<p>Hey y'all, so I have been thinking about whether I should transfer to a new school for quite some time now, and I would like to hear any opinions on what I should do. A new high school is currently being built, and will be open for the next school year (2014-2015). Since I will be a junior next year, I have the option of either being grandfathered into my current high school, or transferring to the new school. I go to a competitive school in Northern Virginia, where a great portion of my class of 550 students have grade point averages above a 4.0. I do get very good grades, but am not certain if I would be in the top 10%. In addition, my school is highly ranked, and I know most, if not all, of the teachers. However, I know for a fact that there will be at least 50 juniors at the new high school next year, so the class sizes for most of the AP courses would be small (anywhere from 10 to 15 students), since there will not be a senior class. The teachers are coming from high schools throughout the county, so inexperience would not be an issue. I am interested in attending the new school next year, but I do not know how it would affect my college chances (I'm interested in UVA, William & Mary, UT, UNC). However, I am not aware of how the school would rank our class (of less than 100), if at all. How do colleges view new high schools? Would it be better for me to remain at my school that is already well established in my county, or go to the new school? Any input would be much appreciated. </p>
<p>It seems risky to go to a school that is completely an unknown quantity to both you and colleges. It could be a great thing or a really bad one. Tough call…</p>
<p>It sounds like you are talking about an expansion school within an existing public school district–not a charter school? If so, I don’t think being new is going to be a problem since universities are familiar with the area and the district and it sounds like you will be drawing from the same talent pool. Lots of schools don’t rank. I don’t see that as a problem.</p>
<p>Going to a new school might offer you lots of opportunities for leadership. If you think you’d like a smaller school and would enjoy the challenge of creating something new, then I’d go for it. Tough to say how it might affect your college application–for that, it’s not the school that matters. It really depends on what you make of school.</p>
<p>If you are from NOVA and not in the top 10% and what to make it into UVA it might be to your benefit to head to the new school. UVA has a mission to accept broadly across the state so admission from NOVA schools can be very competitive.</p>