Yet another magnet thread. What are the personalities of the students at various magnets?

[Anonymous]

I heard some schools have their own honors programs. What are those called and are they run by the principals or does MCPS have some standard criteria for how they should work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not exactly “personalities” but there are some very obvious demographic differences between CAP (largely upper middle class, white students) and magnet (many from Indian, Chinese, Korean and other Asian backgrounds often children of immigrants including the few who are white) at Blair. Nice kids either way.

Why is this? Why are there so few wealthy white families in SMCS relative to CAP, and why so many in CAP? Are the upper middle class white kids not as good in STEM or are their families less interested?

Both Blair magnet and CAP are predominantly UMC. This is not NYC, where the test-in magnets are dominated by working class first-generation kids whose parents work in restaurants and dry cleaners. The parents of both sets of kids tend to be feds, or journalists, or attorneys, or scientists, or college professors.

I have an upperclassman in CAP who attended the TPMS STEM magnet, so some visibility on both groups and while Blair magnet does have more first and second generation immigrant kids, they are just as wealthy or wealthier than the CAP kids.

Agree only the wealthiest families can afford to prep their kids sufficiently to get into these programs. I'm told it takes years of AoPS or RM to get to where one might have a shot at SMCS.

I know just go to the AoPS center and Gaithersburg and you can meet next year's SMCS students.

You sound like an ad. The stuff they teach there is easy to teach yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not exactly “personalities” but there are some very obvious demographic differences between CAP (largely upper middle class, white students) and magnet (many from Indian, Chinese, Korean and other Asian backgrounds often children of immigrants including the few who are white) at Blair. Nice kids either way.

Why is this? Why are there so few wealthy white families in SMCS relative to CAP, and why so many in CAP? Are the upper middle class white kids not as good in STEM or are their families less interested?

Both Blair magnet and CAP are predominantly UMC. This is not NYC, where the test-in magnets are dominated by working class first-generation kids whose parents work in restaurants and dry cleaners. The parents of both sets of kids tend to be feds, or journalists, or attorneys, or scientists, or college professors.

I have an upperclassman in CAP who attended the TPMS STEM magnet, so some visibility on both groups and while Blair magnet does have more first and second generation immigrant kids, they are just as wealthy or wealthier than the CAP kids.

Agree only the wealthiest families can afford to prep their kids sufficiently to get into these programs. I'm told it takes years of AoPS or RM to get to where one might have a shot at SMCS.

I know just go to the AoPS center and Gaithersburg and you can meet next year's SMCS students.

You sound like an ad. The stuff they teach there is easy to teach yourself.

Sure LOL

[Anonymous]

What is the acceptance rate for the different magnets or application programs?
Someone told me it might be as high as 60% for CAP but that seems really high.

[Anonymous]

My guess would be around 45-50%. They increased the number of seats either this year or last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess would be around 45-50%. They increased the number of seats either this year or last year.

Last year, they accidentally admitted the entire class plus the first round of wait list. I think it was about 100 kids total, and they ended up adding an extra section. This year they are back down to 80.

[Anonymous]

I thought they said they were aiming for an incoming class of about 125 students at the open house in the spring.

[Anonymous]

My DC said to me that Blair STEM magnet kids are really smart but socially awkward.

DC said RMIB kids tend to be more well rounded -- smart in STEM as well as great writers, and they are all involved in various different types of outside activities, not just STEM related.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought they said they were aiming for an incoming class of about 125 students at the open house in the spring.

Are you maybe thinking of Eastern? They went from 100 to 125 this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the Choice report they refer to Blair science math as a "magnet" but they say CAP is an "application" program. What is the difference?

MCPS now prefers to call all these programs "criteria based."

https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/admissions/

The magnets draw students from well beyond the school's service area, while CAP, LTI, etc are more limited to DCC students.

Uh oh. Blair SMACS builds its whole identity around being "The Magnet"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the Choice report they refer to Blair science math as a "magnet" but they say CAP is an "application" program. What is the difference?

MCPS now prefers to call all these programs "criteria based."

https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/admissions/

The magnets draw students from well beyond the school's service area, while CAP, LTI, etc are more limited to DCC students.

Uh oh. Blair SMACS builds its whole identity around being "The Magnet"

They still are a magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC said to me that Blair STEM magnet kids are really smart but socially awkward.

DC said RMIB kids tend to be more well rounded -- smart in STEM as well as great writers, and they are all involved in various different types of outside activities, not just STEM related.

That's funny. The RMIB kids are really socially awkward but in an arrogant in-your-face way and they are so socially awkward they don't realize how they come off to others. The Blair kids we know tend to be more humble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought they said they were aiming for an incoming class of about 125 students at the open house in the spring.

Are you maybe thinking of Eastern? They went from 100 to 125 this year.

Nope, never been there but maybe they were saying they wished they could get to that number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought they said they were aiming for an incoming class of about 125 students at the open house in the spring.

Are you maybe thinking of Eastern? They went from 100 to 125 this year.

Nope, never been there but maybe they were saying they wished they could get to that number.

It's possible they were talking about Eastern at the CAP open house and I missed the point because I didn't really know what they were talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard some schools have their own honors programs. What are those called and are they run by the principals or does MCPS have some standard criteria for how they should work?

IDK but I know DC's friend is in one of them. Would like to know more too and whether you need to apply in 8th or do you apply after you are at the school?