Yet another magnet thread. What are the personalities of the students at various magnets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think these high achieving kids should be separated a from the slower students.

why not?

Because by integrating them with regular students, in honors for all we can raise the bar for everyone!

kids do not become high achieving simply by breathing the same air as high achieving kids.

Raising the bar is fine, but that's not happening in MCPS. You don't raise the bar by putting an "honors" designation on it, but not actually teaching more challenging curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC said to me that Blair STEM magnet kids are really smart but socially awkward.

DC said RMIB kids tend to be more well rounded -- smart in STEM as well as great writers, and they are all involved in various different types of outside activities, not just STEM related.

The Blair kids crushed RMIB in NMSF. National Merit Semi Finalists are based on the PSAT test scores. In calculating the scores, the English is doubled and the math is not. Blair is far superior. Those kids are higher in Math and English. Those numbers do not lie. You would think RM would crush Blair, but they never come close.

maybe, but per my DC, they are more socially awkward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC said to me that Blair STEM magnet kids are really smart but socially awkward.

DC said RMIB kids tend to be more well rounded -- smart in STEM as well as great writers, and they are all involved in various different types of outside activities, not just STEM related.

The Blair kids crushed RMIB in NMSF. National Merit Semi Finalists are based on the PSAT test scores. In calculating the scores, the English is doubled and the math is not. Blair is far superior. Those kids are higher in Math and English. Those numbers do not lie. You would think RM would crush Blair, but they never come close.

maybe, but per my DC, they are more socially awkward.

It might depend on the grade. Tons of very socially awkward kids at RMIB in 9th this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We heard Wheaton was intense but in a good way. Anyone have personal experience?

I've had kids at both Wheaton and Blair magnets. they are also friends w/ lots of CAP and RM kids (got into both of those programs too, so checked them out pretty thoroughly). I would there are some differences, but all the programs have the commonality of bright motivated kids. Wheaton is more hands on than Blair and in many ways less intense because it has one less period. But, there seem to be more prescribed components, so it's harder to get in all the things kids want to take. Health in summer helped. Commute should also be considered with intensity because that bus ride can be long. It is not down time.

Wheaton cohort seems more collaborative and less competitive. Don't get me wrong, lots of nice kids at Blair too, but definitely a set of mag bros who try to muscle over others and a few girl cliques (felt more cultural than personal). Wheaton magnet is more diverse racially and culturally as a program. Some years are really lopsided in terms of gender diversity. Blair seems a little better there. Blair is more diverse as a school overall. Both have excellent teachers. A big consideration should be the kid's interests. One of mine was more theoretical, loving math (Blair), the other did not love math (though amazing teacher at Wheaton kind of turned that around) and was more a hands-on problem solver. My Blair kid would have liked a more collaborative environment among peers. Blair admin has this on their radar and wants this too, but I'm not sure how the school can compete with the competitive mindsets that some kids get from years of parent pressure. But, my Blair kid found their people and also had friends outside of the magnet. I have been very impressed with teachers at both schools. Wheaton has been building, and some of my kid's teachers that were meh are gone. Also very impressed w/ History and Eng too. Blair has great ones too, but a little more of a crap shoot as it is so large. Hope this helps.

DC hasn't encountered the competitive side yet but worried now. That does not sound pleasant.

PP here. Please don't worry! Sounds like DC has found a good cohort. It'll be good. Ours was just on one experience several years ago when there was a test that many prepped for. Maybe there is fewer of that lot. But, even during my kid's time there was collaboration to be had, you just had to find those willing. Sounds like yours has already surrounded with a supportive group. Don't let this worry you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC said to me that Blair STEM magnet kids are really smart but socially awkward.

DC said RMIB kids tend to be more well rounded -- smart in STEM as well as great writers, and they are all involved in various different types of outside activities, not just STEM related.

The Blair kids crushed RMIB in NMSF. National Merit Semi Finalists are based on the PSAT test scores. In calculating the scores, the English is doubled and the math is not. Blair is far superior. Those kids are higher in Math and English. Those numbers do not lie. You would think RM would crush Blair, but they never come close.

maybe, but per my DC, they are more socially awkward.

These parents are the reason kids in these programs are not more collaborative. Quit the pissing contest and just nurture your kid. For goodness sake people. They are both fantastic programs with talented kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC said to me that Blair STEM magnet kids are really smart but socially awkward.

DC said RMIB kids tend to be more well rounded -- smart in STEM as well as great writers, and they are all involved in various different types of outside activities, not just STEM related.

