Anonymous wrote:I have a 7th grader at a Catholic k-8. He moved from FCPS during covid. We have been discussing high school and have always assumed he’d go to Marshall. He is set on going to O’Connell.

He went to an O’Connell basketball game and now he is hooked-- loved the environment, students, etc. He has friends going to both schools, so no issue there. We took him to a Marshall game, and he knows college prospects may be better coming from FCPS. What am I missing? Give me all the good things Marshall has to offer.

I understand we did this to ourselves and it’s not surprising he wants to continue with the Catholic track. However, we would rather save the money for college.

Just do O'Connell. I gave up my child's spot because of budget reasons, but I would pick O'Connell over Marshall or any of the publics in a heartbeat. Do you want him to meet other Catholics in college? Most colleges have very few practicing Catholics so he'd be better off going to a catholic college anyway.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He will get a better education at a Catholic HS. Much higher expectations for academics, behavior, life skills like promptness, etc.

We found the opposite. Academic standards at Catholic MS were much lower than public. Little to no acceleration for kids who wanted it. Would not allow algebra in 7th grade or geometry in 8th grade. Plus all the same behavior issues (bullying, vaping, etc.) but an administration that wouldn't acknowledge that those things that were happening, you know, because they were "good" kids. Ours is better off back in public HS.

What school? Parochial parent but DS is in 1st so no idea what to expect in the higher grades

I'm not PP, but their experiences seems to be the exception.

I have heard similar from friends but don’t have firsthand experience.

Anonymous wrote:I can’t think of any good things. Stay at private

Exactly.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He will get a better education at a Catholic HS. Much higher expectations for academics, behavior, life skills like promptness, etc.

We found the opposite. Academic standards at Catholic MS were much lower than public. Little to no acceleration for kids who wanted it. Would not allow algebra in 7th grade or geometry in 8th grade. Plus all the same behavior issues (bullying, vaping, etc.) but an administration that wouldn't acknowledge that those things that were happening, you know, because they were "good" kids. Ours is better off back in public HS.

What school? Parochial parent but DS is in 1st so no idea what to expect in the higher grades

I'm not PP, but their experiences seems to be the exception.

Anonymous wrote:A bonus for IB schools is that applying to colleges as an IB diploma candidate, with a good GPA of course, is indisputable proof that the student is at the top of their class taking the most rigorous courseload available at their HS.

In contrast with AP, there is far less distinction between the top 25 kids taking a mix of all APs and having all A's. That's where the complaints roll in that acceptances to top colleges were seemingly random because only a couple of the top AP kids got in while they all have practically identical course loads. Nothing to setup them apart from each other.

I wouldn’t make too much of this. Many IB diploma kids at Marshall end up at schools that are fine but nothing special. Plowing a lot of time into meeting IB diploma requirements doesn’t necessarily distinguish a kid in the ways that actually matter to the most selective schools. And some of those kids end up rather bitter that IB chewed up so much of their time in high school, yet they didn’t feel like they had much to show for it.

If your son has his heart set on O’Connell I’d find a way to make it work.

- former Marshall parent

A bonus for IB schools is that applying to colleges as an IB diploma candidate, with a good GPA of course, is indisputable proof that the student is at the top of their class taking the most rigorous courseload available at their HS.

In contrast with AP, there is far less distinction between the top 25 kids taking a mix of all APs and having all A's. That's where the complaints roll in that acceptances to top colleges were seemingly random because only a couple of the top AP kids got in while they all have practically identical course loads. Nothing to setup them apart from each other.

A happy student will be a better student. A better student will get more merit aid for college, and have a deep bench of choices at Catholic Universities. I wouldn't move him unless he is asking to be moved.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He will get a better education at a Catholic HS. Much higher expectations for academics, behavior, life skills like promptness, etc.

There's going to be a wider range at Marshall, but by hs if you're a high achiever you're in a high track for academics which also has high expectations for behavior. O'Connell's AP courses are no higher than Marshall's IB courses. And IB has external examination and standard assessments throughout, so there is even more "quality control" on academics than AP.

I think though OP it comes down to your finances and your DC's preference. I don't think his chances for college admission will be greater at Marshall though--the average SAT there is consistently around the 75th national percentile but there are lots of high achievers in the top 10% of students. Marshall and O'Connell have about the same number of NMSF per capita (Marshall has 6, O'Connell has 3). If you want to go to UVA/VT/WM in state, it's pretty competitive to get in from any solid FCPS HS.

AP is miles better than IB.

For an IP school vs AP school, pick AP every time.

New poster. OP, be aware, there are IB bashers on DCUM who post ill-informed things like this post above, and who have no real experience with kids in IB. If your son might be interested in IB at Marshall, go there with him and talk with the school's IB coordinator to find out how the program actually operates. I'm not saying it's better than AP, but both AP and IB have their strengths, and some students thrive in IB while others thrive in AP. But please operate from a position of actual information, not knee-jerk "this is better because I say so anonymously online" posts.

That goes for everything about both schools, actually. I agree with an early poster here who said to see if you can get your son a tour at Marshall. And I'd be sure he finds out about and compares things like each school's extracurriculars, clubs, etc. Have your son work on a pros and cons list for each school, but pros and cons rooted in actual details of what they offer now -- not based on strangers' personal biases about IB, AP, Catholic education,public education etc.

And the financial aspect is key. Have you been frank with him about how much private HS will cost and how that will affect his college fund?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He will get a better education at a Catholic HS. Much higher expectations for academics, behavior, life skills like promptness, etc.

We found the opposite. Academic standards at Catholic MS were much lower than public. Little to no acceleration for kids who wanted it. Would not allow algebra in 7th grade or geometry in 8th grade. Plus all the same behavior issues (bullying, vaping, etc.) but an administration that wouldn't acknowledge that those things that were happening, you know, because they were "good" kids. Ours is better off back in public HS.

What school? Parochial parent but DS is in 1st so no idea what to expect in the higher grades

Anonymous wrote:If you go to Marshall you have more opportunities to lose to Madison.

But perhaps less opportunities to encounter annoying childish Madison booster parents? That has to be a positive, right?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He will get a better education at a Catholic HS. Much higher expectations for academics, behavior, life skills like promptness, etc.

There's going to be a wider range at Marshall, but by hs if you're a high achiever you're in a high track for academics which also has high expectations for behavior. O'Connell's AP courses are no higher than Marshall's IB courses. And IB has external examination and standard assessments throughout, so there is even more "quality control" on academics than AP.

I think though OP it comes down to your finances and your DC's preference. I don't think his chances for college admission will be greater at Marshall though--the average SAT there is consistently around the 75th national percentile but there are lots of high achievers in the top 10% of students. Marshall and O'Connell have about the same number of NMSF per capita (Marshall has 6, O'Connell has 3). If you want to go to UVA/VT/WM in state, it's pretty competitive to get in from any solid FCPS HS.

AP is miles better than IB.

For an IP school vs AP school, pick AP every time.

Is this based on personal experience or data?