Anonymous
Post 03/02/2026 11:25     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
I don’t think the college outcomes are reflective of the education experience. The kids at GDS more likely to have the privilege of legacy admissions and being able to afford an Ivy league tuition. On the other hand, Blair students may be capable to getting into Ivy but prefer state flagship engineering colleges like Purdue / GTech or get offered a full ride at UMD.
Anonymous
Post 03/02/2026 11:11     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
Blair, as kid seems stem inclined. We had same choice, coming from TPMS magnet. It was clear at GDS admitted students the math offerings were not even close to Blair. Also without APs, there is no testing out of lower level math at college, which we have found really important to align DS with most kids at his school.
Anonymous
Post 03/02/2026 10:56     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:All the Blair supporters. Tell his the Ivy placement track record compared to GDS.


If you know your goal is specifically “Ivy” then you probably want GDS. If you know your goal is a top tech program: MIT, Caltech, CMU, GTech you probably want Blair.

If you believe that 14 is still to young to know, then understanding that both schools lead to excellent outcomes will probably make this not the top factor.

Blair sends more to Ivy schools than GDS


not interested in Ivy, just curious how many kids were sent to MIT/Caltech by these two?
Anonymous
Post 03/02/2026 10:55     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:All the Blair supporters. Tell his the Ivy placement track record compared to GDS.


If you know your goal is specifically “Ivy” then you probably want GDS. If you know your goal is a top tech program: MIT, Caltech, CMU, GTech you probably want Blair.

If you believe that 14 is still to young to know, then understanding that both schools lead to excellent outcomes will probably make this not the top factor.

Blair sends more to Ivy schools than GDS


What percent of Blair’s student body attends Ivies? What percent of GDS? Absolute numbers aren’t relevant.
Anonymous
Post 03/02/2026 10:36     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:All the Blair supporters. Tell his the Ivy placement track record compared to GDS.


If you know your goal is specifically “Ivy” then you probably want GDS. If you know your goal is a top tech program: MIT, Caltech, CMU, GTech you probably want Blair.

If you believe that 14 is still to young to know, then understanding that both schools lead to excellent outcomes will probably make this not the top factor.

Blair sends more to Ivy schools than GDS
Anonymous
Post 03/02/2026 09:00     Subject: Re:Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
Maybe this is not a big deal to some, but I'd encourage you to evaluate the social environment of the two schools. There is a lot of privilege at GDS vs Blair and this definitely impacts the social scene. Where will your child feel more comfortable? Blair is huge and might feel overwhelming but will allow for a more "real world" experience, which is valuable to our family, as is saving the $60k for college tuition.
Anonymous
Post 03/02/2026 06:32     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
Anonymous wrote:All the Blair supporters. Tell his the Ivy placement track record compared to GDS.


But GDS may have parents who went to Ivy leagues so this hard to measure. Making high school decisions based on college prospects becomes about the final outcome and not the journey!
Anonymous
Post 03/02/2026 06:21     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
Anonymous wrote:All the Blair supporters. Tell his the Ivy placement track record compared to GDS. [/quote

If your goal is Ivy vs top education, probably head out of the DC are to a low performing area with few Ivy applicants.
Anonymous
Post 03/02/2026 05:51     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
Anonymous wrote:All the Blair supporters. Tell his the Ivy placement track record compared to GDS.


If you know your goal is specifically “Ivy” then you probably want GDS. If you know your goal is a top tech program: MIT, Caltech, CMU, GTech you probably want Blair.

If you believe that 14 is still to young to know, then understanding that both schools lead to excellent outcomes will probably make this not the top factor.
Anonymous
Post 03/02/2026 05:46     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
All the Blair supporters. Tell his the Ivy placement track record compared to GDS.
Anonymous
Post 03/01/2026 21:29     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
What about sports? Do magnet kids at Blair have time to play sports? In terms of pressure cooker environment, which is worse - these high performing privates or Blair.
Anonymous
Post 03/01/2026 20:53     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
One important thing to consider is the social aspect. There are both pros and cons - at Blair magnet, for shy kids it may be harder to make friends if they don't come from Takoma Park or another middle school that sends a lot of kids. On the other side, the school is huge so likely they will find a friend group somewhere.

In privates, GDS / Potomac, the school builds in events at the beginning to foster connections and help with transition.
Anonymous
Post 03/01/2026 20:38     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Blair has 36 NMSF last year. GDS had 4.


Blair has a magnet program that takes the top kids in the county, so this outcome is not terribly surprising or remarkable in light of that, especially given that Blair's student population is about 6.5 times larger than that of GDS.


Most of the Blair NMSF come from its tiny magnet program SMCS, which is similarly sized to GDS.


If what you are saying is true, wouldn't that mean 36 out of 100 kids were NMSF? If so, kudos to Blair. But again, they are not apples to apples. GDS has lifers, siblings, etc. and isn't using the same criteria for admission as a county-wide highly competitive magnet. One could also argue that someone admitted to Blair might more easily rise to the top at GDS than at Blair, so wouldn't that be an advantage?


By that same token, most of the kids at Blair don’t have parents who are willing to pay 55k a year for tuition like parents at GDS who can pay for every tutor or enrichment support imaginable. And MCPS classes are large (30+ kids on average), while GDS kids get more attention. So yes, not “apples to apples” indeed.
Anonymous
Post 03/01/2026 20:34     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
We are deciding between Potomac School and Blair. Because of our unique circumstances commuting to either schools is not an issue. While the discussion applies to a certain extent, not sure if the SERC program makes a difference?
Anonymous
Post 03/01/2026 19:17     Subject: Blair SMCS Vs. GDS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Blair has 36 NMSF last year. GDS had 4.


Blair has a magnet program that takes the top kids in the county, so this outcome is not terribly surprising or remarkable in light of that, especially given that Blair's student population is about 6.5 times larger than that of GDS.


Most of the Blair NMSF come from its tiny magnet program SMCS, which is similarly sized to GDS.


If what you are saying is true, wouldn't that mean 36 out of 100 kids were NMSF? If so, kudos to Blair. But again, they are not apples to apples. GDS has lifers, siblings, etc. and isn't using the same criteria for admission as a county-wide highly competitive magnet. One could also argue that someone admitted to Blair might more easily rise to the top at GDS than at Blair, so wouldn't that be an advantage?