Is there a big difference in education quality?

[paydawg]

Reputation and home value aside, is there a big difference between the various IUSD high schools regarding quality of education?  Will the kids at Northwood really have THAT much of an advantage over those going to Woodbridge or Irvine HS?

I have to imagine even the lower tier high schools in IUSD are still much better than the majority of OC schools.  While Northwood has much newer facilities, judging schools by API scores seems to be a self-fulfiling prophecy. 

 

[traceimage]

IMO, no. API scores are not important. With Northwood High, you get the name and prestige factor, and maybe a little bump in resale value. But you also get more crazed parents/students and more academic competition for your stressed out kids. I would probably pick Woodbride or Irvine over Northwood or Uni for that reason.

 

[eyephone]

IMO, no. API scores are not important. With Northwood High, you get the name and prestige factor, and maybe a little bump in resale value. But you also get more crazed parents/students and more academic competition for your stressed out kids. I would probably pick Woodbride or Irvine over Northwood or Uni for that reason.

API scores are important.

 

[readytobuy]

i have been battling this question myself for quite some time, i think it comes down to the whole package versus just the API scores. IF your child is going to succeed it can succeed anywhere..whether its cal state fullerton or UC berkeley. But nowadays people do prefer name brands vs non branded schools on the resume.

 

[iacrenter]

There is resale and there is reality.

Yes API, reputation, and school ribbons/awards make a difference to attract resale buyers.

Reality is that your child's future is more dependent on what you do at home rather than a particular school. Also a good teacher is more important than a higher API school.

 

[Paris167]

i have been battling this question myself for quite some time, i think it comes down to the whole package versus just the API scores. IF your child is going to succeed it can succeed anywhere..whether its cal state fullerton or UC berkeley. But nowadays people do prefer name brands vs non branded schools on the resume.

My husband works for corporate America, a big known company. All his Execs up the chain of command went to "no name schools", just 4 year undergrad degrees and their bonuses alone are $1mil +++ not to mention all their stock options. At the end of the day unless you want to go into Academia with research and publications being your forte, name brand" schools are a very small factor. It's all about WHO you know and your social skills in fostering relationships and networking that will lead you to success. This is why the rich get richer - they connect and collaborate.

Even for physicians I work along side colleagues that went to Harvard and Stanford for med school and at the end of the day we're doing the same thing and bringing home the same paycheck. I just probably have much less school debt than they do with those Ivies and their huge price tags.

So my point is at the end of the day any school around here is pretty good but most parents fail to nurture their children's social skills, communication skills which to me will be a huge part of their future success. Along my career path I've encountered lots of interviews and if I lacked those interview skills I definitely would not be where I am today.

 

[bones]

Reputation and home value aside, is there a big difference between the various IUSD high schools regarding quality of education?  Will the kids at Northwood really have THAT much of an advantage over those going to Woodbridge or Irvine HS?

I have to imagine even the lower tier high schools in IUSD are still much better than the majority of OC schools.  While Northwood has much newer facilities, judging schools by API scores seems to be a self-fulfiling prophecy. 

No difference. It's the same shit. Emphasis on shit

 

[eyephone]

i have been battling this question myself for quite some time, i think it comes down to the whole package versus just the API scores. IF your child is going to succeed it can succeed anywhere..whether its cal state fullerton or UC berkeley. But nowadays people do prefer name brands vs non branded schools on the resume.

But don't you want the best chance to land a good job or go to a decent grad school. If your okay with the stats quo, then it's okay.

I've been through the hiring process of selecting people to interview. I can tell you this the candidates from the "brand name universities" are usually the ones who gets selected.  So in order to go to a good universmity, a student needs to do good in HS. I mean if your kid is a genius, maybe he doesn't need college, maybe he can start a software comapny from your garage. 

--

One more thing to consider: the spots for public/in state students might be smaller. As public universities are accepting more out of state students.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Well... the American Idol option is out, next season is their last. And The Voice hasn't produced any real stars.

I guess I'm going to have to start looking at IHS "How to get into an Ivy" courses or maybe start my kids in golf.

 

[WTTCHMN]

I've been through the hiring process of selecting people to interview. I can tell you this the candidates from the "brand name universities" are usually the ones who gets selected. 

Is UCI name brand? 

Just proves that you can go to UCI and then be the one that hires brand name grads to do your grunt work.

