Magnet application result High School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure how much things have changed in 2 years, but my DD who is Asian got into both global ecology and humanities (only 2 she applied for) with a MAP-M score of 260 and MAP-R score of 254... the whole thread here suggests if you get any less than 270 you are doomed! ... May be you all are talking about only SMACs program! My younger one is going to go through the process next year and her MAP scores are comparable to her sister's and she is also looking for global ecology and humanities programs... reading this thread seems to indicate she has no chance!
Another point for the selection committee when my eldest went through the process, was that if the kid was already in a magnet (she was in Clemente math sci) meant the kids already had an edge since they got into the program with a test and everything. And dont tell me the selection committee doesn't know the schools.... only magnet kids have computer science in their transcript and GT stamped on the Math and Sci courses they take... so they know...
However with my second one, they had lottery selection for middle school magnets. MY DD was in the lottery pool for both programs but her name wasn't picked and so were a bunch of her very smart friends, who all stayed back in their home middle schools... so with that I think there will be hyper focus on just the MAP scores and essays and I dont think they can use the 'Kids already in magnets are smart' argument anymore as magnets kids in this batch were really lottery picks and I know some really questionable selections who are currently struggling in their magnet schools!
Oh well...make the high schools also lottery already! its all just luck from this point on !

The cohort for high school admissions that we are discussing was the last cohort before the lottery process was instituted for MS magnets. Yes, I think you will find the process different for your younger child than it was for your elder child. I can tell you that my child had similar stats to yours and was accepted nowhere, not even on a waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure how much things have changed in 2 years, but my DD who is Asian got into both global ecology and humanities (only 2 she applied for) with a MAP-M score of 260 and MAP-R score of 254... the whole thread here suggests if you get any less than 270 you are doomed! ... May be you all are talking about only SMACs program! My younger one is going to go through the process next year and her MAP scores are comparable to her sister's and she is also looking for global ecology and humanities programs... reading this thread seems to indicate she has no chance!
Another point for the selection committee when my eldest went through the process, was that if the kid was already in a magnet (she was in Clemente math sci) meant the kids already had an edge since they got into the program with a test and everything. And dont tell me the selection committee doesn't know the schools.... only magnet kids have computer science in their transcript and GT stamped on the Math and Sci courses they take... so they know...
However with my second one, they had lottery selection for middle school magnets. MY DD was in the lottery pool for both programs but her name wasn't picked and so were a bunch of her very smart friends, who all stayed back in their home middle schools... so with that I think there will be hyper focus on just the MAP scores and essays and I dont think they can use the 'Kids already in magnets are smart' argument anymore as magnets kids in this batch were really lottery picks and I know some really questionable selections who are currently struggling in their magnet schools!
Oh well...make the high schools also lottery already! its all just luck from this point on !

1. Kids in magnets are actually at a disadvantage as there seems to be a school limit. so the bar is higher.
2. I have had other kids go through the magnets before. It was a much more structure and holistic process. Longer essay, MAP+Grades+Cogat + recommendation. So they won't have missed the really good kids. now it is just MAP (gameable), short essay (can't differentiate) and grades (again can't differentiate). More of a lottery.

don't take all this too seriously.

Short essay can absolutely differentiate.

So short essay saying I love math is better than recommendation from teacher who actually knows an individual student for 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure how much things have changed in 2 years, but my DD who is Asian got into both global ecology and humanities (only 2 she applied for) with a MAP-M score of 260 and MAP-R score of 254... the whole thread here suggests if you get any less than 270 you are doomed! ... May be you all are talking about only SMACs program! My younger one is going to go through the process next year and her MAP scores are comparable to her sister's and she is also looking for global ecology and humanities programs... reading this thread seems to indicate she has no chance!
Another point for the selection committee when my eldest went through the process, was that if the kid was already in a magnet (she was in Clemente math sci) meant the kids already had an edge since they got into the program with a test and everything. And dont tell me the selection committee doesn't know the schools.... only magnet kids have computer science in their transcript and GT stamped on the Math and Sci courses they take... so they know...
However with my second one, they had lottery selection for middle school magnets. MY DD was in the lottery pool for both programs but her name wasn't picked and so were a bunch of her very smart friends, who all stayed back in their home middle schools... so with that I think there will be hyper focus on just the MAP scores and essays and I dont think they can use the 'Kids already in magnets are smart' argument anymore as magnets kids in this batch were really lottery picks and I know some really questionable selections who are currently struggling in their magnet schools!
Oh well...make the high schools also lottery already! its all just luck from this point on !

