My cousin recently asked me if it would be possible for him to attend SMHS in after next year for 9th grade. He lives in Los Angeles and has been in the LAUSD system for years. He's an excellent student and is already thinking about his future. He wants to be able to go to a good high school and eventually college. After seeing me graduate he realized how nice the school is and how education is highly valued. He now wants to apply for a permit. I know and want to encourage him to apply but I'm hesitant on the likeliness of him being accepted. His mother does not work for or in the district. He does not have that adequate of transportation, he can only count on the bus and its pretty much an hr to an hr and a half commute. The one and major thing he has going for himself is his grades. His report cards show a lineup of A's and B's. With this economy, hierarchy and struggle for many- what is the likeliness of him getting a break by getting a release from his district and approval from SMUSD????
Primary & Secondary Education - 2 Answers
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1 :
San Marino is not looking for transfers from LAUSD and he has no reason to change their mind. He needs to forget it. There are some good Magnet schools in LAUSD have him look for one of those.
2 :
Very unlikely your cousin would be admitted to San Marino High. The residents of San Marino pay a lot in taxes and parcel taxes for the school. Sometimes they will allow a student on the boundary (literally, just a few streets) of San Marino, like in San Gabriel, to be granted a permit, *if* they bring something to the school that it needs, like an amazing water polo player, or other athlete they need. If your cousin is an A and B student, he would be eaten alive at San Marino, you should know that. The school has a horrible rep for unfriendly competitiveness, and is not a good fit for kids with any Bs. It's not nearly as rigorous as Poly or Prep, but still. What about a private Catholic school (they are half price of non-religious schools), see if he could qualify for financial aid. It's too late now for Sept 2010, but it doesn't hurt to apply if you find one that is taking applications, or for the next year. Of course, he should apply for a permit to San Marino (you never know), but he cannot expect bus service or any other special services like Special Ed, etc, (excess costs) because that is automatically excludes one from a permit. Here is info for you: http://www.san-marino.k12.ca.us/parents_and_students/enrollment/interdistrict.jsp It is to his advantage, for college, to attend a school he will do very well at. If he's getting Bs at a LAUSD school, he may likely be a B to C student at San Marino. Your first competition for colleges are your classmates, and he's not going to stand out at San Marino, but he might at a less rigorous public school. I know the counselor at SM told one B student (but full of personality, exceptionally likeable) she should only apply to community college, not even Cal State! Very bad advice, her grades were good enough for the UCs, luckily someone else put her in the right direction and she was accepted by some great schools. On the flip, there are 1st ranked kids from public schools who have 4.5 gpas, but only score 1s on their APs and under 1500 on their SATs! (My dh participates in the admissions process for his Ivy alma mater.) Good luck!
