North High Schools: Vista Ridge HS vs. Round Rock HS vs. Cedar Park HS (Dallas: fit in, 2015)

[jd411]

We are looking at communities up north that are zoned to RRHS, VRHS and CPHS.

I've done some research and all three seem to be good schools with CPHS standing out a bit.

Does anyone have any information or personal experience that would help me distinguish a bit more between the three?

[mark311]

Are your kids currently in High School or do they still have a few years to go before they are in High School? I would be sure to research if zoning could change for your neighborhood as new High Schools come into play in the area. Of course, Round Rock High School is in RRISD and the other two are in LISD. I know that some of the neighborhoods that were previously zoned to Vista Ridge are now zoned to Rouse.

With all that said, you'll most likely be happy with any of those schools, but as you stated, it could be argued that Cedar Park is a notch above the other two. I would be happy to send my kids to any of those schools. Currently, I'm in an area that feeds into Rouse that has that typical "average" reputation because it's so new, but my kids aren't going to be in High School for another 11 years, so I'm not going to worry about it yet. A lot could change in our area because it's experiencing such rapid growth.

[jd411]

My oldest is about 8 years away from high school, so its still far off for us. Just thought I'd ask around.

Good to know they are all good schools. Lots of options!

[mark311]

Originally Posted by jd411

My oldest is about 8 years away from high school, so its still far off for us. Just thought I'd ask around.

Yeah, a lot could change around here in 8 years. If I really wanted to make sure that my kids were in with a particular High School like Cedar Park, I would make sure that I lived very close to it. New schools are going to be built in this area and zoning could change, but if you live a few blocks away, chances are your zoning wouldn't change.

This is a bit off topic, but I'm still conflicted on the High School thing with the 8% rule (the top 8% of kids from every Texas High School automatically get accepted to UT or other public Texas Universities). So if your kid attends the highest performing High School (ie. Westlake) where the Senior class has 600 kids, then your kid has to be ranked 48th or better out of 600 other smart/priveleged kids to automatically get admitted to UT. Otherwise, he or she has to compete with everybody else in the state for the final 25% or so of the available incoming freshman slots (and academic performance isn't the only thing evaluated of course).

So, if you send your kid to a very good school in LISD or RRISD, your kid probably has a better shot at getting into UT Austin under the current rules compared to a school like Westlake. The poorer performing the school, the better chance he or she has at getting automatic admittance to UT. I'm still not sure how this makes any sense. Personally, I'll give up my kid getting the "absolute best" High School education, so he can get the best College education. You don't put your High School education on a resume, you put your College education. They won't know if your kid graduated from Round Rock High or Westlake High, they'll just know that he graduated from UT or Texas State.

[jd411]

Yeah, I agree. I see the benefit in having them not attend the highest performing school in that regard. Sounds screwy, but so is the way the rules/system are set-up.

Thanks for the info!

[centralaustinite]

Yes, but many (probably up to 2/3) of the Westlake kids are such high achievers that they get substantial scholarships to multiple colleges and universities! The kind of scholarships that bring private college close to the cost of public universities.

I have two degrees from UT but it would be a stretch to describe it as "the best College education"! (Plan II excepted). It is a very solid education but Rice, Trinity, Southwestern, TCU, Baylor -- just to name a few in Texas -- all compete for those Westlake grads and not just the top 48 students either! Never mind the small private liberal arts colleges who love the "geographic diversity" that Texas can provide!

Not to mention the other secret! Thousands of the top 8% from low-performing high schools drop out of UT and their space is taken from ultra-well-prepared but not in the top 8% students from Westlake, Westwood, Anderson, LASA, etc who go to UT-SA or UT-Dallas for 2-3 semesters and then transfer to UT!

What percentage of the graduating classes at UT are comprised of the top 8% from less than stellar schools? That would be interesting stat to know!

[mark311]

Good points, and I meant the best public school education in Texas. I don't have faith that plentiful scholarships will be available in 15 years when my kids graduate High School, but hopefully that's the case.

[minhaj.s]

This thread is bit old but interested to know current state (2015-2016) of these schools and also how they compare with with Rouse high school now.

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by minhaj.s

This thread is bit old but interested to know current state (2015-2016) of these schools and also how they compare with with Rouse high school now.

CP>VR> RRHS and Rouse.

All are good to very good HSs. All have pros and cons. (CP has fewest cons)

& there are lots of other schools up "north" not listed.

[woodinvilleguy]

Originally Posted by hound 109

CP>VR> RRHS and Rouse.

All are good to very good HSs. All have pros and cons. (CP has fewest cons)

& there are lots of other schools up "north" not listed.

VR has improved a lot. I would say CP and VR are equal now. Unless you are looking at sports. Then CP is superior.