<p>What are some good public high schools in NoVA? How is the student body?</p>
<p>We are looking at McLean, Fairfax, Falls Church, Vienna, and other nearby towns.</p>
<p>I went to Falls Church High School (graduated last June), so I can tell you about that. From what I’ve heard from students who went to other schools and transferred here, the student body at FCHS is really diverse and also very friendly. But it’s not really the best-looking school because the building is old and still in need of renovation (though we just fixed up most of the bathrooms). In terms of academic, I’ve had some really great teachers and also not-so-great ones. Overall, I really like the school and I had some good times there.</p>
<p>Overbyen, Thanks. Any info on other schools is much appreciated.</p>
<p>LC is where it’s at.</p>
<p>Is LC loudoun county High?</p>
<p>Yep! Or Briar Woods, that’s a good school too.</p>
<p>TJ is known all around the US, but I’m not sure if it’s public. I doubt it, though.</p>
<p>It is. It’s a public magnet with its own admissions process.</p>
<p>How is the student body at your schools? Are there a lot of bros, entitled/spoiled brats, and competitive kids? How hard is it to get on the sports teams? For each sport, how many teams do you have, Varsity, JV, Thirds?</p>
<p>For LCHS, it’s predominantly white but does have a significant amount of the minorities…if that makes sense. Girls are kinda snobby and stuck up, guys can be jerks but there are nice people out there. Volleyball team is really good and really hard to get into. Tennis is pretty easy (I do tennis), basketball is hard to get into, I think. Most of our sports teams are pretty good though.</p>
<p>Offhand I can think of Langley, McLean, James Madison, Oakton, Chantilly, Lake Braddock Secondary, Robinson Secondary and W.T. Woodson high schools in Fairfax County as having good repuations. Thomas Jefferson is a great school, if you can get in (admissions by test only). Fairfax HS in Fairfax City just finished renovations and is best known around the county for its performing arts Academy programs. Don’t know much about Loudon Country schools, though.</p>
<p>Is there an auto-admit policy to UVa, if you are in top 10% of your HS class, similar to the one they have for U of Texas?</p>
<p>I don’t think UVa guarantees admission to any high school students.</p>
<p>UVA is one of the harder schools to predict, because they are so committed to the whole state. Never assume about them. There are plenty of tales of kids with top everything, even legacy, who don’t get an admit. TJ gets a huge number in, but TJ also throws off all the other hs in the area. Their top kids are superlative.</p>
<p>I had this same sort of choice, eons ago, also in the DC area. Where we lived, I could choose between one which was, at the time, always in the 1-2 national spot, or another very good hs with less attention. I chose A. High standards, more wealthier kids than in the place I previously lived, more sophistication and independence. An adjustment. In life terms, the right choice. My brother chose the other, which had more activities he wanted, less academic competition, a different sort of net to fall into. </p>
<p>You pick the school where she can thrive and be empowered, going forward. Sometimes, that’s more competition, sometimes less. If she is empowered, the college bit will fall into place.</p>
<p>Virginias top publics do not guarantee admits to anyone at any rank, gpa, or score. The only way to guarantee admission is to attend one of the states community colleges for two years earning an associates, taking very specific courses, and earning a specified gpa. Under this Guaranteed Articulation Agreement you can go to the Virginia public of your choice. As a first year applicant students with a 2300 SAT at the top of their class have been denied. It’s called holistic admissions. You need the whole package, grades, course rigor, ECs, essays, LORs, etc. The system in TX which is purely stat based (and now the top 7%?) does not reflect the admissions system of many Va schools, certainly not UVa. </p>
<p>I would caution you against picking any school based on the thought it is a ‘feeder’ to any Va university. There are many excellent publics in NoVa that provide very diverse opportunities to its students. I would first and foremost consider the students strengths, interests, and talents. Students will do well and thrive where they are matched well academically and are happy. With programs to choose from such as AP, IB, Cambridge, Fine & Performing Arts, and Information Technology, you can really tailor both an excellent school and fit for the student.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the excellent info on NoVa schools and Va universities.</p>
<p>I notice that most NoVa public schools are large (2000 students). If I have a choice to go to a smaller high school (1000 students) with the same academic quality, would that be good? In what way?</p>
<p>That’s not really a black and white question. I would be more concerned if either school is over intended capacity, if students have trouble scheduling courses, either due to conflict between two classes (this means one or both are only offered once a day), or because of enrollment restrictions (not getting an elective AP as a sophomore is nbd, not getting a core AP as a Sr is). I would be looking at extracurricular offerings and how they match up to my students talents/interests. Does one have an excellent music or drama program? An award winning debate or robotics team? Lastly, I’d be sure to look at the county school planning to see if there was any future construction/rezoning in the next several years that could effect that high school. All of these things would factor higher then the size of the high school IMO.</p>
<p>My daughter attends a nearly-2000 student high school (not in NoVA). The large size allows them to offer many AP classes and provides a larger group of top students to work with. But it has also been difficult in that some of the EC’s are extremely competitive to get into–the number of spots available doesn’t necessarily scale with school size. She didn’t do many activities freshman year because she couldn’t get in to two of the three things she really wanted to do. In that respect, she would have been much better off at a 1000 student school, where I know she would have been able to pursue her chosen EC’s.</p>
<p>I trend falls church high, and it’s pretty small (~1400, the smallest in ffx cty, I I’m not mistaken). Everything that overbyen said is true. The teachers and staff are more or less nice, but are not the most knowledgable. My counselor literally told me I was out of my mind when I decided on taking 2 ap classes. I literally had to beg her and tell her that there were Asians at tj and Woodson that are taking 4 or 5 now. Cost students know everybody because it’s small, and it’s not a competitive school by any means, but it is in Fairfax County, so you get some recognition. The immediate neighborhoods are not too safe, but there are some beautiful neighborhoods in Annandale and Fairfax. Sports are not competitive to get on, but our teams are pretty good, especially varsity football this year. Go to these websites and feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>fallschurchsports.org
fcps.edu/FallsChurchHS
fallschurchathletics.org</p>