High school for academically gifted child (STEM) (Columbus, Upper Arlington: best school districts, universities)

[phonond]

Hi, We are considering moving to the area for my job and I am looking for high school recommendations for a very gifted child. Specifically, are there schools in the area that regularly send kids to ivy league/MIT programs and who have individualized programs with a heavy AP focus. We are very open to private school options.

Thank you in advance.

[Dewddd]

Reynoldsburg High School has an ambitious STEM program. eSTEM Academy Metro High School in Columbus also focuses on STEM and technology. The Metro School Other than those two, there are also a handful of private schools that have a high percentage of students that attend ivy league schools. The best school districts in the area are Upper Arlington, Dublin, New Albany, Olentangy, Bexley and Worthington.

[sftong]

Originally Posted by Dewddd

The best school districts in the area are Upper Arlington, Dublin, New Albany, Olentangy, Bexley and Worthington.

Don't ignore Grandview district! Even though it is very small, but its Performance Index score is the Top this year.

But Worthington has been going down for years, and now its consistently on par with Hilliard.

[SWOH]

Being a current college senior who applied to the ivy league and ivy-league caliber schools back in high school (and got into them), let me offer some advice regarding your situation.

In general for your child, a STEM program would be a good route to go for your child, like the one offered at Reynoldsburg HS. It would give them a lot of opportunity to pursue some pretty neat activities while still in high school. However, I would deem being in a good STEM program far from necessary and not use it as a part of your decision criteria unless your child really wants a STEM education and that is it.

The downside of a STEM education is its one-sidedness - while your child is developing excellent skills in math and sciences, kids elsewhere are experiencing a more balanced education. The balanced, more "liberal arts" style HS education helps these kids build their analytical skills. They are able to better see patterns and connect events together in a logical way as they can pull knowledge from multiple disciplines.


For the ivy league, a STEM education is probably not the way to go. Let your child find his own STEM initiatives to pursue outside the classroom and let his excellence for the field shine through those. For instance, if you send him to a public school, let him start his own robotics club there. Successfully doing that will prove his passion for the field as well as his abilities to inspire others to have that passion too. Let him explore his interests some through PSEOP classes at the local community college, and make sure he is taking plenty of AP tests, both for fields of natural interest and fields that are not of natural interest.

There currently is the debate of whether or not the ivy league looks for the "renaissance man" in their application, and often most initially believe the answer is yes. A little more digging, and people seen to think that is not the case. From my own experience that I have learned from my personal applications and my peers' applications, I think your child will need to be a renaissance man AND an expert in STEM too. It will be easier to do this through a solid public school education while allowing your child to pursue STEM outside the classroom than vice-versa.


Good Luck!

[wrightflyer]

I think OHKID offers some great advice. As someone who went to one of the top public school districts in Ohio, I saw many peers, especially those that were highly intelligent and amazingly smart in STEM components, go on to or be accepted to Ivy League schools and/or MIT/CalTech caliber universities. Keep in mind that a specific STEM program may not be at the level that your child learns. Furthermore, a school that does not have a dedicated STEM program may be great because of the large breadth and depth of AP classes offered on top of excellently performing extra-curricular activities. I am talking Science Olympiad, Quiz Bowl, Speech and Debate (communication is a fundamental part of what employers look for, including in Science and Math fields), Robotics Clubs, etc. Usually, when schools have high performing extra-curricular activities, they have a solid base of support in a gifted/AP style learning environment.

As far as schools around Columbus, there are a number that would probably be great. I'm a little too far removed now from HS to give current recommendations other than based on what I see in local news (I do read the Dispatch) and state test scores. That said, look into Upper Arlington, Bexley, Dublin (Jerome HS especially), Olentangy (three high schools, and I knew a few from Liberty that were smart). I'd go in that order. I'd caution Grandview, as it is a small school, which means extra-curricular activities may be on the smaller side but I am sure individual attention is outstanding. I'd still check it out though, especially if you want small.

[Cbus76]

Most prestigious private schools in the area are Columbus Academy, Columbus School For Girls (all-girls obviously), Wellington School and St. Charles (catholic).

[phonond]

Thanks everyone.

[sequon]

For high schoolers, "an academically gifted child" sounds a bit awkward, perhaps "a student with an excellent academic achievements" should be more appropriate. That's because Ivy league schools and schools like MIT are not really for "gifted" students but for students with high academic achievements.

Also, there are many schools in the US for excellent education and outstanding reputation in the STEM fields but Ivy league schools usually don't appear first on the list. MIT usually does. So I wonder what your (and student's) focus is.

In terms of several indices of academic achievement, in my opinion Upper Arlington HS is the best.