OP, I agree with others that you ought not to have college as too big a factor in your decision since your child is only 4. Who knows what will happen with DC Tag, or state colleges in VA or MD, over the next 15 years...

But, to the extent it is a factor, as a DC parent with a college sophomore, DC Tag was great. It gives you so many more affordable options to consider, near, far, and in between. You still end up paying a bit more than in-state tuition in most states (because the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition is >$10,000), but it is not that much more, and the extra choice is really fantastic.

Anonymous wrote:What kid wants to go to an instate school anyhow. Just shows Dad is a broke dick.

What kid wants to go to an instate school anyhow. Just shows Dad is a broke dick.

UMD is not as good as UVA, but let's be real here...

Unless your child is going to be in a STEM field (which UMD excels at) they're going to have to go to grad school anyway, so going to UMD (which has cheaper in-state tuition than UVA and most other in-state VA schools) is not going to put them at a disadvantage. People are acting like UMD is a subpar school because it's not UVA, which is like docking a school points for not being Harvard. It's a fine school and has a lot of great, well-respected programs. Most importantly, it's most well-respected programs are in fields where you can get a well paying job with just a bachelor's degree (STEM fields).

Also, from what I understand the difference in tuition between state and private colleges is great on paper, but isn't that disparate when it's all said and done because of the more generous financial aid that's doled out at private schools. I don't have children that age yet, but can anyone else confirm?

Anonymous wrote:Leaving DC for MD. Did not even consider VA.

1. Commute crosses water. Bottlenecks inevitable. The end.
2. All the fine VA institutions mentioned here (or even pointed to from a distance) are residential party campuses. No thanks.

Even William & Mary?!? Excuse me...

Anonymous wrote:I concentrated on the best high schools in the area and Gould Whitman and Bethesda-Chevy Chase the best by far. We chose the neighborhood that fed into our chosen school.

I can’t imagine what research would yield those schools as the best. Whitman is near the top— the others are Wootton and Winston Churchill. BCC is a distant fourth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has the most good to great pyramids. No other school system comes remotely close.

There is only one great school in FCPS. No one aim to be FCPS.
But everyone wants to be equal or better than MCPS. Many have tried but so far none has succeeded.

“No one aim to be FCPS”?

You are illiterate, and it’s no wonder MCPS is declining.

And when did I say I graduated from MCPS?
MCPS may be declining according to DCUM, still no one aims to be FCPS.

I concentrated on the best high schools in the area and Gould Whitman and Bethesda-Chevy Chase the best by far. We chose the neighborhood that fed into our chosen school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has the most good to great pyramids. No other school system comes remotely close.

There is only one great school in FCPS. No one aim to be FCPS.
But everyone wants to be equal or better than MCPS. Many have tried but so far none has succeeded.

“No one aim to be FCPS”?

You are illiterate, and it’s no wonder MCPS is declining.

Anonymous wrote:I am the parent of a 15 and 12 yo and live in DC where they attend upper nw schools. Now that college is 3 years away (it comes fast!) I regret not moving to VA when they were younger. VA has several good schools and the difference between in/out of state tuition is significant. Yes, there is TAG but it does not make up the difference. My 2 cents. Good luck however you decide.

The irony is that your kids are more likely to be accepted to the high-ranking VA universities from DC, yet you’re less likely to be able to afford them.

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has the most good to great pyramids. No other school system comes remotely close.

There is only one great school in FCPS. No one aim to be FCPS.
But everyone wants to be equal or better than MCPS. Many have tried but so far none has succeeded.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're staying put in the city in an analogous situation. We bought in 2011 and with basement rental income we pay off most of our mortgage. We can comfortably afford two private school tuitions whereas in the neighborhoods mentioned by OP we would struggle. Giving the DCPS/charter lottery one last chance next year!

Conceivable we may move as we get a couple more promotions and could then comfortably live in upper NW or Bethesda or Arlington but not until then. Current HHI is $400k and potential to go up to $700k in next 4 or 5 years.

OP, most people make your choice to flee to the burbs as oldest approaches K. The ratio is shrinking as (1) commuting from burbs only gets worse with suburban sprawl, poor infrastructure, (2) more people, especially dual earners with jobs in/near the city choose city vs. suburb tradeoff, and (3) suburban school systems decline. Take a look at PARCC scores for top MCPS and DCPS and same demographics often have better scores in DCPS.

This. This gets lost in these discussions. Apples to apples demographic comparisons reveal comparable scores.

No, it doesn't. Different PARCC tests.
One is customized to MD standard, the other to DC standard.
DC standard is not that strong.

This, 100%.

The whole point of PARCC is to test the Common Core and get away from testing to each individual state's standards.

Yes, PPs totally made that up out of whole cloth. For whatever immature reason, they just can't stand that there are also smart kids in DC.

A simple Google search would tell that PARCC tests are customized to the participating state standards.
But you want to live in a fantasy world.