Fairfax County Schools (Annandale, McLean, Mount Vernon: apartment complexes, neighborhoods, luxury)

[FL Beaches]

Originally Posted by smithfield2

GMU is one of the best schools in Virginia. Originally, the northern campus for UVA.
It is highly competitive..Consider yourself lucky that you graduated from GMU.

We haven't been here all that long so don't know the story of UVA's campus up there. Is it gone entirely? Do they currently have a campus up that way?

I don't think of GMU as a really great place to be. I'm sure that has to do with my sister in Fairfax who long ago told me that you want to be in a great school your final year, that's where your degree is coming from. She attended GMU for a time, but it's not where she chose to be in her final year.

[JD984]

Perhaps a GMU degree doesn't open as many doors as degrees from some schools might. Having hired quite a few GMU grads, however, I will state unequivocally that top GMU grads more than hold their own with graduates of other universities.

[05c6400]

Other than being in the Honor Society, I worked part time, was on the wrestling team all four years and did some tutoring in spanish. Nothing fancy.

I do not think a high school education in Fairfax County really prepares you for a college level education.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by FL Beaches

We haven't been here all that long so don't know the story of UVA's campus up there. Is it gone entirely? Do they currently have a campus up that way?

I don't think of GMU as a really great place to be. I'm sure that has to do with my sister in Fairfax who long ago told me that you want to be in a great school your final year, that's where your degree is coming from. She attended GMU for a time, but it's not where she chose to be in her final year.

Things change over time.

GMU is now considered a "good school." While my DD is not a great student, she would be THRILLED to get in there as are many of her classmates. The only downside for her and her friends is that it is not "away." But kids, these days, are having a lot of respect for GMU.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by tankdude

Sure you are.

Instead of being "kinda so so on fairfax county schools" as you said, you should just say that you are "so so" with your neighborhood elementary school and that it doesn't meet you or your son's needs.

The method/material taught in one school, isn't necessarily taught in another school. Some elementary schools provide more challenge than others.

Some more concerned parents in some districts raise the bar in expectations from the school. Others have a more passive approach.

Principals and teachers, to a great extent, have an influence on how the school is run and what the methods the teachers use beyond what they are required to teach.

She's got a kid in the Fairfax County School system. She has a right to comment on that system. It may not be what you want to hear, but it's her right to post it.

[Skapov]

Originally Posted by adctvmonkey

I agree with all the other comments. Even many of Fairfax County's high-performing students have a hard time getting into above-average colleges because there is simply no room; in that case and in my opinion, a high-performing student at a lower-performing school in Fairfax County (who is on par with high-performing students at 'better' schools) has a slightly better chance in getting into a better college because many colleges compare the student to his or her own high school. I also think that Fairfax's school system as a whole is losing its edginess, mostly because its reputation was bolstered by its affluent demographics. Many of those affluent families are now relocating to Loudoun or western Prince William while more immigrants of a diverse socioeconomic scale have moved into Fairfax.

FCPS "losing its edginess"? The SAT scores and AP participation levels are at record highs, and NO, it is not the "affluent families" who are relocating to the exurbs, rather that is where the middle-class families are heading because they got priced-out of Fairfax.

The reality is that in the name of diversity, including regional and economic diversity, UVA/William-Mary/Harvard/MIT etc. cannot have their entire Freshman class consisting of affluent white/asian students from only one or a few counties/locales. No matter how deserving a top-performing Fairfax County student is, there are simply too many of that same "type" and 4.2 GPAs are a dime a dozen in this area.

I graduated from a low-performing High School in Arkansas, with a 60% drop-out rate, yet I got into a prestigious University in Illinois, and I'm sure there were Suburban Chicago students with higher GPA/SATs. Still, my application stood out because I was among the few applicants to not hail from Illinois or nearby Iowa/Indiana. This is the way admissions work folks!

[05c6400]

UVA and VA Tech have a campuses by the west falls church metro.

For Undergrad GMU is good and it holds its weight in the DC area. Graduate school is were the difference is when it comes to opening up more doors for employment.

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by dkf747

She's got a kid in the Fairfax County School system. She has a right to comment on that system. It may not be what you want to hear, but it's her right to post it.

Don't be confused.

Making a blanket statement about the county's schools based on her experience with her neighborhood school is flawed.

That's like saying FFX Cty schools are so so b/c your experience at Annandale high school, Glasgow MS, or Mt. Vernon Woods ES didn't meet your high expectations.

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by Skapov

FCPS "losing its edginess"? The SAT scores and AP participation levels are at record highs, and NO, it is not the "affluent families" who are relocating to the exurbs, rather that is where the middle-class families are heading because they got priced-out of Fairfax.

The reality is that in the name of diversity, including regional and economic diversity, UVA/William-Mary/Harvard/MIT etc. cannot have their entire Freshman class consisting of affluent white/asian students from only one or a few counties/locales. No matter how deserving a top-performing Fairfax County student is, there are simply too many of that same "type" and 4.2 GPAs are a dime a dozen in this area.

I graduated from a low-performing High School in Arkansas, with a 60% drop-out rate, yet I got into a prestigious University in Illinois, and I'm sure there were Suburban Chicago students with higher GPA/SATs. Still, my application stood out because I was among the few applicants to not hail from Illinois or nearby Iowa/Indiana. This is the way admissions work folks!

Not all asian or white students that are doing well are so because they are "affluent." Maybe it's because they try hard and deserve the results.

When your kids get to the point where they are applying for college, are they going to check "white" or "black" next to ethnicity?

[Yankeesfan]

Just because "this is the way admissions work" doesn't mean that's the way they should work. Maybe the reason "4.2 GPAs are a dime a dozen in this area" is because students work very hard to earn them.