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We are looking to relocate to the Carlsbad/San Marcos area this summer. Can you give me the good and the bad about the high schools there (San Marcos, Carlsbad and La Costa Canyon). Would you send your kids there? What are the negatives/dislikes about the school? My kids want a school that offers great academics and competitive sports. They are currently in a great school and we want to make it a smooth transition. Thanks for any ideas.
All high schools in the area are good. Most likely your options will be Carlsbad High, La Costa Canyon High, San Marcos High, Mission Hills and Sage Creek High. San Marcos High and Sage Creek High were recently rebuilt or built. I think kids have very much equal opportunities to thrive in any of these schools. Good luck!
We are looking to relocate to the Carlsbad/San Marcos area this summer. Can you give me the good and the bad about the high schools there (San Marcos, Carlsbad and La Costa Canyon). Would you send your kids there? What are the negatives/dislikes about the school? My kids want a school that offers great academics and competitive sports. They are currently in a great school and we want to make it a smooth transition. Thanks for any ideas.
My soon to be freshman is a lacrosse player. She'd love to try out for cheerleading too as far as sports. Her passion is to get involved in a high school TV/broadcasting program. It seems that all 3 schools offer that. My soon to be junior loves the sciences. Both are actively involved in school leadership, clubs, community involvement, etc.
I have heard great things about La Costa Canyon (downside are the homes are so much higher that school zone). I have heard good things about Carlsbad and feel that would be a good choice. San Marcos High I have heard good/bad, mixed reviews. I never seem to get an answer though as to why it isn't as desirable. San Marcos is much more affordable, the school looked really nice, but I would love honest feedback about personal experiences there. We have want it to be a good transition
I have heard great things about La Costa Canyon (downside are the homes are so much higher that school zone). I have heard good things about Carlsbad and feel that would be a good choice. San Marcos High I have heard good/bad, mixed reviews. I never seem to get an answer though as to why it isn't as desirable. San Marcos is much more affordable, the school looked really nice, but I would love honest feedback about personal experiences there. We have want it to be a good transition
Warning: This will be a long post. Please skip if you don't want to read all of this information!
There are a couple of key differences to be aware of between La Costa Canyon and San Marcos H.S.
1. San Marcos High School is in the San Marcos Unified School District. La Costa Canyon High School is in the San Dieguito School District.
2. La Costa Canyon High School offers slightly more advanced placement (AP) courses than San Marcos High School -- 20 available vs. 16 (note: it will be a very rare student who can manage to take 16 or 20 AP courses!)
3. A larger percentage of students go directly to four year colleges at La Costa Canyon (71% than at San Marcos (62%).
4. La Costa Canyon students has high college entrance exam scores and state test scores compared to California state averages. San Marcos H.S. college entrance exam scores are on par with state averages.
5. La Costa Canyon has a great slate of electives that are designed to help students test the waters for careers and serve as "bullet points" for college applications (i.e., engineering, fashion design, etc.)
Now, looking at this, it looks like La Costa Canyon H.S. is far better. Well, to say that you need to dig a little deeper.
The key thing La Costa has going for it is that the majority of students attending La Costa Canyon come from middle income and wealthier families where one or more of the parents has graduated from college. Research has found that students from wealthier families who have college educated parents tend to do much better on college entrance exams regardless of the high school they attend; they also are more likely to attend a four year college right after high school. Don't get me wrong: La Costa Canyon is a wonderful school, filled with great opportunities for students. But, their students are a "self selected community" who you would expect to do better than average, so to a certain extent, their test scores and other factors are built in before kids even step foot on their campus.
On the other hand, San Marcos High School has more economic and racial diversity: 40% of students there are "socioeconomically disadvantaged" (read: they come from low income families) and nearly 50% are under-represented minorities (40% Hispanic). Nearly 12% are students who learned English as a second language. Again, research has shown that Hispanic students and students from low income families tend to score a bit lower on entrance exams and less likely to go to four year colleges. So, the fact that San Marcos H.S. has a large population of low income kids, and yet is sending a relatively high share of students on to college suggests that they are doing something right. (By the way, not a reason to pick San Marcos H.S., but San Marcos district does have a guaranteed admissions guarantee with California State University San Marcos; San Dieguito does not).
