PSA for Parents Considering HS Magnets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is a well known fact. Colleges have certain quotas and will take very small number of students from each school. I know of a family that are in one of the worst schools in Frederick and their DDs have got into top schools with very mediocre grades. Why? Because most of the kids in that school are barely passing.

My kid went to SMCS program in PHS. Most of the students are performing at very high levels. However, only very few students are selected for top colleges because of the quota system. Most get into UMD with $$$ merit aid. Once in UMD, these students are able to do well in hard subjects like CS, premed, engineering and very few drop out of these programs. So, getting into a good college is not the end all. The aim of HS should be to get into a good major and also be able to do very well in college and be well prepared to get into a well paying job after that.

So much for education as an end in itself.

Dreary, isn't it?

And it's not like a kid comes out of a giant state school majoring in CS develops interests in anything else. Probably got rid of their distribution requirements with APs, don't read books, don't study history, have no practice in critically interpreting or filtering information...

The part I really don't get, your kid's been doing almost nothing but coding and math for the past four years already. They could probably just go out and get a job doing it now. But you're shoving them into another diploma mill because everyone around you is doing it. It's so grim.

You need a diploma but where is not that important despite what people here say. The issue is affordability for some of us where we are not high income, live modestly as in small homes dcum would call a tear down and save since birth and the most we can afford is UMD.

Plenty of private schools will offer merit bringing the costs in line. Plenty of out of state schools cost the same (even oos), or less. We planned on state school too, initially, but it's not the cheapest or best option.

This. I grew up in Ohio and my parents could only afford state school (and even then I would need loans) and they told me I could only apply in-state. Some family friends convinced them to let me apply to a few privates and I got merit $$ at all of them and at two of them it was enough to bring the cost down to what the state school would have been. I had a great experience and met lots of other kids at college in the same situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe because I’m not a Maryland native, but I just can’t wrap my mind around people fighting to get into UMD.

And yet, that's reality.

[Anonymous]

MCPS needs to deflate its grading system so everyone can have a reality check as to whether their kids’ grades are as great as the parents think they are. An A and B quarterly average is rounded up to an A. That’s just wrong. Take the numerical grades, average them together and then convert to the semester letter grade. And they should rank. This will quickly dampen everyone’s expectations and give schools a more objective picture of the students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there three separate groups for Blair: SMCs, CAP, and general?

I don't have a kid in CAP, so I'm not sure. However, SMCS is separate from the general population. SMCS seniors and their families have access to both high school profiles.

What does that mean? Are both sent to colleges?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe because I’m not a Maryland native, but I just can’t wrap my mind around people fighting to get into UMD.

And yet, that's reality.

CS is the most popular major at UMD and it's ranked #11 in the world for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS needs to deflate its grading system so everyone can have a reality check as to whether their kids’ grades are as great as the parents think they are. An A and B quarterly average is rounded up to an A. That’s just wrong. Take the numerical grades, average them together and then convert to the semester letter grade. And they should rank. This will quickly dampen everyone’s expectations and give schools a more objective picture of the students.

This doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe because I’m not a Maryland native, but I just can’t wrap my mind around people fighting to get into UMD.

And yet, that's reality.

CS is the most popular major at UMD and it's ranked #11 in the world for that.

Where do you get this stat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS needs to deflate its grading system so everyone can have a reality check as to whether their kids’ grades are as great as the parents think they are. An A and B quarterly average is rounded up to an A. That’s just wrong. Take the numerical grades, average them together and then convert to the semester letter grade. And they should rank. This will quickly dampen everyone’s expectations and give schools a more objective picture of the students.

MCPS doesn’t want colleges to be able to get an objective picture of the students. That wouldn’t be equitable.

Please stop your foolishness. College admissions officers compare students at a given MCPS high school to other students at that same high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there three separate groups for Blair: SMCs, CAP, and general?

I don't have a kid in CAP, so I'm not sure. However, SMCS is separate from the general population. SMCS seniors and their families have access to both high school profiles.

What does that mean? Are both sent to colleges?

