OP, all the drawbacks that PPs have noted will wipe out whatever you gain in fit to specific "needs and interests." Our kid attends school in DC from around the same area as you, and that's already hard enough.

So far away Op

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not Bullis or Saint Andrew’s if in Moco? Unless a special sports or extracurricular situation, that’s where I’d look. The commute is going to be a headache.

This. We loved Flint Hill, but Bullis strikes me as very similar (although we don’t have personal experience because commute was a major factor for us) and much more conveniently located for you.

I would choose Bullis over FH.

Purely from a social standpoint, I would strong consider a closer school. That is really far away from potential friends and will make socializing tricky. And that is a difficult drive for a teenage driver having to learn to navigate both the AL bridge and 495/66.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, geez, do they really call it NoBe now??

Lol I’m one of the pp’s who suggested Bullis and I just ignored that. No idea what it means, but I know what MoCo is at least. 😂

I assume North Bethesda but never seen that abbreviation before. OP, if you really need that school..would you consider moving?

I remember when "North Bethesda" was an absurdity (much less NoBe). I grew up there. Call it what it is: ROCKVILLE.

lol. Kind of like North Potomac/Gaithersburg.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, geez, do they really call it NoBe now??

Lol I’m one of the pp’s who suggested Bullis and I just ignored that. No idea what it means, but I know what MoCo is at least. 😂

I assume North Bethesda but never seen that abbreviation before. OP, if you really need that school..would you consider moving?

I remember when "North Bethesda" was an absurdity (much less NoBe). I grew up there. Call it what it is: ROCKVILLE.

🗣️ North Bethesda is a Census Designated Place! 🗣️

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, it’s hard to imagine the specifics that would favor Flint Hill over Bullis or St. Andrews, which are both pretty similiar. If it’s a sports thing, you might want to look into Georgetown Prep or Gonzaga or SJC which are all a lot easier commute. Even Potomac would be a lot easier

Good suggestions, unless they have a daughter. At the base point, I agree. Frankly, I'd view Bullis as a better Flint Hill and far more convenient for OP. So there must be some random and specific program or extracurricular at one but not the other -- or a desire to play a sport where it would be achievable to make the team at one but not the other (e.g., Boys Lacrosse or Girls Volleyball) or a high level athlete who wants championship caliber (the same examples but flipped or Track).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, geez, do they really call it NoBe now??

Lol I’m one of the pp’s who suggested Bullis and I just ignored that. No idea what it means, but I know what MoCo is at least. 😂

I assume North Bethesda but never seen that abbreviation before. OP, if you really need that school..would you consider moving?

I remember when "North Bethesda" was an absurdity (much less NoBe). I grew up there. Call it what it is: ROCKVILLE.

Anonymous wrote:Yikes! I just plugged in Flint Hill to North Bethesda into maps and right now it’s a 45 minute drive (can only imagine what it’s like 2+ hours from now when school gets out). Would you move closer? If not, that will have a major impact on your family and student so please carefully consider.

This is a very long and painful commute to do daily. It is extra painful if you have to do it twice per day since there is no bus.

I would move closer if you love the school that much. We just started the school and so far, we like it. I actually love their motto and the vibe of the school so I can see why OP would want to send their child there.

Yikes! I just plugged in Flint Hill to North Bethesda into maps and right now it’s a 45 minute drive (can only imagine what it’s like 2+ hours from now when school gets out). Would you move closer? If not, that will have a major impact on your family and student so please carefully consider.

The only MD stop is National Harbor. We have a child there and I don’t know if any students from Montgomery County.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are the opposite. I think Bullis would be an excellent fit for our child. He is at FH because we just didn’t think the commute would be worth it to go to Bullis. There are a few kids in McLean who do attend Bullis so it is doable to commute from MD to Flint Hill.

This is going to be a very painful commute daily. People do it to DC and MD from VA. I don’t think it is worth it but many people do since many people in VA send their kids to DC and MD. I don’t know anyone who goes from MD to VA but it is doable since people do the reverse from VA to MD.

Well a commute to Moco from VA is actually easier than VA from Moco. More traffic going into VA in the mornings and coming out of VA in the afternoon.

This. If I'm in the Tysons/Vienna area, I know I need to get over the bridge back to MD by 2:30pm or so, pay to use the Express Lane to avoid some of the traffic, or get across at Chain Bridge. Obviously, people do that all that time for work and other reasons, but it would take an very compelling reason for me to sign up for that for years.

We do the opposite commute - Nova to MD - because it was the right school for my child. But all the driving is certainly not easy, especially socially, when all of their friends live 30-45+ minutes away! Sporting events, musical performances, etc. also require a lot of advance prep to get there and get home, planning around high traffic times and rush hours.

The commute is generally long but okay, but 495 can be fickle, and if there's, say, a truck jackknifed and blocking all of the lanes, like happened last week at 7:30am, well then your kid may not make it to school that day!

But OP, I will say trust your gut. Even with all of the above hassle, my child is very happy where they are.

Anonymous wrote:We are the opposite. I think Bullis would be an excellent fit for our child. He is at FH because we just didn’t think the commute would be worth it to go to Bullis. There are a few kids in McLean who do attend Bullis so it is doable to commute from MD to Flint Hill.

This is going to be a very painful commute daily. People do it to DC and MD from VA. I don’t think it is worth it but many people do since many people in VA send their kids to DC and MD. I don’t know anyone who goes from MD to VA but it is doable since people do the reverse from VA to MD.

Well a commute to Moco from VA is actually easier than VA from Moco. More traffic going into VA in the mornings and coming out of VA in the afternoon.

We are the opposite. I think Bullis would be an excellent fit for our child. He is at FH because we just didn’t think the commute would be worth it to go to Bullis. There are a few kids in McLean who do attend Bullis so it is doable to commute from MD to Flint Hill.

This is going to be a very painful commute daily. People do it to DC and MD from VA. I don’t think it is worth it but many people do since many people in VA send their kids to DC and MD. I don’t know anyone who goes from MD to VA but it is doable since people do the reverse from VA to MD.