Reply to College admissions from low SES

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[quote=Anonymous]High SES parents are not going to move to low SES schools to try and game the admissions system. Take a look at TJ HS admissions. There are plenty of MS in FCPS that do not hit the 1.5% of 8th graders to attend TJ and we all know it. You don't see parents from Carson, Rocky Run, Cooper, or Longfellow moving to place their kids at Poe HS so they have a guaranteed seat to attend TJ. Some people said they would do that when the change was first announced but no one has actually done that.

Why is that? Because most people agree that the cohort your kid is surrounded by matters and the larger the group of kids who share your families goal of high academic achievement, the better.

Great Falls parents have been fighting tooth and nail to keep their kids at Langley over Herndon even though many of them are closer to Herndon and the bus ride would be shorter. Just review the boundary topic. Crossfield families are doing the same thing right now to stay at Oakton and not attend Skyview because they are so attached to Oakton's academic standing.

I know that my kid can get an excellent education at any HS in FCPS, the AP/IB programs are strong and they all have a cohort that cares about school. The reality is, I prefer my kids have more kids around them that care about school then fewer kids and lower SES schools have more kids whose families did not complete HS, never mind college, and who are not focused on academics. There are smart and capable kids at low SES schools whose parents did not complete HS or college and some will work their butts off, take AP classes, and do well on the SAT and go to excellent colleges but not many. We celebrate those individuals who pull themselves up by their bootstraps but we are all aware that they are rare cases, not the norm. It they were the norm, we wouldn't be as impressed.

I don't care about the SAT score differences. The bright kids at low SES schools are going to have lower test scores. Mom and Dad are not paying for tutoring programs and classes and individualized tutoring that the hyper competitive parents at High SES schools are paying for. The reality is that a self studied for 1500 is in many ways more impressive then the NMF at Langley whose parents had their kids in enrichment since ES and working with SAT tutors through HS. It is a false metric for any number of reasons. A kid with a FARMS student 1500 SAT who is accepted at Harvard will have their tuition paid for and doesn't need to be a NMF or NMSF or commended student. The kid from Langley needs the higher test scores to try and standout from the 100 other kids who have been prepped and enriched their entire lives and have the same test scores and grades.  [/quote]

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