What are not very expensive neighborhoods zoned for Langley - Herndon? Reston?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d look at something zoned for McLean or Marshall. You can get something more affordable in those districts. Also, what’s your commute?

OP. Looking for most affordable areas zoned to a high school with good test scores of kids.

Long commute or small house or townhouse is okay.

Are the test scores in McLean and Marshall too low for you?

OP. Any HS with good test scores is okay. But Langley has big boundary so maybe some area far away may be less expensive? McLean, Marshall, Oakton have scores but smaller boundary so hard to find any areas far away that may be less expensive.

Budget is maybe 850K or 900K after sale of condo and loan interest rate.

That’s not how it works. Langley has a big boundary precisely because over the years public officials have gerrymandered the boundary to make sure Langley only draws from expensive areas with no multi-family housing. So the boundary may stretch all the way from McLean to the Loudoun border but it’s all expensive.

An 850-900K budget generally gets you nothing in Langley, a less expensive townhouse or a teardown in McLean, or a nicer townhouse or an older house in Marshall or Oakton.

+ 1

I live in Loudon after Langley boundary and my house was much cheaper than the same size house zoned to Langley Check out HS in Loudon and Ashburn

[Anonymous]

Agree with all the prior posters that there are many good schools with less expensive housing.

If your child is a great student, there are many schools where they will flourish. If you child is average student, a school like Langley might actually offer fewer advantages and a risk of being lost in the shuffle.

Which got me thinking - do families regret being so focused on a single pyramid/school at the cost of $/housing/commute/logistics?

FWIW, we did the opposite - stayed at the less prestigious/lower scores/lower SES school. It worked out great in the end - kept our money and our kids thrived, but there were definitely some times I worried that we were not "sacrificing" enough for the "best" education.

[Anonymous]

Langley is great but understand that even if your kid is a rockstar, they will likely not stand out. I wouldn’t move to the zone unless you also really want to live in that area. For college admission purposes, you’re better off shining at a less competitive school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with all the prior posters that there are many good schools with less expensive housing.

If your child is a great student, there are many schools where they will flourish. If you child is average student, a school like Langley might actually offer fewer advantages and a risk of being lost in the shuffle.

Which got me thinking - do families regret being so focused on a single pyramid/school at the cost of $/housing/commute/logistics?

FWIW, we did the opposite - stayed at the less prestigious/lower scores/lower SES school. It worked out great in the end - kept our money and our kids thrived, but there were definitely some times I worried that we were not "sacrificing" enough for the "best" education.

For most wealthy parents Langley/McLean is a status symbol and that alone is worth it regardless of whether there is a benefit to UVA admission or not.

This question is perhaps more appropriate for schools like Robinson or LBSS where families are now paying close to $1MM for arguably middle-tier schools. I believe that's where there is a significant overvaluation of perceived benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with all the prior posters that there are many good schools with less expensive housing.

If your child is a great student, there are many schools where they will flourish. If you child is average student, a school like Langley might actually offer fewer advantages and a risk of being lost in the shuffle.

Which got me thinking - do families regret being so focused on a single pyramid/school at the cost of $/housing/commute/logistics?

FWIW, we did the opposite - stayed at the less prestigious/lower scores/lower SES school. It worked out great in the end - kept our money and our kids thrived, but there were definitely some times I worried that we were not "sacrificing" enough for the "best" education.

For most wealthy parents Langley/McLean is a status symbol and that alone is worth it regardless of whether there is a benefit to UVA admission or not.

This question is perhaps more appropriate for schools like Robinson or LBSS where families are now paying close to $1MM for arguably middle-tier schools. I believe that's where there is a significant overvaluation of perceived benefits.

Is a that a combination of a middle tier school and a great commute/proximity to shopping, etc? School is only one factor after all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with all the prior posters that there are many good schools with less expensive housing.

If your child is a great student, there are many schools where they will flourish. If you child is average student, a school like Langley might actually offer fewer advantages and a risk of being lost in the shuffle.

Which got me thinking - do families regret being so focused on a single pyramid/school at the cost of $/housing/commute/logistics?

FWIW, we did the opposite - stayed at the less prestigious/lower scores/lower SES school. It worked out great in the end - kept our money and our kids thrived, but there were definitely some times I worried that we were not "sacrificing" enough for the "best" education.

Peer group matters alot, for both academic achievement and networking. Langley has both. Maybe McLean. What other FC high school offers both?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with all the prior posters that there are many good schools with less expensive housing.

If your child is a great student, there are many schools where they will flourish. If you child is average student, a school like Langley might actually offer fewer advantages and a risk of being lost in the shuffle.

Which got me thinking - do families regret being so focused on a single pyramid/school at the cost of $/housing/commute/logistics?

FWIW, we did the opposite - stayed at the less prestigious/lower scores/lower SES school. It worked out great in the end - kept our money and our kids thrived, but there were definitely some times I worried that we were not "sacrificing" enough for the "best" education.

