Congrats @3scoutsmom! Even the ones that should be straightforward are still a struggle for some. I’d like to think that’s a sign of how serious they are about their education.
@AsleepAtTheWheel this high school is ranked in the top 100 in the nation and is in an extremely affluent district. They accept about 40-50 out of district transfer students in their freshman class. They only accept enough students to fill empty seats not taken by in district kids so it varies from year to year. Application for an out of district transfer is very competitive, they look at grades, discipline history, ECs and test scores. They specifically ask for the Texas mandated STARR tests but as home schoolers my kids aren’t illegible to take those so they have the option of submitting either the PSAT, SAT or ACT. We picked the PSAT since it’s easier than the SAT or ACT. I did ask about the new PSAT8/9 but the admissions office didn’t seem to be aware of that yet so we felt it was just safer to stick with the PSAT. I’m pretty sure when they see that the scores are very different from the old PSAT they will call over someone from the GC’s office for an explanation anyway.
Thankfully there is hierarchy in their out of district acceptances, priority is given to children of teachers and staff in the district (I’m doubtful that one could afford to live in that school district on a teacher’s salary!) so that takes some number of available spots. Next priority is given to siblings of current students. This is what will really help DS20. As long as he did ok on the PAST, he should get in if space is available but there’s just no way of knowing how many students of staff or other siblings are applying or how many spots will be available.
I know many private schools require SSAT testing so I don’t think it’s unusual to require standardized testing for out of district high school admissions.
Thanks for wishing him luck, application usually are available beginning late Feb and acceptance letters are sent starting in April.
One way or another DD will get the money she needs for college, she has some personal savings to cover personal expenses first semester and she plans to work part time as a tutor starting second semester getting some extra scholarships will take the pressure of needing to work so I’m hopeful that will work out for her.
It reminds me when my D took SAT for CTY application at 7th grade. DD got 1800ish at the time and she told me a couple of her classmate already got over 2200. I visited Naviance and checked how many students got 2400 from her school by checking scatter graph. There are 12 students got 2400 who applied Harvard last 4 years… so I guess there are 3-4 students get 2400 each year.
Is ISEE more widely used for private high schools admission?
D goes to an out-of-district school. They take neighborhood kids first, then in-district, then out of district. The middle school is now filled to capacity by local kids, so we were very lucky to get D in in mid-7th grade when we did. We could not have done that now. There is no application or test-it is not a charter school. I don’t know what we’d have done if we had not been able to move her. It’s a fabulous school and she was miserable at the Catholic school that we stupidly believed when they told us they could differentiate and had an honors program. By the time we transferred her, D was laying on the floor in the morning begging to home school. That might have happened had we not found her current school when we did.
But wow some of you guys are in rare air. 12 kids with 2400! Holy cow!
That is so great that many of you can pick or vie to send your kids to other better schools in the area. If we were to do that we would have to pay our district school taxes and the district that we would be sending them too. And with the taxes we pay already (school, property and otherwise) there is precious little left to go around afterwards. You have to hope you bought your house in a good district (and one that stays good throughout the high school years - a real challenge lately). If only my kids could have chosen to vie for admission in a better district, we would be thrilled. Most Parochial schools by us are more geared towards spotlight athletes trying to be recruited than academics. I am very envious of the options you have (even if it is competitive, at least there is an option). We have few if any real options if you bought your house in a district that is not commensurate with your children’s academic level. Here’s hoping that changes soon around here.
When DS16 was a rising Freshman, he applied for admission to an academic charter school where admission was purely by random lottery and a public magnet school for technology , math and science. The magnet school only took 6 children in each category from the entire school district ( the largest in the state) and the charter school was random draw. With both, if you had siblings in the school, you were lucky enough to get legacy admitted . The charter school only accepted 80 students per year to allow for legacy admits. The year that my son applied, 4 children were twins so their twin was also given legacy admission status from the remaining 80 slots. DS16 was devastated . He started at our zoned HS and was offered a spot at the Magnet school one week later and the Charter school 5 months later . He declined both spots and has thrived where he landed. We couldn’t have asked for a better educational experience . He learned to work collaboratively with kids from all socioeconomic levels, and was educated on more than just academics. Hopefully, his college experience will be just as rewarding.
If my kids couldn’t go to the out of district school we would continue to home school through high school.
