Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 14:21     Subject: DS is entering 9th. If accepted, which would you choose?
I went to MCPS and the kids who were kicked out of my school went to Good Counsel. I wouldn't think of it as anywhere near the other three but perhaps times have changed?
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 14:10     Subject: DS is entering 9th. If accepted, which would you choose?
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?

The HS academics culture can vary at MCPS by school, and by grade at the schools you mention. Which HS in MCPS are you zoned for? Some of the MCPS high schools offer better course progression and choice for a highly academic kid, as well as athletics, and are better than the schools you have listed from an academic standpoint and have a higher number of kids who are on the highest academic "track". Of those four I would go with Landon or Prep, but again some publics in this area are better.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 13:57     Subject: Re:DS is entering 9th. If accepted, which would you choose?
Anonymous wrote:This is a weird thread because the schools the OP mentioned were vastly different from each other. Does their child not have an intrinsic preference? Does the family? Georgetown Prep is a very different experience than Landon. Did you research the schools? I assume you did, and your child did shadow days. We started off not knowing anything about where we would prefer our son to go and were able to narrow it pretty quickly based on his feedback and our own preferences. I doubt you're actually a parent trying to decide between these 4 schools -- if you'd actually gone through the (lengthy) process of applying at all of them, I think you'd already know the best choices for your student.


Exactly.

When I read posts that ask for comparisons of a group of disparate schools (like Landon, Prep, OLGC and Bullis) my sense is that this is a family that has no idea what they are looking for or looking at.

Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 13:53     Subject: Re:DS is entering 9th. If accepted, which would you choose?
Anonymous wrote:This is a weird thread because the schools the OP mentioned were vastly different from each other. Does their child not have an intrinsic preference? Does the family? Georgetown Prep is a very different experience than Landon. Did you research the schools? I assume you did, and your child did shadow days. We started off not knowing anything about where we would prefer our son to go and were able to narrow it pretty quickly based on his feedback and our own preferences. I doubt you're actually a parent trying to decide between these 4 schools -- if you'd actually gone through the (lengthy) process of applying at all of them, I think you'd already know the best choices for your student.


Not the OP but my DD applied to schools that are totally different from one another so we could experience a range. Well we narrowed it down a little bit after shadow days, but DD is still torn between schools even though they are completely different because they all have something unique to offer.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 13:20     Subject: Re:DS is entering 9th. If accepted, which would you choose?
This is a weird thread because the schools the OP mentioned were vastly different from each other. Does their child not have an intrinsic preference? Does the family? Georgetown Prep is a very different experience than Landon. Did you research the schools? I assume you did, and your child did shadow days. We started off not knowing anything about where we would prefer our son to go and were able to narrow it pretty quickly based on his feedback and our own preferences. I doubt you're actually a parent trying to decide between these 4 schools -- if you'd actually gone through the (lengthy) process of applying at all of them, I think you'd already know the best choices for your student.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 12:10     Subject: Re:DS is entering 9th. If accepted, which would you choose?
If you haven't already, you may want to consider MCPS special programs (IB or magnet). MCPS has great academics and opportunities if you access certain programs, even if you live in a district where the specific school isn't quite as good. And those programs are better than a number of the schools you listed.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 10:30     Subject: DS is entering 9th. If accepted, which would you choose?
Anonymous wrote:
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.


You have to account for how the mission of the school shapes its student population. If you look at average scores for a school like GC, you won’t understand what they really say about the level of academics unless you know the school intentionally serves a wider range of students than the other schools as part of its mission. GC has a terrific honors program for its strongest students.



Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 10:11     Subject: DS is entering 9th. If accepted, which would you choose?
Anonymous wrote:Bullis. FWIW, I think coed schools are better for most boys than an all-boys school.


I could not disagree more, especially in middle and high school.
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 10:05     Subject: DS is entering 9th. If accepted, which would you choose?
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?


Good Counsel LOL for networking omg sure if you want MAGA as your network.

Bullis sure

Landon if you want a school that produces lovely raging aggressive .... with not such great college results.

Prep HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Anonymous
Post 02/06/2023 10:04     Subject: DS is entering 9th. If accepted, which would you choose?
Anonymous wrote:
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 and where do students get accepted to college.

Most of these schools have a few that go on to top places, but Public do better in this area, particularly with math and science.