Stanford OHS Admission

Hello all. My daughter is applying to Stanford OHS for admittance as an 8th grader for the up coming fall. She took the ISEE middle level in February as a 6th grader and scored 8877 (VR, RC, QR, MA). She is now a 7th grader and recently got her PSAT scores back, which she took cold. Her PSAT scores put her in the 95th percentile in Reading and Writing, 85th percentile in Math, and 94th percentile overall (amongst 8th graders).

She has already submitted her application, which included her ISEE scores but not her PSAT scores, and just recently completed an online interview. Unfortunately, her application and interview was completed prior to her receiving her PSAT scores. Do you think it would better her chances if she submits her PSAT results?

Thanks in advance.

I think you have to ask the school that question. I would email them and ask if they would like the PSAT scores as well…

Thank you. That would be our next step if the PSAT scores would help her chances. We’re concerned that her math score would hurt her chances.

I’m an OHS mom, and there’s no way that math score will hurt her. Those are excellent scores for a 7th grader. I’d simply submit them with a note (something like: “I know the application deadline has passed, but we just received these scores and thought you might find them helpful.”) My DS just did that with his ACT scores and his ED college application, and they thanked him for the scores and added them to his app.

Is your DD applying for full time of part time?

Thank you BettyS. We will follow your advice. She is applying for the full time program, but we suggested that she consider the part time program for 8th grade and if she likes it, she can go full time as a freshman, if she gets in.

Can you share some insight as to the program and profile of your son’s class? Good, bad, ugly, etc.

Our DD is coming from a public school where she is not being challenged. Adjustment to a private school and learning curve are the primary concerns for us and her.

I am also interested to hear a parent POV about Stanford OHS and their middle school!

My son started there in 9th grade, and I would have to say that my opinion is mixed. Courses were EXCEPTIONALLY challenging. In some ways that was incredible. He learned more in one year of OHS classes than in three years of middle school. He got 5’s on three AP exams as a freshman. But I think that, because the courses were so accelerated, he missed some important fundamentals. During his time at OHS he read almost NONE of the classic books of English literature. He was doing grad school level writing, but nearly no good reading because they’d moved on to such obscure stuff and spent most of their time dealing with very high level lit crit. And the workload is insane. His AP Chem class required at least 20 hours per week of his time (he’d sometimes have to spend entire weekends doing nothing but chemistry for 10 hrs per day). That said he was constantly challenged, constantly learning, and surrounded by brilliant peers. In order to do well at OHS, a child has to be highly self motivated and have an indefatigable work ethic.

The faculty is a little uneven. Some of the teachers were incredible, some not so much. But the biggest down side, was the lack of social interaction. The school tries very hard to create a community, but the online nature of the school makes that extremely difficult. Additionally, it’s an extremely diverse group of students which can obviously be an asset, but it also means that it can be hard to find a peer with whom you have a lot in common.

My son was FT for two years, but we switched to part time for his junior and senior years in order to give him the time to take brick and mortar dual-enrollment classes and homeschool coop classes so that he could create a real life social life.

Thank you for the insight. Would he recommend starting off part time and getting a feel of it before moving into full time? How was his adjustment back to a brick and mortar HS?

Would he and you do it again, knowing what you know now?

@Bettyspaghetti My 11th grader is at a traditional boarding school and we feel that he is missing much of the classic English lit books too! Each teacher there has a lot of flexibility in their curriculum. He has done units on poetry, short stories, etc. Some classic lit, but some more obscure works.

Ignoring classic cannon is just a common trend that you can’t avoid. My daughter’s community college English Composition 1A used Boston Review’s political forums as the only text and didn’t even briefly discussed any of the classic. But she can still take some courses specifically covers classics and just read them on her own.

Thank you all for your insight and advice. My D got in and has sent in her letter of intent to attend. We are super excited for her and her anticipated growth.

We would love to get together with OHS students and/or family in the greater Sacramento area if anyone is interested.

We also welcome any additional advice from legacies or current OHS families as to what my D can do to become successful at OHS, or how to make best use of her time there, or any tips on making the transition from a public school.

Thanks!

NPR had a great story about how HS teach stuff to all students that are not relevant like Algebra II. I think there has to be a happy median between a classic liberal arts HS education and a learn just what you need “votech” education. In regards, to classic lit, I have no problem if my children miss it.

Thanks for the info on OHS. I am not sure my ds would thrive with that kind of workload plus limited social opportunities.