Mine were in all magnets, but this was in the old system. Even so, there were a few non magnet kids in the Blair magnet.

I think with the current system, there are a wider variety of kids getting in (and not getting in), rather than the same group getting into everything.

Good luck to your kid!

Anonymous wrote:How common is it for non magnet kids to get into the Blair Stem magnet?

Or on the contrary how likely is it that a kid will get admitted to all of the MCPS magnets straight through?

My kid said they heard some stats but I thought they sounded unreliable.

There are very few magnet seats countywide at middle school level (300) compared to the magnets at high school level (500 just between Blair, RM, and PV). Plus there are so many more high school programs including IB and AP cohorts. Many kids in a MS magnet will return to home high school pyramid. Many MS kids who weren’t in a magnet will apply in HS. There are also kids who switch out of a K-8 private school or homeschool to come to public HS and end up in the magnets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering this question, too. The chances we'd get into either Eastern or TP are so low, given the current system, so I'm not sure how much benefit it would confer for admissions into the various high school magnets.

The good news is this is the last year of lottery, but nobody knows what's next.

I guess that's good news? LOL

I was just discussing this issue yesterday with an older colleague, whose kids went through MCPS ~10-20 years ago (and I went to MCPS 30 years ago). I don't know that looking for information about this year's incoming freshman will be helpful because who knows what the process will be in three years, when DD will be in 8th grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is an 8th grader in the TPMS magnet and was admitted through the old system: mysterious merit, not lottery like the current 7th and 6th graders. So wouldn't next year's Blair Magnet class be the same as the older ones with more TPMS kids?

Current 8th grader was through the lottery system. Did your kid take the cogat test?

Current 8th grader took the CoGAT test in winter 2019. Then covid bursted and changed everything (or giving a good excuse to eliminate CoGAT, likely forever).

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering this question, too. The chances we'd get into either Eastern or TP are so low, given the current system, so I'm not sure how much benefit it would confer for admissions into the various high school magnets.

The good news is this is the last year of lottery, but nobody knows what's next.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is an 8th grader in the TPMS magnet and was admitted through the old system: mysterious merit, not lottery like the current 7th and 6th graders. So wouldn't next year's Blair Magnet class be the same as the older ones with more TPMS kids?

Yes, it should be similar to previous years when there was no CogAT.

I'm wondering this question, too. The chances we'd get into either Eastern or TP are so low, given the current system, so I'm not sure how much benefit it would confer for admissions into the various high school magnets.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is an 8th grader in the TPMS magnet and was admitted through the old system: mysterious merit, not lottery like the current 7th and 6th graders. So wouldn't next year's Blair Magnet class be the same as the older ones with more TPMS kids?

Current 8th grader was through the lottery system. Did your kid take the cogat test?

My kid is an 8th grader in the TPMS magnet and was admitted through the old system: mysterious merit, not lottery like the current 7th and 6th graders. So wouldn't next year's Blair Magnet class be the same as the older ones with more TPMS kids?

Anonymous wrote:Yes due to the lotteries there is much more of a mix and no particular path.

The first lottery group isn't until next year so we won't really know. However, the TPMS magnet does prepare kids to do well in the HS magnet so if you happen to be one of the stronger kids in the TPMS magnet you probably have a solid chance.

In the past you were well prepared for it if you had gone to TPMS. Many of the kids from the TPMS magnet wound up at Blair.

But that was pre-lottery where they were all kids that tested at the very top.

Also TPMS kids seem more likely to accept since they'd already left their home school for a magnet while many others may have turned it down.

When my child went through (class of 2020), about half the kids were from the TP Magnet. This was pre-lottery. She did not come from a middle school magnet. Freshman year math was challenging but she was ok.

Yes due to the lotteries there is much more of a mix and no particular path.

My non magnet sophomore was worried about making friends in the Blair magnet last year because they assumed everyone would already know each other from TPMS, but there were plenty of non magnet kids. I’m guessing the percentage of non magnet MS kids admitted to HS magnets will go up when this year’s 7th graders apply for HS next year, since they are the first class with lottery MS admissions.

How common is it for non magnet kids to get into the Blair Stem magnet?

Or on the contrary how likely is it that a kid will get admitted to all of the MCPS magnets straight through?

My kid said they heard some stats but I thought they sounded unreliable.