<p>cap, we’re a military family also and it was hearing horror stories from friends of ours who moved a kid the summer between junior and senior year that led us to decide that we would not do that. Funny how our friends shape our perceptions!</p>
<p>I do agree with you that the biggest factor is the kid. My son absolutely loved his high school years, was very close with a lot of friends and would have been crushed to have missed out on doing senior activities. I know for some kids, it would just not be an issue.</p>
<p>Stay together as a family. You don’t mention how your son feels about the move. You do mention that he loves two Texas schools. Unless your S is adamant that he can’t leave his current HS, I see no reason not to move together. This will be your last year together as a family. College admissions will work our just fine–separating the family might not. I believe that it is a misplaced priority to put gaming the admissions system above family cohesion. It’s entirely unnecessary. Even if S thinks moving senior year might be terrible, I would be spending time showing him how important it is to put the primary relationship, (ie, husband-wife) first if you want to nurture and preserve the family home. I would want him to see that years from now, when he is married and making decisions for his own family, he would be wise to put his marriage first before accepting promotions, job transfers, whatever.</p>
<p>The idea above to have your S live with a close friend/relative in MA while both parents move to Texas is another good possibility if your S has compelling reasons not to move with you. You know your kid, you know if that’s a good idea.</p>
<p>Do all Texas HS’s rank? In our area, most top publics do not rank. So that may not be an issue at all. Good luck, I hope you and your family can look at the whole picture and not just college admissions as you make this decision.</p>
<ol>
<li> Ranking of students gets very tricky here because of all the weighted grades. I can’t speak for all districts around Houston, but in our district, the top 10% of graduates usually have GPAs of 4.2 or higher. So those weighted grades are critical.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>Is your son in “official” honors, AP or IB classes? If so, make sure those are CLEARLY marked on his transcript. That is the only way to get them transferred in with weighted grades. Even so, you might have to “fight” to make sure he gets the proper credit/weighting. I sure did! ;)</p>
<ol>
<li> Have you taken a look at the graduation requirements for the schools/districts you are considering?<br></li>
</ol>
<p>A friend’s son moved here just before his senior year and ended up in a private school because (coming from overseas) there were so many classes that he would have had to make up …there was no way he could do it in 1 year. Now, things have changed a bit since then, but it’s still important to check it out before making a final decision.</p>
<ol>
<li> Is your child a varsity athlete? I am not sure of regulations here, but you might want to find out if there would be any restrictions to him participating.</li>
</ol>
<p>And I agree with spectrum2 that he should get his UT-Austin application in ASAP!!!</p>
<p>There are some state required classes which would need to be fulfilled in texas but then each school district follows some more or fewer classes.</p>
<p>Here is one for Houston ISD. Someone graduating in 2012 will follow this one vs someone entering high school this year. </p>
<p>If you see some classes missing (coming from Mass I am certain your science and math requirements are already met) you may be able to take them in summer in some schools that offer them, or even in virtual school in HISD if you are part of HISD.</p>
<p>Umm, What does the KID want to do? He might be thrilled to trade a MA winter for some Texas sunshine. Also, if he did like UT (gads. You’re just down the road from Aggieland and that is an option that should not be overlooked), anyway, if he like UT, then spending his senior year in Houston sets him up to be in state for tuition. </p>
<p>Exchange students pop all over the world during “their” senior year and few are demented by the process. </p>
<p>Details are important here. If there is a special circle of friends or a special senior opportunity in MA, then that needs to be discussed. But some guys aren’t that connected to a high school and the lure of new horizons may be great fun. </p>
<p>I would never drag a kid away from a cherished senior year – but I’d have no problem buying suitcases for one who is ready to blow his burg. Honestly, only his opinion counts here.</p>
<p>I had lived in the same town my entire life. My dad had to move for employment. At the time, I certainly did not want to leave, but it was in no way MY decision. At the risking of having tomatoes thrown at me, I am a bit surprised at many of the child-centered answers I am reading. I survived and thrived in my new high school. It was fun to be the new kid. I go to two class reunions. Yes, I realize that things may be “different” now in terms of college admissions, but I think you should keep the family all together. And, if your son wants to move to Texas, well…it’s a no-brainer to me.</p>
<p>Can he graduate in one year if he goes to high school in Texas, or are the graduation requirements so different that he would need to take an extra year to finish? This could be an important deciding factor.</p>
<p>I don’t know what young people do now, but when I was in high school, I knew several kids who lived with grandparents, aunts, even family friends for their senior year just to avoid changing high schools when their parents needed to move. Changing schools at that point was something people avoided like the plague. Part of it was the difficulty of meeting graduation requirements; the other part was more a matter of staying in the high school community where you already fit.</p>
<p>Hi. I am from New Jersey, but also lived in Texas. My children want to go to college in Texas and it is easier for them to get into Texas schools by being out of state, except for UT at Austin which is virtually impossible to get into if you are from out of state. The stat requirements for out of state students for UT is much higher. </p>
<p>Simply it is because UT doesn’t have the room and they have too many students from in state! Also, while you are enrolled at UT they still don’t want you because they have too many students. I don’t recommend UT for undergraduate school simply because it is a weed out school and it is way to BIG! I can give a huge list of why I would not recommend UT for undergraduate school but I won’t do that here. However, in my opinion graduate school at UT is perfect because the classrooms are small and the teachers are available. </p>
<p>On the other hand, Rice is a great size for undergraduate school. However, if you go to Rice’s cc website you will notice that Rice rejected a lot applications from students that live in Houston or Texas. They want diversity and would rather accept a student from out of state. They have too many Texas students and they would like to change that. So if you are from out of state, that is a huge leg up. My son’s friend got accepted to Rice with an average of 3.3 out of 4.0 GPA (unweighted) which I’m sure wouldn’t happen if he lived in Texas.</p>
<p>In addition, my son applied to several small elite private schools in Texas that would have been considered a reach for him if he lived in Texas. Since he applied from out of state, they were “likely” schools simply because he was from NJ. He was also offered nice scholarships. Amazing! </p>
<p>It is really strange how the admissions process works. </p>
<p>Just be aware of the process and I would highly recommend taking your son with you. After all, he will only be with you one more year before he leaves for college. Precious times. You also don’t know what school he will end up at. There are too many factors at play. </p>
<p>That’s good for you but the reason so many of us are being “kid centered” is because it’s not uncommon to hear of children who did not have fun, did not survive and thrive. </p>
<p>I simply would not move a child who is doing well out of their high school past sophomore year. I’ve seen too many disasters with military families who yanked kids out of high school. It seems especially cruel to do to a student who may have spent the past three years looking forward to senior year activities. </p>
<p>If the kid wants to move, fine. But I would never make a kid of mine move like that.</p>