My oldest kiddo just got into BSA and now we have a real hard choice: attend BSA or City College?
We know how to weigh all the practical considerations, but what we’re looking for is the opinion of those of you who have experience with one or both of those schools. What do you think, Baltimore? What did you or your kids do when they had a similar choice?
Ha ha - that's so true.
Having gone to neither but knowing people who have gone to both, I’d say BSA. If she’s able to get in, she’s clearly talented. You can go from arts to academia, but not as easily vice-versa, BSA would be a unique experience, while the academic experiences City offers she could still have in other ways, or in college.
Keep in mind City will be in a different building for several years while construction takes place. This change might affect morale a great deal. BSA is near a nice park and some coffee shops for students to hang out after which is a great benefit.
Do you mean poly? Poly will be moving to the old northwestern campus for a few years while they redo the existing campus. Is the same happening with city?
CITY Forever. City is academically rigorous. I was sooo prepared for college by the time I graduated.
It really depends on your daughters goals of course. Both great schools.
Thank you for your response!!
Did you complete the IB program?
The sentiment you shared about being very prepared for college is one we’ve heard a lot. Did you ever feel like that preparation came at a price? Like, was it very stressful studying in that rigorous of an environment?
Not the original commenter, but a fellow City grad. The full IB program can be very demanding and takes a huge toll on the students who choose that path, but it is also possible to do a partial IB course load combined with AP or standard curriculum courses, which from my experience is much more realistic for the average student to complete without taxing them too heavily.
I'm more than 15 years out from city so better to ask someone there now... but yes, I got the full IB Diploma. It did come at a price of sleep and social life. In retrospect, I'd still do a lot of IB classes but it's totally not necessary to do all IB and the thesis. On the plus side, freshman year of college was actually easier than senior year of IB and I finally learned how to strike a better balance then.
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I had kids go to both, and they were both great, but my BSA kid went for music and fell out of love with the field. On the plus side she got really good at it and developed some serious life skills. We loved City for many things including administrators who helped our City kid, and the wide array of academic offerings. The theatre program is a shoestring miracle.
Thanks so much for your response. You’re one of the few who have had a kid go to each school, so your perspective is really valuable.
Did your BSA kid fall out of love because of their own growth and evolution or because of the program?
What kind of theater did your City kid do?
Sort of both. She loved her instrumental teacher, and most of the academic teachers, but felt the program was inhumane in its demands. Plus other interests developed. She graduated in ‘17, and understands things have improved, so I highly encourage you to find current/more recent students for feedback. The community there was good, too. City kid acted in every show and went on to major in theatre. I may have already breached my own anonymity, but I’ll just say he’s working in theatre Ed now.
I have a child at City and he loves it.
Happy Cake Day! 🎂
My daughter went to BSA if you have any questions. She’s not super academic (good grades but not amazing) and she absolutely thrived there. Also, lots of her friends there were very academic. Personally I loved the mix of people she got to be in school with and loved that the school is small - class sizes are usually fairly small. The teachers are in general amazing and at least for my daughter helped her find her confidence in subjects she struggled in. I can’t speak for city other than it’s great reputation - I think it’s a decision that’s going to center on your kid’s needs.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
One big question we have about BSA is how beholden are the kids to their area of focus? Like, if they’re there to study music, how free or limited are they to take an acting or studio art class?
Did you and your daughter love having an area of focus, or was it ever limiting?
It’s very focused. My daughter was music and although they had a semester of collaborative classes, crossing disciplines is generally only done on a “for fun” basis. Mainly because half the day is a full academic schedule and the other half is their chosen discipline, which doesn’t leave time for other stuff. It’s a longer school day to accommodate this already. That doesn’t mean she won’t have friends in other disciplines - my daughter had friends in all areas. Also because of this the choice of classes in general is less diverse, which is either a drawback or a blessing depending on your kid.
As a Baltimore City college graduate I world recommend it to anyone that can get in, but it’s not an art school. if art is her passion BSA; otherwise city.
BSA’s academics are nothing to sneeze at.
BSA will also support your kid in becoming a creative and divergent thinker.
City Forever!
I think it depends on what department your kid was accepted to. Each department at bsa has its pros and cons. I’m a bsa alumn and that school really prepared me for art colleges and liberal art universities afterwards. It’s a challenging school to go to because you’re balancing a lot of responsibilities as a young person between your major and academics and any small social life you might have. Most of your time is spent building your craft and learning how to become a young professional. After bsa I felt prepared for what I wanted to do next and I made long lasting friendships that now feel like extended family members. I know friends who went to City who felt the same way too. They just had different focuses and specialties in school. Bsa is one of a kind school and congratulations to your kid for getting an offer! That in itself is a big accomplishment. Feel free to dm me with more questions!
