Where to buy SFH in Fairfax County? (Annandale, Mount Vernon: high schools, colleges)

[Denton56]

Anyone who is looking for a single family home, in the town of Vienna, walking distance to metro and rt 66, I can help. Send me a private message. And, no, I am NOT a real estate agent.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by arabellava

I was only recognizing that the Madison island was comprised of Vienna, VA addresses- why it's "Vienna"- I have no idea..

They have Vienna mailing addresses only because USPS for their own reasons created 22182 the way they did and then called it "Vienna". There is no more reason to consider those neighborhoods as part of Vienna than that.

Originally Posted by arabellava

Re. N vs S Vienna- in general, you can't go wrong around here-

Certainly agreed. But there are various differences in character between neighborhoods that can be relevant to the tastes and desires of a potential newcomer, both between the north and south sides and within them.

Originally Posted by arabellava

...the biggest area I'd personally avoid is Cedar but I also have friends who live in nice communities near Cedar (not mansions but family oriented/safe)..

Over significant stretches, Cedar Lane is the Town boundary. South of Park Street to 66 you have Vienna Woods on the town side and Dunn Loring Woods (et al) on the county side. Solid, middle/upper-middle class neighborhoods in both cases. North of Park Street to the W&OD, you have Stonewall Manor on the county side (maybe a small step up from Dunn Loring Woods), and McHenry Heights, Oakdale Park, and Wedderburn on the town side, all tree-lined upscale neighborhoods dotted (in some cases liberally) with homes that go for a million dollars and more. Not sure why you would want to avoid that area, unless the shopping center and predominantly Hispanic apartments behind it are taken to sink everything within a three-quarter mile radius...

[arabellava]

I am only posting my opinion based on my experience- which is what this board is all about. Everyone has a different view. I don't think anyone needs to be right or wrong here- but I do think having different views and not combing each answer with a fine tooth comb (of their own view) would help the OP more and be more productive to the general discussion.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by handy man88

Ahhh, the only "concern" north or west of Vienna and including south east of Vienna is South Lakes HS and Marshall HS.

If you're in Vienna, you want to be in the Madison or Oakton boundaries.

I think this is a rather biased perspective. Although there are certainly some looking in Vienna who make a conscious decision to buy in the Madison or Oakton districts, others prefer the Marshall district, because of (1) the IB program, (2) the school's smaller size relative to, in particular, Oakton, (3) the greater diversity of the student population, (4) the quality of the school's principal and faculty and (5) the improving academic performance of Marshall students (SAT scores have improved in each of the past three years, and the scores for the Class of 2008 at Marshall were higher than those for the graduating seniors at Madison).

Conversely, parents looking in Vienna who dislike the IB program and prefer the AP curriculum (and there are quite a few) should make sure they are in the Oakton, Madison or McLean districts. In addition, parents who want their kids to have a very good chance of being on a top-ranked county sports team should make sure they are in the Oakton (or perhaps Madison) district, and avoid both Marshall and McLean. All of these schools place substantial numbers of students in top state schools and private colleges, although admissions officers clearly know that the top students in the county schools attend TJ.

In summary, it's good to try and make an informed decision, but I hope you make it based on current information!

[barryhussein]

Keep in mind it's going to be a lot harder for your Vienna kid to get into a top school, than a kid from Highland Springs or Roanoke.

[steviez]

Can someone tell me what is "of concern" about South Lakes?

[novajs]

Nothing wrong with South Lakes. It actually sent the highest percentage of students (who applied) to UVA among county high schools. It has more "diversity" than many other schools. I guess that's the main concern. If you compare kids with similar socioeconomic background, you won't find a big difference in test scores between South Lakes and others.

In fact, I am interested in finding out the latest test scores after the redistricting.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by novajs

Nothing wrong with South Lakes. It actually sent the highest percentage of students (who applied) to UVA among county high schools. It has more "diversity" than many other schools. I guess that's the main concern. If you compare kids with similar socioeconomic background, you won't find a big difference in test scores between South Lakes and others.

In fact, I am interested in finding out the latest test scores after the redistricting.

I don't think there's anything wrong with South Lakes, either, but I am curious as to where you found the data to suggest that South Lakes sent the highest percentage of students who applied to UVa among the county's high schools. Not saying you're wrong; just haven't seen that type of information published before.

[novajs]

Below is a comment from Greatschools.net. It suggested that in 2007 65 percent of students who applied UVA from South Lakes were admitted. Langley sent the same number of students to UVA as South Lakes. It shouldn't be a surprise that more students in Langley applied than those from South Lakes.


Posted August 15, 2007
I am a parent of a rising 10th grader. I am positive that she is in a good school and will get a fantastic education. If you all notice most of the ratings are high. At any school, parents and students will get out what they put into a class. I think those with negative comments will have those comments about wherever they go. We now have a fantastic new principal who is very involved and is making this school an even greater place to go. Please note that '65 percent of of students who applied to UVA were offered admission. Average for all High schools in Fairfax County is 25 percent.' The same amt of students were admitted from Langley as from SLHS and SLHS produced 55 IB diploma candidates. (read opinion in Connection 8/14 page 12. Don't just look at SOL scores!

[Denton56]

Of course a parent would say that they are sending their child to a great school. What parent would admit that they were doing anything else? Who wants to admit that they are sending their child to one of the worst high schools int he district? Everyone always says their choice of schools is great.

Sorry, but South Lakes is not a great school, if you care about things like SAT scores, high number of dropouts, lower percentage of students going to 4 year colleges, and being stuck with an IB program without higher level math and only one AP course. It consistently ranks in the bottom 5 of FCPS high schools. Those are among some of the reasons that parents fought tooth and nail not to be redistricted into South Lakes. It also lowers property values for those 70% of people without school aged children.