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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Both send kids to MIT to study engineering. If you’re that kid, you’ll be able to go regardless of the school. If you’re not, you won’t be able to regardless of the school. Focus less on comparing schools and more on finding the right fit for your kid[/quote]

I agree with this....and I agree with others who say writing/humanities side is stronger at private.

But I will say there's some more nuance depending on what you want for your kid...or frankly...whether your kid is able to succeed across many dimensions.

From recent reports of Big 3 graduates heading to engineering programs - they say the kids coming out of a math/science magnet do tend to be a bit more advanced. This doesn't mean the Big 3 (probably Big X) aren't prepared or don't do as well - they all know how to work hard and do what is needed to catch up and it evens out after a year or so.  But the kids do say they notice a difference compared to the kids coming from hard core STEM based programs.

I think it depends how well rounded you want your child to be. And whether you think your kid will work to be well rounded at the expense of some hard core STEM (that they can just get later in college). Attitude is important here for both parent and child - and in the end - you can shove a square peg into a round hole.

I'd venture that the Big X graduates will have had better public speaking and writing backgrounds - so even if doing STEM as their eventual career  - they are well suited for a wider set of jobs (not just number crunching, but jobs that need to also have communication and leadership skills).

I say this partially based on my math kid who attended CTY for many summers with crazy crazy brilliant kids in STEM subjects. Every time, the feedback from the teacher to us was how our kid stood apart (by a lot) in presentations, in communication skills, in working with others, and explaining very complex "math work" in words and thoughts. These were not instead of their math accomplishments in the class...but in addition to.  I credit all of these to the strength of their private schools - this is a total introvert kid, so these skills were not based on their own personality.

Granted, these other writing/communication/presentation skills are VERY frustrating for some highly gifted people, so it depends on whether you want to put your child through the frustrations of honing those other skills while also having to "suffer fools" who aren't at their STEM level. It's sadly the case that sometimes gifted students are impatient and look down on other students (and teachers too) when they are not challenged on the single dimension that interests them. I think it's important to quash that sort of thought - but many parents feed it.[/quote]

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