Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter chose to attend RMIB over Blair and Poolesville this year, and she's quite happy with her decision. Initially, she was hesitant for a while. After visiting Blair, we thought that would be her final choice. However, after participating in a shadow day at RMIB, she changed her mind as soon as possible. Importantly, she made the decision independently, not influenced solely by the coordinator. RMIB offers a supportive environment with peers who have diverse interests.It's not toxic at all. The homework load is very manageable compared to Blair, allowing her the flexibility to pursue her own interests. One big difference is that, unlike Blair that all students have to compete in the same fields, such as math and computer science. This opens up more possibilities for students at RMIB.

My child was just the opposite. RM was our home school so the easier choice for a kid deciding between RM and Blair. But the RM open house was terrible, and the shadow day was very poorly organized. He attended band, the same English class two times (with a different shadow) and a full class math test. Even the acceptance info from Blair was better. Four happy years at Blair. He is a college senior now so I know the leadership at RM has changed making our experience somewhat irrelevant. In terms of college DS chose between full tuition at UMD and an Ivy.

My DD went to Economics and TOK, she thoroughly enjoyed it and chose RMIB over Blair after the shadow day. Regarding Poolesville, a single trip to the school was enough; the distance alone influenced her decision not to attend. 😅

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it weird how there never seems to be any real information about where Blair SMCS kids go to college, while most of the other schools have instagram pages and RMIB even has a document I’ve seen on previous threads that summarizes admits. Why is Blair SMCS so closed up about it? I know many of the kids go to UM but really would be good to know. It’s a really strong cohort of kids and some realistic expectation setting would be helpful, considering how much kids can’t help but compare themselves to their peers.

They show destinations by HS in Bethesda Magazine each year, so it's pretty easy to see. Blair has more prestigious schools than any other high school by a fairly wide margin, and it's a safe bet a lot of that is the magnet.

Exactly. All you people who claim you're doing this for research can check Bethesda Magazine. Or wait til the end of the year graduation reports.

If you are sitting here in December looking at college admissions for children you do not know at a high school your own child does not (yet or ever) attend, that's mockable and we will laugh at you.

Because I definitely care a lot about whether you will mock and laugh at me, I'm wondering under what circumstances it is ever OK for a person to look at college admit social media. Can I only look at a school my child currently attends? What if they are going to attend or did attend? What if my friend's kid or nephew goes there? Or should I just not look at all?

The point that you are others keep failing to grasp is that it’s poor taste to be stalking this data in December on Instagram pages when EA/ED decisions have just come out. Further the Instagram pages are self reporting by the kids who want to participate which means it’s not even an accurate reporting of a program/school.

College is more competitive than ever and students are more stressed about the applications and process. If this is data you are really interested in for a meaningful reason there are ways to seek it after RD season.

Again what a horrible take...it sounds like you are a parent of a stressed out teen who is annoyed by these pages and although I understand and feel sorry that your child (Or maybe its just you) are upset, you are going to have to get over it. Keep laughing at us because we are definitely rolling our eyes at you

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any MIT or CalTech admissions from any MCPS schools?

My DD is at RMIB and she knows of one MIT acceptance.

Yes DS said the same.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't seem to have the same instagram pages that the private schools do.

You are a grown adult person. Why are you stalking Instagram for high school students?

NP
Looking at an Instagram page is not stalking. But good try.

Obsessively checking to see where other people's children got into college is not *quite* stalking. But it's one of those "only in the DMV" things that make me shake my head.

I'm sure lots of high schools across the country have Instagram pages, and kids themselves seem to like promoting their college process on social media. But again. You are a grown adult person. Right? Why do you care which kids from a high school your child does not attend got into a school that your child also does not attend. Or, if they do attend it, this seems like something most people would be happy finding out later by happenstance, like in an orientation group, or a parents or students listserve.

What a horrible take....really so dumb....as a parent you don't want to see where kids in upper classes are getting accepted? I don't post to social media because I agree that it is very "hey look at me" but I use it for research purposes, news etc and this is a perfect example of that.

All the Blair parents claiming to be put off by RMIB focus on college admissions are full of it. They'd be on this thread crowing if Blair's EA/ED results were amazing. Like the TJ parents gushing about all the MIT early admits.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter chose to attend RMIB over Blair and Poolesville this year, and she's quite happy with her decision. Initially, she was hesitant for a while. After visiting Blair, we thought that would be her final choice. However, after participating in a shadow day at RMIB, she changed her mind as soon as possible. Importantly, she made the decision independently, not influenced solely by the coordinator. RMIB offers a supportive environment with peers who have diverse interests.It's not toxic at all. The homework load is very manageable compared to Blair, allowing her the flexibility to pursue her own interests. One big difference is that, unlike Blair that all students have to compete in the same fields, such as math and computer science. This opens up more possibilities for students at RMIB.

