Best Huntsville High School? (Trussville, Butler: college, living in, military)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by wisebeard1

The response to our request to transfer into Grissom High was denied, but Columbia was ok'd.

Might have something to do with the rules on increasing the majority of the school's makeup. For example, a blue person may not transfer to a majority blue school, however a green person may transfer there. You can't increase the majority.

It's all on page 22 here:

http://www.hsv.k12.al.us/dept/merts/...s/handbook.pdf

[ionlife]

The only reason Columbia draws negative attention is because it is very new and not yet "tried." I think that can be a good thing as it gives the community a way to direct the nature of the school. There is a lot of bussing into the school from other areas -- I think.

Good luck.

[ionlife]

It has an IB program--check it out. Just make sure she takes challenging classes and she'll be in a good environment for learning--and I think the school population is low so that means better student/teacher ratios.

If it were me, I'd go on a tour and talk with the principal & counselor.

That will give you a better feel for the school IMHO.

[pennquaker09]

People might not agree with what I'm about to say, but your child's ability to get into college isn't necessarily left to wear they attend high school. A smart kid is a smart kid, no matter where they attend high school.

Also, Grissom is a competitive high school, and sometimes going to a school that isn't as competitive actually benefits a student. I went to an IB school and if your child has the ability to enroll in the IB diploma program, I would encourage you to go that route. I will say that you have to realistically think about your child's abilities because the IB diploma is a serious undertaking. However, if your child can succeed in the IB program, college acceptance is a sure thing.

I don't test scores are all that important, knowing what I know about standardized tests.

[ionlife]

SAT/ACT scores are a factor in college acceptance, a large one as to where one's child might attend or be accepted. But even more important are well roundedness, community service and the capacity to lead. More and more colleges are going away from the traditional look at how many clubs the person "attended" during HS. If your friend's daughter is motivated, hardworking, and supported at home, she should do fine.

Good luck.

[vakinderegg]

Pennquaker09, Totally agree with you! I was the Honor Society Sponsor for many years at 2 HS. Many 4.0 students did not gets asked to join because they did not have any community service, sports, leadership, or volunteering, or music (band, chorus at school level or church level ). Colleges and universities are looking for the well rounded student. Now don't take me wrong on this statement, but we had many Asian students who did not make HS and had 4.5 gpa's because of AP and IB classes, but did not get accepted into NHS because they did not have any community service or leadership activities. Many of them did take music lessons and were fantastic musicians , but took private lessons and were not in the orchestra at school where they could get active in school. I believe universities are looking the same criteria as NHS when accepting. The child with the 3.5 who is active in a lot with be judged better than the student who justs studies.. As soon as your child starts HS they should start a portfolio of what they did so they can remember when it comes to applying to schools.

Pennquaker09, it does not matter totally on the school if the student is intinsically motivated, but good schools can motivate students who normally would not succeed with a a push or peer group pressure.Good schools do not have the same behavior problems some intercity schools have so child can learn without distruptions all the time.

[ionlife]

Vakinderegg: Right on! I am glad my daughter does Musical Theater at the school level as well as outside of school. I will take note about the portfolio as well. We'll start one here.

My BF in VA has a daughter who got accepted to VT. And she was not the super A student either. However, she was actively involved in Relay for Life since the 6th grade. She progressed from being on a team to running a team to being youth coordinator at her school. Over the summers she went to camps that supported learning about the medical field and journalism. When she entered HS she was struggling in maths, but she brought up all her grades over time with the help of tutors. THat showed initiative.

And she starts this week. It's so exciting.

[gsp4ever]

Only if you are applying to a competitive university that does comprehensive review will factors like leadership, community service, school clubs, etc. be taken into consideration for admission. But, I have to stress that academics (gpa and SAT/ACT) ARE ALWAYS the main factor. A competitive university is about academics first and foremost--ALWAYS. However, then you get into a question of what the university wants/needs for itself (ex. do they want more students from a certain geographic area, do they need more minority students, does a certain academic program have viability issues, etc.). With a school like UAH, they generally only admit based on academic credentials and really don't look much at extra-curriculars, etc.--at least not for the admissions decision. This is because they still have plenty of space available, whereas a school like Virginia Tech has thousands more applicants than they have space for enrolled students. In fact, a student who had a 4.0 and a 31 on the ACT and went to Butler would probably have an edge over a student who had the same credentials and went to Grissom simply because of the type of school Butler is (not good) and the fact that it is more of the norm for students to graduate from Grissom with those types of credentials. The unfortunate part is that you'll rarely see students like this from Butler.

So, this is bottom line is....for your high school students.

1. Always take the most challenging academic curriculum (AP, IB, Honors, etc. etc.) and don't fill your schedule with a bunch of fluff courses like food science, teen living, weight training,etc.

2. Don't "slack off" your senior year. Even if you've met the graduation requirements. Schools don't want to see that you're taking Sr. English, teen living and this dismissing at 10 am.

3. Prepare and do well on your SATs/ ACTs.

4. Try to have a well rounded experience with activities, leadership, work experience, etc. Keep in mind that these activities generally do not trump academics.

5. Keep in mind that there will be factors that are largely out of your control if you are applying to a more competitive university. There are no guarantees.

[shelby78]

grissom is an EXCELLENT high school..my husband and i graduated from it about 11-12 yrs ago. also the area around it is a good one to live in. i definately would not recomment butler...

[EMTnest]

I agree with gsp4ever. Test scores (SAT/ACT), GPA and class rank are the most important factors for colleges if you are not applying to the super competitive schools (ivies, top 30 etc.). Those schools want the full package including great ec's etc. Just sent our son off to college on a full scholarship and frankly it was awarded due to his high SAT/ACT scores, GPA and class rank. Their application was simple and did not ask for the stuff other schools asked for (have you seen Harvard's application -- WOW!).

VA Tech is considered to be quite easy to get into. It is a "safety" school for those applying to UVA or William & Mary. UVA, William & Mary consider the "entire" package. They want the ec's and leadership as well as the high test scores, great GPA and class rank. William & Mary loves students who have gone through the IB program.