Yes... this discussions is largely SMACS focused and does not represent all magnet programs. The essays do make a big difference. DC got into many magnets in an earlier year and we are sure that the essay played a big part. And no, we did not use an essay consultant. We believe what helped was that the essay truly represented who DC was and was written by them, so was in their voice. Also, you are correct that the admissions team easily knows who is coming from an MS Magnet program because of the courses on the transcript.

You are assuming the committee sees a students transcript, which I doubt because the process is name, school and race blind. I bet the see the grades for just the courses in the criteria - so a grade for math, but not the course, a grade for science. If there is a prerequisite for a certain course they only see students who have completed that course, kids who didn’t meet the prerequisite are weeded out. That’s my guess. Too hard to redact info from a transcript.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I can tell there was one poster who was upset and said something she probably didn't mean and if she did mean it I think she is wrong to think that way.

However, I do think there are biases against Asians in the MCPS admissions system as there are in many aspects of American society just as there are biases against students who are Black or Latinx. Are there more against Asians than students who are Black or Latinx? Maybe not but I don't know the answer to that and neither do you. It's ignorant of you to characterize the idea of any discrimination as ludicrous and then cite fake misleading statistics.

Her claims (and I think it was more than one poster) were ludicrous. I’m not denying discrimination exists, but making such claims based on the evidence - a race blind process and the vast over representation of the one racial group that was claimed was discriminated against was both ludicrous and insulting to the kids that she/they suggested benefited from this alleged discrimination.

It is not a race blind situation. Look at the program website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP with the disappointed kid who was waitlisted for two programs and rejected for the other. Which two is he on the waitpool for? I think some will move more than others. I expect Blair SMACS might not move much for example.

He is wait listed for ecology and humanities at poolesville, rejected for RM and SMACS

Fingers crossed for you. I don’t have a sense of whether those program wait pools move but maybe someone else will.

If your son is interested in humanities, I would totally reach out to Ms. Wilder since it’s such a gender imbalanced program. The pools that your son was selected to have the most movement. Humanities is often seen as the back up to RM. Global is often the backup to Humanities/SMCs and RM.

Will a girl be eligible for SMACS if she has MAP M score in 270s and doing good in Math with all A's. She was not even included in the wait pool.

I'd imagine it depends on who else applies and whether their essays are compelling. Those are definitely in the ballpark though.

You cannot write a compelling essay with a few hundred words. Most of these kids had compelling essays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I can tell there was one poster who was upset and said something she probably didn't mean and if she did mean it I think she is wrong to think that way.

However, I do think there are biases against Asians in the MCPS admissions system as there are in many aspects of American society just as there are biases against students who are Black or Latinx. Are there more against Asians than students who are Black or Latinx? Maybe not but I don't know the answer to that and neither do you. It's ignorant of you to characterize the idea of any discrimination as ludicrous and then cite fake misleading statistics.

Her claims (and I think it was more than one poster) were ludicrous. I’m not denying discrimination exists, but making such claims based on the evidence - a race blind process and the vast over representation of the one racial group that was claimed was discriminated against was both ludicrous and insulting to the kids that she/they suggested benefited from this alleged discrimination.

It is not a race blind situation. Look at the program website.

Given that it CLEARLY is a race blind situation and we’ve been told this repeatedly by MCPS, what are you talking about? Where in the website specifically does it contradict this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP with the disappointed kid who was waitlisted for two programs and rejected for the other. Which two is he on the waitpool for? I think some will move more than others. I expect Blair SMACS might not move much for example.

