Montgomery Blair/Albert Einstein vs. B-CC/Whitman -- help me understand the differences

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that distinguishes Blair from the other schools is that it hosts the STEM magnet. In 11th and 12th grade students who meet the prereqs are eligible for these classes that aren't available elsewhere. This include anything from genetic analysis, linear algebra, complex analysis, neuroscience, or machine learning courses on par with those offered at Universities.

But at Blair, if you are a non magnet student, aren’t you competing for college spots with magnet students?
Colleges will only take a few kids from each school. I always wonder whether at Blair, the highest performing non-magnet students are at a disadvantage for top colleges compared with the Blair magnet students. Is my analysis wrong?

No, it doesn't work that way.

How can it not work that way though? Colleges limit the number of students from each school. They are picking students from the entire DC metro area.
If an elite college takes 5 Blair students, wouldn’t they take something like 4 magnet kids and 1 regular kid?
At Whitman, kids are all at the same level, not in two different tiers

Whitman kids are ALL at the same level, LMAO.

There are “regular” Blair students who are high performers. “Tiers” are relevant only to math/science/computer science classes, not to students.

Moreover, half the Blair magnet class each year goes to UMD-CP, and it’s not because they can’t get into HYP, MIT, etc. UMC parents who don’t qualify for need-based aid and who can’t pony up $80K/year for their kids’ undergrad education look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that distinguishes Blair from the other schools is that it hosts the STEM magnet. In 11th and 12th grade students who meet the prereqs are eligible for these classes that aren't available elsewhere. This include anything from genetic analysis, linear algebra, complex analysis, neuroscience, or machine learning courses on par with those offered at Universities.

But at Blair, if you are a non magnet student, aren’t you competing for college spots with magnet students?
Colleges will only take a few kids from each school. I always wonder whether at Blair, the highest performing non-magnet students are at a disadvantage for top colleges compared with the Blair magnet students. Is my analysis wrong?

No, it doesn't work that way.

How can it not work that way though? Colleges limit the number of students from each school. They are picking students from the entire DC metro area.
If an elite college takes 5 Blair students, wouldn’t they take something like 4 magnet kids and 1 regular kid?
At Whitman, kids are all at the same level, not in two different tiers

There isn't a per high-school cap. Each application is considered individually. Blair is the largest high school in the state of MD. Further, the magnet program is distinct. They may look at broader geographic diversity like numbers from MCPS or the mid-Atlantic region, but individual high-school caps are ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that distinguishes Blair from the other schools is that it hosts the STEM magnet. In 11th and 12th grade students who meet the prereqs are eligible for these classes that aren't available elsewhere. This include anything from genetic analysis, linear algebra, complex analysis, neuroscience, or machine learning courses on par with those offered at Universities.

But at Blair, if you are a non magnet student, aren’t you competing for college spots with magnet students?
Colleges will only take a few kids from each school. I always wonder whether at Blair, the highest performing non-magnet students are at a disadvantage for top colleges compared with the Blair magnet students. Is my analysis wrong?

No, it doesn't work that way.

How can it not work that way though? Colleges limit the number of students from each school. They are picking students from the entire DC metro area.
If an elite college takes 5 Blair students, wouldn’t they take something like 4 magnet kids and 1 regular kid?
At Whitman, kids are all at the same level, not in two different tiers

There isn't a per high-school cap. Each application is considered individually. Blair is the largest high school in the state of MD. Further, the magnet program is distinct. They may look at broader geographic diversity like numbers from MCPS or the mid-Atlantic region, but individual high-school caps are ridiculous.

There may not be a literal cap per high school, but admissions officers definitely look at all the applicants coming from the same HS and make comparisons between them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that distinguishes Blair from the other schools is that it hosts the STEM magnet. In 11th and 12th grade students who meet the prereqs are eligible for these classes that aren't available elsewhere. This include anything from genetic analysis, linear algebra, complex analysis, neuroscience, or machine learning courses on par with those offered at Universities.

