Anonymous
Post 09/10/2025 10:27     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I heard that HB's 2025 class had 1 Columbia, 1 Harvard, 1 Cornell, not counting another longtime HB student went to Harvard after doing senior year at a special program.

That strikes me as pretty consistent across time.

Elite students can get into elite schools from any APS high school. HB is great. So is Wakefield, people, just in a different way. If they have the option, let the kid choose to be where they think they'll flourish and it's likely they'll thrive. Kind of the idea behind HB in the first place.


Nope.

2025 - Columbia and Cornell - 1 each. No Harvard.
2024 - MIT (1)
2023 - MIT (1)

That's 1-2 each year nowhere close to 4-5.



You're just wrong. Did you even look at the link I sent? I'll reattach it here to help you out. HB didn't just send one to MIT in 2023 -- they also sent one to Brown and another to Columbia. So that's three, not one. And as I noted they sent another to Duke.

https://hbwoodlawn.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2024/03/2023-Senior-Plans-by-State.pdf
Anonymous
Post 09/10/2025 10:17     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Former HB parent here. Are you saying HB no longer offers AP English?


It does but not in 12th grade


Interesting change. Thanks.

I see that HB continues to have SAT scores that average around 1300, maybe 50 or so points higher than Yorktown and W-L. They're good scores but could be better given the self-selected student body. And the AP test scores aren't that great either. They're fine, but not great.

Still, you can usually count on more than one and sometimes as many as four or five Ivy admits each year, which is impressive for a public school its size that doesn't require testing. In recent years there have been two admits in the same class to Stanford, Brown and Yale.

All in all, I'd have to say that HB is as good but certainly no better academically than the neighborhood schools, and generally speaking is probably less rigorous. I still remember a highly academically driven family moving their HB kid under protest to the neighborhood school after middle school because they were unimpressed. I thought at the time that they were being ridiculous but the kid ultimately ended up in a top 3 (Harvard, Stanford, Yale) law school, though, so I guess they knew what they were doing.


When was your last contact with HB? There have NOT been 4-5 Ivy admits each year at HB in the past few years. No one has gotten into Stanford Brown or Yale in the past few years from HB. I'm aware of one admit each year at HB at the Ivy level or similar (Columbia and MIT) over the past 3 years or so. And then also a bunch more kids go other good schools but a tier or two below Ivy.

I do agree that HB is a good school but it is no better than other APS schools, and I'd also agree it is less rigorous. AP classes at HB have been a mixed bag, some have been a disappointment. Some teachers have not finished all the AP units or have not left time for review leaving kids on their own to study. This may be because of HB's condensed schedule. There's just less time to cover the material compared to other schools. APS' late start doesn't help either.

Again we do like HB even with the tradeoffs but there are definitely tradeoffs.




Here are the colleges attended by HB grads every year from 2012-23. The last two years aren't here, obviously, but I'd be surprised if they were dramatically different from the prior 12, which were pretty consistent. Someone goes to Brown virtually every year, sometimes two, and in many years there's a Cornell or two, a Columbia, and from time to time a Harvard, Yale or Princeton. One year Yale took two. And there's an MIT and a couple Stanfords as well.

So, yea, I stand by what I said. I said you can "usually count on more than one and sometimes as many as four or five," which is definitely true and is not the same thing as saying "4-5 Ivy admits each year" which are the words you chose to put into my mouth.

https://hbwoodlawn.apsva.us/students-pages/2012-senior-plans-by-state/



Lol, you can try to stand by what you said, but I have actual knowledge of HB's college admissions in the past 3 years and I know for a fact that there have not been as many Ivy admits as you claim. Nowhere close to 4-5.


So your "facts" are different from the ones I just posted along with the actual link to the school's website itself where I got them from? Um, ok. Whatever you say.
Anonymous
Post 09/10/2025 10:11     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:I heard that HB's 2025 class had 1 Columbia, 1 Harvard, 1 Cornell, not counting another longtime HB student went to Harvard after doing senior year at a special program.

That strikes me as pretty consistent across time.

Elite students can get into elite schools from any APS high school. HB is great. So is Wakefield, people, just in a different way. If they have the option, let the kid choose to be where they think they'll flourish and it's likely they'll thrive. Kind of the idea behind HB in the first place.


Nope.

2025 - Columbia and Cornell - 1 each. No Harvard.
2024 - MIT (1)
2023 - MIT (1)

That's 1-2 each year nowhere close to 4-5.

Anonymous
Post 09/10/2025 10:07     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Former HB parent here. Are you saying HB no longer offers AP English?


It does but not in 12th grade


Interesting change. Thanks.

I see that HB continues to have SAT scores that average around 1300, maybe 50 or so points higher than Yorktown and W-L. They're good scores but could be better given the self-selected student body. And the AP test scores aren't that great either. They're fine, but not great.

Still, you can usually count on more than one and sometimes as many as four or five Ivy admits each year, which is impressive for a public school its size that doesn't require testing. In recent years there have been two admits in the same class to Stanford, Brown and Yale.

