Reply to Where do people move to (w/ school name) in VA or MD if they struck out on lottery and inbound is not an option?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP we have not moved yet as we are not yet at that point (on the Hill and feel it's coming though). However, since I don't being at the mercy of the lottery, I've done a ton of research on this. We can only do Maryland for commute reasons. Here's what I've found:

- We are largely priced out of the western part of Bethesda/Potomac. I also feel these schools may be too intense for our family. Our kid is very bright but is highly sensitive. Our approach is usually to provide opportunity and support but not pressure, and then see what she does. I don't think she'd do well in a pressure cooker environment as she tends to internalize that kind of competition and even when she performs well, it's at the cost of her well being. So we are unlikely to stretch for a school like Whitman or Walter Johnson.

- Our best options seem to be in the eastern half of MoCo, specifically Einstein and Blair though we are looking at all of them. This will likely be our first choice and we may move sooner than later because these areas are getting more expensive all the time. A complicating factor here is the DCC (Downcounty Consortium) which allows students to apply to magnet programs at high school's outside their boundary. If your child is starting high school in the fall, you should look into the rules for applying to these programs and timing (I truly do not know, the deadlines might have already passed, I don't know if you can apply after freshman year). But when looking at these schools, make sure that you understand whether you are even eligible for the magnet program, and if not, make sure you are evaluating the non-magnet program when deciding if it's a fit. For instance, for us, our DC is very interested in the arts and Einstein is well known for its visual and performing arts programs. However, this is mostly due to the fact that it has magnet programs in these areas -- an IB student attending Einstein would get decent arts programming, but that's different than the magnet programming the school gets lauded for. But that's only available to the magnet students. Anyway, be aware of this feature of MoCo high schools as you make choices.

- Another option we're considering is Howard County, which is considered both pretty chill and with excellent schools, plus is more affordable than MoCo. Obviously the downside is distance from DC. We're really torn right now as to whether we are ready to make that leap. For us, the commute wouldn't be that bad, but after decades in DC it feels like really moving "away" socially. DH has some colleagues who live there, but those are the only people we know there and I don't really even know them very well. But it does feel like a good fit, and the value of the schools for the price of homes there feels better than anything we'd get in DC or MoCo. Some people also seem to like Ann Arundel county for similar reasons, but the commute makes less sense for us and it doesn't feel like a good cultural fit so we've ruled it out.[/quote]

Einstein parent here with a clarification: the arts magnet at Einstein is the Visual Arts Center or VAC. This is a very small magnet program for the county's best visual artists. There is also the Visual and Performing Arts Academy or VAPA, which is open to any student attending Einstein.[/quote]

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