We really struggled with the thought of home schooling because of the restrictions that are forced upon people in our area. In one way my S14 and D16 would have thrived academically being able to move forward at a pace commensurate with their ability levels. That being said, as @carolinamom2boys so aptly put it, they would not have learned to navigate the society in which we live in as well. That is why I wish we had the ability (that many others have) to enroll our children in other districts so they receive the higher academic education without being in an environment that may limit the social interaction aspect of school. My kids have thrived in the environment they had (don’t get me wrong) but we just wonder with more opportunities and encouragement from the school district, what may they have accomplished? So with no truly perfect options, we helped our kids navigate and deal with the school district’s ridiculousness and we tried to create a stimulating and interesting environment at home with books, museums, trips and mostly lots of stimulating conversation around the dinner table!
Our district is fairly large by northeastern standards (in the South, districts are generally county-wide, so if your county is fairly populous, you can end up with a dozen or more high schools). Both kids could have tested into magnets, but I think it would have been too much pressure for D, and S wanted to do band at the neighborhood school because they have a particularly good program for his primary instrument. Both flatly refused to even look at the IB or iSTEM high schools. So that was that.
As it turned out, despite being the red-headed stepchild of our county school district and last in line for any new programs, extra money for projects, or…well, anything…our school is probably the best place for both. It’s small; extremely diverse socially, economically and ethnically; and deeply rooted in our community. And they have had an amazing tolerance for my helicopter rotors!
Our district is probably the largest school district in the US. There are a lot of different options children enjoy but at the same time, it is so complicated when it’s time to send kid to school. There are different entering points, specialized school, different GT program, different entrance exam, etc. And long commute.
And for all of you Yankees, Midwesterners and West Coasters, "
Red headed stepchild " is how we Southerners describe the outcast in purely the most loving way. If you need any other translations, let me know. I’m a transplant ,but I can speak Southern with the best of them
We are very lucky kids can attend neighboring districts without paying here. My sister in a small town in New England moved across the boarder to another town and petitioned for her S to remain in his high school. The town refused unless she paid something like $3000 a year in fees, so he had to change schools. She couldn’t afford that. Luckily he did fine at the new school.
Ironically, our D was much happier in the “bad” elementary school in the “bad” part of Seattle than she was in the “good” public gifted program. We should probably have just stayed where we were, as the HS right down the street is doing some great things now, despite being in the “bad” part of town. But the place she landed is just amazing, so it all worked out. I did homeschool my oldest for several years when we lived back east. If only the school D is at was around when we moved here and he was HS age. I’m 100% positive his life would have been different.
@nydad513 we’re right behind you in the 2nd largest school district in the U.S. D attends an amazing magnet, but there are no tests to get in. It’s a crazy lottery via a points system. Basically, you have to apply every year to a magnet and get denied in order to accrue points. The more points you have, the more likely you’ll get into your school of choice. This is the first year my S is out of the district. We don’t have to pay any extra, because his new district bills the old district to recoup costs.
My kids attend high school in an urban, poverty stricken, failing school district. There are 5 high schools 2 of which are horrible. We live in the school zone for one of the horrible schools so all 3 of my kids have been out of district to the most popular school in the city. The average SAT CR&M score for this “good” high school is around 1000. If my youngest had not be granted an out of district I would have home schooled her this year.
No disrespect meant to anyone, of course-- being a ginger, a stepdaughter and a stepmother myself!
@petrichor11 – that is hysterical!!
It reminds me of my second date w my wife. We were watching one of the Lethal Weapon movies, and Danny Glover is trying to set up Mel Gibson on a blind date, “She’s perfect. No kids, no cats, and a great rack”. My date turned to me and said, “I’ve got two kids, two cats, and I’m flat-chested. What does that make me?”
We celebrate our 25th anniversary in the coming year.
@carolinamom2boys lol even us northerners use the term “red headed step child” to fondly describe an outcast situation, currently my D is the “red headed stepchild” on Varsity Soccer (even though she has played on an intense and highly competitive outside soccer team that plays at levels her schools Varsity team could only dream about) but that coach knows best…(even though her Varsity always loses…). But what do we know…we just keep telling ourselves, “just one more week and its over for good!”
@petrichor11 and we northerners mean absolutely no disrespect to our ginger, step comrades! Being a stepsister myself but a bit more gray than anything else (without dye that is…LOL)
@petrichor11 and @lvmjac1 I’m from Maryland originally and had never heard that term until I moved to the Carolinas. I dye my hair auburn because I believe in truth in advertising and warning labels.
@grlscoutmom It looks strange for me if a student accrue points after failing to enhance his chance to get accepted while school uses lottery system. Here is more or less score only.