Reply to Another article about the magnet programs in Washington Post

Forum Index » Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

Reply to "Another article about the magnet programs in Washington Post "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] [quote]

We are probably going to end up suggesting ds take this path from magnet MS - UMD for undergrad to save money for grad school.  How has it worked out for your kids and their peers?[/quote]

it is working out well for our two kids - both received full ride scholarships from umd. DC1 is getting his engineering phd (fully funded) @ "top 5" engineering school and DC2 wants to go to med school so we are saving 529 money for that purpose. DC2 will be able to come out of med school without debt/loan. i am 100% sure they couldn't do it without mcps magnet programs.

so, yeah, it's fine. kids always have to deal with "you worked that hard for umd?" or "you settled with umd?" comments but other than that it's all good. coming out of umd with high gpa is much harder than people think. [/quote]
Thanks - this is really heartening.  Congrats to your kids - they have worked really hard for their success and they sound very pragmatic. 
 I know the Engineering program has an excellent rep.  How are the pre-med majors?  Has dc2 been able to do the research or internships that would help him/her apply to med school?  [/quote]

DC2 is still at UMD and has maintained 4.0 GPA so far but it's still too early to count the eggs. DC2 has found a professor and currently supporting him with his research and also working as a TA. Applied for bunch of internships for coming summer but has not heard back yet (but should shortly). UMD pre-med is competitive but I can't complain. No hand-holding but as long as kids try and seek support, the help is there.   [/quote]
Thanks - it sounds like your child has learned to stay focused and to create opportunities for himself.  I'm sure getting through SMAC was excellent prep in this regard.  Getting into med school is hard even if you have done everything right (as he has) so I understand how you feel.  [b]This is dc's goal too and we have spoken about how saving money by going to UMD would be sensible but at the back of my mind I wonder what might happen if he does not get into med school- would we then regret not shelling out the big bucks for the highly rated liberal arts college/univ? [/b] You may have a diff. perspective having sent two kids to UMD - it sounds like you are very satisfied with their educational exp. which is saying a lot considering they came from a program like Blair SMAC.  [/quote]

Yeah, I understand but I don't know what to tell you. There are so many variables that can change between now and when your kid applies to med schools. Our approach has been take it one semester at a time - maintain GPA, do research, hospital volunteer work...etc. Do all the things DC can control and let chips fall where they may. I personally don't think it matters much whether you go to UMD or a highly rated liberal art college for med school bound kids. You still have to prove yourself.  Good luck to your kid. [/quote]
Thanks - when our time comes it will be helpful to know that others have walked in our shoes.  I will try and take your advice and counsel my kid to take it one step at a time and to let the chips fall where they may.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics