High School Choice

[DatSciolyBoi]

Hi, i'm an 8th grader who's only specialty seems to be Scioly. And i'm faced with a dilemma. My closest high school is DBHS who's Scioly team is so-so, and 20 minutes away, is Troy. You know, the Troy that wins at nationals a lot. Most of my friends are going to DBHS, but I know that if I want to continue Scioly, I'll have to go to Troy. So do I ditch my friends for a chance to get into a national team? Or should I just drop Scioly altogether.

(I might not reply to your reply cause I only check my account like once a day)

[Unome]

Hi, i'm an 8th grader who's only specialty seems to be Scioly. And i'm faced with a dilemma. My closest high school is DBHS who's Scioly team is so-so, and 20 minutes away, is Troy. You know, the Troy that wins at nationals a lot. Most of my friends are going to DBHS, but I know that if I want to continue Scioly, I'll have to go to Troy. So do I ditch my friends for a chance to get into a national team? Or should I just drop Scioly altogether.

(I might not reply to your reply cause I only check my account like once a day)

Choosing Diamond Bar doesn't mean you have to drop Scioly... you can always try to make Diamond Bar into a good team.

Personally, in this situation I would have chosen Troy. My middle school friends mostly went to different schools anyway, and I still keep in touch.

Note that if you do choose Troy, be prepared to put a lot more effort into Scioly. I'd estimate minimum 20 hours a week if you want to have a shot at the Nationals team prior to graduating, closer to 30-40 if you want to get on in sophomore or freshman year.

[Crimesolver]

Oof same dilemma here. I'm going to the high school closer to me because I want to do my best in a unknown team.

[EastStroudsburg13]

Hi, i'm an 8th grader who's only specialty seems to be Scioly. And i'm faced with a dilemma. My closest high school is DBHS who's Scioly team is so-so, and 20 minutes away, is Troy. You know, the Troy that wins at nationals a lot. Most of my friends are going to DBHS, but I know that if I want to continue Scioly, I'll have to go to Troy. So do I ditch my friends for a chance to get into a national team? Or should I just drop Scioly altogether.

(I might not reply to your reply cause I only check my account like once a day)

I would probably lean going towards DBHS. You might not qualify for nationals, but there'll be a lot less pressure on you to perform; at Troy, it's gold or bust. Seeing how high you can build a non-nats program can be very fulfilling in its own ways. You can make a mark at a program like that... at Troy, you'll probably just be another very good competitor.

And, bear in mind, students have had to make a similar choice between Harriton and Lower Merion. It may once have been lopsided, but it's a lot closer now.

[Umaroth]

Hi, i'm an 8th grader who's only specialty seems to be Scioly. And i'm faced with a dilemma. My closest high school is DBHS who's Scioly team is so-so, and 20 minutes away, is Troy. You know, the Troy that wins at nationals a lot. Most of my friends are going to DBHS, but I know that if I want to continue Scioly, I'll have to go to Troy. So do I ditch my friends for a chance to get into a national team? Or should I just drop Scioly altogether.

(I might not reply to your reply cause I only check my account like once a day)

at Troy, it's gold or bust.

I can personally testify that that is not entirely the case. Despite the competitiveness of scioly at Troy, the environment actually isn't as intense as people make it out to be. The feel I get from it is just a group of people that love learning and science that also want to win.

[DatSciolyBoi]

Ok, thanks for the information!

[waffletree]

Hi, i'm an 8th grader who's only specialty seems to be Scioly. And i'm faced with a dilemma. My closest high school is DBHS who's Scioly team is so-so, and 20 minutes away, is Troy. You know, the Troy that wins at nationals a lot. Most of my friends are going to DBHS, but I know that if I want to continue Scioly, I'll have to go to Troy. So do I ditch my friends for a chance to get into a national team? Or should I just drop Scioly altogether.

(I might not reply to your reply cause I only check my account like once a day)

I would probably lean going towards DBHS. You might not qualify for nationals, but there'll be a lot less pressure on you to perform; at Troy, it's gold or bust. Seeing how high you can build a non-nats program can be very fulfilling in its own ways. You can make a mark at a program like that... at Troy, you'll probably just be another very good competitor.

