Flint Hill vs the Potomac School

Anonymous
Hi all,

We are looking at private high schools in Virginia and live within 15 minutes of Flint Hill. Choosing the Potomac School would add an hour of driving to our schedules every day. I know the Potomac School gets better rankings and college admissions outcomes. I want to know if the outcomes are measurably better, or marginal. Is it worth the pain of another hour on the road every school day for four years?

FYI, we are middle class and have made education a priority. Our child will not be throwing lavish birthday parties or getting a new car at 16. If there are additional cultural factors to consider between the two schools, I'd be interested to know about those too. TIA!
Anonymous
You may want to rethink being part of either of these school communities. There is a lot of money and they aren't better than FCPS.
Anonymous
Better is a relative term depending on what you want and PP is asking about private. But, in light of the reference to "our schedules," I question to what extent Potomac adds to the commute given its requirement that students take the bus at least for the first two years of high school.
Anonymous
Did you actually get into both schools or visited? What does the child think? Commute matters.
Anonymous
FYI - unless your DC is a senior (maybe a junior), there is no driving to drop the kids off at Potomac - the kids take a bus/shuttle to/from school. so your commute wouldn't suffer at all.
Anonymous
You won't be driving to Potomac. Everyone except seniors take the bus.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:You may want to rethink being part of either of these school communities. There is a lot of money and they aren't better than FCPS.


Potomac isn't better than FCPS? You're delusional.
Anonymous
Potomac is not better than AAP for elementary. And it's not better than TJ (which is why Potomac is trying to create a mini TJ for a half dozen or so kids in any given class).

That said, Flint Hill isn't the same league as either and has experienced a large drop off of students because of the closing of Exxon Mobil and such.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Potomac is not better than AAP for elementary. And it's not better than TJ (which is why Potomac is trying to create a mini TJ for a half dozen or so kids in any given class).

That said, Flint Hill isn't the same league as either and has experienced a large drop off of students because of the closing of Exxon Mobil and such.


Potomac is better than TJ if your kid is interested in anything beyond purely intellectual pursuits and wants a more typical high school experience. If your kid is only interested in STEM-related academics and extracurriculars, than TJ is the best, no argument can even be made there. If your son is equally interested in the humanties and team sports as well as STEM, he will have a much richer and better experience at Potomac and still be able to get a full, rich serving of STEM, although not as fully surrounded and immersed with peers who exceptionally gifted in STEM.

As for the original question, Flint Hill is not going to provide a child with nearly the same experience from a quality and depth and excellence perspective as the Potomac School. The commute is worth it and, if he isnt prone to carsickness, he can work and study on the bus for that hour.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

We are looking at private high schools in Virginia and live within 15 minutes of Flint Hill. Choosing the Potomac School would add an hour of driving to our schedules every day. I know the Potomac School gets better rankings and college admissions outcomes. I want to know if the outcomes are measurably better, or marginal. Is it worth the pain of another hour on the road every school day for four years?

FYI, we are middle class and have made education a priority. Our child will not be throwing lavish birthday parties or getting a new car at 16. If there are additional cultural factors to consider between the two schools, I'd be interested to know about those too. TIA!


Yes, it is.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

As for the original question, Flint Hill is not going to provide a child with nearly the same experience from a quality and depth and excellence perspective as the Potomac School. The commute is worth it and, if he isnt prone to carsickness, he can work and study on the bus for that hour.


Just curious, did you have a kid go to Flint Hill?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Potomac is not better than AAP for elementary. And it's not better than TJ (which is why Potomac is trying to create a mini TJ for a half dozen or so kids in any given class).

That said, Flint Hill isn't the same league as either and has experienced a large drop off of students because of the closing of Exxon Mobil and such.


It is exhausting to listen to public school parents go on and on about AAP and TJ. TJ is great if your child is interested in math and STEM. Let's be honest, most parents in FCPS want TJ because $ $40,000 a year private school is out of reach financially and they are hoping for the next best thing. OP, look at Potomac and Flint Hill. They are both great schools, with Potomac being the more prestigious (if that matters to you). Good luck!
Anonymous
I agree with PP. I have one child in public FCPS AAP 8th grade and one in private, and I don't pretend to be an expert on either. Most of the very judgy comments on here come from people with experience in one or the other, but not both public and private and certainly not experience at every school. There are happy families at every school, and likely those who are very unhappy at every school. Whether public or private is better for a student is highly individualized to that student. I'm not sure why FCPS posters continue to come onto this forum to discuss private schools that many of them have not even visited.
Anonymous
Have had kids admitted to Big 3 + Potomac and many other area schools over the years. Chose other privates (not Big 3 or Potomac) and FCPS for DCs (plural - different schools for each over the years). Not a money issue. More of an interest/fit issue. Assumptions like people are only in FCPS if they can't afford or get into privates are simply false. Assumptions that people don't know about private schools just because they have kids in FCPS are also wrong.
Anonymous
OP, you're not going to get a good opinion from posters here. Don't fall for all the talk about which school is more prestigious or ranks higher in some arbitrary rankings by who knows who. Those rankings are all meaningless and have no predictive validity to them at all. Also, for some reason, DCUM posters have it out for Flint Hill, even though most probably have no clue how to find it.

The best thing to do is visit both schools. Talk to administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Get a feel for both along with your child. Choose the one that is the best for for your child.

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