I have an 8th grader who is interested in West Point, which is coincident with the choice we have to make about his high school. He's currently in an academically oriented magnet, which I'd describe him as indifferent about. His two choices amount to 1) staying in the magnet district and going to the STEM high school (description below), or 2) transferring over to the comprehensive public high school (description below).
Option 1, STEM HS -- Rigorous, academically-oriented school with no sports (although kids can participate with their base high school, which my older son does, but it's definitely a rarity among students and a logistical challenge). Class size is about 175. Avg SAT is >1200 (almost all kids take it). School does not rank students.
Option 2, Regular HS -- AFJROTC (which son is interested in), sports (which son would definitely do), etc. Class size is about 500. Avg SAT is about 900 (maybe 65% take it).
As for my son, I would ballpark his academic ability in the 1300 SAT range when it comes time, but on balance he doesn't particularly like school. In fairness, if he likes a class, he'll go all in and ace it. He's a good athlete, and, as stated, has already expressed an interest in AFJROTC, noting that the "leadership" opportunity would look good on his application (his own observation).
So my dilemma boils down to this: eliminating the academics, this is a no-brainer decision. But I'm loathe to eliminate the academics, of course, not least because I think there is some cause for concern that even if going to the regular school worked out admissions-wise, I'm not sure how well prepared he would be for a rigorous college academic setting like WP. OTOH, would it be short-sighted to focus so much on academics in high school to the detriment of perhaps being a team captain, AFJRTOC commander, etc.?
Thoughts welcomed.
Option 1, STEM HS -- Rigorous, academically-oriented school with no sports (although kids can participate with their base high school, which my older son does, but it's definitely a rarity among students and a logistical challenge). Class size is about 175. Avg SAT is >1200 (almost all kids take it). School does not rank students.
Option 2, Regular HS -- AFJROTC (which son is interested in), sports (which son would definitely do), etc. Class size is about 500. Avg SAT is about 900 (maybe 65% take it).
As for my son, I would ballpark his academic ability in the 1300 SAT range when it comes time, but on balance he doesn't particularly like school. In fairness, if he likes a class, he'll go all in and ace it. He's a good athlete, and, as stated, has already expressed an interest in AFJROTC, noting that the "leadership" opportunity would look good on his application (his own observation).
So my dilemma boils down to this: eliminating the academics, this is a no-brainer decision. But I'm loathe to eliminate the academics, of course, not least because I think there is some cause for concern that even if going to the regular school worked out admissions-wise, I'm not sure how well prepared he would be for a rigorous college academic setting like WP. OTOH, would it be short-sighted to focus so much on academics in high school to the detriment of perhaps being a team captain, AFJRTOC commander, etc.?
Thoughts welcomed.