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Old 02-12-2012, 03:08 PM
 
2 posts, read 5,920 times
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Hi my name is Dan and I am making the move here from Chicago in the next year or so.

I have a wife and 2 kids. My daughter is 16 years old and my son is 14. Both will be at the high school level upon our arrival. We have visited a few times and have scoped out all areas of the metro and it seems as if we were set on the Western suburbs.

The cities we particularly enjoyed were the Minnetonka area, Edina, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, and Orono (all of which we understand are pretty big rivals for sports and academics).

Both my children have grown up in a suburb of Chicago where our high school's population is over 3,000 people so they are used to a larger community and I think that will be best for them when we move to MN.

That being said, I am wondering which of those schools mentioned would be best for them. They are both talented student athletes so they need a school with a competitive athletic program (which I'm sure they all do). Also, they excel in the classroom. My daughter is a 4.0 student so she needs a school with AP and/or IB. I see that Minnetonka is the only school that offers both, so that is definitely a plus. While looking in magazines and Newsweek's rankings, Edina is constantly placed above those other schools. Is there a reason for this? I hear Edina is characterized as the rich, snooty school and I don't know if that would be the best option for new kids to come into at such a late time.

Other opinions would be awesome! Thanks a bunch!
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Old 02-12-2012, 05:47 PM
 
1,807 posts, read 3,084,498 times
Reputation: 1518
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dantheman77 View Post
Hi my name is Dan and I am making the move here from Chicago in the next year or so.

I have a wife and 2 kids. My daughter is 16 years old and my son is 14. Both will be at the high school level upon our arrival. We have visited a few times and have scoped out all areas of the metro and it seems as if we were set on the Western suburbs.

The cities we particularly enjoyed were the Minnetonka area, Edina, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, and Orono (all of which we understand are pretty big rivals for sports and academics).

Both my children have grown up in a suburb of Chicago where our high school's population is over 3,000 people so they are used to a larger community and I think that will be best for them when we move to MN.

That being said, I am wondering which of those schools mentioned would be best for them. They are both talented student athletes so they need a school with a competitive athletic program (which I'm sure they all do). Also, they excel in the classroom. My daughter is a 4.0 student so she needs a school with AP and/or IB. I see that Minnetonka is the only school that offers both, so that is definitely a plus. While looking in magazines and Newsweek's rankings, Edina is constantly placed above those other schools. Is there a reason for this? I hear Edina is characterized as the rich, snooty school and I don't know if that would be the best option for new kids to come into at such a late time.

Other opinions would be awesome! Thanks a bunch!
I graduated from Hopkins, but all rivalries aside, I can honestly say that given your criteria, you can't go wrong. I maybe wouldn't do Orono-- that's a little far out there. Is there a reason St. Louis Park isn't on your short list?

What kind of sports are your kids into? If it's basketball, Hopkins is cream of the crop in that conference. Football, probably Wayzata or EP. It's going to vary from sport to sport, though, so since I don't know what your kids are into, I can't help you much.

If you can give me some more specifics about what your kids are into I can be of more help, since I grew up out there and know the area pretty well. But between all those schools, they're all pretty good. Plus, it's relatively easy to open enroll in Minnesota; we had *lots* of students who lived outside the district's boundaries at Hopkins when I was there...
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Old 02-12-2012, 09:30 PM
 
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
5,509 posts, read 11,843,674 times
Reputation: 2501
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dantheman77 View Post
Hi my name is Dan and I am making the move here from Chicago in the next year or so.

I have a wife and 2 kids. My daughter is 16 years old and my son is 14. Both will be at the high school level upon our arrival. We have visited a few times and have scoped out all areas of the metro and it seems as if we were set on the Western suburbs.

The cities we particularly enjoyed were the Minnetonka area, Edina, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, and Orono (all of which we understand are pretty big rivals for sports and academics).

Both my children have grown up in a suburb of Chicago where our high school's population is over 3,000 people so they are used to a larger community and I think that will be best for them when we move to MN.

That being said, I am wondering which of those schools mentioned would be best for them. They are both talented student athletes so they need a school with a competitive athletic program (which I'm sure they all do). Also, they excel in the classroom. My daughter is a 4.0 student so she needs a school with AP and/or IB. I see that Minnetonka is the only school that offers both, so that is definitely a plus. While looking in magazines and Newsweek's rankings, Edina is constantly placed above those other schools. Is there a reason for this? I hear Edina is characterized as the rich, snooty school and I don't know if that would be the best option for new kids to come into at such a late time.

Other opinions would be awesome! Thanks a bunch!
Where in CHicago are you from? I can maybe recommend something for you based on that. Based on the HS info alone, Eden Prairie sounds like a good bet -- not only is it an academically-excellent district, but it's diverse (~30% non-white) AND excels in sports....and is very very large.
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Old 02-13-2012, 06:26 AM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,172,435 times
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Which sports?

Basically if you put these schools on a mythical scale of 1-100, they would score 99.9, 99.8, 99.7. That is the beauty of Minnesota schools, you have many to choose from and just a few district to avoid.

