Have you seen the latest US News & World Report national rankings?

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings

Here's how they scored the top schools around our area:

TJ comes in #4; Whitman #61 and Wooton #65, George Mason #76 Poolesville #83 James Madison #93 Langley #96

Also interesting is that two BASIS schools came in ranked #2 and #5.

I would not lump the area private schools with the W schools as there are "upper county" and "down county" privates!

1. RMIB
2. Blair, TJ
3. PHS
4. "W" schools and privates
5. Rest

I agree. Area interviewer for Yale.

15 year Harvard interviewer here. Blair, with TJ as a close second. Those kids are publishing in math and science journals as first or second authors. Most college students aren't doing that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is the RM IB program more rigorous than IB programs in general?

In the same way that TJ, Blair is more rigorous in STEM courses that are offered in general.

TJ has more rigorous and different STEM courses than the other HS in the area.

Anonymous wrote:How is the RM IB program more rigorous than IB programs in general?

In the same way that TJ, Blair is more rigorous in STEM courses that are offered in general.

Seems to me the best way to evaluate this would be to know the average SAT scores for each school. That would tell you what the teachers are working with and thus how rigorous they can afford to make the classes. AP or IB designation doesn't make a class rigorous, outstanding peers and teachers who can meet them together make the rigor, regardless of what you label it. My two cents!

In that case it's RM-IB, Blair Magnet, and T-J, hands down and indisputable. Check out the number of NMSF (SAT) for this year. All other schools (private or public) in the tri-state area are in the rear view mirror.

A good person to answer this question would be an admissions counselor at a top 40 or so school. They get familiar with the high schools that send a lot of applicants their way and they rack and stack the GPAs by the rigor of each school. I've been through the college app process a few times now and admissions counselors have definite opinions about high schools in the areas they are responsible for. You could probably call an admissions office and a counselor might be willing to discuss the question.

Anonymous wrote:TJ without a doubt.

Undergrad is a breeze for many TJ graduates because of how rigorous the curriculum was through high school.

I would say that's true for any high school in NoVA which offers AP or IB. My DC, a Langley grad, says undergrad is easy due to the preparation given in high school.

How is the RM IB program more rigorous than IB programs in general?

TJ without a doubt.

Undergrad is a breeze for many TJ graduates because of how rigorous the curriculum was through high school.

Anonymous wrote:What are RM and IB?

Richard Montgomery High School that has an International Baccalaureate magnet program for Montgomery County students. Admission is very competitive and 8th graders have to take an SAT kind of exam as part of the admission process.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RM most difficult, Blair = TJ. My two cents.

RMIB most difficult.

Blair = Poolesville = TJ.

Blair most useful for building an impressive resume because they do the BEST JOB of entering into science competitions. They should be emulated by other schools.

IMHO.

Is Poolesville really as rigorous as Blair or TJ?

Absolutely. However, Blair magnet wins hand's down for entering competitions. Absolutely fantastic. Hat's off to them.

Intel Finalist this year was a senior from Richard Montgomery IB magnet program. RMIB is the hardest and most rigorous and combines both Humanities and Science. It is gruelling.

None of the private schools can compete academically with these programs, however, you have many more students going to Ivy League from private schools because of legacy and money. So, there's that.

What are RM and IB?