Moving From Private to Public School in the Loop (private school, universities)

[swopoe]

UT does not differentiate the top 10%. Ten percent is ten percent. Doesn’t matter how challenging the school you attended is. Now this is for auto admit only. (And isn’t it like top 7% now??)

[swopoe]

Originally Posted by fnh

We moved our kids from private (Awty, grades PK3-8) to public at 9th grade, not in Houston but to a school on the west coast where we have a vacation home. We planned ahead to do it explicitly for the children to experience a big life transition before leaving for college, and we intended it as a temporary move with a return to Awty for the IB, 11-12th. Our kids were extremely reluctant to leave but it didn't take long for them to decide they want to graduate on the west coast. Lifestyle is a big factor in their decision, principally they started rowing and are all in to crew now, and DH was a college rower too, and rowing isn't really possible in Houston.

Our public high school is a hybrid neighborhood/magnet school which I *think* is different from the HISD magnets like Carnegie and Energy, but perhaps more akin to Lamar. My kids were ineligible for magnet testing because we already owned a home in the school zone and any course at the school is open to everyone - i.e. there is no segregation of magnet and neighborhood students at the high school level, only separation to the degree that the students themselves choose different courses. However! One factor I had not considered was class rank when moving to a school where many kids are working years ahead, not just one year ahead. For example, here while my freshman is taking Geometry (same as Awty and one year ahead of most public 9th graders in Algebra 1), there are highly gifted freshmen already taking Calculus and beyond. Even with perfect GPAs in Honors and AP level courses, my kids barely break the top 25% in weighted class rank here - and will never be able to catch up to those students. UT-Austin remains our state school and touring it earlier this fall, the admissions officer told us directly - the first thing they filter for is class rank.

It is an open secret that private schools seldom accommodate students with special needs unless designed specifically for those students. I recall several students at Awty having been quietly "invited to leave" over the years for poor fit, etc. - kids with dyslexia or with poor organizational skills/executive function. The public schools are required by law to accommodate student special needs but of course the degree to which individual schools comply varies.

So true on the math comment. When I was in school in MD, and it is still true, the public school AP track, had us taking algebra 2 in middle school. Here in FBISD, unless you test out, if you are on the AP track, you take it as a HS sophomore!

[hendersj31]

I believe it is actually 6% now. Changed a few years back.

Originally Posted by swopoe

UT does not differentiate the top 10%. Ten percent is ten percent. Doesn’t matter how challenging the school you attended is. Now this is for auto admit only. (And isn’t it like top 7% now??)

[NYCtoHOS]

Originally Posted by swopoe

UT does not differentiate the top 10%. Ten percent is ten percent. Doesn’t matter how challenging the school you attended is. Now this is for auto admit only. (And isn’t it like top 7% now??)

I don’t know the exact number offhand but was just using top 10% as an example.

[fnh]

Originally Posted by swopoe

So true on the math comment. When I was in school in MD, and it is still true, the public school AP track, had us taking algebra 2 in middle school. Here in FBISD, unless you test out, if you are on the AP track, you take it as a HS sophomore!

And alongside the math courses as prerequisites, those students are eligible for and start taking AP science courses much earlier too. One of our friends headed to CalTech directly after junior year, basically having exhausted the myriad science options. This student scored a 5 on the AP Computer Science exam as a 7th grader!

UT-Austin auto-admission cutoff is 6%.

[swopoe]

6%- wow!!

[IflyIAH]

Yes, I know of 2 families that have moved from private middle to Lamar for high school. Both for sports.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by NYCtoHOS

With UT’s emphasis on class rank, do they not differentiate between the top 10% at Lamar vs St John?

Originally Posted by swopoe

UT does not differentiate the top 10%. Ten percent is ten percent. Doesn’t matter how challenging the school you attended is. Now this is for auto admit only. (And isn’t it like top 7% now??)

Top 6% More info here https://admissions.utexas.edu/apply/...hman-admission

That automatic admission doesn't mean you will get your major of choice. UT Engineering doesn't include auto admission as a criteria, and is competitive, very competitive.

[Ocdmama]

Originally Posted by Houstonianmom

We also have two kids in a private school which only goes up to 8th grade, and will be forced to decide between public or private for high school. We haven’t decided yet, but I think unless your kids are going to St Johns, many of the magnet schools are better than private schools in terms of academics.

Agree. When it comes to academics, vanguard/magnet schools are much better than most private schools (with the exception of St Johns)

[westsidewolf1989]

Originally Posted by swopoe

So true on the math comment. When I was in school in MD, and it is still true, the public school AP track, had us taking algebra 2 in middle school. Here in FBISD, unless you test out, if you are on the AP track, you take it as a HS sophomore!

If you take Algebra 2 in middle school, what math classes are you taking as a freshman/sophomore in high school? Pre-calc and AP calculus? Then what for junior/senior year, since there are no other AP math classes besides calculus (not including AP stats)? There was only one kid I knew who did Algebra 2 in 8th grade (he ended up getting a PhD in Math from Michigan - he took like DiffEq/Multi Calc from a local community college in latter part of high school), while everyone else on the AP Calc track was taking Alg 2 as a sophomore.