High School Guide: Admissions, reviews, and advice

Michelle Nelson4 said:Most students coming out of General Electric tend to head toward the local community college—I think it's the building right next door—so I suspect the location is a huge factor. A good number of them choose to study Algebra, while a few head off to FO, MIT, or even the FBI (and I'm specifically looking at the track for a Computer Technician here)
Looking at those from Isaac Newton, the biggest group moved on to the community college, though if you add up everyone going to FO, MIT, and the FBI, they actually make up more than half the total.

Honestly, your best bet is to check the Sher website; that’s really the only place where you'll find the actual, verified data.

The tuition for those programs at MIT is pretty steep. I mean, I don't know if it's actually worth all that cash.
Everyone seems to rave about the community college, though.

My kid isn't interested in computer science; he's got his heart set on electrical engineering.
Isaac Newton is definitely the top choice, but he’ll probably miss the cutoff by a point or two, so he'll likely end up at either Nikola Tesla or maybe an old GE.

mellowskipper said:The tuition for those programs at MIT is pretty steep. I mean, I don't know if it's actually worth all that cash.
Everyone seems to rave about the community college, though.

It absolutely is worth it (especially if you go with applied computer science)

Michelle Nelson4 said:Personally, I feel like Tesla isn't quite measuring up to Isaac Newton, especially when you look at the GPA rankings and those final high school graduation scores.

I graduated from Tesla about 15 years ago, and back then, the attrition rate was brutal—we started freshman year with 35 kids and only 23 actually made it to graduation. But from what I hear lately, things have turned around; the school is way more modern now and isn't trailing behind Ruđer nearly as much as it used to.

Kate Jackson4 said:Lincoln High, AT&T, and Technical High School
Minimum points required at AT&T

thanks man!

You see kids from both Newton and Tesla consistently placing at the top of the national rankings for physics and math. I can't quite say if those results come down to the quality of the professors or just the sheer grit of the students themselves—though it’s probably a bit of both. Regardless, they both leave you with the impression of being top-tier institutions for any kid with a serious head for STEM.

I honestly believe that if you give kids the same curriculum in any school, they can walk away with the exact same level of education and knowledge. When you look at the data, it’s pretty obvious why certain schools consistently crush it on standardized tests: they just happen to enroll students who already have top-tier grades and have to pass an entrance exam to get in. Of course, there's always that catch—some kids come into high school with straight A's handed to them on a silver platter, while others had to fight tooth and nail for every single grade. But that reality applies to every student and every school across the country. It’s simple math, really. For instance, a powerhouse school like Newton High is going to pull in students who are statistically more prepared than the crowd over at Tesla, Inc. High School, so naturally, Newton ends up seeing those better test scores. It's not magic; it's just how the numbers shake out.

Look, statistics can only tell you so much. They won't predict exactly where your kid—or any specific child—is going to land in life. I mean, think about it: the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel student at Tesla, Inc. is almost certainly going to crush their exams way harder than the top performer at a place like MIT. Individual talent doesn't always follow the averages.

Look, if a kid is absolutely dying to get into a computer technician program, let them go for it—as long as they can actually get in. If they show up and perform at a high level, or even better, if they’re crushing it and sitting way above the curve, they don't even need to sweat the high school graduation exams. They'll be golden.

I honestly can't believe we're already talking about this. It feels like just yesterday we were shivering through the winter, and now, suddenly, the heat is cranking up and everyone is looking at the horizon wondering what the summer is going to throw at us. You know that feeling? That specific kind of restless energy you get when the days start getting longer and the air starts getting heavy? It’s like the whole country is collectively holding its breath, waiting for the season to truly kick off. For me, it’s always a bit of a mixed bag. I love the vibe—the BBQs, the late sunsets, that feeling of endless possibility—but man, the humidity can be a total beast if you aren't prepared. It’s like walking into a warm, damp blanket the moment you step outside. Anyway, I'm curious how you all are gearing up. Are you ready to dive headfirst into the sun, or are you already eyeing the AC unit and praying for a thunderstorm? kaže:
I honestly just wish they’d start enrolling the high schoolers a bit earlier this year. It would be so much easier to get the inside scoop firsthand so I actually know what to expect for next year. 😂

Look, there are plenty of us out there. 😁

You really put that beautifully, Bill Clinton.

Exactly, even those students competing at the county or national levels mostly end up at places like Miami or Caltech... I’m sure the professors there are brilliant, but they also deal with actual wunderkinds who have been hyper-focused on competitions their whole lives.

Honestly, they should just take some average student and see how they fare at the national level.😛

At the end of the day, it all comes down to the kid... if they enroll in a less rigorous high school and actually put in the work, they'll outperform an average student from a top-tier prep school any day.