And, bear in mind, students have had to make a similar choice between Harriton and Lower Merion. It may once have been lopsided, but it's a lot closer now.

personally, i don't think its worth it to choose troy over the other school just for scioly, unless your planning on being really really really dedicated. however, i wouldn't really be worried about losing your friends (wow that sounded pretty bad) because you could probably easily get a new group, especially if you're in scioly...

now, as a bala cynwyd student who chose harriton over lower merion, i chose it for several different reasons. 1) scioly. 2) im participating in 2 sports, lacrosse and tennis, which are both better at harriton. if i dont make the team for harriton in my freshman or sophomore year, i want a chance to do the sports for a decent, competitive team. 3) I'd also have the option of the IB program for my junior and senior years, if i decide to go for it later on.
try balancing the positives and negatives, then make a decision on which you're more comfortable going to. And if you're really stuck, just go with one and stick with it, because no matter which on you chose, i doubt you'll look back and think "i made a terrible decision back in 8th grade."

[EastStroudsburg13]

Hi, i'm an 8th grader who's only specialty seems to be Scioly. And i'm faced with a dilemma. My closest high school is DBHS who's Scioly team is so-so, and 20 minutes away, is Troy. You know, the Troy that wins at nationals a lot. Most of my friends are going to DBHS, but I know that if I want to continue Scioly, I'll have to go to Troy. So do I ditch my friends for a chance to get into a national team? Or should I just drop Scioly altogether.

(I might not reply to your reply cause I only check my account like once a day)

at Troy, it's gold or bust.

I can personally testify that that is not entirely the case. Despite the competitiveness of scioly at Troy, the environment actually isn't as intense as people make it out to be. The feel I get from it is just a group of people that love learning and science that also want to win.

This might depend on personal accounts, then. I have definitely heard stories from primary sources that indicate that there's a lot of pressure within Troy to perform if you expect to be on the first team. Some thrive in that environment.

[primitivepolonium]

at Troy, it's gold or bust.

I can personally testify that that is not entirely the case. Despite the competitiveness of scioly at Troy, the environment actually isn't as intense as people make it out to be. The feel I get from it is just a group of people that love learning and science that also want to win.

This might depend on personal accounts, then. I have definitely heard stories from primary sources that indicate that there's a lot of pressure within Troy to perform if you expect to be on the first team. Some thrive in that environment.

Troy is...interesting. It's paradoxical sometimes, because people are nice but give themselves internal pressure and when you put them all together... In the school at large, there is a lot of pressure to perform, but people are usually friendly, and the smartest people are also the nicest and most willing to help. At least that was the case in my day. The smart but snotty ones were still smart, but they either start sinking by sophomore year or become forever wannabes. most people are able to find good friends, though. I met some of the best people ever at Troy. There's also no bullying or teenage pregnancy, and if you're in the magnet program your obstacles to academic freedom ate basically nonexistent.

Anyway, the team. It's a lot. The pressure subsides a lot after tryouts and it's not usually outright except in the cases of those unlucky members who get offed, those who really screw up, or those who do the same events as the coach's favorites. Most team members learn to make safety nets (one of the reasons I decided to stick with DP is bc replacing a chem lab and forensics person is way easier than replacing a chem lab and DP person).

THAT SAID, however, I guarantee you that same kind of academic pressure is also present at Diamond Bar HS. DBHS also has a high concentration of smart Asian kids, and getting stuff with school quotas (rg: Chemistry Olympiad) will be hard. When I was picking high schools they told me to go to Walnut because supposed DBHS was "too stressful", but Walnut in general is shady af so I did not consider that route.

I don't know Diamond Bar SciOly well, though. But in general, SoCal schools lose to Troy not because they're *less smart*, but because of systematic reasons such as school priorities (Troy really pushes SciOly, and it's a gateway into letters of rec, taking classes you otherwise wouldn't be able to, and internship opportunities), team structure, and attitude. If you want to do Science Olympiad super seriously, Troy is absolutely the way to go (although whether or not doing SciOly super seriously is a good choice depends).

Anyway, @OP: feel free to PM me if you want to talk! My district school was Rowland High School, but i chose to go to Troy because 1) SciOly and 2) I have bad childhood memories of the RHS pool. I know I just talked about how academically strenuous stuff is, but the opportunities you can get at either of these high schools is unparalleled (though I can only speak specifically for Troy).

[megrimlockawesom]

go DBHS, build the team up, and take em to nats. it's not gonna be easy, but it should be fun (and would look good on your college essays!)