The Blair kids crushed RMIB in NMSF. National Merit Semi Finalists are based on the PSAT test scores. In calculating the scores, the English is doubled and the math is not. Blair is far superior. Those kids are higher in Math and English. Those numbers do not lie. You would think RM would crush Blair, but they never come close.

maybe, but per my DC, they are more socially awkward.

It might depend on the grade. Tons of very socially awkward kids at RMIB in 9th this year.

And you know that how?

[Anonymous]

You’re all just a bunch of obsessed weirdos. Really. You are.

[Anonymous]

I hope you posters are actually in high school because you sound like children and it's really depressing, thinking you might be grown people with jobs and responsibilities who are just obsessed with the social status your kids' high school has.

I mean, seriously. Go touch grass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As others have said, there's no uniform personality at any of the magnets, but there are groups that are overrepresented in each.

If the magnets were undergraduate colleges:

Blair magnet would be CalTech (a little bit nerdy, competitive, and intellectually curious)

RMIB would be Harvard (strivers, always looking to the next advantage/opportunity)

Blair CAP would be Wesleyan (gayer than average, dramatic, a sprinkling of smart slackers)

Wheaton would be Georgia Tech (rigorous, diverse, practical)

Too bad most won’t make it to the real thing.

Large numbers do. College admissions to elite places was extremely strong this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hope you posters are actually in high school because you sound like children and it's really depressing, thinking you might be grown people with jobs and responsibilities who are just obsessed with the social status your kids' high school has.

I mean, seriously. Go touch grass.

I agree with your sentiment but the only people I know who talk about people not touching grass are in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hope you posters are actually in high school because you sound like children and it's really depressing, thinking you might be grown people with jobs and responsibilities who are just obsessed with the social status your kids' high school has.

I mean, seriously. Go touch grass.

+1 appalled if these posts have be written by parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC said to me that Blair STEM magnet kids are really smart but socially awkward.

DC said RMIB kids tend to be more well rounded -- smart in STEM as well as great writers, and they are all involved in various different types of outside activities, not just STEM related.

The Blair kids crushed RMIB in NMSF. National Merit Semi Finalists are based on the PSAT test scores. In calculating the scores, the English is doubled and the math is not. Blair is far superior. Those kids are higher in Math and English. Those numbers do not lie. You would think RM would crush Blair, but they never come close.

Where’s the data comparing percentages of NMSFs from the magnets from both RM & Blair? Total numbers at a school don’t really matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not exactly “personalities” but there are some very obvious demographic differences between CAP (largely upper middle class, white students) and magnet (many from Indian, Chinese, Korean and other Asian backgrounds often children of immigrants including the few who are white) at Blair. Nice kids either way.

Why is this? Why are there so few wealthy white families in SMCS relative to CAP, and why so many in CAP? Are the upper middle class white kids not as good in STEM or are their families less interested?

Simple answer. Most of the immigrant parents are in STEM related fields. Most of the uppper middle class white parents from CAP are in non-STEM/communication related friend. Exceptions prove the rule.

[Anonymous]

Almost all the kids DC knows in CAP applied to STEM but did not get in. DC also did not get in to STEM.

I don't know what all the CAP parents do but I can think of a bunch already who are in STEM related jobs like working in ed tech or network security.

Your stereotyping is kind of gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Almost all the kids DC knows in CAP applied to STEM but did not get in. DC also did not get in to STEM.

I don't know what all the CAP parents do but I can think of a bunch already who are in STEM related jobs like working in ed tech or network security.

Your stereotyping is kind of gross.

Not the PP, but I think we're all kind of limited by who our kids hang out with, and I also think this is somewhat gendered. My CAP kid did not apply to STEM, not have been accepted if she had, and would have been 100% miserable if she'd applied and by some miracle been admitted.

Yes, CAP (and other non-Blair magnet programs) are treated as a fall-back option by some kids, mostly boys. But for some kids it is exactly where they want to be. It's also the closest thing to an arts magnet for kids interested in theater, documentary film making, and cinematography in the county. FWIW, my junior says that the kids struggling in the program are the ones who didn't want to be there to begin with. That makes sense. A program heavy on the arts is not going to be a perfect fit for every single kid, and I kind of feel badly for the kids who picked it (or whose parents picked it for them) because they didn't get into STEM. For those kids, I think they might have been happier in the regular program and doubling up on math and science with AP classes.