Anonymous
02/19/2026 09:40
Subject: Blair SMCS Open House
Anonymous wrote:Did those who got in already accept? Any waitpool movement?
Usually kids who get accepted into SMCS accept it over other programs they may get in to. So hardly, if any, wait pool movement.
Anonymous
02/19/2026 08:23
Subject: Blair SMCS Open House
Did those who got in already accept? Any waitpool movement?
Anonymous
02/14/2026 14:29
Subject: Blair SMCS Open House
current SMCS parent. DC came from a middle school where they had a weaker foundation than other kids-- didn't take the hardest math track, also didn't take APUSH/AP Gov freshman year. It was manageable but a lot of time on homework esp sophomore year. DC doesn't play any sports, if they take the bus they leave the house at 6:50 a.m. and get home at 4:15. So a very long day.
DC knew only one other kid, and not very well, entering the magnet, but it didn't matter. There is no question in our child's mind that this was the right choice for them. But they are the type of kid who deeply resents that they have to take language classes and history, they wish they could just fill up their whole schedule with STEM electives.
DC knew only one other kid, and not very well, entering the magnet, but it didn't matter. There is no question in our child's mind that this was the right choice for them. But they are the type of kid who deeply resents that they have to take language classes and history, they wish they could just fill up their whole schedule with STEM electives.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 13:08
Subject: Blair SMCS Open House
Anonymous wrote:There’s someone in this thread that insists that homework is minimal because all students are brilliant and therefore do not need to work hard.
This is not true. It is an intense tough program for almost all students, brilliant or not. They routinely report that college - even elite colleges - are easy in comparison.
Families considering accepting a spot, ignore the competitive voices. There is a lot of work, a fast pace, lots of deadlines. It’s a grind. A competitive one too. Weigh up whether this is worth it to you and whether this is the experience you want your kid to have in high school. And think about whether your child is self motivated and organized enough to handle the work, the social challenges and the commute.
I am one of the PPs and a former SMCS parent. Agree with everything you said. It is an intense program and geared towards a highly motivated / organized student. I only comment on the homework because for my kid it was certainly manageable despite what we heard about some kids working until all hours of the night. Your advice is spot on though.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:45
Subject: Blair SMCS Open House
There’s someone in this thread that insists that homework is minimal because all students are brilliant and therefore do not need to work hard.
This is not true. It is an intense tough program for almost all students, brilliant or not. They routinely report that college - even elite colleges - are easy in comparison.
Families considering accepting a spot, ignore the competitive voices. There is a lot of work, a fast pace, lots of deadlines. It’s a grind. A competitive one too. Weigh up whether this is worth it to you and whether this is the experience you want your kid to have in high school. And think about whether your child is self motivated and organized enough to handle the work, the social challenges and the commute.
This is not true. It is an intense tough program for almost all students, brilliant or not. They routinely report that college - even elite colleges - are easy in comparison.
Families considering accepting a spot, ignore the competitive voices. There is a lot of work, a fast pace, lots of deadlines. It’s a grind. A competitive one too. Weigh up whether this is worth it to you and whether this is the experience you want your kid to have in high school. And think about whether your child is self motivated and organized enough to handle the work, the social challenges and the commute.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:33
Subject: Blair SMCS Open House
Anonymous wrote:Is all homework handwritten?
No, but most of the math homeworks are handwritten. And I think different math teachers have different styles in treating math homeworks. For the one we experienced with, every homework and every question counts toward final GPA (of course with less weights while in-class tests carry more weights), and there is not much repetitive work. For the stat class, a ton of writing and repetitive questions that my DC hates...
Anonymous
02/13/2026 12:21
Subject: Blair SMCS Open House
Is all homework handwritten?
Anonymous
02/13/2026 11:34
Subject: Blair SMCS Open House
Because schools let kids type in English class on K-8, they have slow, messy handwriting in 9-12 STEM classes, which makes homework take a long time.
Anonymous
02/13/2026 11:33
Subject: Blair SMCS Open House
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:How many hours your kid spends on homework is mostly based on how quickly they work. A really fast kid will spend much less time on homework. It’s not just time management or motivation… it’s how fast do they read, write/type, and think.
Not really. The level of challenge is a huge leap from middle school. Kids who were always fast workers need to take much more time to get things right. And for some subjects there is just a very large volume to get through (eg precalc or functions)
Homework is mostly not graded, just checked, so it's only as long as you make it
Except if you really want to do well in class, the practice that homework gives you is important.
If you can't learn the material while still getting sleep at night, thats a pretty solid indication that the curriculum moves too quickly for you.
But for math specifically, the teachers assigned much more repetitive homework than is required for learning -- 10 variants of the same problem instead of 5. (And that is why its not required to complete. It's better to assign more non-required work and let kids stop when they get bored, than to risk assigning too little work and hope that kids are motivated to do extra practice on their own if they need it.)