Oakton HS v/ Woodson HS / Chantilly HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in both Oakton and Woodson, plus a family member at Chantilly and have lots to add to this. However, Famous Dave has me blocked because I spoke against child abuse. Too bad.

If you would like to have a real discussion, find me on City Data.



Who's "Famous Dave"? What is City Data? I am unaware of any blocking on DCUM. Please elaborate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in both Oakton and Woodson, plus a family member at Chantilly and have lots to add to this. However, Famous Dave has me blocked because I spoke against child abuse. Too bad.

If you would like to have a real discussion, find me on City Data.

OK, that sounds a little cray-cray.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in both Oakton and Woodson, plus a family member at Chantilly and have lots to add to this. However, Famous Dave has me blocked because I spoke against child abuse. Too bad.

If you would like to have a real discussion, find me on City Data.

OK, that sounds a little cray-cray.

that's what I was thinking. sheesh.

[Anonymous]

I'm not quite sure about the PPs who are all talking about Oakton HS being so completely rich and snobby. I live in one of the large townhome communities that border that HS (there are MANY such communities) and none of us are rich. And there's a lot of us. So this seems like a stereotype with little factual backing. While there are probably few very low-income students who attend OHS (though some), I doubt the student population is as monolithically rich as some people are purporting it to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Moving to NOVA this fall and looking for insight into these 3 HS. The suicide rates of Woodson, and the Oakton culture - looking for feedback on the same since read a lot of negative reviews on the same.

My sister's kids all went to Oakton. They had a great experience, did really well, and got in to good colleges. I'm curious to learn what "cultural" elements are of concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not quite sure about the PPs who are all talking about Oakton HS being so completely rich and snobby. I live in one of the large townhome communities that border that HS (there are MANY such communities) and none of us are rich. And there's a lot of us. So this seems like a stereotype with little factual backing. While there are probably few very low-income students who attend OHS (though some), I doubt the student population is as monolithically rich as some people are purporting it to be.

We used to live in one of the townhouses near Oakton HS. $600k town house, BTW. My kids were looked down on at Oakton ES as “the poors”— with 2 parents doing professional jobs. Oakton is not monolithicly rich, but a lot of social capital (for parents and kids) is based on the size of your house, the type of car your drive, and your “stuff”. It wasn’t so bad for DS, but for DD, we found that the Queen Bees and Wanna Bes crap started early, and was somewhat parent driven, with some parents pushing their kids to have “the right” friends— the top 1% and not the top 5%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving to NOVA this fall and looking for insight into these 3 HS. The suicide rates of Woodson, and the Oakton culture - looking for feedback on the same since read a lot of negative reviews on the same.

My sister's kids all went to Oakton. They had a great experience, did really well, and got in to good colleges. I'm curious to learn what "cultural" elements are of concern.

There is a poster who moved from the Oakton HS district to Chantilly HS area and has been taking pot shots at Oakton for years. She has her reasons, but it gets old and she’s prone to exaggerating the differences and to try and make Oakton sound snooty and Chantilly down-to-earth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not quite sure about the PPs who are all talking about Oakton HS being so completely rich and snobby. I live in one of the large townhome communities that border that HS (there are MANY such communities) and none of us are rich. And there's a lot of us. So this seems like a stereotype with little factual backing. While there are probably few very low-income students who attend OHS (though some), I doubt the student population is as monolithically rich as some people are purporting it to be.

We used to live in one of the townhouses near Oakton HS. $600k town house, BTW. My kids were looked down on at Oakton ES as “the poors”— with 2 parents doing professional jobs. Oakton is not monolithicly rich, but a lot of social capital (for parents and kids) is based on the size of your house, the type of car your drive, and your “stuff”. It wasn’t so bad for DS, but for DD, we found that the Queen Bees and Wanna Bes crap started early, and was somewhat parent driven, with some parents pushing their kids to have “the right” friends— the top 1% and not the top 5%.

Most of the townhouses along Jermantown Road run in the $400s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not quite sure about the PPs who are all talking about Oakton HS being so completely rich and snobby. I live in one of the large townhome communities that border that HS (there are MANY such communities) and none of us are rich. And there's a lot of us. So this seems like a stereotype with little factual backing. While there are probably few very low-income students who attend OHS (though some), I doubt the student population is as monolithically rich as some people are purporting it to be.

We used to live in one of the townhouses near Oakton HS. $600k town house, BTW. My kids were looked down on at Oakton ES as “the poors”— with 2 parents doing professional jobs. Oakton is not monolithicly rich, but a lot of social capital (for parents and kids) is based on the size of your house, the type of car your drive, and your “stuff”. It wasn’t so bad for DS, but for DD, we found that the Queen Bees and Wanna Bes crap started early, and was somewhat parent driven, with some parents pushing their kids to have “the right” friends— the top 1% and not the top 5%.

