Best Huntsville High School? (Madison, Arab: 2009, high schools, living)

[financelife]

Originally Posted by wisebeard1

I have also heard positive things about Virgil Grissom High School.
Have you heard anything at all about S. R. Butler High?
It appears this school will be the geographically closest to the new house.

I know of several classmates or friends who have gone to colleges such as Yale, Stanford and Princeton. I don't any Butler alum who went to Harvard. And many go on to other universities. 2 years ago, there was a guy who got a full scholarship, room/board, monthly stipend to go into an engineering research program for his bachelors degree at University of AL in Tuscaloosa. He got a standing ovation from everyone on Awards Day.

So, if your kid's smart, then she'll be fine no matter what. If she is kinda dumb and needs motivation, then send her to Randolph or Grissom where she can get motivated. If she has even an inkling of hoishness, then she will get turned out by them tricks at Butler real quick, naw mean? Because Butler is gangsta.

You must be moving to the hood.

[DvlsAdvc8]

Originally Posted by dramamama

Well I know for a fact that VA Tech is NOT that easy to get into. Kids need a very high GPA as well as slew of EC activities and leadership qualities. What was really difficult was the kids competing from NoVA to get in as they have a 5pt scale vs the normal scale everywhere else. An A is 94 or better. No one I know who has kids attending college this year considered VA Tech a safety school at all. It was a top pick for the NoVA people I knew--not a fallback.

Maybe it is different for people coming from out of state--but that is the info I have from those people living instate.

Its all relative. If one is aiming higher, VA tech could be a fallback.

In my view however, VA Tech is definitely not a fall back school for most. It's not the best school in the state, but its a good school. James Madison is a fall back school by most accounts.

Of course, where you go to school doesn't dictate your destiny either and most people stress over it too much. I ended up at the University of Southern Mississippi (family moved to MS, then followed future wife to USM) - hardly a top school and 10 years later it turns out I'm the most successful person of my high school graduating class (judging by our 10 yr reunion anyway) despite several of my classmates having gone on to much better Universities like UVA, John Hopkins, Univeristy of Maryland, and Penn State (read - I went to HS in Maryland).

It's more the student than the school.

[Charles]

Grissom Girls and Bob Jones Boys win Alabama State swimming championship

Lane 9 News Archive: Alabama High School State Championships

Pretty impressive

Women - Team Rankings
1. Grissom High School 193
2. Auburn High School 164
3. St. Paul''s Episcopal 161
4. Bob Jones High School 155.5
5. Mountain Brook High 140
6. Vestavia Hills High School 110
7. McGill-Toolen Catholic 101
8. Oak Mountain High School 95
9. Sparkman High School 94
10. Huntsville High School 92
11. Daphne High School 76
12. Fairhope High School 75
13. Florence High School 66
14. Ums-Wright 60
15. Tuscaloosa County High 57
16. Spanish Fort High School 51
16. Trinity Presbyterian HS 51
18. Randolph School 42
19. John Carroll Catholic 40
20. Briarwood Christian 38
21. Northridge High School 37
21. Homewood High School 37
21. Loveless Academy Magnet Progr 37
24. W P Davidson High School 33
25. Hoover High School 32
25. Curry High School 32
27. Spain Park High School 30
28. Holy Spirit Catholic 29
29. Decatur High School 28
20. Cullman High School 20
31. East Lawrence Middle School 18
31. Westminster Christian Academy 18
33. Buckhorn High School 16
33. Northview High School 16
35. Scottsboro High School 14
36. Benjamin Russell 12
37. Prattville High School 10
38. St. James 8
39. Mars Hill Bible School 7.5
40. Guntersville High School 6
40. Thompson High 6
42. Altamont High School 5
42. Indian Springs School 5
44. Walker High School 4
45. Catholic High School 2
46. Athens High School 1

