Choosing a high school

<p>Maybe some of you "college parents" were in that position before - I am looking for some spin off from my way of thinking.</p>

<p>DS will be choosing HS soon. He/we are looking at the HS that offers an excellent IB program (by excellent I mean it is the most reputable in the state as far as IB goes and offers a huge selection of IB courses, more than 30). It draws some very talented kids. The thinking here is that an IB program will make our son work hard and will open up his horizons. He is a very good student across the curriculum and his interests are all over the place at this point. He excells in math, but is also a very good writer and recently very much interested in movie making.
We have EU citizenship and there might be a chance son will choose to attend a University in Europe - hence IB might be beneficial. The IB school in question sends several students per year to Ivy caliber schools. Close to 50% of students want to go out of state for college.
A lot of bright kids attend it, like I have mentioned above. Son will likely be in the top there(althought one never knows for sure), but likely not THE top student (again, who knows). </p>

<p>An alternative school is an early college HS. With some additional work there he will graduate with his associates and will most likely be THE top student. This school however rarely sends kids out of state, mostly because those who attend do not have the desire to leave. Also, instead of AP courses he would be taking university classes at "not so great" university .</p>

<p>The plan at this point is to go out of state to a reputable college with the most merit money possible.</p>

<p>There are other things that will affect his HS choice, but at this time I would like to see your spin on that good school-not top student option versus not so good school - top student.</p>

<p>I am a strong believer in the best school / not best student approach. For me, the goal for a high school student, especially an entering 9th grader, should be to learn and to grow as much as possible. That happens best/most where there are the most resources and the greatest challenges.</p>

<p>I do not think it's appropriate to choose a high school based on anticipated college admissions results. There are just too many things that can happen to affect that in the next four years. And, in any event, if a student really learns and really grows to his potential in high school, college admissions will take care of itself, with fine results. (And even if you disagree with me on that, my observed experience is that good students at great schools generally do better in the elite college sweepstakes than the best students at mediocre schools. If you want confirmation of that, look at the college admissions results for fancy NYC prep schools like Trinity or Brearley or elite public schools like Stuyvesant or Thomas Jefferson vs. "normal" decent suburban public or private schools. The top half of the class at the great schools does as well or better than the top few kids at the decent schools, and better than even the best kids at worse schools. But this is on average -- I can't tell you that any particular kid might not have better results as the #1 student at a merely OK school than he would have as a good student at a great school.)</p>

<p>If it were me and one of my kids, I think we would choose the IB high school.</p>

<p>My advice is to choose a school based on the caliber of the students who go there. If the mainstream flows higher at the IB school, look there first.</p>

<p>I agree with JHS that it is a mistake to see HS only as a stepping stone to college. It is a time to learn, grow and discover new interests. Being among strong and motivated students will be much more beneficial for you son than to be a #1 in mediocre environment.</p>

<p>And as a side benefit - schools that send many students to top schools are better at "sending students to top schools". Their teachers know how to write meaningful recommendations, their counselors are doing their job, and can give helpful advice, etc.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Also, instead of AP courses he would be taking university classes at "not so great" university .

[/quote]

If he choses this route after all, make sure he takes AP tests somewhere, otherwise he most probably will not get any credit for those at his future college.</p>

<p>I have always gone with the best school. And by "best", I also mean a fit for the kid. He has to like the school too. I never looked at it terms of where he could be the best in the school. However, there were school districts where the academic emphasis and atmosphere was just too intense for our family, and though they were outstanding, I did not think they were good fits.</p>

<p>Your son's broad interests make me think that the IB school might be a good choice. IB is a good place for generalists (but maybe not so good for students who want to specialize as deeply as possible in their favorite areas).</p>

<p>It is really not possible at this point to say how being in the IB school would affect your son's college admissions prospects. The fact that IB is well known and highly respected, and that students who manage to complete the diploma program are respected by colleges for doing so, may cancel out the lower class rank that you anticipate if he goes to the IB school.</p>

<p>My daughter went to a very reputable IB school. I don't know how choosing this school affected her college admissions prospects, if it affected them at all; she feels that she ended up at the same sort of college that she would have attended if she had gone to our neighborhood high school. The difference is that, coming from IB, she was much better prepared for college than she would have been if she had stayed in the regular program. IB students learn to manage their time effectively and to write quickly and well. These are very valuable skills for an entering college student.</p>