Most of the townhouses along Jermantown Road run in the $400s.

The brick ones back off Bushman, across from the field. Ours sold for $585k. Walkable to Oakton HS. I had a fiend in a different complex who sold for $650k. The ones you are talking about MIGHT run in upper $400s. But I have seen them over $500k. There are also condos in 300-400k range

Point is, it’s a real bubble where a HHI of $300k (when we moved. It was less when we moved in, and we stayed longer than we intended because of the real estate crash) and and house worth almost $600k is “the poors”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not quite sure about the PPs who are all talking about Oakton HS being so completely rich and snobby. I live in one of the large townhome communities that border that HS (there are MANY such communities) and none of us are rich. And there's a lot of us. So this seems like a stereotype with little factual backing. While there are probably few very low-income students who attend OHS (though some), I doubt the student population is as monolithically rich as some people are purporting it to be.

We used to live in one of the townhouses near Oakton HS. $600k town house, BTW. My kids were looked down on at Oakton ES as “the poors”— with 2 parents doing professional jobs. Oakton is not monolithicly rich, but a lot of social capital (for parents and kids) is based on the size of your house, the type of car your drive, and your “stuff”. It wasn’t so bad for DS, but for DD, we found that the Queen Bees and Wanna Bes crap started early, and was somewhat parent driven, with some parents pushing their kids to have “the right” friends— the top 1% and not the top 5%.

Most of the townhouses along Jermantown Road run in the $400s.

The brick ones back off Bushman, across from the field. Ours sold for $585k. Walkable to Oakton HS. I had a fiend in a different complex who sold for $650k. The ones you are talking about MIGHT run in upper $400s. But I have seen them over $500k. There are also condos in 300-400k range

Point is, it’s a real bubble where a HHI of $300k (when we moved. It was less when we moved in, and we stayed longer than we intended because of the real estate crash) and and house worth almost $600k is “the poors”.

https://www.redfin.com/school/98453/VA/Oakton/Oakton-Elementary-School/filter/sort=lo-price,property-type=townhouse

There are townhouses in the upper $500s, but the ones right on Jermantown Road are listed from $399 to $475.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chantilly is not as sought-after as Oakton, Madison or Woodson. It does seem to have a stronger academic reputation than Centreville or Westfield, two other large schools in western Fairfax. Depending on your child’s interests, Chantilly might be a better choice than Fairfax (or vice versa).

Chantilly isn’t as wealthy as Oakton or Madison (Woodson is not as wealthy). It has lots of solidly UMC kids, but not a lot wealthy ones. We lived in Oakton ES area for years. Half of the kids go to Oakton and half Madison. We now live in Chantilly. And it is a very different vibe. HHI of 250-300k, and we were “the poors” in Oakton ES. We were also unusual because both parents worked. My kids friends usually had a biglaw type dad and a SAHM. And there were families where our kids did activities together for years, and I never saw dad. At Chantilly there are a lot of families where both parents work, and both parents are involved with the kids.

The real estate is much more expensive in Oakton/Madison, because it is closer in.

By any objective metric you use, the academics and outcomes at Chantilly are on par with Oakton and Madison.

This issues really are what kind of commute can you handle (and this might make your decision for you). And, where will your family fit in? If you are a WOHM, it is just tough to be in the Oakton/Madison area. Lots of socializing happening after school, and of you can’t be there to pick your kid up, they get left out. Lots of play, concerts, PTA meetings and events in the middle of the school day. And again, if you work in DC and the event I’d at 11, you end up having to miss it or take a full day off. DH felt very isolated because he was helped coach and attended kids academic teams, and there were never any other dads. So it was me and him and 7 moms It is nice to be somewhere where we are like the other families, and where the schedules and expectations of parents line up with our reality. But on the flip side, if you are holding down the fort at home while your DH works 6-7 days a week and many evening, you are probably going to feel isolated at Chantilly.

Well, let's see.

SAT scores - Class of 2017

Madison 1240
Chantilly 1226
Oakton 1222

Madison comes out tops & Chantilly bests Oakton for the first time ever, probably.

PSAT scores from 2016-17 for Class of 2019:

Madison 1114
Oakton 1077
Chantilly 1055

US News College Readiness Index:

Madison 73.9
Oakton 70.2
Chantilly 55.4

School Digger:

Madison #30 in Virginia
Oakton #42 in Virginia
Chantilly #51 in Virginia

Washington Post Challenge Index:

Oakton #171 nationally
Madison #211
Chantilly #427

National Merit Semifinalists - Classes of 2016-18

Madison 30
Oakton 20
Chantilly 11

So, now, sorry - Chantilly isn't "on par" with Madison or Oakton yet. By the way, both of those schools have many actively involved dads, so you need to stop parroting the nonsense that they are nowhere to be found in Vienna or Oakton.

