Reply to Another article about the magnet programs in Washington Post

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So the fact that 40% of the program are National Merit Scholars and the average SAT score of the program is 2250 means nothing if kids choose to go to UMD because it has the program they want or is most financially manageable to them.[/quote]

The middle class/upper middle-class kids would still likely have SAT scores of 2250 and be NMS at their home schools.  The lower-income students would still be at the magnet.  So, I'm not saying it means nothing, I'm saying it's a wash.

Do you really think that UMD is these kids dream school?  (I'm not saying anything bad about the school).  [b]If Blair really created amazing students we would see more students going to top schools (both because they would get in and because of merit scholarships).[/b] [/quote]

"Top" schools (meaning those in the top 30 of the US News & World Report rankings) do not give merit aid.  Families with a household income of >$180K will not qualify for much if any need-based aid, but cannot afford to pay $65K+/year at a "top" school.  IOW, many Blair magnet students are very qualified, but their parents cannot afford to send them to e.g. Princeton, MIT, Harvard, and the like.

My son is a Blair junior and has close to perfect PSATs and a 4.6 weighted GPA.  In the 70s, we would have been looking for "top" schools for him.  But in 2016, that is not an option.  Our HHI of $210K tanks us for need-based aid.  So off to U.MD or the like he will go.  And he will do great.[/quote]

UMD is a great school. I don't get the viewpoint on this forum that it's Ivy or bust. I have no intention of pushing my kids into an Ivy. I don't think Ivies are automatic paths to success either and I've seen evidence of that in my peer group. A good state school education can take you far. [/quote]

Ivy's in this area have always been a big deal but they've gotten very unaffordable to many now.  I think it depends on the career field you choose.  A state school was more appropriate for what I choose as it had the major I wanted, but for my sibling who became a doctor, being in a ivy's does make a difference.  I care where my doctor was trained.  No one cares where I went for my profession.    I'd be thrilled if my children go to UMD.  We did the prepaid plan, so we just have to help with living expenses and then graduate school.  My goal is for them not to have any loans, like my parents did for us.[/quote]

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