Well, just came back from a 2 week stay in OC

[NewbieHere]

Originally Posted by payutenyodagimas

an old Chinese saying: better to be the head of a chicken than to be tail of a cow.


am not saying that top 10 percentile in GG/Westminster is the same with that of Irvine

I think you are both wrong on the Asian thing and the old Chinese saying. Two wrongs don't make you right. And old Chinese saying. Haha.

But seriously, there are lots of Asians in Irvine, it's ridiculously to say it's white flight. But the Asian people in Irvine probably belong to more professional classes, higher earners, mostly doctors and dentists. My neighbor is two specialist doctor income household. Most likely between $600k-$800k income. Comparing that to Westminster area, most likely not that many people at the same level. One of the things I first noticed when I moved to Irvine, attending a school assembly for parents on something for University High. The guy on my right was a doctor, the guy on my left was also a doctor, not all Asians of course. In fact, my brother and his wife were both priced out on a bid to an Irvine house back in the early 2000s, his wife and him were both engineers.

[Joe Van Fossen]

Originally Posted by DawnW

and it looks like instead of moving to LA as we had planned (where we moved from 10 years ago), we are now strongly looking at a move to OC. DH has been told he can transfer to the Irvine office of his job and my oldest son is planning to go to college nearby and has already met with the admissions, etc... and although he isn't fully accepted, admissions didn't think it would be an issue. Middle child will probably attend Community College for a year or two, we aren't sure. He is a senior this year, which is a huge reason we aren't moving now.

Which just leaves youngest child, who will be a 9th grader in 2018. I know Irvine schools are rated decently.....does anyone have any strong preferences for one over the other Or any specific insight? This particular child is very strong academically and socially, so I am not worried about how he will do. His current school is raked in the 250s by US New and World Report, so he is already in a very good school. Nearby school to Irvine info would be welcomed as well, we aren't sure exact location yet, but he is my biggest concern. We don't want to move him after he starts high school, so that is tricky.

I will be looking for a job. That is my biggest worry, but I will be working on that this school year and trying to figure out what to do.

I had a client who was adamant about living in an area assigned to Northwood HS for his daughter. After doing more research they decided to move to an area assigned to Irvine HS. From what I understand, she enjoyed her time at Irvine High, did well, and is now attending UC Berkeley. She had several universities from all around the US to choose from. I'm sure there are some differences between the high schools in Irvine, but probably not enough that your son will be deprived of opportunities based on which one he goes to.

Also, regarding my alma mater Aliso Niguel, two friends from my graduating class went onto Harvard and Georgetown. Ratings aren't everything. Fullerton has two 10 ranked high schools, but the student who famously got accepted to every Ivy League school attended the lowest ranked high school in the city (an 8):

Fullerton teen wanted by every Ivy League school chooses Yale - LA Times

[NewbieHere]

Irvine high is definitely under appreciated. My daughter's best friend graduated from there and also graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UCBerkeley. I think that's equivalent to about 3.8 GPA if I understand corrrectly.

[DawnW]

Originally Posted by Joe Van Fossen

I had a client who was adamant about living in an area assigned to Northwood HS for his daughter. After doing more research they decided to move to an area assigned to Irvine HS. From what I understand, she enjoyed her time at Irvine High, did well, and is now attending UC Berkeley. She had several universities from all around the US to choose from. I'm sure there are some differences between the high schools in Irvine, but probably not enough that your son will be deprived of opportunities based on which one he goes to.

Also, regarding my alma mater Aliso Niguel, two friends from my graduating class went onto Harvard and Georgetown. Ratings aren't everything. Fullerton has two 10 ranked high schools, but the student who famously got accepted to every Ivy League school attended the lowest ranked high school in the city (an 8):

Fullerton teen wanted by every Ivy League school chooses Yale - LA Times

Thanks. I am actually looking more at national rankings more than parent rankings or local rankings.

No, they aren't everything, and I am quite sure our local school here was just as good at their mid 500's ranking as they are now in their 250s ranking.

Honestly, anything in the top 1500 is going to be excellent (out of 25,000 public high schools in the US!), so I am not overly worried, he seems to be, but I am not as concerned. I just wondered if people had any first hand experience with any of the schools, etc.....

He is a stellar student, so he will do well anyway, but I won't put him in a really low performing school if I don't have to (and I don't), even though I know you could find anecdotal information on a student there who makes it into Ivy schools.

[winniethepwn]

I went to Woodbridge High but can't really think of anything bad to say about any of the schools in Irvine. I have friends from all of them and nearly everyone I know went on to university (many to UCI, myself included). Your "smart" child will have no problem fitting in; most students are equally motivated.

I love the city and don't mind that that I'm one of the few non-asians in my neighborhood . There's plenty of great diverse food and stuff. Only con is that traffic is becoming increasingly worse with all the high-density apartments everywhere. The entire city is pleasant (vs others having good and bad areas) and most of us are happy to pay the premium.