All in all, I'd have to say that HB is as good but certainly no better academically than the neighborhood schools, and generally speaking is probably less rigorous. I still remember a highly academically driven family moving their HB kid under protest to the neighborhood school after middle school because they were unimpressed. I thought at the time that they were being ridiculous but the kid ultimately ended up in a top 3 (Harvard, Stanford, Yale) law school, though, so I guess they knew what they were doing.


When was your last contact with HB? There have NOT been 4-5 Ivy admits each year at HB in the past few years. No one has gotten into Stanford Brown or Yale in the past few years from HB. I'm aware of one admit each year at HB at the Ivy level or similar (Columbia and MIT) over the past 3 years or so. And then also a bunch more kids go other good schools but a tier or two below Ivy.

I do agree that HB is a good school but it is no better than other APS schools, and I'd also agree it is less rigorous. AP classes at HB have been a mixed bag, some have been a disappointment. Some teachers have not finished all the AP units or have not left time for review leaving kids on their own to study. This may be because of HB's condensed schedule. There's just less time to cover the material compared to other schools. APS' late start doesn't help either.

Again we do like HB even with the tradeoffs but there are definitely tradeoffs.




Here are the colleges attended by HB grads every year from 2012-23. The last two years aren't here, obviously, but I'd be surprised if they were dramatically different from the prior 12, which were pretty consistent. Someone goes to Brown virtually every year, sometimes two, and in many years there's a Cornell or two, a Columbia, and from time to time a Harvard, Yale or Princeton. One year Yale took two. And there's an MIT and a couple Stanfords as well.

So, yea, I stand by what I said. I said you can "usually count on more than one and sometimes as many as four or five," which is definitely true and is not the same thing as saying "4-5 Ivy admits each year" which are the words you chose to put into my mouth.

https://hbwoodlawn.apsva.us/students-pages/2012-senior-plans-by-state/



Lol, you can try to stand by what you said, but I have actual knowledge of HB's college admissions in the past 3 years and I know for a fact that there have not been as many Ivy admits as you claim. Nowhere close to 4-5.
Anonymous
Post 09/09/2025 22:20     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:I heard that HB's 2025 class had 1 Columbia, 1 Harvard, 1 Cornell, not counting another longtime HB student went to Harvard after doing senior year at a special program.

That strikes me as pretty consistent across time.

Elite students can get into elite schools from any APS high school. HB is great. So is Wakefield, people, just in a different way. If they have the option, let the kid choose to be where they think they'll flourish and it's likely they'll thrive. Kind of the idea behind HB in the first place.


But the odds seem better at HBW if it is a smaller school yet admits the same absolute number to elite schools?
Anonymous
Post 09/09/2025 18:00     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
I heard that HB's 2025 class had 1 Columbia, 1 Harvard, 1 Cornell, not counting another longtime HB student went to Harvard after doing senior year at a special program.

That strikes me as pretty consistent across time.

Elite students can get into elite schools from any APS high school. HB is great. So is Wakefield, people, just in a different way. If they have the option, let the kid choose to be where they think they'll flourish and it's likely they'll thrive. Kind of the idea behind HB in the first place.
Anonymous
Post 09/09/2025 16:45     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Ok, PP here again with too much time on my hands. I've gone back and looked at the link that I sent and in the years 2013 to 2023 (the 2012 link doesn't work) HB sent at least 2 grads to the Ivies every year except 2019 -- when they only sent 1 (Dartmouth).

In 2023, the most recent available on line, they sent one to MIT, one to Columbia, one to Brown (and one to Duke).

In 2022, one to Princeton and one to Cornell.

In 2021, one to Yale and one to Brown.

In 2020, one to Dartmouth, one to Columbia, one to Cornell, one to Brown (and one to Chicago).

In the combined 2013-18 (which obviously is now pretty dated): Brown 7, Yale 4, Stanford 3, Harvard 2, Columbia 1, Dartmouth 1, (plus Duke 2, Hopkins 2).

So, fairly consistent . . .
Anonymous
Post 09/09/2025 16:04     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
PP here. I should add that it's possible that there have been fewer admits in the last two years because the Ivies have gotten even more crazily competitive but that's happening everywhere including top privates. In a typical year you're not going to see many more Ivy admits at either Yorktown or W-L than HB even though those schools are four or five times bigger.
Anonymous
Post 09/09/2025 16:00     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Former HB parent here. Are you saying HB no longer offers AP English?


It does but not in 12th grade


Interesting change. Thanks.

I see that HB continues to have SAT scores that average around 1300, maybe 50 or so points higher than Yorktown and W-L. They're good scores but could be better given the self-selected student body. And the AP test scores aren't that great either. They're fine, but not great.

Still, you can usually count on more than one and sometimes as many as four or five Ivy admits each year, which is impressive for a public school its size that doesn't require testing. In recent years there have been two admits in the same class to Stanford, Brown and Yale.

All in all, I'd have to say that HB is as good but certainly no better academically than the neighborhood schools, and generally speaking is probably less rigorous. I still remember a highly academically driven family moving their HB kid under protest to the neighborhood school after middle school because they were unimpressed. I thought at the time that they were being ridiculous but the kid ultimately ended up in a top 3 (Harvard, Stanford, Yale) law school, though, so I guess they knew what they were doing.


