Tell me about Richard Montgomery IB

[Anonymous]

Is it really the grind that I hear? Even for kids coming from one of the MS magnet programs? Do kids LIKE it or tolerate it because it looks good to colleges and their parents want them to do it? Do they like the projects? Do kids have time for their extracurriculars like sports and fine arts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it really the grind that I hear? Even for kids coming from one of the MS magnet programs? Do kids LIKE it or tolerate it because it looks good to colleges and their parents want them to do it? Do they like the projects? Do kids have time for their extracurriculars like sports and fine arts?

1. Yes it is. Lack of sleep for 4 years is a killer
2. Yes, even for magnet MS kids
3. My kids loved because the friendship they built with friends and teachers.
4. Do they like the projects?? Not sure what you mean.
5. No, they don't have time but they MAKE time for their EC. (see lack of sleep above)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it really the grind that I hear? Even for kids coming from one of the MS magnet programs? Do kids LIKE it or tolerate it because it looks good to colleges and their parents want them to do it? Do they like the projects? Do kids have time for their extracurriculars like sports and fine arts?

1. Yes it is. Lack of sleep for 4 years is a killer
2. Yes, even for magnet MS kids
3. My kids loved because the friendship they built with friends and teachers.
4. Do they like the projects?? Not sure what you mean.
5. No, they don't have time but they MAKE time for their EC. (see lack of sleep above)

+1

IMHO -
No ifs and buts about it. It is a relentlessly hard program because of very high standard of work demanded in every subject and very little time. Lack of sleep is the biggest issue. You will pray for snow days and unexpected school closures so that your kids can sleep. My niece did RMIB and I saw first hand how hard it was for her and her mom. She basically disappeared for four years. She advised my DD to choose PHS SMCS, which is also very hard but the kids have a fair chance to get their Zzz's if they are organized and do not procrastinate.

Problem with RMIB is that its like doing two magnet programs simultaneously - STEM and Humanities. For my DD who is a sophomore, the classes besides the STEM ones are right amount of advanced (some are even AP) but not crazy rigorous like IB is. Of course, this is the experience of our family, limited to my niece and DD only.

[Anonymous]

Extremely hard, no sleep, lots of writing and reading, good friends, good teachers, absolutely college ready - STEM to LA majors. You need to know your kid. It's a wonderful program if you child can handle. If not, 4 years of VERY stressful time.

[Anonymous]

Thanks - this is really helpful! Would love to hear more perspectives from others!

[Anonymous]

It's a grind for sure. I went to RM but didn't do the IB program. The kids who did though, most went to MIT/Harvard/ etc. and are now doctors and attorneys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a grind for sure. I went to RM but didn't do the IB program. The kids who did though, most went to MIT/Harvard/ etc. and are now doctors and attorneys.

Fortunately, you can become a doctor or an attorney without going to MIT or Harvard... Is that the overarching reason why these kids chose this program? Because more likely to get into Ivy League? Or are they like the grind/they are High Achiever Type As who can't imagine slowing down?

Do they burn out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a grind for sure. I went to RM but didn't do the IB program. The kids who did though, most went to MIT/Harvard/ etc. and are now doctors and attorneys.

Fortunately, you can become a doctor or an attorney without going to MIT or Harvard... Is that the overarching reason why these kids chose this program? Because more likely to get into Ivy League? Or are they like the grind/they are High Achiever Type As who can't imagine slowing down?

Do they burn out?

Most of them do fine. I know a few kids transfer back to their assigned home school for various reasons (mostly after the 9th grade).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a grind for sure. I went to RM but didn't do the IB program. The kids who did though, most went to MIT/Harvard/ etc. and are now doctors and attorneys.

Fortunately, you can become a doctor or an attorney without going to MIT or Harvard... Is that the overarching reason why these kids chose this program? Because more likely to get into Ivy League? Or are they like the grind/they are High Achiever Type As who can't imagine slowing down?

Do they burn out?

I think most of these people are the Type A kind you mention, and most thrived in the program in spite of the stress. The improved chances of getting into an Ivy League school certainly didn't hurt, but from what I could tell, many people loved the program. I actually know one person, an MD, who actually moved back to Rockville recently so that her own kids could attend RM for the IB program.

