SJC not work for a kid

[Anonymous]

OP - I wouldn’t be afraid to change schools if DC is not happy. There are a lot of options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 DC at SJC. I would strongly encourage the cadet corps. DC liked it much more than I would have thought. And honestly, it doesn’t seem to fit the mold right off.

Current 9th grade DC there. We asked about joining cadet corps early in fall semester and seems like they had already met their quota for the year, so my son was not allowed to join.

The fact that Cadet Corps is so popular with these kids speaks well of the Admissions team and the quality of applicants. SJC sends many kids to the service academies, particularly female students. This gives me hope for the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at SJC. If your kid is not athletic, SJC is not for them. I would never choose it again and regret sending him there.

Could you please say more about this? I had heard about the importance of athletics at Gonzaga but had thought that SJC's larger size meant that while good for athletics, there was also plenty of other things for kids to do and find their people.

The athletics situation at SJC is much worse than Gonzaga because their sports teams dominate. They are striving to be like IMG. Athletes are recruited. If your kid wants to play a sport in high school, unless they are D1 material and recruited, they will not play.

Athletes rule the school, host very exclusive drunken parties and only hang out with other athletes. Big party culture off campus. LAX hangs with lax. Baseball with baseball, etc. It is a huge school and there are few in school opportunities to get to know your classmates. Your kid will need to be resilient. It is like a large public school that you pay for.

Your post is self defeating. You can’t be an athlete at SJC and also be a big partier. At least, not for very long. The training demands are so rigorous that if you don’t have strong time management skills you will not maintain the GPA to participate in your sport. There’s always someone behind you on the depth chart eager to take your spot if your commitment wanes. There are many non sport clubs to find your tribe.

Omg, of course you can be a high level HS athlete and partier. Tons of them!

[Anonymous]

SJC is not a good school for someone who wants more rigor in their coursework or who wants more diversity of thought among the student body/administration. It is a very rigid school.

[Anonymous]

So, what's the best course of action for an untethered student going into 9th grade (already accepted)? Above average student but not an extremely hard worker. SJC has 1200 students; they all can't be D1 athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SJC is not a good school for someone who wants more rigor in their coursework or who wants more diversity of thought among the student body/administration. It is a very rigid school.

Can you clarify what you mean by these statements? They seem to contradict each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SJC is not a good school for someone who wants more rigor in their coursework or who wants more diversity of thought among the student body/administration. It is a very rigid school.

Actually, it is one of the most diverse schools in the DMV, esp wrt diversity of thought.

You don’t appear to know what you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, what's the best course of action for an untethered student going into 9th grade (already accepted)? Above average student but not an extremely hard worker. SJC has 1200 students; they all can't be D1 athletes.

Just like any larger group, go out and find smaller subgroups you would like to be part of. And start working harder so you can take advantage of opportunities on offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, what's the best course of action for an untethered student going into 9th grade (already accepted)? Above average student but not an extremely hard worker. SJC has 1200 students; they all can't be D1 athletes.

When you say untethered do you mean they are looking for something where they don’t need any background, experience, or talent to be able to participate? If so, what are their interests/hobbies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, what's the best course of action for an untethered student going into 9th grade (already accepted)? Above average student but not an extremely hard worker. SJC has 1200 students; they all can't be D1 athletes.

What are your options? Both my smart, lazy boys learned how to study and discipline at SJC. It’s a very nice community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SJC is not a good school for someone who wants more rigor in their coursework or who wants more diversity of thought among the student body/administration. It is a very rigid school.

Actually, it is one of the most diverse schools in the DMV, esp wrt diversity of thought.

You don’t appear to know what you are talking about.

I totally agree. My kid is an atheist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school is strict with detentions. The sports situation has been disappointing especially if you have a son. My kid has always been a good athlete and the sports are just sooo competitive. You have to be willing to give up your whole life to play. They say there are lots of clubs, but my very social kid never does more than text friends. Never hangs out and the non-academeic clubs don't seem to happen.
Haven't heard anything about cheating. School is very strict so I doubt it.

Second this. The non academic clubs are pretty much lip service. They really don’t exist except on a random piece of paper somewhere. It seems teachers are very resistant to sponsoring a new club when a student actually tries to start one because of the time commitment.

At the moment, there is video floating around of an SJC athlete throwing a brick into someone’s ceiling at a party. So being busy doesn’t mean not partying. SMH

So what does your child do after school?

My sons both hung with their friends after school, going over to each other’s houses, playing some basketball, going out to eat in Tenley or Bethesda. Of course this is hard when there is sports practice for even one kid, but both boys had a solid group of about five best buddies that they hung out / hang out with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at SJC. If your kid is not athletic, SJC is not for them. I would never choose it again and regret sending him there.

Could you please say more about this? I had heard about the importance of athletics at Gonzaga but had thought that SJC's larger size meant that while good for athletics, there was also plenty of other things for kids to do and find their people.

The athletics situation at SJC is much worse than Gonzaga because their sports teams dominate. They are striving to be like IMG. Athletes are recruited. If your kid wants to play a sport in high school, unless they are D1 material and recruited, they will not play.

Athletes rule the school, host very exclusive drunken parties and only hang out with other athletes. Big party culture off campus. LAX hangs with lax. Baseball with baseball, etc. It is a huge school and there are few in school opportunities to get to know your classmates. Your kid will need to be resilient. It is like a large public school that you pay for.

It’s not a huge school. It’s the only normal sized high school around. 250 a grade is perfect. Can know of everyone, canfield a decent team, can find your tribe, academically something for everyone too.

Big is 500-800 per grade like bcc and Blair.

Fishbowl small is 70-140 per grade like DC area independent schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SJC is not a good school for someone who wants more rigor in their coursework or who wants more diversity of thought among the student body/administration. It is a very rigid school.

Pls talk with any benilder student families; you are misinformed or uninformed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SJC is not a good school for someone who wants more rigor in their coursework or who wants more diversity of thought among the student body/administration. It is a very rigid school.

Pls talk with any benilder student families; you are misinformed or uninformed.

I am finding this true. They are very particular about who can take accelerated classes and there really aren’t that many of them to chose from.