Reply to Going to Richard Montgomery IB after Takoma Park MS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here.  Goodness, people.  We haven't heard from Blair yet.  [/quote]
Every year, there are a handful of kids from Eastern MS and Takoma MS (and I am sure several from non magnet MS) who get into both Blair and RMIB and have to choose.   It is never an easy choice because while both programs are excellent they are not similar.
English and Social Studies will be better in RMIB and Math and Science will be better at SMAC.  However, English and Social Studies at Blair will be just as strong as it would be at the best high schools in MCPS and Math and Science will be just as good at RMIB as they would be in any strong IB program.  Math and Science will not be the same as it would be at SMAC though because the curriculum is unique and you have a group of very good teachers and a peer group that is highly engaged in these subject areas.  
If your child does not get into SMAC, he/she will be assured of a wonderful education at RMIB but is likely to find the Math and Science offerings less exciting than the ones at Blair.  If he/she gets into Blair and ends up accepting that spot, he/she will not get the same level of instruction in writing in particular.  
I guess what I am trying to say is that there are clear tradeoffs but he/she will be challenged and get a fine education in either program.
If your child really only wants to go to Blair and does not get in, it is not obvious to me that he/she should attend RMIB.  Yes it is an excellent program but it is extremely demanding and I imagine it would be pretty miserable to handle the heavy workload and stress unless you would thrive in a liberal arts program and love to write.  I hope you can arrange for your child to shadow so he/she knows exactly what the four year experience would entail.  
Also FWIW, according to friends who had one child at RMIB and one child at WJ, they felt the science and Math at WJ was better than those offerings at RMIB.  RMIB was head and shoulders above WJ in the other subjects according to this same friend.  She felt both kids made the right choice based on their interests.  There are of course plenty of kids from RMIB who go onto study and excel in science and engineering in college and grad school so it is hardly a disadvantage for a child who wants to make a career in science to attend RMIB but if you are only interested in whether the four year experience at RMIB is ideal for a student who is passionate about math and science, you might want to consider SMAC or your home high school.[/quote]

How is college placement if you end up in the bottom half of the RMIB program?[/quote]

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