STEM magnet (San Marcos, Stafford: buying, middle schools, colleges)

[accborn]

Anyone have any knowledge or experience with the Stafford STEM magnet academy? It is new but Stafford is open district I think. Has anyone toured, applied, know someone who attended, or have any insight about the school or process? Would you consider buying nearby for SSMA if it is convenient and quick for work commute?

[accborn]

Please share your thoughts on the gifted & talented middle school academy in FBISD. Do academy students register for the same courses as other district middle schools? If so, what is the benefit of commuting to attend? Do all GT academy students take AP and Pre-AP in all core courses and if not what are the levels offered at GTA? Please share any recent knowledge or experience you may have or heard. TIA!

[godagoda]

not familiar with stafford's STEM magnet but be careful with what you are being "sold". friends of our put their kids into carnegie vanguard, also a magnet for G/T. super bright kids but courses were very very difficult and while they would have been A+ students everywhere else they were A-/b+ at CVHS. Consequently neither got into the colleges they wanted to go to. Now both attending Texas State in San Marcos.

Schools will tell you that colleges know this program or that high school. That's simply not true. Most colleges hire 26 year olds for the first round of applications and those kids are told to chuck everything that is not top 10% or XYZ GPA.

So while STEM magnet may sound fun and amazing, ask yourself what you are getting for it and what you are giving up. If your kids are into coding, send them to a coding camp.

If I had to do school all over again I would NEVER send my kid to a school where the GPA could be in jeopardy. I would fill their free time with awesome and interesting stuff and let the excel at that instead.

just my two cents. ;-)

[accborn]

Godagoda, that is an interesting perspective that I was not weighing at all! Thank you for responding because I am feeling my way through with limited information, so any information and advice is useful and I will definitely consider your advice and share with the kiddo. Thank you for helping us strangers.

[accborn]

Oh, godagoda, I heard that FBISD will stop (or maybe has stopped) doing GPA for students or won't record or report or something like that but not sure. Now that I typed it out it seems odd. Well your comments made me think of that so thanks again for the advice!