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Old 03-27-2015, 09:42 AM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,342,548 times
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There are also several publications that rank Chicago suburbs based on criteria that often includes school quality, among other factors. They can provide further insight and help support the decision-making process:

Chicago's Best Places to Live 2014 | Chicago Magazine
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
Top 50 Safest Cities in Illinois | SafeWise
Chicago's Top Transit Suburbs | The Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
January 2015: Unemployment Rates by Cities, Counties and Metro Areas | Reboot Illinois (scroll to bottom of page, look for lowest)

I'm sure more can be found with a little Googling.

Last edited by Yac; 04-14-2015 at 07:19 AM..
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Old 03-27-2015, 11:32 AM
 
768 posts, read 1,103,190 times
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if walkability/vibrancy is as important to you as it was to us - also check the walking score (www.walkscore.com) of town/address you look into... I am in agreement with the others - schools at this point (locations you are looking at are hair splits) I would focus on the feel of town, core and catching the right house. At your budget you can really get it all...

Since we are in La Grange, I have to add a plug for them -> make sure to check us out too. Awesome schools, vibrant core, historic charm, super easy Metra access to loop (17min express) + family friendly...

cheers and good luck!

Last edited by JJski; 03-27-2015 at 11:44 AM..
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Old 03-27-2015, 11:51 AM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,342,548 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JJski View Post
if walkability/vibrancy is as important to you as it was to us - also check the walking score (www.walkscore.com) of town/address you look into... I am in agreement with the others - schools at this point (locations you are looking at are hair splits) I would focus on the feel of town, core and catching the right house. At your budget you can really get it all...

Since we are in La Grange, I have to add a plug for them -> make sure to check us out too.

cheers and good luck!
Yes, and you can search specific neighborhoods within towns! (i.e., "downtown Hinsdale" or "downtown Wheaton")
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Old 03-27-2015, 11:52 AM
 
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You guys/girls are the best! I cannot believe how much effort everyone here has been putting into answering my questions. I truly appreciate it so much. I have been printing out the IL report cards of a handful of schools today, went to trulia.com to look at homes in a much wider area (according to everyone's input), looked at hybrid map images of various villages to get a feel for the layout/spread of the properties etc. I will check out the best of lists that holl1ingsworth posted...

So far the walking score was something I glanced over, but after all these years in Europe (and the last 2 years living without a car in a big city) I am actually looking forward to driving again :-) Also...in my home (Germany) I live in a village and am used to a short drive to reach the city/shopping opportunities etc...so I think I would be fine with a walking score below 50....our main priorities now are:

1. SAFETY
2. Convenience (good shopping close-ish by....as in Trader Joe's, Whole food, a nice mall)
3. I would really like to have some trees in my street/yard....can't deal with these all new developments without any nature (even though I don't always mind the homes)...
4. Commute to Schaumburg in not more than 45ish minutes
5. A good Highschool but also high rated elementary/middle school district...I think all the schools you guys/girls suggested will fit this profile, so I will spend more time looking at the data (as was suggested) of sub-groups, the course catalogue, extracurricular programs etc. and then try to get a feel once we go visit.

I am excited that my horizon was broadened by the mentioning of Hinsdale, Wheaton, etc. and I am aware that I still have lots of work to do. Highland Park was mentioned too, and I will try to get some real-time traffic date and check that as well during a day's time...

Still it seems to me that the overall consensus was that the western suburbs between Chicago and Naperville might be more of what we are looking for...

Another thought I had today: How would I go about finding out the kind of universities graduates of high schools get accepted to? I can google it if you could just push me in the right direction with the kind of search terms I should be using...
(I think I was reading on this forum that the size of HS can be good or bad for college acceptance...did not quite understand that reference)...

THANK you all,

Alma
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Old 03-27-2015, 01:07 PM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,342,548 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alma123 View Post
Another thought I had today: How would I go about finding out the kind of universities graduates of high schools get accepted to? I can google it if you could just push me in the right direction with the kind of search terms I should be using...
(I think I was reading on this forum that the size of HS can be good or bad for college acceptance...did not quite understand that reference)...

THANK you all,

Alma
You can Google "[high school name] + school profile." It might take a little digging after that, but still the easiest way I've found. The list of universities being attended by the most recent graduating class is usually listed on the last page of the school profile, but not always. Regardless, there's plenty of helpful information to be found in them...

Here are some to get you started:
Wheaton North School Profile
Highland Park School Profile
Glenbard West School Profile
Hinsdale Central School Profile
New Trier School Profile >>> Also, Top 5 Universities for New Trier Alumni | New Trier News
Downers Grove North >>> Follow instructions for "Parent," then click "Colleges" tab at top of page, then click "acceptance history" in the middle of the page
York School Profile
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Old 03-27-2015, 01:09 PM
 
16 posts, read 17,967 times
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You seriously rock holl1ngsworth!!! Can't thank you enough....lot of reading for me tonight then :-)
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Old 03-27-2015, 01:23 PM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,342,548 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alma123 View Post
You seriously rock holl1ngsworth!!! Can't thank you enough....lot of reading for me tonight then :-)
Thanks! I wasted a lot of time sifting through links prior to my move a couple years ago. Glad to help others skip all that...
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Old 03-27-2015, 01:35 PM
 
16 posts, read 17,967 times
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Ok....at the risk of sounding dumb...but what does "weighted" and "unweighted" GPA mean? Here an example of Highland Park HS:


Weighted: Unweighted:
CLASS OF 2015 GRADE POINT AVERAGE DISTIRUBTION
Based on a class of 542 seniors
Lowest-------------------------Median-------------------------Highest
.48 3.32 4.77
Lowest-------------------------Median-------------------------Highest
.48 3.18 4.0
For colleges that require additional information for scholarship consideration, the weighted and unweighted grade point averages for the top 10% and 25% are:
Weighted Unweighted Top 10% 4.28 3.75 Top 25% 3.87 3.54


Alma
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Old 03-27-2015, 01:58 PM
 
11,975 posts, read 31,780,988 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alma123 View Post
Ok....at the risk of sounding dumb...but what does "weighted" and "unweighted" GPA mean? Here an example of Highland Park HS:


Weighted: Unweighted:
CLASS OF 2015 GRADE POINT AVERAGE DISTIRUBTION
Based on a class of 542 seniors
Lowest-------------------------Median-------------------------Highest
.48 3.32 4.77
Lowest-------------------------Median-------------------------Highest
.48 3.18 4.0
For colleges that require additional information for scholarship consideration, the weighted and unweighted grade point averages for the top 10% and 25% are:
Weighted Unweighted Top 10% 4.28 3.75 Top 25% 3.87 3.54


Alma
Some schools will give more weight to honors or AP courses. For instance, Glenbard West gives an extra GPA point to these courses. So an "A" in an honors or AP class will be a 6 instead of a 5.
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Old 03-27-2015, 02:51 PM
 
Location: Chicago
2,884 posts, read 4,986,916 times
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About your list of priorities: at your budget and with the towns being mentioned, safety is not even an issue.
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