I have a straight-A MCPS kid, great athlete, well rounded, and after all the shadow day visits and open house, their first choice is Good Counsel. But we're also not elitist and think our kid will do great at any of these schools. I would wait to see what the admissions decisions are and after that trust your kid to choose the school that is the best fit. Those are all really good options.

Anonymous wrote:Prep.

No absolutely no

MAGA haven

Plus public does way better in terms of colleges and actually finishing college.

Anonymous wrote:DS has all A’s in MCPS and is a good athlete but academics is more important to us. We want the best opportunity for our kid to get the best academic opportunities, a welcoming community, a positive high school experience as far as nice classmates, and position him for a future professional network and college matriculation opportunities. We applied to Good Counsel, Bullis, Landon, and Georgetown Prep to enter the 9th next year. FYSA- He is a URM and we will be a full pay family. Which school would you choose if your DS was accepted to all and why?

Obviously, Georgetown prep. It’s in a different league than the other schools you mention. It’s also very difficult to get into, however.

Once you have your final selections after offers of admission are made, I would really prioritize culture/fit + commute. All these schools have the capacity for providing a strong, well-rounded education.

Anonymous wrote:This is a serious question: What is the basis for people's comments that some schools are academically stronger than others? How would you know, for example, that Landon and Prep academics are strong than OLGC and Bullis?

I can't speak for everyone but I do notice what schools average SAT scores are, as well as number of NMSF. To me, these are an indicator of how academically oriented a school is. Sometimes schools also make public their distribution of AP test results.

This is a serious question: What is the basis for people's comments that some schools are academically stronger than others? How would you know, for example, that Landon and Prep academics are strong than OLGC and Bullis?

I agree with previous poster; compare Landon and Prep and compare OLGC and Bullis. Landon has somewhere between 33-40% students of color, I would edge Landon's academic's over Prep's, but they are comparable, and Prep's athletic program is generally more competitive, but specialization is the rule rather than the exception at Prep. Many Landon kids play two or three sports, so your boy will likely have a better chance to play at Landon but win more at Prep. Landon's visual arts program is excellent. I do not know about Prep's.

Dig around and you might find the boys will be boys culture is a stronger at Prep than Landon. Prep doesn't mind looking the other way when their students behave egregiously off campus.

Anonymous wrote:DS has all A’s in MCPS and is a good athlete but academics is more important to us. We want the best opportunity for our kid to get the best academic opportunities, a welcoming community, a positive high school experience as far as nice classmates, and position him for a future professional network and college matriculation opportunities. We applied to Good Counsel, Bullis, Landon, and Georgetown Prep to enter the 9th next year. FYSA- He is a URM and we will be a full pay family. Which school would you choose if your DS was accepted to all and why?

Landon

1. Prep
2. Landon
3. St. Andrews
4. GC
5. Wouldn't consider Bullis but if you are then it'd be last choice

Prep.

I would rule out any they are inconvenient, then, I’d let DS choose. Those are good schools and he’d likely have a great experience at any of them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS has all A’s in MCPS and is a good athlete but academics is more important to us. We want the best opportunity for our kid to get the best academic opportunities, a welcoming community, a positive high school experience as far as nice classmates, and position him for a future professional network and college matriculation opportunities. We applied to Good Counsel, Bullis, Landon, and Georgetown Prep to enter the 9th next year. FYSA- He is a URM and we will be a full pay family. Which school would you choose if your DS was accepted to all and why?

Landon or Bullis are more diverse I would choose one of them

Me too. I think they are well regarded and happy schools. We are in Big 3 but these are great schools

Of course, I deliberately don’t want catholic b/c heavy on catholic and single sex so biased

These schools are so different. I would do a OLGC v Bullis comparison and a Landon v Prep comparison instead of OLGC v Bullis v Landon v Prep.
Does your son prefer coed or single sex? religious v secular? Large v medium. I think they all have an athletic bend but which sport might give one school the advantage over another. Academically, I think Landon and Prep are stronger than OLGC and Bullis. I think Prep is the least diverse.

The Bullis campus is SO nice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, none.

Is it too late to apply to GDS, Sidwell, and Maret?

+1. I wouldn’t send my son to any of these schools either.

Is this your way of covering the fact he would never get accepted?