Flint Hill school is hated on this forum. And so much misinformation.

FH is just a decent private school for the burbs, no more no less. It suits kids who need smaller class sizes and more personal attention than they would get in FCPS. I have heard that the teaching is not as good as it was, that they have an enrollment problem and there is an over emphasis on athletics, particularly volleyball (the exact phrase was "if you are a good vball player, straight D's is good enough). Do we live in the burbs? Yes. Did we consider FH? Not really. Are our kids at private school in DC? Yes.

FH has a good Learning Center which may be a draw. Definitely an emphasis on sports which gives them some of their better admissions. Lots of kids go to UVA.

Potomac more of an "old money" feel. It kind of feels like a NE prep school.

Also intense rivalry between these schools?

SSAT score was 98%.

Been me In both? Spell check Had students in both.
FHS has an old reputation for being SN. Not everyone there is SN. Also went through 5 years with no volleyball so not sure what that means.

I haven't read the whole thread yet. FHS parent here. FHS is wonderful and much better than FCPS. I have been me in both. We had NO bad teachers the entire time at FHS and DC accepted at top colleges. It was expensive but the culture is very inclusive. Also recently they have had good Ivy acceptance rates.
Potomac school is in a different league. They were very positive about my DC but we live out in Fairfax and there was no way we could get to PS. They have drop off bus stops for all except seniors which did not work for us. None of the stops were near. Also the culture at PS is much more elitist than FHS and we just didn't want that. PS is also more exclusive in admissions.

Anonymous wrote:We found FH a curious place. Volleyball rules the school - single digit SSAT? No problem if you can jump. Potomac is a completely different proposition - academics first (for the most part).

Yes! HUGE emphasis on sports. Much more so than other schools we visited including Potomac.

We found FH a curious place. Volleyball rules the school - single digit SSAT? No problem if you can jump. Potomac is a completely different proposition - academics first (for the most part).

Kid, no you wouldn't.

Anonymous wrote:I'd rather commute to potomac from chicago than walk to flint hill

I'd rather commute to potomac from chicago than walk to flint hill

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you're not going to get a good opinion from posters here. Don't fall for all the talk about which school is more prestigious or ranks higher in some arbitrary rankings by who knows who. Those rankings are all meaningless and have no predictive validity to them at all. Also, for some reason, DCUM posters have it out for Flint Hill, even though most probably have no clue how to find it.

The best thing to do is visit both schools. Talk to administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Get a feel for both along with your child. Choose the one that is the best for for your child.

Oh my lord, please. No one has it "out for Flint Hill" it just not nearly as good of a school as Potomac or any of the other top schools in the DC-metro area. And yes, part of the reason is because it is way far out.

Okay, I'll bit. What makes is "not nearly as good?" What objective (not subjective) criteria are you using?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you're not going to get a good opinion from posters here. Don't fall for all the talk about which school is more prestigious or ranks higher in some arbitrary rankings by who knows who. Those rankings are all meaningless and have no predictive validity to them at all. Also, for some reason, DCUM posters have it out for Flint Hill, even though most probably have no clue how to find it.

The best thing to do is visit both schools. Talk to administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Get a feel for both along with your child. Choose the one that is the best for for your child.

Oh my lord, please. No one has it "out for Flint Hill" it just not nearly as good of a school as Potomac or any of the other top schools in the DC-metro area. And yes, part of the reason is because it is way far out.

Agree, because dumb people live farther out. The smart ones stay closer to the city.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potomac is not better than AAP for elementary. And it's not better than TJ (which is why Potomac is trying to create a mini TJ for a half dozen or so kids in any given class).

That said, Flint Hill isn't the same league as either and has experienced a large drop off of students because of the closing of Exxon Mobil and such.

It is exhausting to listen to public school parents go on and on about AAP and TJ. TJ is great if your child is interested in math and STEM. Let's be honest, most parents in FCPS want TJ because $ $40,000 a year private school is out of reach financially and they are hoping for the next best thing. OP, look at Potomac and Flint Hill. They are both great schools, with Potomac being the more prestigious (if that matters to you). Good luck!

This.
Great schools, great student teacher ratios. Choose the one best for YOUR child.

Anonymous wrote:OP, you're not going to get a good opinion from posters here. Don't fall for all the talk about which school is more prestigious or ranks higher in some arbitrary rankings by who knows who. Those rankings are all meaningless and have no predictive validity to them at all. Also, for some reason, DCUM posters have it out for Flint Hill, even though most probably have no clue how to find it.

The best thing to do is visit both schools. Talk to administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Get a feel for both along with your child. Choose the one that is the best for for your child.

Oh my lord, please. No one has it "out for Flint Hill" it just not nearly as good of a school as Potomac or any of the other top schools in the DC-metro area. And yes, part of the reason is because it is way far out.

I have kids in High School at Potomac and love it. We live close to Flint Hill and the bus comes out to Oakton. Honestly, Potomac is the right choice if you get in. If you don't, Flint Hill is a very fine alternative. But, make no mistake, if you want to stay in Virginia, Potomac is first choice. We boiled down to one of the traditional big 3 in DC and Potomac and choose based on commute AND fit.