing. If you have a decent high school, I would just let them enjoy their high school years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what you are looking for: Math/Science (Blair) or a balanced approach (RMIB). I spoke to those from both and have heard Blair alumni that did not pursue a science/engineering career say that they wished they had attended RMIB. Most everyone I know who attended RMIB were happy with their decision.

OP didn't ask about the Blair Math/Science magnet. OP asked about Blair CAP.

Totally different program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would appreciate hearing from people whose children had to pick between these two programs and what they decided and why. Both programs look amazing. Acceptance letters/rejections come out at the end of January but there is a short turn-around period to accept.

Thank you.

Definitely, RM's IB. Blair CAP coordinator is now the same as the magnet coordinator and they have had difficulty getting teachers. Some believe that the magnet is being "becoming assimilated with the rest of the school"(http://silverchips.mbhs.edu/story/12272). My observation is that they are quietly assimilating the magnet and CAP with the rest of the school. That would be tragic because the standard of instruction would be lower than that at, say, RM.

The safe bet is RM. The classwork wont be easy. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Original OP poster. Thanks for all your views.

How much more work is RM's IB than Eastern?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Original OP poster. Thanks for all your views.

How much more work is RM's IB than Eastern?

I graduated from IB (BCC) just over 10 years ago, so take it with a grain of salt, surely things have been modified since then. IB was a LOT of work, in that you're doing college-level classes and need to put in the requisite amount of time. As with college, I was expected to do a lot of reading and independent thought/ analysis outside of the classroom; I recall writing a research paper in math, and 30+ page thesis in Theory of Knowledge. However, teachers were very accessible, so while there were many late nights, it set me up for success in college. I was able to do a number of after-school activities (crew, pit orchestra, some charitable activities, etc.) while doing IB, and it made me learn to manage my time efficiently since there was no other option. I enjoyed the interdisciplinary aspect, so when you learn vectors in physics it would connect with what you learned in math, and you'd explore how the theories were discovered in Theory of Knowledge, as well as the international aspect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Original OP poster. Thanks for all your views.

How much more work is RM's IB than Eastern?

I would love to know the answer to this question too. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would appreciate hearing from people whose children had to pick between these two programs and what they decided and why. Both programs look amazing. Acceptance letters/rejections come out at the end of January but there is a short turn-around period to accept.

Thank you.

Definitely, RM's IB. Blair CAP coordinator is now the same as the magnet coordinator and they have had difficulty getting teachers. Some believe that the magnet is being "becoming assimilated with the rest of the school"(http://silverchips.mbhs.edu/story/12272). My observation is that they are quietly assimilating the magnet and CAP with the rest of the school. That would be tragic because the standard of instruction would be lower than that at, say, RM.

The safe bet is RM. The classwork wont be easy. Good luck.

I think this is kind of off the mark and rumor-based. Can you back it up? We met with the teachers and they seemed amazingly dedicated and excited about what they are doing.

I also think your assertion that the standard of instruction would be lower than RM is not based in reality. These are different courses, but Blair has plenty of very high level teaching going on in AP classes as well as the magnet classes.

[Anonymous]

I do not want to be flamed. Kid is in RMIB. It is a lot of work - A LOT OF WORK. Work that will not help in getting to college, but once you are in college - it will be a breeze after this program.

Blair is also amazing. It just does not have the IB aspect of jumping through hoops, but it is a vigorous and hard program.

Now the question is - what does your DC wants to do? RMIB is harder because IB takes a lot of effort. Time I feel would be better served in working on stuff that the colleges are looking for.

[Anonymous]

BTW - RMIB parent here. Standard of instruction in most MCPS schools are the same. It just depends what courses you are taking.

RMIB is tougher because you are trying to do other things in Junior year to meet some international criteria for diploma (TOK, EE etc) - that further sucks up your time. Its a lot more work - and a different kind of work.

Flame on - true believers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BTW - RMIB parent here. Standard of instruction in most MCPS schools are the same. It just depends what courses you are taking.

RMIB is tougher because you are trying to do other things in Junior year to meet some international criteria for diploma (TOK, EE etc) - that further sucks up your time. Its a lot more work - and a different kind of work.

Flame on - true believers!

Thanks for posting this. It's pretty much what I expected to hear. Good for some kids, not so good for others.

I was just talking to someone who's very upset with her DD because she went all the way through IB, got into the college of her choice, and now doesn't want to do the last couple of things to get the IB diploma -- doesn't see the value in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BTW - RMIB parent here. Standard of instruction in most MCPS schools are the same. It just depends what courses you are taking.

RMIB is tougher because you are trying to do other things in Junior year to meet some international criteria for diploma (TOK, EE etc) - that further sucks up your time. Its a lot more work - and a different kind of work.

Flame on - true believers!

Thanks for posting this. It's pretty much what I expected to hear. Good for some kids, not so good for others.

I was just talking to someone who's very upset with her DD because she went all the way through IB, got into the college of her choice, and now doesn't want to do the last couple of things to get the IB diploma -- doesn't see the value in it.

The value is not for "getting into college". The value of doing the whole exercise of IB diploma is to be able to "do well in college". Two different things. I am not bad mouthing IB. I am just saying what is your end goal?

1) Getting into good college OR 2) Being able to handle college.

RMIB makes you do (2) very easily. It however makes the (1) a lot more harder because you effort is diverted to doing the IB things.