Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I meant size of Rachel Carson (not Rocky Run) compared to Longfellow.sorry about that.

Anecdotally, I know several Longfellow to McLean teens who choose McLean because they felt the benefits didn't out weigh the hassles of TJ. The commute for one is a hurdle, especially if you can walk to your home HS. That is more freedom for the student. They want to be with their friends, since Rachel Carson is a split feeder to so may HS- that may not be a factor for them. In recent years, we have seen no rhyme or reason who gets in to TJ and who doesn't. Students we thought were slam dunk didn't get accepted- others that were extremely iffy did. That puts a damper on the next year. There is definitely a sector that has cooled to TJ. There is another set of kids that go to private in HS and maybe they also did not see the benefits out weighing the negatives.

Longfellow is SO much closer to TJ than other areas like Rocky Run etc. I'm surprised the commute isn't more of a deterrent for Rocky RUn kids-it is way out there.

Which part of Longfellow feeds to langley? I thought cooper went to langley?

Our DC is at Longfellow and we can confirm that many students we thought would apply did not from the Langley contingent.

Anonymous wrote:Rocky Run has more Asians than Longfellow.

and Rachel Carson has most of them all; naturally it gets the most kids into TJ.

Rocky Run has more Asians than Longfellow.

Anonymous wrote:I meant size of Rachel Carson (not Rocky Run) compared to Longfellow.sorry about that.

Anecdotally, I know several Longfellow to McLean teens who choose McLean because they felt the benefits didn't out weigh the hassles of TJ. The commute for one is a hurdle, especially if you can walk to your home HS. That is more freedom for the student. They want to be with their friends, since Rachel Carson is a split feeder to so may HS- that may not be a factor for them. In recent years, we have seen no rhyme or reason who gets in to TJ and who doesn't. Students we thought were slam dunk didn't get accepted- others that were extremely iffy did. That puts a damper on the next year. There is definitely a sector that has cooled to TJ. There is another set of kids that go to private in HS and maybe they also did not see the benefits out weighing the negatives.

AAP (8th) % of AAP who applied
Carson 291 82%
Rocky Run 244 73%
Longfellow 240 69%
Kilmer 207 80%
Frost 160 64%
Lake Braddock 171 52%
Jackson 128 58%
Twain 91 89%

I meant size of Rachel Carson (not Rocky Run) compared to Longfellow.sorry about that.

Anonymous wrote:Wondering why Longfellow had so much fewer than rocky run who tested. Anyone know what the % tested to number of students in the grade is? (Ie is rocky run just a much bigger school than Longfellow)

Longfellow had 13 fewer students who tested than Rocky Run, and two fewer admitted. That is not a big difference.

Rocky Run is a smaller school than Longfellow, with a smaller AAP center as well, but it has a higher percentage of Asian students than Longfellow. Asian students have had the most success recently at getting into TJ, so they can be expected to apply in greater numbers. In addition, Longfellow kids who don't go to TJ end up at McLean, Langley and Marshall, wheras Rocky Run kids who don't apply end up at schools that aren't rated quite so highly - Chantilly, Fairfax and Westfield. That may also give Rocky Run kids a greater incentive to apply to TJ, even though some may have a bear of a commute.

I am curious, however, as to why the admissions rate from Kilmer was so much lower this year than the admissions rate from Carson, Longfellow and Rocky Run (over 10% lower), particularly since the percentage of Asian students at Kilmer and Longfellow is about the same and the AAP kids from Cooper/Langley go to both Kilmer and Longfellow. Any theories?

They seem to be the same size roughly. At Longfellow through various activities one can get a pretty good sense of class rank - eg, which cut you make at Math Counts, where you land in Science Olympiad- so I don't think that many kids without a real shot bother to take the test these days. Don't know if Rocky Run is the same.

Wondering why Longfellow had so much fewer than rocky run who tested. Anyone know what the % tested to number of students in the grade is? (Ie is rocky run just a much bigger school than Longfellow)

Anonymous wrote:In other words:

tested semifinalist admitted % of tested admitted % of semifinalists admitted
Carson 239 178 83 35% 47%
Rocky Run 179 133 56 31% 42%
Longfellow 166 126 54 33% 43%
Kilmer 165 106 32 19% 30%
Frost 103 67 23 22% 34%
Lake Braddock 89 58 15 17% 26%
Jackson 74 42 12 16% 29%
Twain 81 30 11 14% 37%

Another way to look at it is that there are now over 150 disappointed kids at Carson, vs. just over 60 at Jackson. Parents of high-performing kids who really want to get in may not necessarily be making a wise decision gravitating to the pressure cooker middle schools.

Odd logic. How do you improve your chances of getting in by going to a school with a lower admissions rate? Only works if you assume the other applicants from that middle school aren't really serious or equally qualified, which seems rather condescending.

In other words:

tested semifinalist admitted % of tested admitted % of semifinalists admitted
Carson 239 178 83 35% 47%
Rocky Run 179 133 56 31% 42%
Longfellow 166 126 54 33% 43%
Kilmer 165 106 32 19% 30%
Frost 103 67 23 22% 34%
Lake Braddock 89 58 15 17% 26%
Jackson 74 42 12 16% 29%
Twain 81 30 11 14% 37%

Another way to look at it is that there are now over 150 disappointed kids at Carson, vs. just over 60 at Jackson. Parents of high-performing kids who really want to get in may not necessarily be making a wise decision gravitating to the pressure cooker middle schools.

Thank you... This is what I was looking for few days ago.

http://mclean.patch.com/groups/schools/p/which-middle-school-sent-the-most-students-to-virginias-top-high-school698379

School:Applied:1stcut:admitted

Rachel Carson 239:179:83
Rocky Run 179:133:56
Longfellow 166:126:54
..... the link gives more stats