which HS (Oakton, Madison, Mclean) our family should choose

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1 McLean.

no question. McLean if you can afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 McLean.

no question. McLean if you can afford it.

OP has a high HHI but if he's looking for a single-family house big enough for a family of six for $900K or less he probably should look elsewhere. Same insofar as Madison is concerned. I'd probably look in the Woodson area instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, if you want to get a feel for demographics for the various schools, click on each school's profile here: https://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:8

What OP really needs to do is see what type of properties within his price range are available on a real estate site like Redfin or Zillow. If he's asking about Oakton, Madison and McLean, he's already got some idea of the demographics and/or school ratings.

Agree that budget will likely be the deciding factor here. But wanted to point out that Woodson and Chantilly have higher percentages of Asians than these three schools. Marshall has more than Madison but less than Oakton and McLean.

Chantilly is the outlier in terms of a higher Asian population and Madison in terms of a lower Asian population, but I don't think OP placed any particular weight on the percentage of Asian kids. FWIW, the percentage of Asian kids at Woodson is lower than at Oakton and McLean.

Chantilly - 40.0% Asian (as of April 2023)
Oakton - 31.1% Asian
McLean - 25.9% Asian
Woodson - 25.3% Asian
Marshall - 20.9% Asian
Madison - 15.3% Asian

[Anonymous]

Agree with PPs that you'd probably be happier at Chantilly or Woodson with the budget specified. Both are excellent schools.

Of the schools you specifically named, I'd probably prioritize Oakton due to the nicer physical plant. But all the schools mentioned in this thread are strong academically. There really aren't substantial differences among them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with PPs that you'd probably be happier at Chantilly or Woodson with the budget specified. Both are excellent schools.

Of the schools you specifically named, I'd probably prioritize Oakton due to the nicer physical plant. But all the schools mentioned in this thread are strong academically. There really aren't substantial differences among them.

I personally would go with Woodson because its boundaries aren’t as funky and elongated as Oakton’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 McLean.

no question. McLean if you can afford it.

Why? Any evidence that they'll end up at a better school there? Nope.

[Anonymous]

Oakton HS had the nice new facility, and that might be the tie breaker for you. Otherwise all the schools in your list are strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have 2 choices if you insist on coming to Fairfax county.

Option 1 is private school
Option 2 select a school with low performing kids to have a shoot at getting into TJ - would also check the multi-ethnic box. See recent court decision regarding TJ.

Option 3 Buy a house inbounds for $900k or lower inbounds for a normal, good HS. Lake Braddock, Robinson, West Springfield, Chantilly, Oakton or Marshall, for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 McLean.

no question. McLean if you can afford it.

Why? Any evidence that they'll end up at a better school there? Nope.

DP. McLean has some strengths you wouldn’t find at every school and it might be a particularly good fit for a kid who is a newcomer to a pyramid, likes STEM, and plays tennis. But I also recognize that any response that starts off with “no question,” “hands down,” etc, can grate, and it’s also tough to find a nice SFH now for $900K or less.

[Anonymous]

DP. McLean has some strengths you wouldn’t find at every school and it might be a particularly good fit for a kid who is a newcomer to a pyramid, likes STEM, and plays tennis. But I also recognize that any response that starts off with “no question,” “hands down,” etc, can grate, and it’s also tough to find a nice SFH now for $900K or less.

And, this is true for all those schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

DP. McLean has some strengths you wouldn’t find at every school and it might be a particularly good fit for a kid who is a newcomer to a pyramid, likes STEM, and plays tennis. But I also recognize that any response that starts off with “no question,” “hands down,” etc, can grate, and it’s also tough to find a nice SFH now for $900K or less.

And, this is true for all those schools.

To varying degrees. Single-family houses with 3 or more bedrooms currently in the market for $900K or less (nice or not):

Woodson 9
Chantilly 8
Madison 5
Marshall 4
Oakton 4
McLean 2

[Anonymous]

Franklin Farm is a great neighborhood with a lot of pools, walking trails, and tennis courts and great schools. Here is a house that fits your budget.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Herndon/3203-Nestlewood-Dr-20171/home/9426716

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Franklin Farm is a great neighborhood with a lot of pools, walking trails, and tennis courts and great schools. Here is a house that fits your budget.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Herndon/3203-Nestlewood-Dr-20171/home/9426716

Not at $900K
Houses in this area are going for over the asking price--sometimes way over. The "new" way to sell a house is to advertise "coming soon" to spark interest. Then, realtors give a few days and set a deadline to "consider" offers.
This is a very desirable neighborhood.

Agree, though, that Franklin Farm is a great community.

[Anonymous]

What type of Asian?

We are a mixed Asian family living in McLean zoned for Langley. We wanted to buy a house in McLean High zone because we didn’t want our kids to attend school with too many rich kids. Most of the rich kids go to private. Langley has plenty of normal not rich kids. Your budget is going to price you out of most of McLean but if you can increase your budget, you may like it here. Lots of Asian diversity here. People on these forums often say how not diverse McLean is but it is great for Asians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 McLean.

no question. McLean if you can afford it.

Why? Any evidence that they'll end up at a better school there? Nope.

Excellent peer group. Strong STEM. Lots of Asians.