Thinking ahead to college admissions, parents *might* think that colleges prefer students from high schools with higher test scores, more AP classes, etc. Well, yes and no. In actuality, colleges look at how students have taken advantage of the opportunities available to them at the their high school. So, that means that they won't hold it against a student if their high school has a few fewer AP classes or lower test scores. Instead, they'll look to see how the individual student has taken advantage of what they have available -- if a school has 20 AP classes, and a kid hasn't taken any of them, that's a "less competitive" student. If a school has 16 AP classes and a kid has taken 5 or 6 of them, then that will be considered a "more competitive" student. Now, *some* colleges do recruit more heavily from high schools in wealthier areas because they think (rightly so) that students from those schools won't need as much financial aid. But, many colleges also give a bit of a boost to kids from high schools with larger "low income" populations.
All that said, I am a retired college admissions counselor, and I have worked with students from BOTH high schools. From my limited sample size, it seems that the teaching and counseling staffs at both schools do a good job. A motivated student can get a good education -- and go to a great college --- from either school. While I am generalizing wildly, sometimes it is a little easier to stand out and be a "top" student at a slightly less competitive school, where parents aren't all going crazy trying to get their kids into the "Best" colleges. On the other hand, some students need the extra push that comes from being surrounded by harder driving peers. Again, this is based on conversations with a small number of students, but I have found that La Costa Canyon students definitely felt a little more "pressure" to be successful in order to compete/keep up with their peers than the kids at San Marcos. As an aside, the La Costa Canyon parents I worked with also felt a bit more pressure about college admissions, although all parents feel some panic when college application season rolls around. (Also, this is a very limited sample, but my sense is that there are some racial tensions at San Marcos High School to be aware of, based on things former students have mentioned to me. This may be true at La Costa Canyon too; just haven't had kids mention it to me).
So, here's my suggestion to help you make a good decision about which high school might be best for your daughter. First, think about what type of student your daughter is as she enters 9th grade. Is she a self-starter? Intellectually curious? Motivated internally or by peers? Is she going to be likely to take as many AP courses as she can cram into her schedule, or will she perhaps be more comfortable taking fewer AP courses? What are her academic strengths and weaknesses? What are her academic interests (these may change, obviously, but is she a math and science kid, or a humanities type, or....?)
Once you've thought about that, download a copy of each high school's Profile. The Profile is a document that high schools put together to help college admissions officers understand their student body and their academic and extracurricular opportunities when they are considering applications. The Profiles can also help prospective parents compare apples to apples, and get a sense of how the high school sees itself. (Keep in mind that to a certain extent, the Profiles are marketing, designed to help the school's kids get into college)
Then, make an appointment with the school's counseling staff. Ask hard questions about how they "slot" kids into AP courses (some schools really gate keep entry) and how your daughter might fit in.
Visit campus with your daughter on a school day if you can. See where she feels comfortable walking around.
My two kids are all grown, but if I'd been considering a move like you were, that's what I would have done. To be honest, if I could comfortably afford a house in the La Costa Canyon service area, I probably would have chosen that option, just because my two kids were very motivated by their peers, and my son was somewhat gifted and would have benefited from the expanded AP course offerings, while my daughter would have enjoyed their fine art options . And, I would have had the little parent ego boost that comes from saying, "my kid goes to an award winning high school."
On the other hand, if a house in the La Costa Canyon service area would have stretched us a little too far economically, I would have had no problem choosing San Marcos H.S., knowing that I may have had to push my kids a little bit more to stay motivated academically. Also, I could have put the difference in a mortgage into my kids' college savings plan to make paying for college easier. After all, what good is a house next to a "better" high school if you can't save anything for college? That's just our family -- some families don't have to worry about paying for college as they already have it covered (and as an aside, far too many families *assume* that their kids will get "big" scholarships to pay for everything -- good luck with that!).
Either way, my kids would have done OK because they had me as their Mom, and I wasn't going to let them slide off track too far. My hunch is you might be the same type of Mom.
I am sorry about the length of this post, but this will be helpful in some way as you consider your options. Good luck with your move!