 

[jmoney74]

I doubt any high school by name is going to change anything.  Your kid just has to do well.. at any high school to get in.  Important thing about Irvine is that most parents are involved.. probably leading to better grades.. probably leading to a successful environment.  So obviously doesn't necessarily mean you need to be in Irvine either but most of the parents/kids here have the same goals which should help.

As far as college goes.. we can go on and on about it.  It just depends on the company.  Some big companies, such as the one I work for which is Fortune 70, doesn't care about it as long as you have the degrees in place.  On the flip side, I know some of the big financial companies like their employees to come from some big time school.  There is no clear line. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I think it's easy... if you are looking at a 1%er job, you probably want to go Ivy... for the 99%ers... just do what you want.

 

[Irvine Dream]

I've been through the hiring process of selecting people to interview. I can tell you this the candidates from the "brand name universities" are usually the ones who gets selected. 

Is UCI name brand? 

Just proves that you can go to UCI and then be the one that hires brand name grads to do your grunt work.

Impressive stalking skills, just like bones >

 

[asdfg]

i have been battling this question myself for quite some time, i think it comes down to the whole package versus just the API scores. IF your child is going to succeed it can succeed anywhere..whether its cal state fullerton or UC berkeley. But nowadays people do prefer name brands vs non branded schools on the resume.

My husband works for corporate America, a big known company. All his Execs up the chain of command went to "no name schools", just 4 year undergrad degrees and their bonuses alone are $1mil +++ not to mention all their stock options. At the end of the day unless you want to go into Academia with research and publications being your forte, name brand" schools are a very small factor. It's all about WHO you know and your social skills in fostering relationships and networking that will lead you to success. This is why the rich get richer - they connect and collaborate.

Even for physicians I work along side colleagues that went to Harvard and Stanford for med school and at the end of the day we're doing the same thing and bringing home the same paycheck. I just probably have much less school debt than they do with those Ivies and their huge price tags.

So my point is at the end of the day any school around here is pretty good but most parents fail to nurture their children's social skills, communication skills which to me will be a huge part of their future success. Along my career path I've encountered lots of interviews and if I lacked those interview skills I definitely would not be where I am today.

High schools don't matter as much, since they don't have the name-recognition of colleges. But the college you go to does matter. The degree to which it matters depends on what type of career you're seeking.

In the business world things are very much about connections and who you know, so for those executives it doesn't matter as much where they went to school.  Even so, I would imagine Harvard Business School has a much better employment rate on graduation than say a third-tier school, and you'd have a higher chance of getting to pick where you want to work.

If you are in an apprenticeship-type career, like medicine, then it does make a difference if you went to a good college/medical school or not. I would be thrilled if my son went to, let's say, Harvard medical school, not necessarily for the "paycheck" he would get at the end of it but because the experience of working with and learning from the best would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing that he can always take with him for the rest of his life. It would also give him more options upon graduation...he may not know at the outset whether he wants to go into academia or not. What if he wants to go into consulting or medical journalism? What if he wants to go into private practice and his patients want to know what his educational background is? (Are all physicians really "doing the same thing"? You wouldn't care, then, which surgeon you saw for your hip replacement, since they're all doing the same thing?)

Sure, connections are important. But what if you don't have the connections? Then it helps to get into a good college.

Folks who go to Ivy League schools don't necessarily pay more than those who go to public ones. There are such things as merit and financial scholarships.

 

[Paris167]

i have been battling this question myself for quite some time, i think it comes down to the whole package versus just the API scores. IF your child is going to succeed it can succeed anywhere..whether its cal state fullerton or UC berkeley. But nowadays people do prefer name brands vs non branded schools on the resume.

My husband works for corporate America, a big known company. All his Execs up the chain of command went to "no name schools", just 4 year undergrad degrees and their bonuses alone are $1mil +++ not to mention all their stock options. At the end of the day unless you want to go into Academia with research and publications being your forte, name brand" schools are a very small factor. It's all about WHO you know and your social skills in fostering relationships and networking that will lead you to success. This is why the rich get richer - they connect and collaborate.

Even for physicians I work along side colleagues that went to Harvard and Stanford for med school and at the end of the day we're doing the same thing and bringing home the same paycheck. I just probably have much less school debt than they do with those Ivies and their huge price tags.

So my point is at the end of the day any school around here is pretty good but most parents fail to nurture their children's social skills, communication skills which to me will be a huge part of their future success. Along my career path I've encountered lots of interviews and if I lacked those interview skills I definitely would not be where I am today.