But at Blair, if you are a non magnet student, aren’t you competing for college spots with magnet students?
Colleges will only take a few kids from each school. I always wonder whether at Blair, the highest performing non-magnet students are at a disadvantage for top colleges compared with the Blair magnet students. Is my analysis wrong?

No, it doesn't work that way.

How can it not work that way though? Colleges limit the number of students from each school. They are picking students from the entire DC metro area.
If an elite college takes 5 Blair students, wouldn’t they take something like 4 magnet kids and 1 regular kid?
At Whitman, kids are all at the same level, not in two different tiers

Whitman kids are ALL at the same level, LMAO.

There are “regular” Blair students who are high performers. “Tiers” are relevant only to math/science/computer science classes, not to students.

Moreover, half the Blair magnet class each year goes to UMD-CP, and it’s not because they can’t get into HYP, MIT, etc. UMC parents who don’t qualify for need-based aid and who can’t pony up $80K/year for their kids’ undergrad education look elsewhere.

Of course, Whitman kids aren't all at the same level, and because there is limited SES diversity at Whitman, they tend to be more tightly clustered together. Instead of 3 sections of AP English there may be 4 or even 5 sections there. That's the main difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that distinguishes Blair from the other schools is that it hosts the STEM magnet. In 11th and 12th grade students who meet the prereqs are eligible for these classes that aren't available elsewhere. This include anything from genetic analysis, linear algebra, complex analysis, neuroscience, or machine learning courses on par with those offered at Universities.

But at Blair, if you are a non magnet student, aren’t you competing for college spots with magnet students?
Colleges will only take a few kids from each school. I always wonder whether at Blair, the highest performing non-magnet students are at a disadvantage for top colleges compared with the Blair magnet students. Is my analysis wrong?

No, it doesn't work that way.

How can it not work that way though? Colleges limit the number of students from each school. They are picking students from the entire DC metro area.
If an elite college takes 5 Blair students, wouldn’t they take something like 4 magnet kids and 1 regular kid?
At Whitman, kids are all at the same level, not in two different tiers

There isn't a per high-school cap. Each application is considered individually. Blair is the largest high school in the state of MD. Further, the magnet program is distinct. They may look at broader geographic diversity like numbers from MCPS or the mid-Atlantic region, but individual high-school caps are ridiculous.

There may not be a literal cap per high school, but admissions officers definitely look at all the applicants coming from the same HS and make comparisons between them.

Yes, but they would look at magnets and non-magnets differently. The magnet involves an extra class each semester beyond MCPS. It also provides the equivalent of 16 classes comparable to APs in terms of rigor. For example, when my child went there they had 16 magnet classes and an additional 6 APs. At most schools taking 12 APs is considered extreme. I was told by their high-school counselor that most schools know about the magnet, and they treat it as an entirely separate school for all practical purposes since it draws from the county and is not comparable to anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that distinguishes Blair from the other schools is that it hosts the STEM magnet. In 11th and 12th grade students who meet the prereqs are eligible for these classes that aren't available elsewhere. This include anything from genetic analysis, linear algebra, complex analysis, neuroscience, or machine learning courses on par with those offered at Universities.

But at Blair, if you are a non magnet student, aren’t you competing for college spots with magnet students?
Colleges will only take a few kids from each school. I always wonder whether at Blair, the highest performing non-magnet students are at a disadvantage for top colleges compared with the Blair magnet students. Is my analysis wrong?

No, it doesn't work that way.

How can it not work that way though? Colleges limit the number of students from each school. They are picking students from the entire DC metro area.
If an elite college takes 5 Blair students, wouldn’t they take something like 4 magnet kids and 1 regular kid?
At Whitman, kids are all at the same level, not in two different tiers

There isn't a per high-school cap. Each application is considered individually. Blair is the largest high school in the state of MD. Further, the magnet program is distinct. They may look at broader geographic diversity like numbers from MCPS or the mid-Atlantic region, but individual high-school caps are ridiculous.

There may not be a literal cap per high school, but admissions officers definitely look at all the applicants coming from the same HS and make comparisons between them.