Thank you so much for your detailed and wonderful information. It's so clear and understandable. One of my daughters will be a junior next fall and my youngest will be a freshman. The high school she currently attends is most similar to La Costa Canyon from your information. The other school I would love to get your feedback on is Carlsbad High School (sorry I wasn't clear in my first post). Cost is a big factor and La Costa Canyon is on the high side. Maybe there are even other areas in San Diego we should be considering, we just love the Carlsbad area so much. Thanks for any added info you may have.
Solid advice from the post above. The advice I would add 4.0s-4.5s are everywhere encourage clubs and athletics and community involvement too
The post above has a good grasp on the socioeconomic factors in play at both schools.
I was a high school coach for six years and I've had a handful of student athletes recruited by division 1 colleges. A few had no chance at admission without their athletic achievements. Typically admissions wanted a 3.0- these were also student athletes that the coach wanted on their respective teams. I would definitely encourage the athletic route. It can be angle to get into a great school and in some cases get scholarship money. Also builds good work habits, time management and teamwork principles that so many adults don't grasp in a work environment.
And even if college athletics aren't in the cards it still builds a resume of activities to show a counselor a college applicant is more than just grades and a test score.
But, do visit each high school, or at least try to talk to the counseling office. I would especially recommend this since you will have a child transferring in junior year.
If you are coming from outside of California, you want to understand the UC/Cal State curriculum requirements and how they might affect your junior's California college options (assuming she'll want to stay in California). There are a few quirks in those requirements that sometimes catch students from out of state unawares. (You can find these by googling for University of California A-G requirements).
I'd also want to talk to the school counselors if at all possible to get a sense of how supportive they may be with helping a junior transfer prepare for college applications. Some questions to ask:
1. Do juniors meet one-to-one with counselors regarding college planning? If so, when?
2. If one-to-one meetings aren't common (in most high schools in California, they aren't a give; students have to ask for them), what other support and advising services are available to help students with college planning and applications?
3. How can your daughter best get to know the counselor who will be writing her college recommendations?
Teacher recommendations won't be an issue, since colleges want recommendations from junior or senior year teachers.
4. How will your daughter's curriculum from her old school dovetail with the new school's curriculum? What will she need to do to complete the UC/Cal State A-G requirements (if you are coming from out of state}? Will she automatically be eligible for AP/honors courses if she was on the AP track in her old school? What else do you need to know to ensure a smooth transition for your daughter academically? (This will be less of an issue for your younger child who will be staring 9th grade, but it doesn't hurt to talk to a counselor about how he or she will be "tracked" based on their middle school courses and grades).
I would worry less about extracurriculars and more about academics and college planning for your future daughter, since a smooth transition will be most critical for her. All high schools have ample extracurriculars, but not all schools have strong academics, or academics that may be a good match for your daughter based on what she's used to. (Of course, if Lacrosse is a "must have" for your younger child then you will need to investigate which schools have Lacrosse teams, but I'm not sure I'd buy a house based just on Lacrosse for a future 9th grader unless it was my child's clear passion; all high schools have plenty of other sports to get involved with).
Again, these are things you should do with EVERY high school you're considering -- Profile, talk to counselor, consider how easy they will make the transition for your older child.
Poway Unified also has very good schools, if your husband will be working in North County. But keep in mind that even within districts, there can be differences between high schools. At the same time, there is a lot of misinformation floating around about the differences between high schools --- do your own research, trust your own judgement about what will be the best match for your kids, and you won't have to worry. Good luck!
Thank you!! We currently live in N. California and following the A-G path. She has taken 1 AP course her sophomore year and taking one Honors course her junior year. We would love to live in Carlsbad and hoping to make this move happen (after finding a job). We have tours set up with both La Costa Canyon and Carlsbad HS and will definitely be asking a lot of questions. The big concern is the girls won't be able to continue with what they are currently doing here. For example, being on Leadership, being on the Mentor program, cheerleader, etc. because the tryouts will have already occurred by the time we secure a place to live there to show our residence. After the tours, we will have a good feeing if this is the right move. We are crossing our fingers. Jobs are very difficult to find!! If it works out, it was meant to be. If anyone has any personal experiences about schools, I'd love to hear more Are the students academic/high achievers, drug problems, bullying, etc.
Be sure to look at each school's boundary map. The boundaries are not logical; they do not follow city limit boundaries or major roads. In fact they gerrymander through neighborhoods.
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