Peer group matters alot, for both academic achievement and networking. Langley has both. Maybe McLean. What other FC high school offers both?

So cringe.

Just because you bought a $3M McMansion in Great Falls and made sure your kids go to a public school with no middle-class or poor kids doesn't mean they are "networking" like they just got tapped for Skull & Bones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with all the prior posters that there are many good schools with less expensive housing.

If your child is a great student, there are many schools where they will flourish. If you child is average student, a school like Langley might actually offer fewer advantages and a risk of being lost in the shuffle.

Which got me thinking - do families regret being so focused on a single pyramid/school at the cost of $/housing/commute/logistics?

FWIW, we did the opposite - stayed at the less prestigious/lower scores/lower SES school. It worked out great in the end - kept our money and our kids thrived, but there were definitely some times I worried that we were not "sacrificing" enough for the "best" education.

Peer group matters alot, for both academic achievement and networking. Langley has both. Maybe McLean. What other FC high school offers both?

Not sure what you mean by networking for teenagers? Can you explain? I am the original PP and my kids had a small, tight peer group for academics (one ended up at UVA, the other at Service Academy) and a larger group of good friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about places like Colvin Forest? Alternatively, the apartments in Tysons?

The new luxury condos in Tysons are expensive and go to McLean which has good ranking.

I've toured them. They are VERY expensive and very small for the price. There are also very few three bedrooms, which I assume this family may need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with all the prior posters that there are many good schools with less expensive housing.

If your child is a great student, there are many schools where they will flourish. If you child is average student, a school like Langley might actually offer fewer advantages and a risk of being lost in the shuffle.

Which got me thinking - do families regret being so focused on a single pyramid/school at the cost of $/housing/commute/logistics?

FWIW, we did the opposite - stayed at the less prestigious/lower scores/lower SES school. It worked out great in the end - kept our money and our kids thrived, but there were definitely some times I worried that we were not "sacrificing" enough for the "best" education.

Peer group matters alot, for both academic achievement and networking. Langley has both. Maybe McLean. What other FC high school offers both?

So cringe.

Just because you bought a $3M McMansion in Great Falls and made sure your kids go to a public school with no middle-class or poor kids doesn't mean they are "networking" like they just got tapped for Skull & Bones.

You spend far too much time here. You learned a new phrase yesterday from the secret society thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you want Russian as a foreign language, there’s really nothing special about Langley.

Hahaha. Ranked no 2 in Virginia only after TJ. read and learn! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langley_High_School_(Fairfax_County,_Virginia)

PS My DS took Japanese there for four years and some amazing AP courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with all the prior posters that there are many good schools with less expensive housing.

If your child is a great student, there are many schools where they will flourish. If you child is average student, a school like Langley might actually offer fewer advantages and a risk of being lost in the shuffle.

Which got me thinking - do families regret being so focused on a single pyramid/school at the cost of $/housing/commute/logistics?

FWIW, we did the opposite - stayed at the less prestigious/lower scores/lower SES school. It worked out great in the end - kept our money and our kids thrived, but there were definitely some times I worried that we were not "sacrificing" enough for the "best" education.

Peer group matters alot, for both academic achievement and networking. Langley has both. Maybe McLean. What other FC high school offers both?

So cringe.

Just because you bought a $3M McMansion in Great Falls and made sure your kids go to a public school with no middle-class or poor kids doesn't mean they are "networking" like they just got tapped for Skull & Bones.

You spend far too much time here. You learned a new phrase yesterday from the secret society thread.

I may spend too much time here, but I certainly didn't rely on DCUM to teach me about the final clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you want Russian as a foreign language, there’s really nothing special about Langley.

Hahaha. Ranked no 2 in Virginia only after TJ. read and learn! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langley_High_School_(Fairfax_County,_Virginia)

PS My DS took Japanese there for four years and some amazing AP courses.

You can take Japanese at quite a few other FCPS high schools and the AP courses available at Langley are available at 16 other high schools in the county. So, no, not really special.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you want Russian as a foreign language, there’s really nothing special about Langley.

Hahaha. Ranked no 2 in Virginia only after TJ. read and learn! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langley_High_School_(Fairfax_County,_Virginia)

PS My DS took Japanese there for four years and some amazing AP courses.

Langley is ranked no. 5 in Virginia after TJ and several other schools.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/rankings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Langley is great but understand that even if your kid is a rockstar, they will likely not stand out. I wouldn’t move to the zone unless you also really want to live in that area. For college admission purposes, you’re better off shining at a less competitive school.

+1

It's also important to understand why rich schools with virtually no FARMS students rank higher than schools with higher percentages of FARMS or ELL students. It absolutely doesn't have anything to do with the quality of teachers, facilities or programs. If your kid is a high achiever or even a solid Honors student, then attending a FFX school that is not ranked as high will actually put them in a better position to be competitive in college admissions. After all, how many kids do you think UVA will accept from Langley each year - surely not all of them even if Mommy and Daddy are willing to pay for a library to get them in.