Preparing For High School Education In Usa

It does get better..hang in there!

 

As @Laks09 mentioned, different states, different cities, and different counties have slight differences in the overall curriculum. However, they are not too different.

Magnet schools: General description of a magnet school is , "a public school offering special instruction and programs not available elsewhere, designed to attract a more diverse student body from throughout a school district."
You may be able to get admission by living in that school zone, or via lottery program.
The advantages are your child will have more choices of subjects than other schools. Do weigh in the pros and cons of applying for magnet schools versus your zone school.

We did not send our children to magnet schools.

AP(Advanced Placement) classes
All schools throughout the US offer AP classes (Advanced Placement) The courses are quite rigorous and the child can earn college credit by passing these exams.

Important warning: many parents urge their kids to take all the AP courses available, thinking that colleges will waive them all. This way they will save money and shorten graduation time in Universities.
It is not so. Universities allow credits only for limited number of courses.
When we attended the first day orientation for one of our kids, another young man was in tears. He had taken all AP classes, but the University had asked him to take some classes again.

This is where I want to bring in the matter of "studying hard".
Parents who do not know the limited number of college credits universities give, do push their children to take all AP classes. These courses are not cakewalk.This could be one reason that children do not have much time.

So be vigilant on what AP classes the child will benefit taking and what can be ordinary classes.

IB (International Baccalaureate)

IB programs are found all around the world and offered in selective schools in all states in the US.

This is what the website says comparing the AP and IB programs:
https://www.usnews.com/education/bl...over-the-difference-between-ap-and-ib-classes

So if your child finds it difficult in an IB program moving the child to AP courses is best.

Governor's school
For those parents in Virginia (and perhaps North Carolina too), your state offers what is known as the Governor's program.

Children in 11th and 12th grade from many schools attend classes in specialized vocational training schools and are selected based on their high performance in 9th and 10th grades.
They have what are called "streams" - medical, engineering, computer science.

Children who have aptitude for any of these fields attend classes. They are placed with mentors in companies, organizations, hospitals, etc. to give them "real world" experience and receive credit.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Schools
Here is an excerpt about STEM schools.
"The National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools (NCSSS) is an alliance of specialized high schools in the United States whose focus is to foster, support, and share the efforts of STEM-focused schools whose primary purpose is to attract and academically prepare students for leadership in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. The Consortium supports unique professional development programs for STEM teachers and unique learning experiences for students.

The NCSSS was established in 1988 to provide a forum for member schools to exchange information and program ideas and to evolve alliances among them. As of June 2010, there are over 90 institutional members, representing more than 40,000 students and 1,600 educators. These are joined by over 30 affiliate members such as colleges, universities, summer programs, and corporations who share the goal of transforming STEM education.[1]"
More information pertaining to your state here: NCSSS - Wikipedia
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That is it. The many high school options. I may not have covered all, but these are all that I know of.

 

I see.
Thats good to know. In my area parents have moved kids the other way

 

Walking the thin line...

High school is stressful especially 11th grade and the first semester of 12th grade.

It is at this grade level that:

• the "noose" tightens a bit more - the course loads are heavier
• Most of the AP exams are taken
• the kids have a last shot at SAT if they want to improve on previous scores
• the kids start internship programs and summer programs which means they should be very organized, know to manage time better
• if they have to improve their GPA, they need to work harder
• they begin applying for many scholarships
• they begin applying for college admissions

Getting admissions to other top ranking Universities that do not fall in the range of MIT, Cal-tech, Stanford, and the other original eight IVY leagues, is still very competitive.

All good universities, which includes state universities have limited number of seats and these universities also give first preference to top performers.

Quoting @justanothergirl 's ex-boss

While the above statement is true to a certain extent, I would not have my child relax during high school. Also I would not encourage parents to get into the idea that any university degree is good enough.

Let's say your child gets an MBA with an "A" from your state university, and competes with an MBA with a "C" from Harvard, who do you think will get the job? Yes, a C from Harvard is always preferred to an "A" from a lesser university.

This is when parents begin walking the thin line.
While on one side we should encourage our children to aim high and work towards getting admissions into IVY leagues we also need to know, understand, and accept their limitations.

We do not want our children to "burn-out". Passing out of high school in only the beginning, not the end.

I apologize if I have given conflicting information at the end. Unfortunately, that is how it is when it comes to handling our children's teen years and guiding them towards their future.

Personal note: After all this you must wonder what my children are upto My children did not attend IVY league schools for undergrad. However, they aimed to get into those schools and in the process got into their choice of state universities.
My elder son went on to an IVY league for his Masters and PhD. My younger one took time off to work and is now in the process of determining his Masters options.

Best wishes.

 

Thanks so much for the post about walking the thin line @kkrish. Much needed esp for moms like me who constantly double guess . I live in an area which is very competitive and we have lost one too many kids to academic pressure. The schools come down very hard now if they see that its not the child but the parent pushing . In fact in my high school they dont encourage parents to choose courses etc ..they strictly keep it between kids and teachers . When pushy parents bombard the counsellors with things their kids can or cannot do..they push back firmly and say..let ur child come and talk to us in person. I prefer it that way. The child signs up for what he thinks he can handle and they more often than not do keep their end of the bargain.

Ofcourse totally with u on that sometimes u have to aim for the stars if u atleast have to make it the moon.

For degrees like MBA and Law where its as much about networking and connections as it is about the degree the school u go to matters but for other degrees like Eng..it doesn't matter. At least not the valley. No one actually cares as long as u deliver. Of course its another thing that most kids who do make it into IVY leagues and other good schools are automatically very driven and sharp so they do well later in life but there is no inherent bias at the time of hiring.

Even if the OP never returns I am glad we had an opportunity to talk about these things.

 

Any idea about feasibility of some programs where top universities have tieup with community colleges and student from community college can get a transfer to the university after 2 years strictly on merit ?

 

Thanks for the response @justanothergirl .
Yes, I understand.

In fact I was very hesitant to write about this because I did not know how it will be received, especially the Harvard MBA comparison.
But that is just from what I have observed happen to the children that have grown up where I live.

Besides, I would not be able to sleep well if I did not caution the parents about the thin line.

I have seen children get "burnt out" by the time they leave high school which is one extreme of parent pushing.

On the other extreme there are parents who are lackadaisical about what their children study.
One High School valedictorian chose humanities for college. Nothing wrong in that. But now, almost 10 years later, her parents worry that she is not happy in any of the jobs - her intelligence is wasted on the type of job offers she receives; she is bored as a result, and unhappy. They have openly said they wished they guided her correctly.