When was your last contact with HB? There have NOT been 4-5 Ivy admits each year at HB in the past few years. No one has gotten into Stanford Brown or Yale in the past few years from HB. I'm aware of one admit each year at HB at the Ivy level or similar (Columbia and MIT) over the past 3 years or so. And then also a bunch more kids go other good schools but a tier or two below Ivy.

I do agree that HB is a good school but it is no better than other APS schools, and I'd also agree it is less rigorous. AP classes at HB have been a mixed bag, some have been a disappointment. Some teachers have not finished all the AP units or have not left time for review leaving kids on their own to study. This may be because of HB's condensed schedule. There's just less time to cover the material compared to other schools. APS' late start doesn't help either.

Again we do like HB even with the tradeoffs but there are definitely tradeoffs.




Here are the colleges attended by HB grads every year from 2012-23. The last two years aren't here, obviously, but I'd be surprised if they were dramatically different from the prior 12, which were pretty consistent. Someone goes to Brown virtually every year, sometimes two, and in many years there's a Cornell or two, a Columbia, and from time to time a Harvard, Yale or Princeton. One year Yale took two. And there's an MIT and a couple Stanfords as well.

So, yea, I stand by what I said. I said you can "usually count on more than one and sometimes as many as four or five," which is definitely true and is not the same thing as saying "4-5 Ivy admits each year" which are the words you chose to put into my mouth.

https://hbwoodlawn.apsva.us/students-pages/2012-senior-plans-by-state/

Anonymous
Post 09/09/2025 11:16     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
It's self-selected and so I wonder if kids who get in and stay would do as well in the larger environments.
Anonymous
Post 09/09/2025 10:17     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Former HB parent here. Are you saying HB no longer offers AP English?


It does but not in 12th grade


Interesting change. Thanks.

I see that HB continues to have SAT scores that average around 1300, maybe 50 or so points higher than Yorktown and W-L. They're good scores but could be better given the self-selected student body. And the AP test scores aren't that great either. They're fine, but not great.

Still, you can usually count on more than one and sometimes as many as four or five Ivy admits each year, which is impressive for a public school its size that doesn't require testing. In recent years there have been two admits in the same class to Stanford, Brown and Yale.

All in all, I'd have to say that HB is as good but certainly no better academically than the neighborhood schools, and generally speaking is probably less rigorous. I still remember a highly academically driven family moving their HB kid under protest to the neighborhood school after middle school because they were unimpressed. I thought at the time that they were being ridiculous but the kid ultimately ended up in a top 3 (Harvard, Stanford, Yale) law school, though, so I guess they knew what they were doing.


When was your last contact with HB? There have NOT been 4-5 Ivy admits each year at HB in the past few years. No one has gotten into Stanford Brown or Yale in the past few years from HB. I'm aware of one admit each year at HB at the Ivy level or similar (Columbia and MIT) over the past 3 years or so. And then also a bunch more kids go other good schools but a tier or two below Ivy.

I do agree that HB is a good school but it is no better than other APS schools, and I'd also agree it is less rigorous. AP classes at HB have been a mixed bag, some have been a disappointment. Some teachers have not finished all the AP units or have not left time for review leaving kids on their own to study. This may be because of HB's condensed schedule. There's just less time to cover the material compared to other schools. APS' late start doesn't help either.

Again we do like HB even with the tradeoffs but there are definitely tradeoffs.


Anonymous
Post 09/09/2025 07:13     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Former HB parent here. Are you saying HB no longer offers AP English?


It does but not in 12th grade


Interesting change. Thanks.

I see that HB continues to have SAT scores that average around 1300, maybe 50 or so points higher than Yorktown and W-L. They're good scores but could be better given the self-selected student body. And the AP test scores aren't that great either. They're fine, but not great.

Still, you can usually count on more than one and sometimes as many as four or five Ivy admits each year, which is impressive for a public school its size that doesn't require testing. In recent years there have been two admits in the same class to Stanford, Brown and Yale.

All in all, I'd have to say that HB is as good but certainly no better academically than the neighborhood schools, and generally speaking is probably less rigorous. I still remember a highly academically driven family moving their HB kid under protest to the neighborhood school after middle school because they were unimpressed. I thought at the time that they were being ridiculous but the kid ultimately ended up in a top 3 (Harvard, Stanford, Yale) law school, though, so I guess they knew what they were doing.
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 19:32     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid is in a class that is two totally different classes so they get about half the instruction. Not good. I disagree on the ADHD thing. With an IEP, there is a lot of support.


You have to be very severe ADHD to get IEP. Many mild ADHD especially inattentive get 529 and fend for themselves.


529?

I think they meant 504
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 19:27     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid is in a class that is two totally different classes so they get about half the instruction. Not good. I disagree on the ADHD thing. With an IEP, there is a lot of support.


You have to be very severe ADHD to get IEP. Many mild ADHD especially inattentive get 529 and fend for themselves.


529?
Anonymous
Post 09/08/2025 19:27     Subject: APS HWB 90 minute blocks
Anonymous wrote:Former HB parent here. Are you saying HB no longer offers AP English?


It does but not in 12th grade