I honestly don't think there’s such a thing as an "easy" high school. Unless teachers decide to just throw the rulebook out the window and grade everyone on participation alone—which, let’s be real, who would actually do that? It would totally backfire on them. If they hand out straight A's all year just to be nice, those same kids are going to walk into their SATs and get absolutely crushed by reality. They'd be doing themselves and the students a massive disservice.

I have a friend who taught at a lower-ranked public high school up until last year. She had one class where twelve different students ended up failing their finals 😲. But here’s the kicker: she told me that the top performers in that school—the ones pulling A's—were just as sharp and capable as the kids attending the most prestigious prep schools in the country. So, if you're just looking at the school's overall GPA, it looks like a disaster zone, but every single student is an individual. You can't judge a person just by the school's statistics.

Look, it’s not all just about keeping kids busy; the curriculum actually matters here.
At a place like Scripps Institution of Oceanography, you're looking at 5 or 6 hours of math
and computer science. It's a given they'll crush the SATs, even if their grades in those subjects look a bit rougher. Or take a naturalist high school—they've got heavy biology and chemistry loads.
My kids picked their high schools based on what they actually liked and what they wanted to do for a career, basically which college they were aiming for.
There's zero point going to a standard liberal arts high school if you're planning on an engineering degree, just like there's no point heading to Scripps if your heart is in history, art, or languages...

There’s definitely a difference there—whether they were getting three or six hours of math a week. That basically doubles the workload.
I think general high schools usually stick to about four.
It’s probably pretty smart for students in vocational tracks to sign up for those extra math prep courses right at the start of their freshman year.

In most high schools, freshmen and sophomores get four math periods a week. Once you hit junior and senior year, general track students drop down to three, while those on the advanced math track bump it up to five.

The computer science specialist is just looking at the schedule for the general track students.

Look, we're talking about completely different tracks here. I was specifically referring to schools where everyone is following the exact same curriculum—general track is one thing, the advanced math track is another, and the tech specialists are in their own lane entirely.😉

Not exactly. Just to give you some perspective, here’s a comparison using data from Shell showing the average math grades in 12th grade versus actual SAT scores (top tier)
Looking at various high schools in New York City (both public, which shows some fascinating trends, and private ones)

High School | 12th Grade GPA / SAT Score
School XIII: 4.15 / 2.55
School XII: 3.68 / 2.26
Titus: 4.4 / 3.67
Luciana: 4.4 / 3.51
School IX: 3.78 / 3.15
School X: 3.59 / 3.19
School I: 3.92 / 3.5
School II: 3.9 / 3.9
School XI: 2.89 / 3.47

As you can see, schools XIII and XII have much higher class GPAs than their actual test results suggest. On the flip side, Spectra (School XI) has a significantly lower GPA compared to their testing performance—honestly, I wouldn't want to take a math class there!
School II seems to be the most accurate representation of the real deal
And based on those numbers for XII, I definitely wouldn't enroll there if I were planning on pursuing anything involving mathematics (that 2.26 is quite a jump 😲 )

Proab, how many kids from that specific generation actually went for AP Calculus at each school? You can't really compare the data if one school only had three students in the pool while another had a hundred. Plus, just because someone opts for a lower level doesn't mean they're struggling with math—sometimes they just don't need it for their career path.

But looking at this average for the thirteenth grade— 😲 is it even realistic for a non-STEM focused high school to pull such a massive average on math finals? 🤣 They’re clearly falling into that category I mentioned before—they’re doing a huge disservice to both the students and themselves.

Coming in with a silly question here: posipasepepelom: What exactly is Sher? I'm thinking about taking a trip down to Seattle. :znatizeljna:

School is basically a mine 😁

https://www.dol.gov/school-is-a-mine/3419

hiddendriver34 said:In most high schools, freshmen and sophomores get four math periods a week. Once you hit junior and senior year, general track students drop down to three, while those on the advanced math track bump it up to five.

The computer science specialist is just looking at the schedule for the general track students.

Look, we're talking about completely different tracks here. I was specifically referring to schools where everyone is following the exact same curriculum—general track is one thing, the advanced math track is another, and the tech specialists are in their own lane entirely.😉

Over at that high school in Chicago, freshmen and sophomores get 5 hours of math.
Juniors and seniors get 6.

So, is that with elective math, or... ? Do they offer different programs, similar to what you'd see at UCLA?

wanderingbadger77 said:Over at that high school in Chicago, freshmen and sophomores get 5 hours of math.
Juniors and seniors get 6.

It’s the same in LA. Almost every high school lets you choose between a standard curriculum or specialized tracks—more math and computer science, a foreign language focus, or just extra math.😉

But those elite prep schools😁 basically hand out passing grades just to ensure kids get into their preferred colleges...☕