High schools don't matter as much, since they don't have the name-recognition of colleges. But the college you go to does matter. The degree to which it matters depends on what type of career you're seeking.

In the business world things are very much about connections and who you know, so for those executives it doesn't matter as much where they went to school.  Even so, I would imagine Harvard Business School has a much better employment rate on graduation than say a third-tier school, and you'd have a higher chance of getting to pick where you want to work.

If you are in an apprenticeship-type career, like medicine, then it does make a difference if you went to a good college/medical school or not. I would be thrilled if my son went to, let's say, Harvard medical school, not necessarily for the "paycheck" he would get at the end of it but because the experience of working with and learning from the best would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing that he can always take with him for the rest of his life. It would also give him more options upon graduation...he may not know at the outset whether he wants to go into academia or not. What if he wants to go into consulting or medical journalism? What if he wants to go into private practice and his patients want to know what his educational background is? (Are all physicians really "doing the same thing"? You wouldn't care, then, which surgeon you saw for your hip replacement, since they're all doing the same thing?)

Sure, connections are important. But what if you don't have the connections? Then it helps to get into a good college.

Folks who go to Ivy League schools don't necessarily pay more than those who go to public ones. There are such things as merit and financial scholarships.

True, a good school does give you a wider range of options but parents around here put such an emphasis on the Ivies and push their kids to study and get the grade when overall it's so much more than that. It comes down to how well rounded your child is and part of that is social/ communication skills.  And with rising costs of education you really have to step back and think how will this degree at an Ivy change my career path. I turned down Yale at one point and am so glad I did because if not I'd be $100k more in student debt. Because looking back it would not have changed my career path much. And yes there are scholarships but they are difficult to get and it's unrealistic to think you'd always get a full ride.

And of course it comes down to what your child wants to do in life. But even fields like medicine it's more than the undergrad school - how was your gpa, Mcat scores etc and truly what makes a good physician is more where they trained for residency and fellowship much rather than where they went to medical school.

Going back on topic any Irvine high school is good and there is adequate competition to build strength in a child with potential. Name brand of high school does not matter but when you're competing with strong students in primary school level I think when they go on to college that competitive edge makes them stronger and more likely to succeed in college.

 

[qwerty]

College choice should probably be based on career objective (if they know at that time). If you want to be a big 4 pArtner, a top 5 accounting school should be where u want to go. If you want to be an engineer go to a top 5-10 engineering school, etc.

Where you want to work should also be a factor. You want to work in LA/OC ucla and USC are fine choices

And let's be honest. Being an Ivy grad will always help, can't go wrong with that. If you get into an Ivy and don't go your an idiot

 

[homer_simpson]

When I read most of the bios of the execs in my field I haven't seen one person with a school below Berkeley.  I do agree that a person can be successful no matter which school they attend but from what I've seen, who I have talked to and know.  Most of the successful people graduated from a great school. 

With that being said; I wouldn't hire someone from a crappy school  JK

 

[bones]

Hindsight is always 20/20. You don't know what your life/career/potential is until way after college decisions are made. So if it all depends on the field, should we discourage  some women to not even to go college? Afterall, a college degree isn't required for being a stay at home mom.  Should everyone be required for genetic testing. If they have some tragic life shortening gene, they shouldn't even bother going to college bc their return on investment will be poor?  Apply yourself in high school, get into the best college you can and go from there. So annoying when people go around telling others NOT to go Ivy bc they know so and so who makes millions and went to CSUF. Yes, you can be a dud at life even if you go to harvard. But I would rather take my chances there (if you can even get in)

 

[bones]

I also don't understand why there's all this hoopla all the time on TI about Ivys. Let's be honest here, the majority of you probably won't have kids getting in anyway (myself included).

 

[doremi]

API scores should not be a huge factor when comparing IUSD schools.  The state wide goal is 800 and all IUSD schools score way over this target goal.

API scores were originally established to keep an eye on California's lower performing schools and to make sure these schools were showing annual academic improvement year to year.  API score results are more high stakes in districts like LAUSD because a lack of academic improvement can result in a loss of accreditation or funding.

The composition of the API score is set to change in the next few years which will include additional criteria and measures.  The latest API score has been calculated from the scores of the CST and CAHSEE exams which are both considered a huge waste of time by both teachers and students in IUSD.  Parents should not be choosing their child's future school based on the results of an exam that nobody really cares about in IUSD.  Just something to consider.....