HGC is so worth it for the organizational, writing, and presentation skills. Even though attending HGC doesn't give kids a leg up in admissions to MS magnet, having these skills makes handling the work in MS magnets so much easier.

Child did get into MS magnet even after turning down HGC. Looking back, he says he should have gone to HGC. At MS magnet, he formed his peer group of friends and they are all HGC/magnet kids. Also, he didn't develop good study habits that the HGC really emphasizes.

Elementary age is the best time to gain those skills and make them your normal. That's something that is still a challenge for him in high school. MS did not do a good job of teaching study and test-taking skills, so he really had some huge bumps in 9th.

There are more HGC spots than there are magnet middle spots. So even if not all HGC kids apply to magnet middle, there are still so few spots overall in magnet middle that it's going to be very competitive to get in regardless. At the HGC intro meeting for prospective applicants, we were told by the magnet coordinator that there would be more than 600 applicants for 100 slots.

In our experience, most of my daughter's classmates in her magnet middle school program attended an HGC. She does know a few who attended home schools.

We are in Rockville and drive 10 minutes to a different bus stop that makes the trip 35 minutes shorter.

I think we all agree that the MS magnet is further away than the HGC.

I have talked to several parents, that live near me so we had the same schools/drives, who have quoted travel times that were not typical for what I found.

They didn't realize they could use any magnet bus stop in the county.

I don't know where you live but my guess is that by using part of your own commute to put your DC on the bus closer to either school, that you could have cut your door to door times by 1/3.

Well, except on days that it was raining.

"Our zones HGC was close to an hour away by bus each way. The MS magnet was close to 2."

Anonymous wrote:
The magnet is much more competitive, plenty of HGC kids are rejected. I think going to the HGC does confer an advantage in that the magnet committee does see that your child is capable of advanced work, however it's only a small one.

Therefore, my opinion is that it's stupid to refuse an HGC admission. One, it's near your house whereas the magnet may be an hour away (one way!). Two, your child may never go to any other magnet, given that the others are way harder to get into.

Our zones HGC was close to an hour away by bus each way. The MS magnet was close to 2.

The magnet is much more competitive, plenty of HGC kids are rejected. I think going to the HGC does confer an advantage in that the magnet committee does see that your child is capable of advanced work, however it's only a small one.

Therefore, my opinion is that it's stupid to refuse an HGC admission. One, it's near your house whereas the magnet may be an hour away (one way!). Two, your child may never go to any other magnet, given that the others are way harder to get into.

My child attended an HGC but we did not even apply to the middle school magnets for logistical reasons. I think the decision is completely independent.

Only about half the kids at hgc choose to go to middle magnets. Plenty of open spots.

No

Are they at a disadvantage when applying for admission to a competitive middle school magnet program?