<p>Quote:
"IB students learn to manage their time effectively and to write quickly and well. These are very valuable skills for an entering college student."</p>

<p>This and the Theory of Knowledge class (TOK) made it worth it, more so if it's a reputable IB program.</p>

<p>From what you've said, it sounds like the IB school would be the best fit for your son.</p>

<p>Thank you all for your responses.
Son is actually already talking about an IB schools like "his" HS. :)
We believe that it will be a better school for him.</p>

<p>I guess my "second guessing" comes from the fact that attending an IB school will take more than 2 hour of commute time for him daily (something I did not include in my original post). So internally I started exploring other options.</p>

<p>The commute time is actually a significant issue and perhaps should play a role in your family's decision making.</p>

<p>What will happen if your son wants to participate in extracurricular activities at the IB school or meet with a teacher after school? How will he get home? Is there public transit available, or will someone from the family have to make a two-hour round trip to pick him up? Is it even possible for someone to do that? In the later years of high school, will he have his own car, or will he still need to rely on mass transit or parental drop-offs/pick-ups when he needs to be at school at irregular times?</p>

<p>Extracurricular activities (though they need not be school based) play a significant role in college admissions. And, as you may know, the IB diploma has a requirement called CAS (for Creativity, Action, Service) that is met through extracurricular activities. Also, I can tell you from my own IB daughter's experience that there were times when she needed to be at school other than during the regular school hours for academic reasons. For example, she had to stay after school on multiple occasions to meet with the teacher who was serving as her advisor on the Extended Essay. Also, the oral components of some IB exams were administered outside of regular school hours. In fact, because the school gave large numbers of AP and IB exams and had to do some very sophisticated scheduling during the month of May, even some of the written exams started before the beginning of the regular school day or ended after it was over.</p>

<p>It is often quite possible for middle school students to travel on the school bus, both ways, almost every day of the school year. But for high school students -- and perhaps especially for IB high school students -- there are many days when this is not practical. So transportation can be a significant issue.</p>

<p>I know this is an ancient thread, but I wanted to chime in.</p>

<p>My middle schooler goes to school over an hour away. Daily, she spends about 2 1/2 hours on the bus. Although the school she attends has many benefits, I would never do it again. It is extremely hard for her to do things after school because of transportation issues. It's hard on me on the weekends because she's a very social child who has made many friends who live near the school.</p>

<p>The hardest thing is just that it takes so much time out of her day. Most of her homework isn't the kind of thing she can do on the bus, so her daily schedule sometimes veers into the insane when it comes to getting everything done. We've had to cut out some ECs. Some because she gets home so late, after they've already started, and some just because she doesn't have the time.</p>

<p>Three kids - each attended hs about 30 minutes away with no public transportation - commute time about two hours daily.</p>

<p>Pro:
Academic quality of school
Students</p>

<p>Cons:
Friends scattered throughout town
Traffic</p>

<p>General:
The school worked with families - promoting car pools. Never had a problem with finding nearby families, so in our case it worked. Right now I'm not carpooling, but I am enjoying the time spent with d on the way home. Once she hits home its all about schoolwork, so the time in the car is invaluable. She "decompresses" and I actually have great bonding time. (Mornings Dad drives and then continues on to work - he has a captive audience when needed about whatever he wants :); also d usually eats breakfast in the car on the way to school so time is less of an issue.)</p>

<p>Not having nearby friends changes the quality of social life, and it depends on your kid, as to how that works. Certainly it draws the child closer into the family unit and also toward the school. The students tend to gather at all the school events, as it is the most convenient way to get together. I think my d goes to the plays, etc. at her school more often than the girl next door who attends the local hs. Social activities are always planned out rather than just dropping in at whomever's house.</p>

<p>Update:</p>

<p>Decision has been made and S registered with the school that is an hour by bus away/40 min by car. I am more worried about it than he is. I am a night owl and LOVE my morning sleep. S has absolutely no problem getting up at 6 am this year to be at school by 7.
We will see...</p>

<p>Absolutely agree with social life happening close to school. My hope is that DD chooses the same school in two years and life will become a little easier.</p>