My child was just the opposite. RM was our home school so the easier choice for a kid deciding between RM and Blair. But the RM open house was terrible, and the shadow day was very poorly organized. He attended band, the same English class two times (with a different shadow) and a full class math test. Even the acceptance info from Blair was better. Four happy years at Blair. He is a college senior now so I know the leadership at RM has changed making our experience somewhat irrelevant. In terms of college DS chose between full tuition at UMD and an Ivy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TLDR:

Parents of Blair kids say Blair is the better choice, including for college admissions, and say that RMIB is a pressure cooker bad environment.
Parents of RMIB kids say that RMIB is a better choice for their kid because of the writing focus and curriculum and that the cohort is very supportive.

Yes, you've captured it.

I don't really know of any Blair parents who regret their child's experience at Blair but have heard from multiple RMIB parents who say they regret their child's choice. Anyone have insights as to why? Is it because most Blair kids have a passion for stem or communications whereas RMIB is more of an all-around program which can make it harder to get excited about?

You claim you heard second hand from multiple parents. These parents just said to you "I regret my child's choice" and did not say anything at all to explain why?

STEM-obsessed parents love to trash RMIB, while clearly bitter about the strong college admissions achieved there. Strong analytical writing, the foundation of RMIB, appeals to a wide variety of elite colleges, and the more diverse academic interests mean students don't have to compete against each other in quite the same way. The workload is intense in 11th and 12th--that is the only negative that regularly comes up. It can be tough if you have any time-consuming ECs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TLDR:

Parents of Blair kids say Blair is the better choice, including for college admissions, and say that RMIB is a pressure cooker bad environment.
Parents of RMIB kids say that RMIB is a better choice for their kid because of the writing focus and curriculum and that the cohort is very supportive.

Yes, you've captured it.

I don't really know of any Blair parents who regret their child's experience at Blair but have heard from multiple RMIB parents who say they regret their child's choice. Anyone have insights as to why? Is it because most Blair kids have a passion for stem or communications whereas RMIB is more of an all-around program which can make it harder to get excited about?

You claim you heard second hand from multiple parents. These parents just said to you "I regret my child's choice" and did not say anything at all to explain why?

My daughter chose to attend RMIB over Blair and Poolesville this year, and she's quite happy with her decision. Initially, she was hesitant for a while. After visiting Blair, we thought that would be her final choice. However, after participating in a shadow day at RMIB, she changed her mind as soon as possible. Importantly, she made the decision independently, not influenced solely by the coordinator. RMIB offers a supportive environment with peers who have diverse interests.It's not toxic at all. The homework load is very manageable compared to Blair, allowing her the flexibility to pursue her own interests. One big difference is that, unlike Blair that all students have to compete in the same fields, such as math and computer science. This opens up more possibilities for students at RMIB.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it weird how there never seems to be any real information about where Blair SMCS kids go to college, while most of the other schools have instagram pages and RMIB even has a document I’ve seen on previous threads that summarizes admits. Why is Blair SMCS so closed up about it? I know many of the kids go to UM but really would be good to know. It’s a really strong cohort of kids and some realistic expectation setting would be helpful, considering how much kids can’t help but compare themselves to their peers.

The magnet administrator very much doesn’t want to share that info. He made that very clear at the open houses - it has no bearing on where your kid will go and you should pick that program if it’s the right level of challenge for your kid not because you expect it to get them into a particular college.

I’m certain the main reason most of the magnet applicants/students want to go to that magnet is because they and their parents want to get into a particular college. So, yes, these people want to know what the end result of having gone to the magnet will likely look like.

Nope. Not why my kid is there, and you seem to have completely missed the point. The magnet administrator specifically says to prospective students everywhere that this is not the place for you if you are focused only on college applications. He wouldn’t even show his slide on where kids were admitted.

Agreed --Another Blair parent.

One of the reasons why my kid chose Blair over RM. This was several years ago, but RM presentation was very name dropping and tried to overtly one-up Blair. Hopefully RM has changed that with new admin. Really like Mr. O's approach.

That was true for my kid too. We were really turned off by the RMIB focus on college admissions. As Mr O said, you choose the HS that meets your kid’s needs - for high school.