He is wait listed for ecology and humanities at poolesville, rejected for RM and SMACS

Fingers crossed for you. I don’t have a sense of whether those program wait pools move but maybe someone else will.

If your son is interested in humanities, I would totally reach out to Ms. Wilder since it’s such a gender imbalanced program. The pools that your son was selected to have the most movement. Humanities is often seen as the back up to RM. Global is often the backup to Humanities/SMCs and RM.

Will a girl be eligible for SMACS if she has MAP M score in 270s and doing good in Math with all A's. She was not even included in the wait pool.

I'd imagine it depends on who else applies and whether their essays are compelling. Those are definitely in the ballpark though.

You cannot write a compelling essay with a few hundred words. Most of these kids had compelling essays.

Which of the two contradictory claims you just made do you want to go with?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure how much things have changed in 2 years, but my DD who is Asian got into both global ecology and humanities (only 2 she applied for) with a MAP-M score of 260 and MAP-R score of 254... the whole thread here suggests if you get any less than 270 you are doomed! ... May be you all are talking about only SMACs program! My younger one is going to go through the process next year and her MAP scores are comparable to her sister's and she is also looking for global ecology and humanities programs... reading this thread seems to indicate she has no chance!
Another point for the selection committee when my eldest went through the process, was that if the kid was already in a magnet (she was in Clemente math sci) meant the kids already had an edge since they got into the program with a test and everything. And dont tell me the selection committee doesn't know the schools.... only magnet kids have computer science in their transcript and GT stamped on the Math and Sci courses they take... so they know...
However with my second one, they had lottery selection for middle school magnets. MY DD was in the lottery pool for both programs but her name wasn't picked and so were a bunch of her very smart friends, who all stayed back in their home middle schools... so with that I think there will be hyper focus on just the MAP scores and essays and I dont think they can use the 'Kids already in magnets are smart' argument anymore as magnets kids in this batch were really lottery picks and I know some really questionable selections who are currently struggling in their magnet schools!
Oh well...make the high schools also lottery already! its all just luck from this point on !

1. Kids in magnets are actually at a disadvantage as there seems to be a school limit. so the bar is higher.
2. I have had other kids go through the magnets before. It was a much more structure and holistic process. Longer essay, MAP+Grades+Cogat + recommendation. So they won't have missed the really good kids. now it is just MAP (gameable), short essay (can't differentiate) and grades (again can't differentiate). More of a lottery.

don't take all this too seriously.

Short essay can absolutely differentiate.

So short essay saying I love math is better than recommendation from teacher who actually knows an individual student for 4 years.

Teachers are biased. Plus the build that has a teacher who has taught them for four years is extremely unusual in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I can tell there was one poster who was upset and said something she probably didn't mean and if she did mean it I think she is wrong to think that way.

However, I do think there are biases against Asians in the MCPS admissions system as there are in many aspects of American society just as there are biases against students who are Black or Latinx. Are there more against Asians than students who are Black or Latinx? Maybe not but I don't know the answer to that and neither do you. It's ignorant of you to characterize the idea of any discrimination as ludicrous and then cite fake misleading statistics.

Her claims (and I think it was more than one poster) were ludicrous. I’m not denying discrimination exists, but making such claims based on the evidence - a race blind process and the vast over representation of the one racial group that was claimed was discriminated against was both ludicrous and insulting to the kids that she/they suggested benefited from this alleged discrimination.

It is not a race blind situation. Look at the program website.

It would be illegal for it not to be in the United States. They cannot consider the race of the applicant,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP with the disappointed kid who was waitlisted for two programs and rejected for the other. Which two is he on the waitpool for? I think some will move more than others. I expect Blair SMACS might not move much for example.

He is wait listed for ecology and humanities at poolesville, rejected for RM and SMACS

Fingers crossed for you. I don’t have a sense of whether those program wait pools move but maybe someone else will.

If your son is interested in humanities, I would totally reach out to Ms. Wilder since it’s such a gender imbalanced program. The pools that your son was selected to have the most movement. Humanities is often seen as the back up to RM. Global is often the backup to Humanities/SMCs and RM.

