What makes Whitman such a (reputation of a) "pressure cooker?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does Whitman even have any apartments in its boundary? It is mostly just large suburban homes. Kind of a boring location for high school students

There are Whitman-zoned apartments along both Westbard and Sangamore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think college admissions from Whitman and Wilson HS in DC are pretty similar which makes you wonder whether the extra hype about Whitman really means anything

Nobody is getting admitted to any college from "Wilson HS".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You also need a car to go anywhere.
WJ and BCC have better locations in my opinion

Or you can take a bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think college admissions from Whitman and Wilson HS in DC are pretty similar which makes you wonder whether the extra hype about Whitman really means anything

No, they are not pretty similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whitman had a bunch of suicides a few years back.

That doesn’t mean that the school environment caused the suicides. Those kids had depression. You are leaping pretty far to make that assumption.

C'mon - this is 21st century 'Murca. Correlation implies causation - everyone says so!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Whitman even have any apartments in its boundary? It is mostly just large suburban homes. Kind of a boring location for high school students

There are Whitman-zoned apartments along both Westbard and Sangamore.

Yes, but those top out at 2 bedrooms and are still $2K/month. They were designed to discourage families from moving in, under pressure from neighbors (including, of course, Whitman families).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Whitman even have any apartments in its boundary? It is mostly just large suburban homes. Kind of a boring location for high school students

There are Whitman-zoned apartments along both Westbard and Sangamore.

Yes, but those top out at 2 bedrooms and are still $2K/month. They were designed to discourage families from moving in, under pressure from neighbors (including, of course, Whitman families).

I don't know where people get the idea that two-bedroom apartments aren't lived in by families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Whitman even have any apartments in its boundary? It is mostly just large suburban homes. Kind of a boring location for high school students

There are Whitman-zoned apartments along both Westbard and Sangamore.

Yes, but those top out at 2 bedrooms and are still $2K/month. They were designed to discourage families from moving in, under pressure from neighbors (including, of course, Whitman families).

I don't know where people get the idea that two-bedroom apartments aren't lived in by families.

DCUM can't imagine someone living in less than a 5 bedroom house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think college admissions from Whitman and Wilson HS in DC are pretty similar which makes you wonder whether the extra hype about Whitman really means anything

No, they are not pretty similar.

The top half is probably very similar. Jackson Reed (formerly Wilson) is much more diverse and has a much greater range of students. DC also does not have a UMD equivalent option that many students choose

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think college admissions from Whitman and Wilson HS in DC are pretty similar which makes you wonder whether the extra hype about Whitman really means anything

No, they are not pretty similar.

They seem indistinguishable to me.

[Anonymous]

My kid just graduated from Whitman. Some find if a pressure cooker, others do not. There are a lot of really smart kids who can easily handle 5+ AP classes a year and still have time for other activities. Those who have to work harder and can’t easily handle that likely feel a lot of pressure to keep up. Most kids at the school want to go to a top college, which adds to the pressure.

[Anonymous]

Transplant_1 wrote:I am wondering what makes Whitman such a "pressure cooker?" It would seem that regardless of which "W + BCC" school you go to, if you're aiming for a selective college, you still need a certain number of high AP scores. So whether you go to, for example you go to Whitman, BCC, or Walter Johnson, you'll probably be evaluated the same way by a college. So in any of those schools, the amount of pressure will be on yourself and the college you're aiming for. So what makes Whitman such a "pressure cooker?" In thinking it through, I would think that the pressure comes from the non-AP classes, where getting an "A" means competing against the other students. Is that the case? Is that where the pressure comes from? And again, I imagine the pressure comes from extra-curriculars, and perhaps there is an arms race for how many / quality of extra-curriculars. I welcome sincere observations. Thank you. Please, no derailing of conversations. Thank you.

It's not that different really. Mostly privileged kids who complain louder when faced with any hardship

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think college admissions from Whitman and Wilson HS in DC are pretty similar which makes you wonder whether the extra hype about Whitman really means anything

No, they are not pretty similar.

The top half is probably very similar. Jackson Reed (formerly Wilson) is much more diverse and has a much greater range of students. DC also does not have a UMD equivalent option that many students choose

uhh, no.

[Anonymous]

Read the book called "overachievers". It's not the courses or the number of AP classes taken. It is the school environment: the student body, the parents and the rat race to the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read the book called "overachievers". It's not the courses or the number of AP classes taken. It is the school environment: the student body, the parents and the rat race to the top.

And yet college outcomes are about the same as 4 or 5 other MCPS schools with similar demographics and far below the magnet programs, which aren't pressure cookers.