I meant that as a parent or student, you can review both profiles on the Blair website. Are both sent? That's not clear based on my understanding of the UMD AO. I think the AO meant she has access to both Blair profiles because they review regular and SMCS students from Blair each year. However, I'm sure that Mr. Ostrander could clarify if he or the assigned counselor sends both profiles to every school to which an SMCS student applies. I also assume that CAP has a profile, but I haven't seen it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there three separate groups for Blair: SMCs, CAP, and general?

I don't have a kid in CAP, so I'm not sure. However, SMCS is separate from the general population. SMCS seniors and their families have access to both high school profiles.

What does that mean? Are both sent to colleges?

I meant that as a parent or student, you can review both profiles on the Blair website. Are both sent? That's not clear based on my understanding of the UMD AO. I think the AO meant she has access to both Blair profiles because they review regular and SMCS students from Blair each year. However, I'm sure that Mr. Ostrander could clarify if he or the assigned counselor sends both profiles to every school to which an SMCS student applies. I also assume that CAP has a profile, but I haven't seen it.

In my kid's year, Ostrander sent out the magnet letter/profile to parents and seemed to indicate that the school only sent the school profile. It could have been an off year, covid and all, but it might be worthwhile to check. My kid added info from the magnet letter in the additional info box on common app.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there three separate groups for Blair: SMCs, CAP, and general?

I don't have a kid in CAP, so I'm not sure. However, SMCS is separate from the general population. SMCS seniors and their families have access to both high school profiles.

CAP and regular Blair kids also get into top colleges. It's not that separate. Classes are together. Non magnet kids can take mag electives. Magnet just adds a letter/mag profile in addition to school profile.

Yes, I know. I have a kid at Blair. My point was that the magnet kids are evaluated separately using the magnet profile, at least at UMD. One of the AO’s confirmed when asked how UMD uses school profiles and evaluates transcripts. UMD also recalculates GPA because of differences across MD school systems and private schools.

And that’s why regular and CAP students also get into UMD and top schools. AO’s know that the magnets are separate programs that students had to apply countywide.

This is speculation with regard to top colleges. They may take magnet status into account but unlikely that they'd evaluate magnet students "separately. "

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there three separate groups for Blair: SMCs, CAP, and general?

I don't have a kid in CAP, so I'm not sure. However, SMCS is separate from the general population. SMCS seniors and their families have access to both high school profiles.

What does that mean? Are both sent to colleges?

I meant that as a parent or student, you can review both profiles on the Blair website. Are both sent? That's not clear based on my understanding of the UMD AO. I think the AO meant she has access to both Blair profiles because they review regular and SMCS students from Blair each year. However, I'm sure that Mr. Ostrander could clarify if he or the assigned counselor sends both profiles to every school to which an SMCS student applies. I also assume that CAP has a profile, but I haven't seen it.

In my kid's year, Ostrander sent out the magnet letter/profile to parents and seemed to indicate that the school only sent the school profile. It could have been an off year, covid and all, but it might be worthwhile to check. My kid added info from the magnet letter in the additional info box on common app.

Thanks, I will ask. My kid isn’t a senior yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there three separate groups for Blair: SMCs, CAP, and general?

I don't have a kid in CAP, so I'm not sure. However, SMCS is separate from the general population. SMCS seniors and their families have access to both high school profiles.

CAP and regular Blair kids also get into top colleges. It's not that separate. Classes are together. Non magnet kids can take mag electives. Magnet just adds a letter/mag profile in addition to school profile.

Yes, I know. I have a kid at Blair. My point was that the magnet kids are evaluated separately using the magnet profile, at least at UMD. One of the AO’s confirmed when asked how UMD uses school profiles and evaluates transcripts. UMD also recalculates GPA because of differences across MD school systems and private schools.

And that’s why regular and CAP students also get into UMD and top schools. AO’s know that the magnets are separate programs that students had to apply countywide.

This is speculation with regard to top colleges. They may take magnet status into account but unlikely that they'd evaluate magnet students "separately. "

Why unlikely? Different classes, schedule, and different teachers. It's a different school in almost everything except the physical building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe because I’m not a Maryland native, but I just can’t wrap my mind around people fighting to get into UMD.

Cool to brag about your ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe because I’m not a Maryland native, but I just can’t wrap my mind around people fighting to get into UMD.

It's only the Maryland natives who do this. Poor dears.