<p>An impressive looking new high school is opening in our city and my daughter wants to go there for 10th grade rather than to the Catholic girls' school she is currently attending. My big question is: since she would only be in the 2nd graduating class, admissions offices would have nothing to go on regarding her school quality (in a giant urban district), would that be an hindrance?</p>
<p>Are you happy with the current school? If so, I wouldn’t take the chance. Don’t be swayed by a beautiful exterior.</p>
<p>It’s all about test scores…will the school score high on it’s state assesment?</p>
<p>Also, she could be the founding president of any number of clubs…at least founding member. Looks good to be on the “founding” level of that stuff :)</p>
<p>My son was in the 2nd graduating class at his hs…his opportunities were amazing - and he made the best of it :)</p>
<p>^ What effect does a school’s state assessments have on college admissions? Is that the type of thing which is in the school profile?</p>
<p>When does a decision have to be made? Have you & D had a visit of the new school? Talked with teachers? Admins? Where are they getting their faculty? What will they be offering? Have you seen their curriculum? How will it be funded? How will the current economy affect funding, students, faculty?</p>
<p>It might be good for you & D to sit down & list the pros & cons of each school based on the above criteria, as well as others she & you can think of.</p>
<p>Sometimes these questions (and there are countless of them here) about how a college admissions committee is likely to perceive this thing or that thing are just impossible to answer. On top of the fact that different admissions officers very well may look at the same thing differently. One may think there’s not enough to go on here in assessing this new school. Another may think a student in a single-sex parochial school may not have the broad exposures, opportunities and independence as a student in a larger school with a more diverse student body.</p>
<p>At a certain point the questions get way too far away from the more central issue; what excites the student?, where does their own interest lead them? Your daughter may be wanting something different, new because she needs that to widen her experiences and become a person that she feels she has potential to be. Some kids like cozy, familiar, stable (I have one like that), some just know within that they must challenge themselves with new adventures (I also have one like that).</p>
<p>Unless you have reasons that pertain to your daughter as a individual, or the new school as an institution, then I’d let her make that decision… and not base it on anything as cryptic as what some unknown collective of hypothetical college admissions people might think.</p>
<p>In any event, their decisions will be based FAR more on the individual applicant than on any school. Not to say in some cases of very well-known-to-them feeder schools that it’s a meaningless factor, but in most cases they are more interested in the student than in the school.</p>
<p>S1 went to a brand new h.s.(large ubran-suburban public district) as a freshman. They didn’t even have a senior class that first yr. His class was the first to complete 4 yrs. at the sch. It turned out well for him.</p>
<p>For instance, he had never played football but really wanted to. He was very skinny,lol.
Since it was a new sch., they let every guy who came out be on the team. He got in every game (for just a few plays) that yr. and was thrilled. Worked hard during offseason and the next year he was starting linebacker and team captain. </p>
<p>There was great comraderie among his class because they were all starting new traditions at a new school. They lost every football game that first yr. but kids still turned out in huge numbers to cheer them on. Four years since h.s grad. and some of those people are still among his best friends. </p>
<p>College admissions was not a prob. Even though it was a new school, it was part of a large well-known district within the state. The Val. of his class is starting med. sch. next month. One girl went to Columbia(engineering) and has distiguished herself both athletically and academically. Another girl won the most prestigious big full-ride +perks scholarship at our big state u. S and his best friend got NROTC scholarships + merit to = fullride at big state u. Quite a few have gotten arts scholarships
This year’s class is sending it’s two star basketball players to Harvard and West Point.</p>
<p>He had no choice about attending new sch. (got re-districted) but was really glad he went to the new one instead of the one he would have attended before re-districinting even though everyone in town thought the old sch. was just the greatest. A huge rivalry has now developed between the old sch. and the new one. The athletic competitons are becoming legendary, being written up by the nearby big city newspaper. S2’s (3 yrs behind S1)team beat the rival and won the first conf. championship his senior yr('08). It was like being at the Super Bowl. </p>
<p>It was not perfect but no school is. You could let your D try it for a year. If she is not happy there, she could transfer back to the old sch. right?</p>
<p>DD was in the founding freshman class of her HS. It started with only freshmen and sophomores and added a class each year. The opportunities it gave her were tremendous! She was the founding Pres of Theater Club and Thespians, etc., etc. She was accepted Amherst, U of Chicago, etc., etc., so this didn’t hold her back. She just graduated from Amherst.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for their responses so far. I really appreciate it! HImom all your suggested questions have or WILL be asked.</p>
<p>I agree completely with Packmom. My S was in the first graduating class from his HS. It was split from the other high school for his junior year (seniors stayed at the old HS) due to enrollment increases. Because the school district overall had a track record that is what the guidance office released in the school profile. At this point (D was in the 4th graduating class in same school) school uses its own profile.</p>
<p>I will be the 1st graduating class of our new high school in a well respected school district. Other than having opportunities to start new clubs & etc… will it give me slight advantage in admission to top colleges? Since we have to “pioneer” lots of events and situations. I do have good grades, test scores, awards, job experience, sports accomplishments & volunteer activities.</p>
<p>New schools often attract good teachers from others in the district.</p>
<p>The expectation from the principle is that teachers would have to work extra hard and put in long hours to get things going; only 4 “experience”(good) teachers transferred from the district to head the AP and Honors classes. Most of the teachers are brand new. That is why I had to take hard vigorous classes to have these experience teachers.</p>
<p>It depends where the new high school is. If it’s in an upscale neighborhood, good teachers will leave the old schools and flock to new school to work with the new administration. – crossed post with noimagination.</p>
<p>^ Yeah, that’s the situation I’m describing.</p>