Anonymous wrote:BCC is one of the top 500-odd schools in the country, probably top 40 in the state of Maryland. It's also very large, largely white/Asian, and largely wealthy. This kind of privilege has advantages (strong academics) and disadvantages (produces shallow, cliquey kids who are drunk on their parents' money and sometimes, alcohol/drugs). It's a competitive school, and if your kid thrives in a competitive environment, the academics are stellar. DCI is a new school, very diverse, very nurturing, relatively small. Academics are uneven, but smart, driven kids will thrive.
I'm a BCC parent, think highly of the school, but the above description isn't really correct. According to MCPS, BCC's student body is currently 57.6% white, 5.4% Asian, 14.3% African American, 17.2% Hispanic, and 5.3% Multiracial. I can't rank the academics vis-a-vis other MCPS or DC schools, but it's far more challenging than my own HS experience was a billion years ago. I'm sure there's tons of privilege and the usual teenage partying, but my kid experiences zero of that - so there's a reasonably large and happy cohort of dorky students as well!