McDowell Senior High School

Best school eva!!!!!!! great school because of band, football, and basketball come on trojans you can do it! but it is a rich kid school
--Submitted by a parent

I am currently a student at mcdowell. parents there is ALOT of drama there and bullying. partly because there are rich kids and there are diffrent cliques.some students have switched schools . i may also wanna switch in the long run.its a huge school and it gets confusing to move around. some teachers are irresponsible. a student can easily go to Cofair and noone knows when they get back. it gets hard. on the bright side some teachers do care and some students are nice. disciplane is taken but not too often but when it is it can be harsh(example a cell phone can lead to 3 hours of saturday detention) stick to private tho for better equality .
--Submitted by a student

This is a rich kids school. Students getting plastic surgery in the 10th grade. Very hard to fit in if you are poor or if you don't look the part. Very cliquey.

We moved from MI to PA when my daughter was in 11th grade from a similar size school. McDowell was 1 yr behind academically & my daughter was an honor student that the school would NOT put her in their honors program b/c they had NO space available. They had her repeating classes in an AP level. They gave NO value add of offering my daughter to attend classes at the local Univesity as I did not ask b/c they did not offer?! They also could not accommodate her in the SAT course offered during school and told us to register for the weekend class that they cancelled 2 times so I had to pay the local University $265 to attend the class. We pay $4200 a year in school taxes and would expect much more from the school than what they delivered. The school offers a complacent. GO PRIVATE!!!
--Submitted by a parent

It's a really big school. Known more for their athletics than academia. Many kids can't handle the size. Rich kid school.
--Submitted by a parent

Excellent school. I'm an alumni of McDowell and for a school and graduating class as large as it was, the education was beyond excellent. I didn't feel like I was 'lost in the crowd'.

McDowell is a school of extremes and of cliques. Like any Suburban school, parents generally complain and hurt how the school operates. However, there are teachers that create a great learning environment if you are lucky. Unfortunately, those are only some of many teachers there. In the end, a child's entire future there lands entirely up to chance based on their schedule of teachers and how easily they dissolve into the cliques. Good night and good luck!
--Submitted by a student

McDowell HS is a very good school to attend, they have excellent programs for bright students. Most of the teachers are excellent as well, however some should never have been hired, they do not teach well, and do not have control over their students. The school also cares more about their image rather than their students success and safety. The board and adminstration of the school needs improvement as well. Many students also seem to not care about their classes and that posses a problem for students who actually care to learn also, and they get away with it. Teachers need to be more strict with the students
--Submitted by a parent

The school cares more about the image it portrays then the care of their students. Unless students go out of their way to make a good impression for the school, they are left in the dust. Too many students have fallen in the cracks. Most teachers are excellent. Extracurricular activities are very good also.
--Submitted by a former student

I believe that McDowell is a great school to go to. The teachers are always there to help the students when they need it. There are teachers who stay after school for tutoring in the different subjects. The teachers and staff are of great help to the student. They strive for the student to excel in all the subject the student is currently taking. The teachers notify the parents of any bad grades through mid-quarters, and phone calls home. Even though the classrooms might be a little over filled, the teachers still manage to keep their students under control. Towards the end of the year your child will say, 'this teacher helped me and I thank her/him.' They will always have a teacher to ask questions for them. They will have teacher friends.
--Submitted by a student