As for the IB, I wouldn't let that sway your decision. In MN the post-secondary option for juniors and seniors allows kids to take classes at or through the University of Minnesota for free. These schools will have classes that are called CIS or College in the School classes. These are actual college classes taught in the high school either by U of MN professors or high school teachers that are credentialed through the U of MN. They are far better than IB/AP classes as the credits are transferred to potential colleges down the road. I would strongly suggest they look into those classes above the IB and even the AP classes if their current coursework matches up with those classes. Your 14 year old will grow into these classes as he goes through high school. Your 16 year old-depending on if she is a sophomore or junior will want to investigate these closely for next year.

IB/AP credits only transfer to some colleges and usually only if you score a 4 or 5 on the test and even then they more often than not use them for class placement. We have run into several schools that will not take any IB/AP classes for credit or placement in your major field as well. They are great prep classes for college and the ACT/SAT though. With the exception of one college we have looked at, all of the schools will accept the CIS credits. The one school will look at the credits and determine on a case by case basis.
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Old 02-13-2012, 10:35 AM
 
Location: MS
200 posts, read 564,506 times
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Out of the schools you listed I would say Minnetonka and Wayzata are a coin toss for my number one choice (both great). Then I would consider Eden Prarie, and then Edina. I am pretty sure all those schools offer AP classes. The IB program is a little more rare. Honestly though, I would do as galfgal suggests and think about post secondary instead of relying on AP or IB. Post Secondary is an awesome program.
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Old 02-13-2012, 01:14 PM
 
319 posts, read 527,269 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal View Post
As for the IB, I wouldn't let that sway your decision. In MN the post-secondary option for juniors and seniors allows kids to take classes at or through the University of Minnesota for free. These schools will have classes that are called CIS or College in the School classes. These are actual college classes taught in the high school either by U of MN professors or high school teachers that are credentialed through the U of MN. They are far better than IB/AP classes as the credits are transferred to potential colleges down the road. I would strongly suggest they look into those classes above the IB and even the AP classes if their current coursework matches up with those classes. Your 14 year old will grow into these classes as he goes through high school. Your 16 year old-depending on if she is a sophomore or junior will want to investigate these closely for next year.

IB/AP credits only transfer to some colleges and usually only if you score a 4 or 5 on the test and even then they more often than not use them for class placement. We have run into several schools that will not take any IB/AP classes for credit or placement in your major field as well. They are great prep classes for college and the ACT/SAT though. With the exception of one college we have looked at, all of the schools will accept the CIS credits. The one school will look at the credits and determine on a case by case basis.
The high school I went to (less than 10 years ago) had a similar program, and those "college in high school classes" received no transfer credit at my university (top 10 private), or most of the ones I was considering. Whereas, it's pretty easy to get at least a 4 on AP tests, so you may want to look into the specific program and how it's regarded by the range of schools your child will be looking at.
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Old 02-13-2012, 01:16 PM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,172,435 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ManBearPig1 View Post
The high school I went to (less than 10 years ago) had a similar program, and those "college in high school classes" received no transfer credit at my university (top 10 private), or most of the ones I was considering. Whereas, it's pretty easy to get at least a 4 on AP tests, so you may want to look into the specific program and how it's regarded by the range of schools your child will be looking at.
Things have changed a lot in 10 years with AP/IB/Post secondary credits...
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Old 02-13-2012, 02:03 PM
 
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My daughter is very interested in UW-Madison if she were to stay in the Midwest and after looking on their website, they accept both AP/IB credits and by the looks of it, it seems as if she will have 50-60 credits done before stepping in the door. She'd far prefer staying in the high school and taking classes with friends rather than going to a local university for the PSEO option. If she were to go out East, she would be applying to a couple of the Ivies and/or Boston College and schools of that type.

Chzanne, why do you place them in the order that you do? Why is Edina last?
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Old 02-13-2012, 04:52 PM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,172,435 times
Reputation: 10693
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dantheman77 View Post
My daughter is very interested in UW-Madison if she were to stay in the Midwest and after looking on their website, they accept both AP/IB credits and by the looks of it, it seems as if she will have 50-60 credits done before stepping in the door. She'd far prefer staying in the high school and taking classes with friends rather than going to a local university for the PSEO option. If she were to go out East, she would be applying to a couple of the Ivies and/or Boston College and schools of that type.

Chzanne, why do you place them in the order that you do? Why is Edina last?
Chances are her friends would be taking the post secondary classes as well but they are offered in the school. Our kids will be taking 2 of them next year, right down the hall from their other classes. There is a sign on the door that states that that classroom is a University of MN class (all university rules apply ). Madison is a great school. We tried to get our son to look into that school but it is too big for his liking.

Again, which sports are your kids in? Seriously, that is how people pick where they live here because the schools are all so close academically. It's a nice problem to have.
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Old 02-13-2012, 07:28 PM
 
Location: MN
3,971 posts, read 9,649,446 times
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Can't go wrong with any of those schools.
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