Anonymous wrote:Can someone speak to the actual metrics between the 2 cohorts in these programs? What's the average SAT score, what percent got into top 20 colleges, how many AP exams were taken/passed, IB diploma pass rate, etc.?
Our kid got into both. We are much much loser to WM.
You have to consider a number of factors:
On the one hand for RM:
- The outcomes in IB are better because the best IB teachers are there and have been running the IB curriculum at the highest level
- This means his peer group at RM will be more impressive academically than the one at the regional
On the other hand for WM:
- If your kid is quite gifted, you know what they say about being a big fish in a small pond. The competition and threshold to stand out at WM is going to be lower than at RM, which is more competitive
- Furthermore, college admissions are based on school profile. Your kid has a better change of standing out at WM than RM, where there are going to more similarly academically strong kids than them.
So it's really about what you're prioritizing. If you're prioritizing your kid having the best network, with the strongest academic kids, in a highly competitive environment, pick RM.
If you want something that's smaller, less competitive, and maybe even more nurturing and attentive, than I think WM is better. Just know that the quality in terms of peers and instructors is likely to be lower than RM's. As long as you're fine with that tradeoff, then you can go with WM.