Men - Team Rankings
1. Bob Jones High School 262.5
2. Auburn High School 216.5
3. Huntsville High School 162
4. McGill-Toolen Catholic 134
5. Ums-Wright 120
6. Catholic High School 111
7. Prattville High School 100
8. Grissom High School 95
9. St. Paul''s Episcopal 75
10. Hoover High School 67
11. Randolph School 58
12. Vestavia Hills High School 54
13. Spanish Fort High School 51
13. Daphne High School 51
15. Mountain Brook High 43
16. Stanhope Elmore 40
17. Loveless Academy Magnet Progr 34
18. Homewood High School 32
19. Brookwood High School 28
20. Guntersville High School 26
21. Shades Valley High School 22
22. Murphy High School 20
23. Spain Park High School 19
24. Hartselle High School 17
24. Priceville High School 17
24. Elmore County High School 17
27. Hillcrest High School 15
28. Arab High School 12
28. Trinity Presbyterian HS 12
28. Boaz High School 12
31. Walker High School 10
32. Oak Mountain High School 9
32. Holy Spirit Catholic 9
34. Fairhope High School 6
34. Gulf Shores High School 6
34. Sparkman High School 6
37. Buckhorn High School 5
38.Florence High School 4
38. Jackson High School 4
38.W P Davidson High School 4
41. John Carroll Catholic 3
41.Montgomery Academy 3
43. Scottsboro High School 2
43.Briarwood Christian 2
45. Baldwin County H.S. 1

[deesonic]

Funny thing... My wife was on the swim team at Butler HS back in the early 90s. Sadly, I doubt they even have a swim team anymore.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by deesonic

Funny thing... My wife was on the swim team at Butler HS back in the early 90s. Sadly, I doubt they even have a swim team anymore.

This page

Butler High-Sports

lists one but there is no active hyperlink to it.

[financelife]

Originally Posted by 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.

These are usually the statements from mediocre parents and students. I'll bet those 4.5 gpa Asian kids are surpassing the 3.5 student who sang in high school. I would prefer a medical doctor who knew as much as possible about being a medical doctor. You can always find a hobby later in life.

And as the years go by, nobody is going to care about whether or not they were in Honor Society. I've got my graduate degree and I don't even care that I have a high school diploma.

[zenjenn]

I'll bet those 4.5 gpa Asian kids are surpassing the 3.5 student who sang in high school. I would prefer a medical doctor who knew as much as possible about being a medical doctor. You can always find a hobby later in life.

Really? I don't. I prefer a doctor who is a critical thinker; who is intuitive, well-rounded, and can think outside the box. Those 4.5 gpa tunnelvision kids with the color coded study notes are like those doctors you go to who can't diagnose their way out of a paper bag if the symptoms aren't by the book. I call them "medical techs"; the people that are fine when you know you have a sinus infection and want to walk into a clinic and get your antibiotics, but who are worthless if you have any kind of unusual medical problem.

The same can be said for many other professions.

[vakinderegg]

Financelife...."These are usually the statements from mediocre parents and students"You have no idea what you are talking about. The students who had the lower GPA's(and a GPA between 3.5 and 4.0 is an excellent one!) were the ones with lives and were able to work with others in a group(Perhaps had a job or was on a sports team) (hummm...I think that is a skill needed to be a dcotor , teacher, or lawyer) If these young adults only studied and did not do any extra activities then they perhaps would get a 4.5 as well. My brother has a superior IQ, went to IVY League schools as did my father, They both made excellent grades...but not a 4.5....GPA's only went up to 4.0 years ago....both got into 2 of the best schools in the nation and both are in professions that people would hire for their ability to be team players. Book smart is one thing, but common sense, ability to work in a cooperative group, ability to converse, and someone who shows leadership qualities are what schools and businesses are looking for in their applicants.

Zenjenn...I agree with you. Thanks for your support!

[rachelinala]

Grissom is the best public high school in the Huntsville area. I went there and many of my classmates are lawyers & doctors, etc... It's a large school though, so it's easy to feel lost amongst all the students. I hope she would be able to join some kind of group or sport so she can meet some people.

Second would be Huntsville High.

Actually...maybe Madison County High School in Madison may be good too?

In my opinion & please no offense to others...I would stay away from all other high schools in the area. They are either in really bad ghetto parts of town or are full of rednecks.

You have to move into the neighborhood of whatever school you want her to attend. Grissom has some rich kids, but you can find a home that is cheaper and still be able to attend school here.

[57allison]

Originally Posted by rachelinala

In my opinion & please no offense to others...I would stay away from all other high schools in the area. They are either in really bad ghetto parts of town or are full of rednecks.

You have to move into the neighborhood of whatever school you want her to attend. Grissom has some rich kids, but you can find a home that is cheaper and still be able to attend school here.

I would be wary of broad generalizations like this. Having lived here forever, and knowing plenty of people who went to all of the city high schools, you just can't. Some of the schools are under-performing. Some of the "better schools" are full of drugs. A few years ago a Grissom student killed almost his entire (nice, upstanding) family. I like the idea of being around people from a variety of backgrounds, not a whole school full of people just like me.