Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m very surprised at the high MAP M scores posted without being offered a place on SMCS. Is it possible that your essays showed that ecology was a better fit/didn’t show a strong preference for STEM?

I would like to think so. DD certainly did not show strong preference for SMCS in her essay, but neither showed a strong preference for Global. She has excellent ECS.
That makes us feel like it was purely score based and certainly essay or ecs did not play a role in the SMCS decision (like they originally mentioned), unless someone less than her score (278) got invited for SMCS.

OP here. Last year, the Blair admissions officer said the median MAP-M score for accepted students was 273. That means 50 out of 100 students got in with a score below 273. So, I think things like the essay and extracurriculars also play a big role in admissions.

My kid’s MAP-M score is over 290. His essay is all about his love for insects and animals, and for extracurriculars, he wrote about how he’s been really involved with the nature center.😂

Anonymous wrote:I’m very surprised at the high MAP M scores posted without being offered a place on SMCS. Is it possible that your essays showed that ecology was a better fit/didn’t show a strong preference for STEM?

I would like to think so. DD certainly did not show strong preference for SMCS in her essay, but neither showed a strong preference for Global. She has excellent ECS.
That makes us feel like it was purely score based and certainly essay or ecs did not play a role in the SMCS decision (like they originally mentioned), unless someone less than her score (278) got invited for SMCS.

I’m very surprised at the high MAP M scores posted without being offered a place on SMCS. Is it possible that your essays showed that ecology was a better fit/didn’t show a strong preference for STEM?

A neighbor's kid goes to Poolesville Global. We are also near Shady Grove Metro.

Kid likes it and also plays a sport. It is a long day especially during sports season. At some point, kid will drive.

You can also look for/organize a carpool.

I'm on the same boat. My DD has a MAP-M of 278 and is waitlisted for Poolesville SMCS, but got invited to Global. She is very happy about it since she always was inclined towards Global and less keen on SMCS. However we still were wondering if we really would have still chosen global over SMCS, in case we got it. And also given that the chances of getting a spot from waitlist on SMCS is very slim, we hope she will be challenged and happy with Global Ecology.

PP again. My kid could have also taken CS for SMCs after AP CS A. He tried as a junior but found the class too difficult and switched out of the class into AP Stats. He said it was harder and more work than his other 6 classes combined which included BC Cal, AP Lang etc.

While my son wasn’t successful in taking the advanced level CS, it’s available to those that are.

The nice thing about Global vs SMCs in my opinion is that you have more choices in your path and can “ramp up” or “ramp down” depending on how things go.

I posted above. I have a senior in Global and by attending Poolesville you can take many classes that are higher level math/science in junior/senior years.

My kid is taking MV and AP Physics C for example, which are options for Global students. He is also taking the required AP Research class and will likely graduate with the AP Capstone diploma. He is currently applying for summer research program and being able to his primary discuss research experience on his applications is definitely a plus.

The kids at Poolesville are friendly and while it is a competitive school, they are generally competitive with trying to do the best themselves, and don’t try to bring others down. Since the school is at least 50 percent test in magnet (210/current 360 freshman class) there are a lot of new kids that attend each year from different schools and the kids are accepting.

They’ve revamped the Global program in the last 4-8 years and it’s a more rigorous program than it was before with the inclusion of AP Research/AP Seminar.

I personally think it’s the most mentally healthy magnet program out there too. All the field trips provide good bonding experiences for the kids and it’s a great break from the grind. While your child may be a bit disappointed at getting WL at Blair, Global kids are known as the happiest kids in the school. The teachers at PHS are accepting/understanding of the field trips. The only exception to this is the lower level SMCs teachers who I’ve been told give Global kids a hard time and I think Poolesville even mentions that SMCs math is tough for Global students due to field trips. However that track is only available to kids who were accepted to SMACs/SMCs not who were WL anyway. My son was in the same boat accepted to Global and WL to SMCs.

The only teacher we struggled with in terms of being incredibly harsh with Global students and field trips was an AP Stats teacher who also teaches SMCs lower level math. She gave my son a couple of zeros on small assignments because she didn’t believe in the Global makeup policy. I’m sure we could have fought it but we moved on and it ultimately didn’t make a difference in my son’s semester grade. We have had no issues with AP Physics/MV or BC teachers for example.

