Why? So he can struggle all through high school?

Her son does have some major tests this week, right before the quarter ends. So to the extent she can get him to study more and pull up those B's, this would be the opportunity.

Well OP, what good does it do to obsess over it? Your son is already under a lot of stress. Of course an A is better than a B, but what's done is done.

Wouldn't it be better if you can help him see that there're other options? What happens if he's putting all his eggs, hopes and dreams into RM and doesn't get in?

Good luck!

RM is even tougher to get into than Blair - you could point that out to him. I think RM takes 1 out of 8 or 9 applicants, whereas the Blair magnet and CAP take 1 out of 4 or 5 applicants. So he does need those As to stand out from the crowd.

I actually wish my magnet DC wanted to go to RM, but he wants the Blair magnet. I'm 8:55 again, and I wrote what I did about helping your kid understand that cruising into the MS magnet with straight As from ES is a bit different from cruising into the HS magnets with a more mixed report card from MS. It took my DC a while to grasp this, and that some effort is needed, but once he got it and picked out a college he wants (no help from me, and I'm not sure it's the right college for him), he's been working hard.

Anonymous wrote:

He wants to pursue RM or Blair badly. He does not wnat to go to the local High School. That said, he is not too perturbed by the B's.

If he is not too perturbed by the Bs than he doesn't want RM or Blair badly enough. Which is not a bad thing, really. It sounds like he knows something about himself. Does he have any other options? Privates, etc?

Actually he does want to go to RM very badly, Blair not so much. Our local HS has an IB program, that is his other option, howevever he would be very dissapointed if he is separated from his friends who are at his current school. Hw will not like to go to private school and we do not think it is prudent to invest so much money in school education (we have three kids), when we know they would need money in college.

I was wondering if parents whose kids have been accepted at RM and Blair can respond, whether it is a huge deal in acceptance or not. Yesterday, he came home feeling dejected that one of his class presentation did not go too well. He was hoping that this presentation will change his grade in one subject to an A.

He has other accomplishment that he has own county science fair and has been recognized in national fairs. His Lexile is way over chart and his interest is very varied - loves photography, computer, math, reading. It is true that his needs will not be easily met at his home school. More importantly he would not have a peer group at his local school, that is my concern.

If your kid wants the magnet programs badly, but isn't concerned about the Bs, it's possible he doesn't get the connection between grades and magnet acceptances. He probably cruised through ES with A's and getting into the MS magnet may have seemed easy to him.

Is there any way you can explain the importance of grades in this process to him -- but this is key, without getting him too worked up, and without seeming worked up yourself? A calm, maybe even humorous approach drawing on your own experiences applying to college.

Also, does he have any outside accomplishments in math/science/computers that he can use as a hook? The magnet folks look for kids whose needs can't be satisfied outside the magnet, and if he's excelled in some area to the point where he needs advanced classes, this is a good hook.

He wants to pursue RM or Blair badly. He does not wnat to go to the local High School. That said, he is not too perturbed by the B's.

If he is not too perturbed by the Bs than he doesn't want RM or Blair badly enough. Which is not a bad thing, really. It sounds like he knows something about himself. Does he have any other options? Privates, etc?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:His educational options are done if the B is in a foreign language or a math that is higher than Algebra 1. No ivy league school will take a student who got a B in middle school. Better to kill him now, and end his suffering. Hopefully you didn't wait until you were 40 to have him and you can still have other children who can make you proud and attain the goals you have set forth for them.

Haha, Yes. The voice of reason. Be gentle with the parents on this--our intensity is just crazy, I know. We need to laugh at ourselves for sure.

Actually the really snide thing about this post is that the poster has listed the middle school classes that show up on the high school transcript - honors foreign language, math, and I think now english too (or maybe Social Studies) show up on the high school transcript. Crazy.

Just ignore those who make sick comments. That post was disgusting. Probably made by some unhappy person with a sick and dark heart who enjoys other people's suffering.

OP Here. He is in magnet program and his friends have all A's. He wants to pursue RM or Blair badly. He does not wnat to go to the local High School. That said, he is not too perturbed by the B's. To give him the credit, he gets A's in most subjects every year. Our concern is that the new teachers who write recommendations will probably weigh his current grade heavily and that with his grades for 1st quarter (since the application is due at the end of this month) will not look convincing enough to tell the selection committee that he needs the programs to just stay challenged and motivated. Other fact is in the magnet program, all the kids are super smart and hence his recommendation will be poor because of his gardes in comparison to his friends. May be I am worrying unnecessarily; may be he will do fine with essays, his test scores, and his extra curricular activities.

For the one parent who wrote about him missing Ivy league, I get your sarcasm. We will take one step at a time and will talk about the "Ivy League" in 4 years! However I do not find your sense of humor matching mine, since even in my humorous best I cannot talk about killing my kids!

Anonymous wrote:His educational options are done if the B is in a foreign language or a math that is higher than Algebra 1. No ivy league school will take a student who got a B in middle school. Better to kill him now, and end his suffering. Hopefully you didn't wait until you were 40 to have him and you can still have other children who can make you proud and attain the goals you have set forth for them.

Haha, Yes. The voice of reason. Be gentle with the parents on this--our intensity is just crazy, I know. We need to laugh at ourselves for sure.

I think that the overall application process captures far more information than this, and so while those Bs may have some impact, there are many other factors that will be weighed as well (how he tests, the essay he writes, teacher recs).

One thing to consider (we are considering this) is whether he himself cares about these Bs, and whether/how much he really wants to pursue these magnet programs. Whether he gets in is a different question from whether he wants to go. Our child, an eighth grader at a magnet, is also applying to these high schools, but DC's level of enthusiasm for the process is very striking to me. I'm wondering if DC is burnt out at 13yo and if we should be considering a less intense track for high school.

His educational options are done if the B is in a foreign language or a math that is higher than Algebra 1. No ivy league school will take a student who got a B in middle school. Better to kill him now, and end his suffering. Hopefully you didn't wait until you were 40 to have him and you can still have other children who can make you proud and attain the goals you have set forth for them.

Anonymous wrote:The recent grades for some tasks in 2 subjects (out of 6 subjects) will probably put my DS's grade at B. He is applying to Blair magnet and RM IB programs. His grade will have a cumulative effect on the teacher recommendations, we think. We are very worried that his application will suffesr because of this. Is our concern genuine or we are worrying unnecessarily?

Probably both. Far worse if you're projecting your anxiety to a 13 yr old boy because he got 2 Bs.

The recent grades for some tasks in 2 subjects (out of 6 subjects) will probably put my DS's grade at B. He is applying to Blair magnet and RM IB programs. His grade will have a cumulative effect on the teacher recommendations, we think. We are very worried that his application will suffesr because of this. Is our concern genuine or we are worrying unnecessarily?