All good stats on all of the schools- I'd just select which works best for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chantilly is not as sought-after as Oakton, Madison or Woodson. It does seem to have a stronger academic reputation than Centreville or Westfield, two other large schools in western Fairfax. Depending on your child’s interests, Chantilly might be a better choice than Fairfax (or vice versa).

Chantilly isn’t as wealthy as Oakton or Madison (Woodson is not as wealthy). It has lots of solidly UMC kids, but not a lot wealthy ones. We lived in Oakton ES area for years. Half of the kids go to Oakton and half Madison. We now live in Chantilly. And it is a very different vibe. HHI of 250-300k, and we were “the poors” in Oakton ES. We were also unusual because both parents worked. My kids friends usually had a biglaw type dad and a SAHM. And there were families where our kids did activities together for years, and I never saw dad. At Chantilly there are a lot of families where both parents work, and both parents are involved with the kids.

The real estate is much more expensive in Oakton/Madison, because it is closer in.

By any objective metric you use, the academics and outcomes at Chantilly are on par with Oakton and Madison.

This issues really are what kind of commute can you handle (and this might make your decision for you). And, where will your family fit in? If you are a WOHM, it is just tough to be in the Oakton/Madison area. Lots of socializing happening after school, and of you can’t be there to pick your kid up, they get left out. Lots of play, concerts, PTA meetings and events in the middle of the school day. And again, if you work in DC and the event I’d at 11, you end up having to miss it or take a full day off. DH felt very isolated because he was helped coach and attended kids academic teams, and there were never any other dads. So it was me and him and 7 moms It is nice to be somewhere where we are like the other families, and where the schedules and expectations of parents line up with our reality. But on the flip side, if you are holding down the fort at home while your DH works 6-7 days a week and many evening, you are probably going to feel isolated at Chantilly.

Well, let's see.

SAT scores - Class of 2017

Madison 1240
Chantilly 1226
Oakton 1222

Madison comes out tops & Chantilly bests Oakton for the first time ever, probably.

PSAT scores from 2016-17 for Class of 2019:

Madison 1114
Oakton 1077
Chantilly 1055

US News College Readiness Index:

Madison 73.9
Oakton 70.2
Chantilly 55.4

School Digger:

Madison #30 in Virginia
Oakton #42 in Virginia
Chantilly #51 in Virginia

Washington Post Challenge Index:

Oakton #171 nationally
Madison #211
Chantilly #427

National Merit Semifinalists - Classes of 2016-18

Madison 30
Oakton 20
Chantilly 11

So, now, sorry - Chantilly isn't "on par" with Madison or Oakton yet. By the way, both of those schools have many actively involved dads, so you need to stop parroting the nonsense that they are nowhere to be found in Vienna or Oakton.

All these “metrics” tell us is that Chantilly has fewer rich kids than the others.

[Anonymous]

So, now, sorry - Chantilly isn't "on par" with Madison or Oakton yet. By the way, both of those schools have many actively involved dads, so you need to stop parroting the nonsense that they are nowhere to be found in Vienna or Oakton.


All these “metrics” tell us is that Chantilly has fewer rich kids than the others.

Chantilly loses lots of kids to TJ (feeders: Carson and Rocky Run).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So, now, sorry - Chantilly isn't "on par" with Madison or Oakton yet. By the way, both of those schools have many actively involved dads, so you need to stop parroting the nonsense that they are nowhere to be found in Vienna or Oakton.


All these “metrics” tell us is that Chantilly has fewer rich kids than the others.

Chantilly loses lots of kids to TJ (feeders: Carson and Rocky Run).

True, but not as many as Oakton does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not quite sure about the PPs who are all talking about Oakton HS being so completely rich and snobby. I live in one of the large townhome communities that border that HS (there are MANY such communities) and none of us are rich. And there's a lot of us. So this seems like a stereotype with little factual backing. While there are probably few very low-income students who attend OHS (though some), I doubt the student population is as monolithically rich as some people are purporting it to be.

We used to live in one of the townhouses near Oakton HS. $600k town house, BTW. My kids were looked down on at Oakton ES as “the poors”— with 2 parents doing professional jobs. Oakton is not monolithicly rich, but a lot of social capital (for parents and kids) is based on the size of your house, the type of car your drive, and your “stuff”. It wasn’t so bad for DS, but for DD, we found that the Queen Bees and Wanna Bes crap started early, and was somewhat parent driven, with some parents pushing their kids to have “the right” friends— the top 1% and not the top 5%.

We live in a condo, so according to your standards, we are very poor. Both of my girls had a good time in Oakton HS, even thought it took a while for them to find their circle of friends. They both got into good schools (was admitted in to the top STEM programs in the country, including 3 ivy for one kid and 2 ivy for second kid). We had many times kids from the million dollar homes studying in our condo. My kids never felt that they were excluded or looked down by more rich peers. Contrary, several times their friends took my kids to vacation with their families.