I have no idea what the average SAT score is for students in Global is since it’s not published separately only the whole school numbers are but I’d guess it’s fairly high. My son earned slightly lower than the average Blair SMAC SAT score which is a 1530 at 1520 (780 math). He’ll graduate with 14 AP classes and a near perfect GPA. He earned one B second semester junior year and will earn 1 B has a first semester senior. Poolesville kids do very well in general on AP scores.

I have a feeling now that Poolesville has a new school that the incoming Global student class will be even more competitive.

Good luck and congratulations. If you have any other questions, I’ll try to look back and respond.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- My kid was in Global and it’s a great program but how far is the commute for you?

We live not too far from Shady Grove Metro Station. Both Blair and Poolesville are really far, and since the school bus stop is at the very end of the route, the ride takes forever. My kid takes the school bus to TPMS, and because it's the last stop, he doesn’t get home until 4:40 PM. Blair shares the same bus route as TPMS, so if he goes to Blair, he’d still be getting home at 4:40.

Since he gets home so late, it’s really hard for him to do any after-school activities. That’s actually one of the reasons I kind of regret sending him to TPMS.

I know Poolesville is the #1 high school in Maryland, but I’ve never met anyone who goes there, so it feels pretty unfamiliar. Honestly, I think Poolesville would be a better fit for my kid than Blair. He has a high MAP-M score (>290), but he’s not really into math, engineering, or computer science. He’s way more interested in animals, insects, and the environment.

Then global sounds perfect. My kid is a 2023 Poolesville grad. Great school! Small size, great principal and programs.

Anonymous wrote:OP- My kid was in Global and it’s a great program but how far is the commute for you?

We live not too far from Shady Grove Metro Station. Both Blair and Poolesville are really far, and since the school bus stop is at the very end of the route, the ride takes forever. My kid takes the school bus to TPMS, and because it's the last stop, he doesn’t get home until 4:40 PM. Blair shares the same bus route as TPMS, so if he goes to Blair, he’d still be getting home at 4:40.

Since he gets home so late, it’s really hard for him to do any after-school activities. That’s actually one of the reasons I kind of regret sending him to TPMS.

I know Poolesville is the #1 high school in Maryland, but I’ve never met anyone who goes there, so it feels pretty unfamiliar. Honestly, I think Poolesville would be a better fit for my kid than Blair. He has a high MAP-M score (>290), but he’s not really into math, engineering, or computer science. He’s way more interested in animals, insects, and the environment.

OP- My kid was in Global and it’s a great program but how far is the commute for you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today, we received the magnet high school results via email. My child applied to Blair SMAC and Poolesville Global Ecology. Blair placed DS in the waitpool, but ds were invited to the Ecology program. He is currently in the TPMS magnet program and was most hopeful about Blair but didn’t get in. I’m concerned because it seems like not many students get accepted off the waitpool for Blair. What percentage of waitpool students typically get admitted to Blair?

OP- Your kid needs to focus on the current situation. Do they want to go to the Global Ecology program or not. There is no guarantee of getting chosen from the wait pool. Take the bird in hand.

You can drop out of your first acceptance if you get in from a wait pool later.

It may be different year to year but in DC's year heard no one got off the waitlist.

Anonymous wrote:Today, we received the magnet high school results via email. My child applied to Blair SMAC and Poolesville Global Ecology. Blair placed DS in the waitpool, but ds were invited to the Ecology program. He is currently in the TPMS magnet program and was most hopeful about Blair but didn’t get in. I’m concerned because it seems like not many students get accepted off the waitpool for Blair. What percentage of waitpool students typically get admitted to Blair?

OP- Your kid needs to focus on the current situation. Do they want to go to the Global Ecology program or not. There is no guarantee of getting chosen from the wait pool. Take the bird in hand.

Only a very small number each year. Maybe 0-5. No idea how that works as a percentage, though anecdotally, if you call regularly you may have more of a chance getting a spot if one opens up close to the start of school.

Today, we received the magnet high school results via email. My child applied to Blair SMAC and Poolesville Global Ecology. Blair placed DS in the waitpool, but ds were invited to the Ecology program. He is currently in the TPMS magnet program and was most hopeful about Blair but didn’t get in. I’m concerned because it seems like not many students get accepted off the waitpool for Blair. What percentage of waitpool students typically get admitted to Blair?