Will a girl be eligible for SMACS if she has MAP M score in 270s and doing good in Math with all A's. She was not even included in the wait pool.

I'd imagine it depends on who else applies and whether their essays are compelling. Those are definitely in the ballpark though.

You cannot write a compelling essay with a few hundred words. Most of these kids had compelling essays.

Which of the two contradictory claims you just made do you want to go with?

You can. It just takes skill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure how much things have changed in 2 years, but my DD who is Asian got into both global ecology and humanities (only 2 she applied for) with a MAP-M score of 260 and MAP-R score of 254... the whole thread here suggests if you get any less than 270 you are doomed! ... May be you all are talking about only SMACs program! My younger one is going to go through the process next year and her MAP scores are comparable to her sister's and she is also looking for global ecology and humanities programs... reading this thread seems to indicate she has no chance!
Another point for the selection committee when my eldest went through the process, was that if the kid was already in a magnet (she was in Clemente math sci) meant the kids already had an edge since they got into the program with a test and everything. And dont tell me the selection committee doesn't know the schools.... only magnet kids have computer science in their transcript and GT stamped on the Math and Sci courses they take... so they know...
However with my second one, they had lottery selection for middle school magnets. MY DD was in the lottery pool for both programs but her name wasn't picked and so were a bunch of her very smart friends, who all stayed back in their home middle schools... so with that I think there will be hyper focus on just the MAP scores and essays and I dont think they can use the 'Kids already in magnets are smart' argument anymore as magnets kids in this batch were really lottery picks and I know some really questionable selections who are currently struggling in their magnet schools!
Oh well...make the high schools also lottery already! its all just luck from this point on !

1. Kids in magnets are actually at a disadvantage as there seems to be a school limit. so the bar is higher.
2. I have had other kids go through the magnets before. It was a much more structure and holistic process. Longer essay, MAP+Grades+Cogat + recommendation. So they won't have missed the really good kids. now it is just MAP (gameable), short essay (can't differentiate) and grades (again can't differentiate). More of a lottery.

don't take all this too seriously.

Short essay can absolutely differentiate.

So short essay saying I love math is better than recommendation from teacher who actually knows an individual student for 4 years.

Teachers are biased. Plus the build that has a teacher who has taught them for four years is extremely unusual in MCPS.

OK. One year. and still better than a short essay with platitudes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I can tell there was one poster who was upset and said something she probably didn't mean and if she did mean it I think she is wrong to think that way.

However, I do think there are biases against Asians in the MCPS admissions system as there are in many aspects of American society just as there are biases against students who are Black or Latinx. Are there more against Asians than students who are Black or Latinx? Maybe not but I don't know the answer to that and neither do you. It's ignorant of you to characterize the idea of any discrimination as ludicrous and then cite fake misleading statistics.

Her claims (and I think it was more than one poster) were ludicrous. I’m not denying discrimination exists, but making such claims based on the evidence - a race blind process and the vast over representation of the one racial group that was claimed was discriminated against was both ludicrous and insulting to the kids that she/they suggested benefited from this alleged discrimination.

It is not a race blind situation. Look at the program website.

It would be illegal for it not to be in the United States. They cannot consider the race of the applicant,

