Baltimore Prep

1.Private schools better than most colleges
2.Ruxton
3.Homeland
4.Roland Park
5.Guilford
6.Mount Washington
7.Greenspring Valley
8.Bolton Hill (for the prep living on the edge)
9.Towson and Lutherville, if you cannot afford the above
10.Tennis
11.Squash
12.Roland Park Five (Friends, Gilman, Roland Park, Bryn Mawr, Boys Latin)
13.Baltimore Country Club
14.The Big Three (Roland Park, Guilford, Homeland)
15.Parents who work in medicine, law or finance
16.Marijuana
17.Brown University
18.Brooks Brothers
19.Hating Duke
20.The unbelievably huge houses in Blythewood (that you haven’t heard of)
21.L’Hirondelle Club
22.Jewish Food (bagels, lox, etc.)
23.The Gilman School (very well known outside Baltimore, 24% acceptance rate)
24.Liberal Arts Colleges (Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Middlebury)
25.The Maryland Club
26.Annapolis
27.Loco Hombre
28.Rita’s Italian Ice
29.Xbox, PS3, COD4
30.Cohen’s Clothier
31.Roland Park Country School (easier than Bryn Mawr, makes housewives)
32.Bryn Mawr School (academically harder than RPCS, makes lawyers, doctors, businesswomen)
33.Uggs Boots
34.Notre Dame Prep
35.Maryvale Prep (safety school to NDP)
36.Eddie’s of Roland Park
37.Legacy status
38.Greene Turtle
39.Too much homework
40.Oldfield’s
41.Working for Classic Catering Company
42.Inherited money or anything inherited in general
43.Getting in trouble at Towson Commons
44.The Terrapins
45.TC Wing Chinese Hand Laundry (they wrap the laundry with brown paper and twine and there is even a 2 year waiting list, which I am currently waiting on)
46.Seersucker (shorts as a teenager, suit as adult)
47.Jos A. Bank
48.Jemicy School (for the dyslexic prep)
49.Natural Ice (Natty Ice for those in the know)
50.Having parents on the board of stuff (schools, libraries, museums)
51.Worthington Valley
52.Boys’ Latin (Gilman’s safety school)
53.Having absolutely no knowledge of Downtown Baltimore
54.North Face
55.Pulling strings to get stuff you aren’t qualified for (college mostly)
56.Golden Retrievers
57.Christian sects with lots of syllables (Presbyterianism, Episcopalianism, Anglicanism, Unitarianism, Congregationalism)
58.Gangsta Rap
59.Topsiders
60.Sundresses
61.Plaid and Madras shorts
62.Making fun of Towson University and Loyola College
63.Senior Week
64.The Fractured Prune
65.University of Pennsylvania
66.Field Hockey
67.FNB!!!
68.Sailing
69.Gym Drills/Day (Bryn Mawr, NDP, Maryvale)
70.Mount Washington Tavern
71.Pearl Necklaces
72.T. Rowe Price and Legg Mason
73.Beruit!
74.Chipotle
75.Bryn Mawr vs. St. Timothy’s
76.Friends School of Baltimore- (hardest classes of the Roland Park Five, all classes AP-level)
77.Crabs
78.BMWs, Mercedes-Benz, Volvos in abundance
79.Meadowmill Athletic Club
80.St. Paul’s School (Boys and Girls)
81.Lexus SUVs
82.Blue blazer and khaki pants
83.Towson Mall
84.Petit Louis
85.Maryland Hunt Cup
86.Livestrong Bracelets
87.Hunt Clubs: Elkridge, Greenspring Valley
88.University of Virginia- (lacrosse, popped collars, pastels, what’s not to love?)
89.Garrison Forest School
90.Alonso’s
91.Loyola Blakefield
92.Crocs
93.The Ivy League (mostly Brown and Penn, Gilman kids love Princeton, but none get in, unlike their fathers and grandfathers)
94.Miss Shirley’s (breakfast and brunch)
95.McDonogh
96.Lacrosse
97.Polo Ralph Lauren (as stated above, Abercrombie and American Eagle are trashy and fake, Hollister too)
98.Mastering the art of driving drunk and/or high
99.The Preakness, infield with friends, grandstands with family
100.Virgin Fest

In short:
1. No concept of township. Everyone lives in communities surrounding the city
2. Extremely wealthy (everyone drives an BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc and lives in a monstrous house)
3. Private schools with huge campuses, old mansions and castles for classrooms, and millions of dollars in endowments (schools arguably better than most colleges)
4. Pastel colors such as hot yellow, pink, green, baby blue, in addition to plaid pants and multicolor belts
5. Polo is the only thing to wear (Abercrombie and American Eagle are trashy and fake by real Baltimore standards)
6. Lacrosse is life and the MIAA is the best in the country with lax games drawing hundreds of people and the MIAA championship drawing 1000s
7. Kids could drink from their first days in high school and we are good at driving drunk
8. House or field parties every weekend
9. Its called Beruit not beer pong
10. Preakness and Hunt Cup
11. Ocean City

Before, describing the world of Baltimore (Baltimore Prep/North Baltimore) it is important to make several key descriptions about the physical and geographical layout of Maryland and more importantly Baltimore City and County. First and foremost, contrary to other parts of the nation the idea of town or township does not exist. In other words, Baltimore County is not broken down into a series of townships each with their own mayor and municipal services. Instead, the area of Baltimore County is broken down into neighborhoods or communities outside and surrounding the city of Baltimore. In addition many of these areas are not separated by vast areas of fields or forests but are actually connected to each other. Baltimore communities can be described as liquid, flowing into each other with no clear distinction. Such distinctions are only made for reasons like providing area codes and rec. councils. In addition no one from these communities say that they are from these areas; everyone says that they are from Baltimore. However, if one Baltimorean is conversing with another Baltimorean about where they live then these area names become applicable. Those who attend private schools are the by-products of the school and of the area they live in.
Baltimore County, while containing a decent population, does not have the markings of a densely populated area. Most of the communities are fairly forested and would resemble the distant suburbs of many other metropolitan areas. Theref...