Yes, but they would look at magnets and non-magnets differently. The magnet involves an extra class each semester beyond MCPS. It also provides the equivalent of 16 classes comparable to APs in terms of rigor. For example, when my child went there they had 16 magnet classes and an additional 6 APs. At most schools taking 12 APs is considered extreme. I was told by their high-school counselor that most schools know about the magnet, and they treat it as an entirely separate school for all practical purposes since it draws from the county and is not comparable to anything else.

DC was at Blair as non-magnet but they ended up taking 11 APs and opted into 6 magnet classes too which would not have been possible at any other school (well maybe Poolesville but that's like an hour from the beltway).

[Anonymous]

The "W" schools are highly sought after. If you can go there, I'd do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "W" schools are highly sought after. If you can go there, I'd do it.

That's because the real estate industry pushes nonsense like GS ratings that simply reflect an area's HHI and penalize diversity which is a throwback to the days of segregation. In reality, the same opportunities exist at most of these schools. A previous poster summed it up well when they said the same kid would do the same at any of these schools since it has more to do with them than their school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "W" schools are highly sought after. If you can go there, I'd do it.

W school parents are afraid of POC and think that poverty is contagious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "W" schools are highly sought after. If you can go there, I'd do it.

W school parents are afraid of POC and think that poverty is contagious.

Its not necessarily POC, but income. They don't want their kids going to school with their housekeepers kids.

[Anonymous]

It's just about wanting to avoid schools where the primary focus is on getting kids up to grade level or in a position to graduate even if never at grade level. The peer groups at the W schools are academically stronger and encourage each other to excel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's just about wanting to avoid schools where the primary focus is on getting kids up to grade level or in a position to graduate even if never at grade level. The peer groups at the W schools are academically stronger and encourage each other to excel.

The OP was asking about HS where students select their classes based on where they're at so getting students up to grade level isn't an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that distinguishes Blair from the other schools is that it hosts the STEM magnet. In 11th and 12th grade students who meet the prereqs are eligible for these classes that aren't available elsewhere. This include anything from genetic analysis, linear algebra, complex analysis, neuroscience, or machine learning courses on par with those offered at Universities.

But at Blair, if you are a non magnet student, aren’t you competing for college spots with magnet students?
Colleges will only take a few kids from each school. I always wonder whether at Blair, the highest performing non-magnet students are at a disadvantage for top colleges compared with the Blair magnet students. Is my analysis wrong?

No, it doesn't work that way.

How can it not work that way though? Colleges limit the number of students from each school. They are picking students from the entire DC metro area.
If an elite college takes 5 Blair students, wouldn’t they take something like 4 magnet kids and 1 regular kid?
At Whitman, kids are all at the same level, not in two different tiers

There isn't a per high-school cap. Each application is considered individually. Blair is the largest high school in the state of MD. Further, the magnet program is distinct. They may look at broader geographic diversity like numbers from MCPS or the mid-Atlantic region, but individual high-school caps are ridiculous.

There may not be a literal cap per high school, but admissions officers definitely look at all the applicants coming from the same HS and make comparisons between them.

Yes, but they would look at magnets and non-magnets differently. The magnet involves an extra class each semester beyond MCPS. It also provides the equivalent of 16 classes comparable to APs in terms of rigor. For example, when my child went there they had 16 magnet classes and an additional 6 APs. At most schools taking 12 APs is considered extreme. I was told by their high-school counselor that most schools know about the magnet, and they treat it as an entirely separate school for all practical purposes since it draws from the county and is not comparable to anything else.

Thanks. This makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "W" schools are highly sought after. If you can go there, I'd do it.

W school parents are afraid of POC and think that poverty is contagious.

The hate issues at these schools seem to happen with disturbing regularity ... greater diversity there would help detoxify these schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "W" schools are highly sought after. If you can go there, I'd do it.

W school parents are afraid of POC and think that poverty is contagious.

Its not necessarily POC, but income. They don't want their kids going to school with their housekeepers kids.

Why not. A mix of kids is ultimately beneficial to everyone.