Is BASIS McLean as good or better than the Big 3?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 3 kids in public school in McLean. We have looked into all the nearby privates and Basis is probably the strongest academically. The school is like a private TJ in terms of mathematics and science. We were turned off by the small size of each grade and lack of sports. The students we know who moved from our public AAP to Basis are the brightest, much brighter than the ones we know who moved to STA, NCS, Holton, Landon, Madeira, Potomac, Little Langley and any others. We have seen students leave public because the kids can’t outcompete the smart kids. The ones who go to Basis were at the top and public was too easy for them. I toured Basis several times and my kids would not be able to keep up at Basis.

This reeks of BS.

The type of kid who goes to TJ goes to Basis. My kids are not that type. I can at least give credit where credit is due. My kids are still young so they are not in high school yet.

I don’t see that at all. According to US News, TJ is over 450 students per grade and over 70% Asian. BIM 9-12 is under 50 students per grade (under 35 per grade for 10-12!) and less than 1% Asian. Also, TJ is free and BIM charges tuition. It’s really hard for me to imagine any family being attracted to both schools.

Basically, both schools offer an advanced curriculum, particularly in STEM. Hence, they attract the same sort of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time the BASIS booster posts, the big three parents bite and hard. So insecure.

Pointing out the BASIS deception is for the good of the forum.

Because big x parents are known for being so community-minded.

[Anonymous]

Most of the vitriolic bullsh*t on this thread (and other BIM threads) comes from a former employee who was terminated at BIM. This person posts the same tired pablum here constantly. This person apparently has nothing better to do.

The facts speak for themselves:

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-private-high-schools/s/virginia/
https://mclean.basisindependent.com/about/achievements/college-admissions/

If you are looking for a great private school option for an academically motivated kid, BIM should be on your short list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think many hate BASIS.

To me, it's like the elevator scene from Mad Men where Ginsberg tells Don "I feel bad for you," and his response is "I don't think about you at all."

This. The things that make most people interested in BASIS are unrelated to the things the make people interested the "Old Guard" private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Note that the college list is acceptances (i.e., a smaller number of strong students can account for a big chunk of the so-called top schools), not matriculations.

And there's no transparency into absolute numbers. You'd expect something like this to be more credible.

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1666104665/holtonarms/tmjzp6e174qqabcx49cs/schoolprofilesy2023_921.pdf

I’m not an idiot, I know that. But they made clear that half of the class got into the top 25. So they ARE talking about matriculations in a pretty precise way. B

What do they mean by "Top 25"? What list are they using? Do they include LACs? Regional top 25? Top 25 in VA? Did they make up their own list? Etc. There are so many ways to spin such stats, especially at a for-profit school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don’t know their actual results other than they have lots of marketing. College admits list could mean anything. I went to a tiny not great high school and one year our valedictorian got into 6 Ivys, for the next several years they proudly listed those schools on their admits list as if most of the class wasn’t struggling to get into our state flagship.

Sigh. Again, they say on their website that 50% of the last graduating class went to a top 25 school and that 89% of the class went to a top 50 school. Unless they are lying about that, it’s impressive.

If they do not provide the data, yes of course they are lying.

They are so desperate for enrollment they would make up any statistic needed to secure tuition money.

However, they will not back it up with an actual list of college matriculations.

Did the students to an Instagram page like other schools do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Note that the college list is acceptances (i.e., a smaller number of strong students can account for a big chunk of the so-called top schools), not matriculations.

And there's no transparency into absolute numbers. You'd expect something like this to be more credible.

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1666104665/holtonarms/tmjzp6e174qqabcx49cs/schoolprofilesy2023_921.pdf

I’m not an idiot, I know that. But they made clear that half of the class got into the top 25. So they ARE talking about matriculations in a pretty precise way. B

What do they mean by "Top 25"? What list are they using? Do they include LACs? Regional top 25? Top 25 in VA? Did they make up their own list? Etc. There are so many ways to spin such stats, especially at a for-profit school.

There’s this thing called “google.” You go to it on something called the “internet,” then you type in the word or words for something you want to read about and go from there.

Try doing that with “BASIS McLean.” Once you do that, you’ll get the answer to “what do they mean by top 25.”

[Anonymous]

BASIS McLean is a for-profit "cram" school. As the discussion here emphasizes, it focuses on test sores and college acceptances. If that is all you care about, put it on your short list.

Be warned: there has been absolutely nothing else positive said about this school.

[Anonymous]

BASIS really brings out the ugly side of these boards, huh?

It's so curious to me who posts on here. If your kid is already in school, why are you reading this section? If your kid isn't in a private school you probably don't know what the best schools are and are asking questions. But man, people get furious when someone even SUGGESTS that someone would want to go to BASIS.


(Who am I then?? Good question!!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS really brings out the ugly side of these boards, huh?

It's so curious to me who posts on here. If your kid is already in school, why are you reading this section? If your kid isn't in a private school you probably don't know what the best schools are and are asking questions. But man, people get furious when someone even SUGGESTS that someone would want to go to BASIS.


(Who am I then?? Good question!!)

Yea. I agree. I’m the OP and truly had no idea I was kicking such a hornet’s nest. And of course the attacks are ridiculous and hypocritical. For example, folks are saying “you’re a grandparent and don’t have kids in school so what business do you have posting about this?” Well, it appears that the vast majority of the folks on this thread also have no kids in the school and also wouldn’t even consider it so what gives them any more of a license to comment than I have?

[Anonymous]

The title of this thread is so obnoxious that it can only go downhill from there.

[Anonymous]

It depends what you mean by obnoxious. Who is threatened by someone asking if a school is as good as another?

Anonymous wrote:The title of this thread is so obnoxious that it can only go downhill from there.

[Anonymous]

For those looking at kids' instagram posts on college matriculations from various schools, note that they are not all that reliable at the edges. At my kids' school (Sidwell), kids are aware that people outside of the community are looking at the posts and commenting, including on DCUM. My kids, and others, know that there are social media posts where adults comment on the kids' families, race, comparative abilities and legacy status. As a result, not all kids are posting their college outcomes (and my kids certainly won't after I showed then DCUM postings about their school and classmates. All to say that, if you're looking for complete college outcomes, instagram posts won't get you there. And also, for all the adults posting their assumptions and views about particular kids, you're pathetic.

[Anonymous]

What does for-profit really mean? Do the people at independent schools not make money? Does the HOS not make a ton of money? How is it better to be "independent"?

Anonymous wrote:BASIS McLean is a for-profit "cram" school. As the discussion here emphasizes, it focuses on test sores and college acceptances. If that is all you care about, put it on your short list.

Be warned: there has been absolutely nothing else positive said about this school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those looking at kids' instagram posts on college matriculations from various schools, note that they are not all that reliable at the edges. At my kids' school (Sidwell), kids are aware that people outside of the community are looking at the posts and commenting, including on DCUM. My kids, and others, know that there are social media posts where adults comment on the kids' families, race, comparative abilities and legacy status. As a result, not all kids are posting their college outcomes (and my kids certainly won't after I showed then DCUM postings about their school and classmates. All to say that, if you're looking for complete college outcomes, instagram posts won't get you there. And also, for all the adults posting their assumptions and views about particular kids, you're pathetic.

And people inside your community post about kids at other schools.

My kids haven’t posted and won’t post their outcomes either but I don’t pretend some of the adults with kids at their school aren’t guilty of this behavior.