Everyone knows ESOL and FARMS status are a proxy for race in MCPS. There's a huge correlation and as PPs have pointed out before you can tip your hand to your race in your essays. There's no race box in the information the committee receives but to pretend it's totally race blind is just a lie. I don't agree with the poster who claims that there is a magic way MCPS is comparing Asians to only Asians but I think subtle issues exist. Subtle issues exist for other races too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure how much things have changed in 2 years, but my DD who is Asian got into both global ecology and humanities (only 2 she applied for) with a MAP-M score of 260 and MAP-R score of 254... the whole thread here suggests if you get any less than 270 you are doomed! ... May be you all are talking about only SMACs program! My younger one is going to go through the process next year and her MAP scores are comparable to her sister's and she is also looking for global ecology and humanities programs... reading this thread seems to indicate she has no chance!
Another point for the selection committee when my eldest went through the process, was that if the kid was already in a magnet (she was in Clemente math sci) meant the kids already had an edge since they got into the program with a test and everything. And dont tell me the selection committee doesn't know the schools.... only magnet kids have computer science in their transcript and GT stamped on the Math and Sci courses they take... so they know...
However with my second one, they had lottery selection for middle school magnets. MY DD was in the lottery pool for both programs but her name wasn't picked and so were a bunch of her very smart friends, who all stayed back in their home middle schools... so with that I think there will be hyper focus on just the MAP scores and essays and I dont think they can use the 'Kids already in magnets are smart' argument anymore as magnets kids in this batch were really lottery picks and I know some really questionable selections who are currently struggling in their magnet schools!
Oh well...make the high schools also lottery already! its all just luck from this point on !

I'll be that jerk. Many of the people on this thread do not really think of those as real magnets. Sorry it's true. Blair SMAC is the main one that matters. My child is on the WL too with those scores for Poolesville but did not make the waitpool for any of the others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I can tell there was one poster who was upset and said something she probably didn't mean and if she did mean it I think she is wrong to think that way.

However, I do think there are biases against Asians in the MCPS admissions system as there are in many aspects of American society just as there are biases against students who are Black or Latinx. Are there more against Asians than students who are Black or Latinx? Maybe not but I don't know the answer to that and neither do you. It's ignorant of you to characterize the idea of any discrimination as ludicrous and then cite fake misleading statistics.

Her claims (and I think it was more than one poster) were ludicrous. I’m not denying discrimination exists, but making such claims based on the evidence - a race blind process and the vast over representation of the one racial group that was claimed was discriminated against was both ludicrous and insulting to the kids that she/they suggested benefited from this alleged discrimination.

It is not a race blind situation. Look at the program website.

It would be illegal for it not to be in the United States. They cannot consider the race of the applicant,

Everyone knows ESOL and FARMS status are a proxy for race in MCPS. There's a huge correlation and as PPs have pointed out before you can tip your hand to your race in your essays. There's no race box in the information the committee receives but to pretend it's totally race blind is just a lie. I don't agree with the poster who claims that there is a magic way MCPS is comparing Asians to only Asians but I think subtle issues exist. Subtle issues exist for other races too.

Student services* it says so clearly in the letter you guys received

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure how much things have changed in 2 years, but my DD who is Asian got into both global ecology and humanities (only 2 she applied for) with a MAP-M score of 260 and MAP-R score of 254... the whole thread here suggests if you get any less than 270 you are doomed! ... May be you all are talking about only SMACs program! My younger one is going to go through the process next year and her MAP scores are comparable to her sister's and she is also looking for global ecology and humanities programs... reading this thread seems to indicate she has no chance!
Another point for the selection committee when my eldest went through the process, was that if the kid was already in a magnet (she was in Clemente math sci) meant the kids already had an edge since they got into the program with a test and everything. And dont tell me the selection committee doesn't know the schools.... only magnet kids have computer science in their transcript and GT stamped on the Math and Sci courses they take... so they know...
However with my second one, they had lottery selection for middle school magnets. MY DD was in the lottery pool for both programs but her name wasn't picked and so were a bunch of her very smart friends, who all stayed back in their home middle schools... so with that I think there will be hyper focus on just the MAP scores and essays and I dont think they can use the 'Kids already in magnets are smart' argument anymore as magnets kids in this batch were really lottery picks and I know some really questionable selections who are currently struggling in their magnet schools!
Oh well...make the high schools also lottery already! its all just luck from this point on !

I'll be that jerk. Many of the people on this thread do not really think of those as real magnets. Sorry it's true. Blair SMAC is the main one that matters. My child is on the WL too with those scores for Poolesville but did not make the waitpool for any of the others.

Sorry to break your bubble. DC know boys from TPMS with 240/250 who made it to Blair SMAC. They seem to have taken the very top. Close to 300 or 300+ and for the rest it seems like a bit of a lottery.