This is a wonderful response. Thank you so much.
What would you say are the pros and cons of the music department?
Also, when you went to BSA, did you know it was the place for you? Or were you faced with a similar choice with a another high school? What factored into your decision?
When I went to bsa I didn’t know it was the place for me. Before highschool I knew I really liked making art, I learned best from my art teachers in middle school and my parents encouraged me to explore that outlet. I was also in between taking a more traditional academic route and bsa. When it came down to making a decision I realized I wanted to give my talent a shot at a school where other students were doing something similar and I could take classes that were designed to help me build my art career and skills. It was a pretty big decision to make as a young person who’s still wondering a lot. If your kid likes to be challenged artistically and intellectually and is curious about their own music experience then bsa might be a good fit. It wasn’t a “traditional” highschool experience, but it gave me a lot of art experience that many kids who were interested in art didn’t get until college or later. Again happy to answer any more questions you have!
For sure! I can’t give too much info because I wasn’t in the department but hearing from my friends who were in the music department, it’s a great atmosphere and holds a lot of different music opportunities outside of bsa. I believe throughout your 4 years at bsa there are smaller auditions for music students to participate in to be in different school performances. Music students get 1:1 lessons from talented and highly recommended teachers. I know at times music students will stay after school for rehearsals and that’s a big commitment plus practicing outside of school hours. The students in the music department are close to each other and I know other bsa music alumn stay in close touch and get into excelled programs afterwards if that’s their direction with music.
City offers the best college preparation and level of rigor in academics by far.
Bsa
I loved BSA, and it definitely offers a unique experience. What discipline were they accepted for?
Music. Specifically violin. Do you think the choice of discipline would influence whether she goes there or not?
As someone who was accepted to both schools and chose to go to City, I would recommend City over BSA. I know several people who went to BSA and all of them have various horror stories about the faculty/administration there across all the programs, as well as having issues with the incredibly clique-y nature of social life amongst the students. Bullying by both teachers and students was sadly common for many BSA students I know. Bullying did exist at City, but not anywhere close to the extent that it did at BSA.
Additionally, the academic side of BSA is woefully lacking compared to a school like City, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you consider that roughly 9 out of 10 of the friends I have who went to BSA never pursued their field of artistic study after school due to disillusionment or lack of career opportunities, it would be safe to say that BSA left them totally unprepared for success after high school. And if your child is pursuing the dance program at BSA, the teachers go out of their way to breed lifelong eating disorders in their students, not to mention many well-substantiated claims of sexual misconduct and grooming by certain faculty members with their students across all the programs.
Granted, these are all based on experiences from students who attended BSA between 2009 and 2015, but to my understanding, only a bare minimum effort has gone into remedying these rampant institutional issues. And again, City is by no means perfect, and I have plenty of complaints based on my own experience there, as well as the experiences of fellow students, but the severity and quantity of those complaints pale in comparison to BSA. City has some great IB art programs and the theater department is surprisingly good as well, so your child would have opportunities to pursue those interests if they so choose.
Overall, both schools have their merits, but City gave me a very well-rounded education that set me up for success in college and in life after school, which I can't say is as common for BSA, especially if your child chooses to not pursue their artistic interests professionally after high school. Most successful artists I know from my high school years went to more standard high schools or magnet schools like City.
City also has a very inclusive and open social scene for students to thrive and make lifelong friends within, which I absolutely cannot say the same of for BSA. Those are just my thoughts and observations, but I hope they were helpful!
Edit: My friends who attended BSA have almost unanimously told me that they wish they had gone to City instead.
Western high school is also a great option and it’s all girls
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The title says "daughter"?
Poly for STEM focus and BSA for ARTS focused. Both are great schools but have different strengths. IMO
No one seems bothered by the city having self selecting schools. Assured outcomes are easier and more predictable if you can control the inputs. Private schools are able to select or reject. Not difficult to make gold of you start with gold.
RCPS, Bryn Mawr
Not the question that was asked.
ThatguyfromBaltimore t1_j9vinxi wrote
If they are looking to work in the Arts, BSA by far.
As a Poly grad, I can't in good conscience endorse City.