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[quote=Anonymous]Adding my two cents as Holton parent and Potomac aunt (kids are in close but different years). Both kids are very different, and very happy at their schools. Nephew is a very confident, sporty kid who is happy to go with or lead the pack. Daughter is also a confident but undercover extroverted, sporty kid with a strong sense of individuality and wants to walk her own path. That said, both kids work hard and thrive in academic pressure, which is definitely present in both schools.

So when our DD was applying, we also wanted to know where these schools stand with academic rigor and college outcome but these were just two of the many factors we considered. If strictly looking at academics, we found that both schools were similarly strong - test scores, college outcome, curriculum, teacher tenure, etc. As PP mentioned, it is much easier to get a sense of college matriculation these days by checking out the school's instagram page (note that not all kids post). Interestingly, in some years, we saw Holton with slightly higher test scores (SAT/ACT averages), but by just a hair not high enough to include as a deciding factor.

Looking at both kids right now, both schools have stellar humanities programs, a huge reason we chose privates (when we first started on this journey we had moved to a really good public school pyramid, but much later found their humanities to be lacking). We are finding that Holton has a slightly more deliberate STEM focus based on the curriculum and materials that our daughter is working through for the same years as our nephew. Not saying it's the most advanced when compared to top publics or TJ - we've also explored those - but enough to keep DD challenged.

The "more well known and sought after" feeling you're sensing could be due to a variety of factors: proximity to DC, politicians' kids attending, limited comparable VA privates resulting in more demand. Having gone through the admissions processes for these two, we also saw how this played out - there was a stark difference between the two. And of all the privates explored, we have to say that Holton had the most welcoming and organized process that also did not seem forced/fake. They provided a lot of communication and opportunities to visit the school for events and meet current parents. But most importantly the Admissions team took a genuine interest and the time to learn about our daughter and also get to know us as parents. On the other hand, we felt Potomac's admissions didn't give a (: _ _ _ _ :) on whether we applied or accepted. Not that this should matter, as we've heard the in-school experience has been fantastic for our nephew.

So far, the genuine interest and care is something we continue to see for our DD and her classmates. Holton has been more willing to work with the whole child to build them up individually (this was very important for our daughter) and academically, whereas Potomac was less tolerant of differences when it came to academic results (more quick to counsel out) and even sports participation (our nephew knows of Potomac kids getting push back from administration for participating in outside sports in lieu of the school sports).

Ultimately our DD chose Holton for all the other reasons, but if she were to choose Potomac, we would have been equally pleased with their academics. And our nephew just didn't have that choice :) but have heard his parents share they sometimes wished Holton was co-ed. We are lucky that both kids found a school that is a good fit for them so far and they've also found their social circles. Both are academically challenged and will be more than college ready.

Good luck!

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