My kid got offers from both Blair magnet and RMIB. He’s an all round strong student but he didn’t even go to the open house at RM, or seriously consider it (or the Wheaton programs, or the local IB, or CAP, all of which offered him places). Nothing to do with college prospects and all to do with what my kid thought was the best fit for him. Commute was important too. It seems to have been a good choice but I would think any of the others could have been too, for the right kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TLDR:

Parents of Blair kids say Blair is the better choice, including for college admissions, and say that RMIB is a pressure cooker bad environment.
Parents of RMIB kids say that RMIB is a better choice for their kid because of the writing focus and curriculum and that the cohort is very supportive.

Yes, you've captured it.

I don't really know of any Blair parents who regret their child's experience at Blair but have heard from multiple RMIB parents who say they regret their child's choice. Anyone have insights as to why? Is it because most Blair kids have a passion for stem or communications whereas RMIB is more of an all-around program which can make it harder to get excited about?

Don't believe everything you read on DCUM. I have a kid at RMIB and friends who have kids at Blair. Some of them love it and some regret the long commute and extra period.

My kid has had a fantastic experience so far at RMIB. Great teachers, awesome cohort of kids (supportive and ambitious students with diverse interests) and fantastic English classes. Not a senior, so we'll see about college admissions, but she did the program for a challenging HS experience, not for how it would affect her college prospects.

Not sure why any PARENTS would regret their child's choice. It's the child's choice. I guess some of the kids could regret the workload, but DD only knows of one student who left RMIB. All of her friends have stuck with it.

I usually try to stay out of these thread, but had to come in to defend RMIB - which is one of the (few) things that MCPS seems to do right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it weird how there never seems to be any real information about where Blair SMCS kids go to college, while most of the other schools have instagram pages and RMIB even has a document I’ve seen on previous threads that summarizes admits. Why is Blair SMCS so closed up about it? I know many of the kids go to UM but really would be good to know. It’s a really strong cohort of kids and some realistic expectation setting would be helpful, considering how much kids can’t help but compare themselves to their peers.

The magnet administrator very much doesn’t want to share that info. He made that very clear at the open houses - it has no bearing on where your kid will go and you should pick that program if it’s the right level of challenge for your kid not because you expect it to get them into a particular college.

I’m certain the main reason most of the magnet applicants/students want to go to that magnet is because they and their parents want to get into a particular college. So, yes, these people want to know what the end result of having gone to the magnet will likely look like.

Nope. Not why my kid is there, and you seem to have completely missed the point. The magnet administrator specifically says to prospective students everywhere that this is not the place for you if you are focused only on college applications. He wouldn’t even show his slide on where kids were admitted.

Agreed --Another Blair parent.

One of the reasons why my kid chose Blair over RM. This was several years ago, but RM presentation was very name dropping and tried to overtly one-up Blair. Hopefully RM has changed that with new admin. Really like Mr. O's approach.

That was true for my kid too. We were really turned off by the RMIB focus on college admissions. As Mr O said, you choose the HS that meets your kid’s needs - for high school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TLDR:

Parents of Blair kids say Blair is the better choice, including for college admissions, and say that RMIB is a pressure cooker bad environment.
Parents of RMIB kids say that RMIB is a better choice for their kid because of the writing focus and curriculum and that the cohort is very supportive.

Yes, you've captured it.

I don't really know of any Blair parents who regret their child's experience at Blair but have heard from multiple RMIB parents who say they regret their child's choice. Anyone have insights as to why? Is it because most Blair kids have a passion for stem or communications whereas RMIB is more of an all-around program which can make it harder to get excited about?

Anonymous wrote:Any MIT or CalTech admissions from any MCPS schools?

My DD is at RMIB and she knows of one MIT acceptance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TLDR:

Parents of Blair kids say Blair is the better choice, including for college admissions, and say that RMIB is a pressure cooker bad environment.
Parents of RMIB kids say that RMIB is a better choice for their kid because of the writing focus and curriculum and that the cohort is very supportive.

Yes, you've captured it.

Except that RMIB also claims better choice for college admissions. Reported early admits so far include Chicago(x2), Northwestern, Cornell, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, Duke. Definitely solid results. I think it helps that RM kids are a mix of humanities and STEM focus, vs. all STEM focus. It's easier for them to differentiate their applications. But kids aiming for MIT and Caltech should go to Blair.

Oh you ruined it....

It isn't about WHICH school is better, but about the overall back-and-forth.
And I think you are the first person on this thread to claim that RMIB is a better choice for college admissions. As an RMIB parent myself, I think it is solid, and good for my kid. But I don't claim overall admission odds are better than Blair. There is no way to even make that determination...

Blair/Wheaton parent here, and totally agree. The program with best admissions odds for your kid is the program that best fits your kids interests. They all are great programs with various assets to consider. Also, lots of kids from all these schools choose UMDCP for cost and quality.