Raleigh High Schools? (Cary, Chapel Hill, Apex: chapel, magnet school, colleges) - The Triangle Area - City-Data Forum

BadDogDude · 02-22-2008, 10:04 AM

I'm looking to relocate. Have kids. Am presently researching Raleigh public High Schools. I can find a lot of relevant info (number of students, SAT scores, etc.) except one, key criterion: the identification of the colleges their graduates got into.

For example, in Chapel Hill, both Chapel Hill H.S. and East Chapel Hill H.S. proudly publish on their websites the colleges their graduates went to. Very easy to find. However, certain of the Raleigh H.S.'s, e.g., Leesville H.S., Green Hope H.S., et al., don't publish this info at all. Instead, one is required to call the school where you're routed to a guidance counselor who absolutely sidesteps the issue and avoids providing any such info whatsoever!

So, my questions are these: What's the Raleigh HS deal? Are their graduates going to (decent) colleges (OK, it's not a classism issue but matchbook colleges, with some exceptions, just generally don't cut it)? And, if so, why don't they appear proud of that fact? Leads one to believe that Raleigh's HS graduates aren't necessarily succeeding post-HS.

Enlightenment please!

VickiR · 02-22-2008, 11:29 AM

I have 3 kids that graduated from Sanderson High School (North Raleigh) and one that is currently at Sanderson.

All my kids were/are in honors programs and got into good colleges.

Sanderson has some really great teachers that have been there for years. Thats always a good sign.

Vicki

mdp_az · 02-22-2008, 11:54 AM

I am a graduate of Broughton HS. My fellow graduates went to the following schools and many more: Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Princeton, Penn, Duke, UNC, NCSU, ASU, Miami, GT, VT, Army, Navy, BYU, GWU, UVA, UMd, NYU.

weluvwakeforest · 02-22-2008, 02:37 PM

The high schools offer honors level courses and AP courses for juniors and seniors. Take these classes at ANY HIGH SCHOOL in wake county, do well, and well.. the possibilities are endless.

hey all have problems and issues, drugs, etc. They all have over achievers and underachievers.

good luck !

BadDogDude · 02-22-2008, 02:43 PM

Thank you all for the info - greatly appreciated. Clearly, there are a ton of smart kids in Raleigh. I just thought it unusual that certain HSs didn't boast about the college stuff. It's really a great barometer (IMHO). Oh, well. Thanks again.

convergent · 02-22-2008, 02:49 PM

It may just be that some guidance departments don't track it. Its a lot of work to track where graduates are at after they leave the school, and if they have limited resources then they'd probably rather spend them on helping the students that are still in school there. I've been on the Board of a private K-12 school for 6 years in the past, and our kids went to quality colleges, and I never cared for the advertising of where kids go.... like some of the ads with the kids all wearing college sweatshirts from ivy league schools. In Wake County, your kids could end up getting reassigned from one school to another so it really isn't that important in my opinion to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how one HS compares to the other. As they other replies said... if they take honors and AP classes, then they are going to be fine.

VickiR · 02-22-2008, 03:39 PM

I've always noticed the private schools using the name of certain colleges in their advertising. I always figured it was just that...advertising!

When my older daughter was at Sanderson, she really wanted to get into UNC Chapel Hill, which is not an easy school to get in to. She researched it and spoke with her guidance counselor to find out what she needed to do (besides good grades and a great SAT score). She found out that UNC Chapel Hill likes to see students that are well rounded. She already belonged to alot of clubs and was in dance competitions but her counselor advised her to do some free community work, which she did.

She applied to UNC Chapel Hill, as did a few of her friends. All their SAT scores and grades were similar. She got into UNC but her friends did not.

I have intelligent kids (ya think they get that from me?); however, the 3 that are motivated do very well. The one that is less motivated is actually the smartest one but does the least. Go figure. Its not all about brains. You need a student that wants to achieve and no matter which high school, they'll achieve!

Those are my words of wisdom, coming from a mom of four!

Vicki

saturnfan · 02-22-2008, 05:49 PM

My daughter graduated Athens and went to NCSU. Graduated NCSU Magna c-u-m Laude.

Son graduated Millbrook and went to Wake Tech followed by ITT Tech for certification.

Athens and Millbrook aren't top rated but did well for my kids.

JQ Public · 02-22-2008, 06:25 PM

I went to Enloe High School. Enloe has been and is the top public school in Wake County (aside from charter schools) as far as academics are concerned. Enloe is a magnet school so students can go there from anywhere in wake county. My class had people from Knightdale, Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Wake Forest etc. The school is in Raleigh, but Raleigh schools are a part of Wake County Public schools. Here is some info from a pdf form on the Enloe website. The class of 2007 was 477 students. I couldn't find info on Colleges, but name a school and an Enloe Alum has been there.

79% entering 4-year colleges
14% entering 2-year colleges
0% (2 Students) Trade/Business
• For a more complete list:
http://enloehs.wcpss.net/studenthonors.php