Reply to Confused why BCC and other Western MOCO schools have so few high school options

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Since today is notification day, I was looking up what we would apply to next year for my son who is in 7th now. We zone to BCC. Compared to all the other schools, it seems like BCC kids (and the other Western/Southern schools) don’t have any magnet/application based options outside of [b]Blair SMCS[/b], RMIB, and Poolesville Ecology. My kids is a Biomedical/Engineering kid. Those application based magnets look fantastic. Why don’t the kids in our area get that option?[/quote]

The only one that's a true intellectual standout is the bolded. It's the TJ of Maryland. The other two are very nice, but not any better than W schools. The other "special programs" you are thinking of are not really selective. They're attractively-packaged to attract kids to traditionally under-served areas of the county, but the intellectual rigor, content quality and peer cohort just aren't there.

Eventually most parents realize this, and also take note of the ridiculous commute. [/quote]
LOL. RMIB is way better than the W schools.
[/quote]

It's just the regional IB center. Most students aren't interested in IB (compared to their home AP courses) because the IB program is a lot less flexible, and not as advanced in STEM. Also, BCC has a full IB program, plus a ton of AP courses.

For OP's kid and her or his interests:
BCC has some engineering intro courses, with classes like introduction to engineering design, etc. But these are essentially fancy fillers. Make no mistake, OP. Colleges aren't dazzled by electives or unusual coursework. They want to see RIGOR and national standards. The best engineering colleges are very selective. Your kid needs to do well on his STEM APs. Since they have prerequisites for the most part (math and science courses before you can get to the AP), you have to be very strategic in your kid's high school trajectory planning, because there is only so much you can fit in a 7-period schedule, with all the graduation requirements from the state of MD and the county. Also, you probably don't want to end up with 6 AP classes in one year. You have to distribute the load.

Your kid's math track will determine what STEM courses they can take when. If they're in Algebra 2 by 8th grade, I know some kids who have bypassed the 9th grade Honors Bio suggestion, and done variations of: 
9th: Honors Physics / Honors Precalc (or Honors Chem / Honors Precalc)
10th: AP Physics C / AP Calc BC / Honors Chem (or AP Chem / AP Calc BC / Honors Phys)
11th: AP Chem / Multivariable calculus (or AP Phys C / MVC)
12th: AP Bio / dual enrollment higher calculus at Montgomery College or UMD, or relax with AP Stats (the latter might be more useful for medicine, actually).

Along with some BCC engineering electives or computer science (AP Computer Science Principles is the tech requirement, then you can take AP Java).

Essentially, for anyone with a kid in middle school, the 9th grade course registration means coming up with a plan for all 4 years of high school.

TLDR: you only get to elite engineering universities with the most rigorous science classes, and those will either be at the Blair STEM magnet or any W school STEM AP schedule. No need to look further. Question is: is your kid hardcore enough?

[/quote]
You're saying not all schools offer the STEM AP classes you list above? My DD will be going to Blake and wants to be an engineer so it will be disappointing if the class selection is weak. I guess I should not have assumed courses would be somewhat equal
[/quote]

No one needs to take Multi-variable Calculus in high school to become an engineer.  I would argue that it offers no advantage to race through these math classes.[/quote]

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