Moving to Irvine for Middle/High School: Feedback requested

My twin boys are planning to move to Irvine from the east coast. My aging parents live nearby, hence the move. They will be starting 7th grade. I have a choice to move to Irvine for the schools, or another nearby district. I am leaning towards Irvine (Rancho San Joaquin Middle School) and then University High. They have not been challenged in school so far and are ready for more. They already have been doing AOPS since second grade. Any drawbacks to either the middle or high school there? I want to preserve their mental health as I am a teacher myself and understand the competitive pressures, but I also don't want them to be bored and not have access to the resources in Irvine schools if we live in another district like Capistrano or Saddleback. Feedback?

Uni High is the ultimate pressure cooker high school in Orange County. If they’re of superior IQ and work ethic it’s perfect, but can also be a prison for the average achiever.

Put them in the stress kettle.

zubs said:

Put them in the stress kettle.

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That would be Whitney High by momopi

OCtoSV said:

That would be Whitney High by momopi

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I like Cerritos High better. Short walking distance to the park, Cerritos Library, and Cerritos Town Center.

On the up side, Cerritos High, Whitney, and University High doesn't cost extra, versus Harvard Westlake and Valley Christian will cost you $$$$$.

What’s your reason for sending your twins to Uni High? Bright students often get overshadowed by their class standings. Having lived in TR for several years, I’ve seen neighbors regret sending their smart kids there, only to see top colleges overlook them. If your goal isn’t necessarily a spot at the top schools, then the Titans might be the right fit for your twins. And who knows — you might even score a BOGO deal on a sweatshirt!

momopi said:

I like Cerritos High better. Short walking distance to the park, Cerritos Library, and Cerritos Town Center.

On the up side, Cerritos High, Whitney, and University High doesn't cost extra, versus Harvard Westlake and Valley Christian will cost you $$$$$.

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But Whitney is well known with college admissions officials in the same manner as Uni - is CHS or Gahr?

Also can’t compare HW and VC (if you’re referring to San Jose VC) - HW is super elite , VC not so much, more like a Mater Dei. Top dog for private in the South Bay area is The Harker School where all the Indian execs strive to send their kids, with Bellarmine the runner up.

OCtoSV said:

But Whitney is well known with college admissions officials in the same manner as Uni - is CHS or Gahr?

Also can’t compare HW and VC (if you’re referring to San Jose VC) - HW is super elite , VC not so much, more like a Mater Dei. Top dog for private in the South Bay area is The Harker School where all the Indian execs strive to send their kids, with Bellarmine the runner up.

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Valley Christian Cerritos:

The school was founded in 1935 by Dutch pastor Gareth Kok. Cerritos & nearby area was Dutch dairy back then and the city was once named dairy valley.

Rev Kok passed away in 2002 and is buried at Artesia cemetery in Cerritos.

I cannot speak for schools outside of the area, but VC is known to local university admissions. HW would be better known to University admissions outside of local circle.

Now - to compare VC Cerritos to VC San Jose, VC Cerritos dual credit program partners with Cerritos community college to offer college courses directly to VC students.

VC San Jose partners with several 4 year universities and the dual credit program allows students to graduate with up to 100 college credits. It's a superior program to VC Cerritos.

My kid’s public high school in San Jose Unified offered Japanese and other courses after school through SJCC. Growing up in Pasadena I took Alg 2 at PCC over the summer which allowed me to ace Trig and Calc. My smartest friend took all his high school math and science at CalTech (for free) and gained admission and graduated.