Reply to Blair SMCS Vs. GDS

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[quote=Anonymous]
It's my understanding that Blair SMCS will not change their program before the 27-28 school year and current students before that will continue in the original program for their entire 4 years. It is rigorous, and it will be a great experience. The cohort is *stellar*. But it's a ton of stress. The kids are all high flyers and therefore there is great uncertainty about differentiating for college admissions. As a result, it's an arms race to self-study for APs they don't teach as part of the magnet curriculum, and to do various other things outside of school.

GDS, to be frank, isn't all that academically. You're sinking your hard-earned money into education you could get for free by staying at the magnet. The only thing it might be better at is writing and literature, since the English MCPS curriculum is abysmal until AP Lang and AP Lit. My kids all read a lot of classics - for me it was non-negotiable. GDS is private, so of course certain things will be nicer. But it doesn't mean the instruction is better. I think only Sidwell rigor rivals with magnets, but they don't teach everything that SMCS teaches. GDS is a level below.

As for your home school: I've learned the hard way that sometimes AP courses listed on school websites aren't necessarily taught every year, because it depends on student interest and whether they can fill enough classes and hire teachers (one year AP Chem wasn't available for my kid at her high school, so she had to rejigger her schedule to take AP Physics C instead, and will take AP Chem next year - annoying, since she had just taken Honors Chem). But if you ask around and you feel pretty certain that all the AP courses your kid wants to take will be offered and available, then, for college admissions purposes, you should maybe stick with the home school so that your kid stands out. This is what we did with our kids, with the added wrinkle that for us magnets would have meant a long commute. Unless your home school is Blair, in which case the SMCS is a no-brainer...

Please do not let yourself be swayed by DCUM idiots who complain non-stop about MCPS. The money you spend on private is not negligible, and can be invested or spent on other things.

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