Reply to Magnet/IB MCPS public schools and admission into top colleges

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would say that it is harder to stand out at a magnet program. I don’t think it gives you an advantage quite honestly. Lots of great reasons to attend a magnet program but college admissions isn’t one of them.

What seems to matter for elite institutions is having some kind of hook - high level athletics, music or national awards in science or CS competitions etc.    
you can look at prior years magnet destinations to see how many kids end up at mit or cal tech or CMU. It is highly variable from year to year and it is not clear to me that magnet programs have an edge over a regular high school with a good science program [/quote]

I disagree. My kid went to Blair, and that magnet is relatively small (100 per class), and it offers unique classes and a means to stand out through the variety of rigorous courses.  So, instead of the typical array of APs, kids may have Complex Analysis, AI, and/or Thermodynamics mixed in. The transcript also comes with a program description, and the program is recognized by top schools because of its national prominence. It is also intense, and the level of organization and investment kids make in the program may also show in the way they approach college apps. The same is probably true of IB kids.

I do think this could be an issue with large program like TJ, and may be true in high frequency majors like CS or Bio when it comes to Blair. But, overall, I'd say a magnet is a really good thing for college prep. [/quote]

Thank you for this advice. My DD will be trying for magnet or IB program for next year. She is a good student. Assuming she gets into the magnet program (her first choice), will she have a harder time standing out amongst the 100 kids who are all very bright and talented. Will she have better college admissions in her home school?[/quote]

I would venture it could be hard to stand out if certain majors CS or Bio, which seem (anecdotally) to be the hottest majors among the STEM set, or high app schools. But, in Blair/Poolesville and w/IB, there is a lot of room to create a unique profile. Mine focused more on math and actually applied for more arts related fields in the end.  If the kid is in Wheaton Engineering or Bio, those programs are only 30 students each, so, knowing kids apply all over, they should stand out too.[/quote]

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