I'm sure people did burn out... none that I know of though. I was a pretty average student who took some AP classes and went to a state school after graduating, so no personal experience to share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a grind for sure. I went to RM but didn't do the IB program. The kids who did though, most went to MIT/Harvard/ etc. and are now doctors and attorneys.

Most?? That's a gross exaggeration. I seriously doubt more than 5-10% of the IB grads got into an Ivy or MIT like school...

[Anonymous]

What kind of diploma scores do the kids get?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it really the grind that I hear? Even for kids coming from one of the MS magnet programs? Do kids LIKE it or tolerate it because it looks good to colleges and their parents want them to do it? Do they like the projects? Do kids have time for their extracurriculars like sports and fine arts?

Depends on the kid. If a student who has already been pushing their limits in magnet classes (or regular classes) in middle school just to keep up, then does a lot of test prep to get into the IB magnet, they are likely to find themselves in over their heads. If a student was accepted to both middle school magnet programs (showing academic breadth) and felt like their classes were just right in a middle school magnet, then the magnet IB is likely to still feel just right.

My DC loves it. There are great and okay classes/teachers just like any school, but overall the classes have been challenging and interesting without being overwhelming. DC is good at squeezing in homework during the day, so there isn't a lot at night in general, just occasional late evenings when something big is due. Bedtime is generally 11pm, occasionally later. DC has a year-round sport, but made the decision to drop a second sport for balance. They are heavily involved in many time-intensive clubs, including leadership roles in a few. DC held a job last year but decided to cut back hours this year in anticipation of being very busy. They see friends socially most weekends and still manages to squeeze in a fair amount of screen time relaxing.

YMMV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a grind for sure. I went to RM but didn't do the IB program. The kids who did though, most went to MIT/Harvard/ etc. and are now doctors and attorneys.

Most?? That's a gross exaggeration. I seriously doubt more than 5-10% of the IB grads got into an Ivy or MIT like school...

Most don't get in to Ivies because Ivies don't typically accept more than 2-3 per school, so at best around 15-20 students would be accepted. Which is approximately the number accepted last year from RM.
https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-magazine/september-october-2018/where-bethesda-area-high-school-grads-applied-to-college/
However, I think it would be fair to say that most RM IB grads get accepted into very competitive programs. If you look at the other schools listed, there are a lot of impressive names there. (And yes, I know that not all of the competitive program acceptances are just IB diploma recipients, but since there were about 160 of them last year, a large amount of those acceptances are.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What kind of diploma scores do the kids get?

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/schools/rmhs/ib/2017-18%20IB_Insert.pdf

From above link... 88% of Richard Montgomery's 161 IB candidates in 2017 earned the IB Diploma; (The average worldwide success
rate is approximately 79 %.); RM Diploma Mean Grade 5.18 (4.8 worldwide); RM Diploma Mean Points 33 (30
worldwide).

When my kid graduated a few years back, there were only about 120 kids and diploma rate was much higher - 95%+. Looks like the program is bigger now and the rate has dropped. Not sure what happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of diploma scores do the kids get?

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/schools/rmhs/ib/2017-18%20IB_Insert.pdf

From above link... 88% of Richard Montgomery's 161 IB candidates in 2017 earned the IB Diploma; (The average worldwide success
rate is approximately 79 %.); RM Diploma Mean Grade 5.18 (4.8 worldwide); RM Diploma Mean Points 33 (30
worldwide).

When my kid graduated a few years back, there were only about 120 kids and diploma rate was much higher - 95%+. Looks like the program is bigger now and the rate has dropped. Not sure what happened.

They let in more RM cluster students who couldn't hack it? It used to be 25? set aside seats for RM cluster students who had to go through a similar application process but not compete with the rest of the applicants for the same seats, but I think now they upped the number of seats open to in cluster student. From what I heard, RM Principal wants to encourage more in cluster students to join the program. I'm fine with this as long as they don't dumb the program down.

I live in the RM cluster btw. And yes, I'm hoping DC will try it out.