Holton vs RMIB
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Anonymous
I don’t know but I think that 1400 would be a pretty low score for the RMIB program. Another thing to keep in mind when comparing the placement outcomes is that RMIB is economically very diverse. They have a lot of kids coming from middle or working class including immigrant parents and first Gen college students — so not really the family connections and savvy of the typical holton student. But OP should know that the public school issues are real. The kids are phenomenal, the program is rigorous and most of the teachers are really good. But there will be fights in the hall. There will be people doing drugs in the bathroom. Your kid will have classes in portables. Some bathrooms may be disgusting or inaccessible. Some teachers will be checked out. And school admin will have very little ability to change any of that. If you’re going to spend 4 years upset about that, then you are better off at Holton. On the upside, these kids learn to self advocate, hustle a little when they need to, and learn early that paths may not always be laid out smoothly in front of them. Also, my kid has zero interest in things like designer clothing/shoes/fancy cars/etc.—-that’s just not a status thing at RM. |
Anonymous
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Years ago we picked Holton. Gave our DD the option to go back to RM (it was her home school) in 10th and then apply into 11th grade IB and she chose not to.
She thrived in private school. Small classes (12-16 kids) and dedicated teachers that had the time to evaluate and critique all essays, homework, tests, etc... So much feedback. So much group talks, field trips, current events, etc... So many more collaborations and group projects that they needed to work on in school. She has many teachers she is still very close with. They had couches or comfy chairs in their classes, nice lighting, some made food for them and they were always available. Parent teacher conferences were 15min a teacher and so in depth. A better overall school day and one that was very aware of multi athlete and club, band, debate, etc... My DD played 2 varsity sports, did choir, was president of a big club, chematholon, and did many other things. Her and multiple other students created and started diversity days that are still ongoing. She was told that was almost non existent for RMIB students to have so many extra curriculars and administration that listened to students like they were almost equals. It was really nice and prepared her well at college. My daughter didn't want a big university. She wanted a smaller to medium private college. Holton thrives in sending kids to the top private colleges. They do struggle with sending kids to some big universities because MCPS have inflated grading systems and massive colleges look at numbers more than a person or the school they came from. Holton has number grades and honors is only a 0.5 bump. And an 79.5 and 89.5 = barely a B and not an A the way it would in MCPS. So if your goal is UMD - go to RMIB. If you want Rice, Williams, Harvey Mudd, etc... Holton is a better option. Holton will get you a college counselor that works with you for 2 full years and picks great colleges specifically for your DD and have great connections. They work to get scholarships in your EC's. A lot of drama is gone in a single sex school. No phones allowed during the school day. Computers are used but not all day like in public. Girls are really focused in the classroom, have great discussions, and work hard in all classes. No boys to overtake the math and science. My DD had 2 friends in RMIB and they always complained about the know it all boys. It was very sexist. And yes, you will always have to deal with it but my daughter went into a college that is 65% male and dominated having those years of female empowerment. Her 2 close friends at RMIB. One was naturally ridiculously smart and did well. The other one was very smart but encouraged by parents to high achievement and had probably the 2 worst years of her life fresh and soph year. She dropped all EC's and her favorite sports. HW for hours every night. She hated it and said she would have got into the college she got without it and regretted it. So I think RMIB works if you are 100% driven and focus on academics 24/7. If not, Holton helps create a much better overall person if that makes sense. RM will be better for sports attendance and obviously if your DD is close with a lot of boys platonically, she might not like an all girl school. Holton is surprisingly very diverse with a lot of international, diplomat kids, and over 35% on scholarship. It isn't as white and rich as you think. But the rich end is far higher than say Fallsgrove/Rose Hill area of RM. That is middle class at Holton. A few other perks of Holton. Their breakfast and lunch are included and it is amazing. No one brings food to school. And uniforms are wonderful Good luck with your decision! |
Anonymous
1400 SAT for RMIB magnet students is pretty low. DC would say that anything under 1520 is not RMIB caliber. And yea, there are a lot of immigrant families in RMIB, and most are not private school wealthy. DC and their friends think nothing of shopping at the goodwill for clothes. |
Anonymous
I wouldn’t use the word “cutthroat” to describe IB kids. Yes, they are incredibly driven and want to do well but 8 years my kids spent there, I’ve never gotten sense of kids competing with each other. Each kid is competing with himself/herself. It’s perfect for certain kids. Not for many. |
Anonymous
I have experience with Holton and I know a little about RMIB. I think some of them could. |
Anonymous
All RMIB kids have lots of extra curricular activities. They are not focused 24/7 on academics. But, yes, RMIB is rigorous. If you aren't really smart, it's gonna be hard. It's not for everyone. Lots of RMIB kids also attend top colleges. Not sure why you think they only strive for UMD. That's ridiculous. But a lot do go to UMD because their families aren't wealthy. https://www.scribd.com/document/477346870/College-Bound-2020# Rice, Harvey Mudd, all on the list. Your post is ridiculous. |
Anonymous
| ^and given that RM doesn't have the type of college counselors who hold your hand the entire way, I'd say that list is even more impressive. |
Anonymous
That’s good to know. I think some of the more intense RMIB posts here are kind of making the school look bad with a really show-off hyper-competitive parent vibe. But that type of parent and student exists at most places. |
Anonymous
As a PP stated, they are hyperdriven themselves, but there are also parents who push their kids. But as you stated, that exists everywhere. However, these kids are really driven, no matter who does the driving. |
Anonymous
There are kids who are driven to learn as much as they can because they are genuinely curious and love the material. And there are also kids who are driven to get the highest exam score and beat everyone else. I teach at Hopkins and regularly see both types of student. Guess who I prefer working with. |
Anonymous
well, of course, there is a mix bag at every school. |
Anonymous
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So 100 kids per grade get into the RMIB cluster. This is essentially a private school run within a larger school, it’s a great deal if your DD got into it. It just comes down to teacher attention— she will get less because teachers still have their regular mainstream students not just the RMIB cluster. But if she advocates for herself and works well with other students for learning together it will be amazing
Does $200k mean anything to you? If not Holton is fine choice and kind of easier in that they eliminated AP etc to have the most rigorous college path be less of a slog. RMIB has doubled down on AP and IB since they still offer AP to non IB students, which begets a bit of an arms race as students pursue the most “rigorous” path offered by the school. With so many options, it would have been better to track students apart so IB stays in its cluster without mixing with AP, to allow students to not keep signing up to improve college chances. |
Anonymous
Definitely agree with you there. I am both the prof and the one who remarked that there is probably a mixture of both types of kids/parents at all places. But I was concerned at the impression some of the PP's have made. It was as if some people just wanted to show off how hard the environment is and how they or their kids are somehow superior because they could deal with it. I think there are many kids who fall in the middle (both curious and competitive) and who can be tipped in one direction or another depending on their peer culture (and how their parents behave). The question is, do you think it's mostly a "good" kind of driven environment? We toured upper schools recently for my DC and that was one of the factors I cared about. Neither Holton nor RMIB are in my area, and I just clicked on this tread out of curiosity, but if I were the OP I would be pretty turned off by some of the posts. |
Anonymous
Then again this is DCUM. Everything is magnified 100x good or bad |
Anonymous
True that. 😂 |