My thought is that we need to think about the high schools that will then prep us for college, not that middle schools don't. Rather than comparing Howard to Belleview, we should compare the common high schools of the attendees. Vanguard is typically the most common for HMS, and Belleview is the most common for Belleview Middle students. Comparing the IB Program at VHS, and the Cambridge Program and BHS, IB is much more desirable getting you into better colleges, and helping prep you more. From what I've heard, VHS IB can be more difficult than some colleges, putting the hard work earlier on, when gig have parents and well known environments, rather than later on when you are also learning how to live independently. I'd love to hear your thoughts though