Will Negative Press Impact Applications/Admissions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the kind of parents who know the value of having a close knit alumni network that looks out for one another - as demonstrated in today's article on Kavanaugh in WaPo know that value of sending their children to these kinds of institutions and know the value of being associated with institutions that will groom and look after their own. They know they are the elite and intend to stay that way as long as possible.

You people really place way too much into this “alumni network”. These are his high school friends who are defending him. They would do the same thing if they all went to public school.

Based on my experience in public school, then and now, it's every person for themselves. You went there because you lived within its boundaries.

When our own boys went to one of the two local Jesuit high schools, I was surprised by how they all seemed to stick together including the alumni. It was different from the shark-tank of cliques I experienced at one of the top US public high schools in a NJ town.

+100 People who are not immersed in it do not know the strong bond these boys maintain for years later. It is awesome.

this is all utter and complete nonsense. this is a great example of the weird and baseless generalizations people on this site make about public/private schools. people believe whatever they want to believe, and they will extrapolate from whatever reinforces whatever they want to believe in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: I'm not muck raking. I'm sincerely wondering if it might be easier to be accepted at these schools this year and wondering if Landon had fewer applications after its bad press years ago. I'm sure there is a core constituent base and that Landon rebounded. But, was there a dip? If considering Holton or Prep or St. Albans, might my DD and/or DS have an easier chance applying this year? DD is also looking at Catholic girls schools.

Why would you put Holton in that group? I don't particularly like Holton, but one of its students being assaulted 35 years ago does not seem to have anything to do with the school overall. It's not like they created a culture that encouraged being assaulted then and for sure don't now.

[i]

I did not include Holton for ANY of the reasons you suggest. The school is fantastic, has a seemingly warm culture and is a victim in all of this. But, in my experience some idiots (young and adult) still view it (and the girls) as more "liberal" because it is not parochial.

Did you see the Holton yearbooks from 35 years ago? Oh, lord, they were no innocents.

If we're to judge GP for what they may have been like 35 years ago we also need to judge Holton too.

Hi President Trump!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we should all stop thinking so much about protecting our reputations and be brave and focus on the truth. Every institution that has had horrific scandals latelt from the Catholic Church to Penn State has been more interested in their reputations than in protecting real people.

Thank you for posting this - like a breath of fresh air!

[Anonymous]

Well anecdotally, nephew graduated a few years ago from Gonzaga and has maybe 1 friend he still is in touch with. Dad from DS's private went to St Alban's and will have nothing to do with it and so on. Privates can be great for the right kid as can public so I agree this is complete nonsense.

In my opinion based on being married to a Catholic and around plenty of them, the craze for all boys Catholic has more to due with the cult nature of the church and families that choose to go that route than anything and I've noted the worst by far tend to be the most conservative Catholics. There is a large group at each one that tends to be very exclusionary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What references are there to boys in the Holton year ooks back in the day? Any “clubs” to speak of?

q


Yes there were plenty of references to boys in the yearbooks including discussion of having a male stripper come to a party.

Any references to specific boys? Any equivalents to the misogynistic jokes in the GP yearbook? Or the recent STA yearbook for that matter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the kind of parents who know the value of having a close knit alumni network that looks out for one another - as demonstrated in today's article on Kavanaugh in WaPo know that value of sending their children to these kinds of institutions and know the value of being associated with institutions that will groom and look after their own. They know they are the elite and intend to stay that way as long as possible.

You people really place way too much into this “alumni network”. These are his high school friends who are defending him. They would do the same thing if they all went to public school.

Based on my experience in public school, then and now, it's every person for themselves. You went there because you lived within its boundaries.

When our own boys went to one of the two local Jesuit high schools, I was surprised by how they all seemed to stick together including the alumni. It was different from the shark-tank of cliques I experienced at one of the top US public high schools in a NJ town.

+100 People who are not immersed in it do not know the strong bond these boys maintain for years later. It is awesome.

this is all utter and complete nonsense. this is a great example of the weird and baseless generalizations people on this site make about public/private schools. people believe whatever they want to believe, and they will extrapolate from whatever reinforces whatever they want to believe in the first place.

Gonzaga is one school that where friendships last a lifetime. You obviously do not know anything about this school or any of the others. Does your public school have alumni events every year like Gonzaga? Alumni are always on campus, reconnecting and giving back. I am sorry, but I don't see that going on at Churchill or Whitman or any other public high schools. That doesn't make Gonzaga better than public...it is just different. You can't possibly say they are the same. If you are interested, you can get a feel for the spirit of Gonzaga here: https://vimeo.com/249255850

[Anonymous]

I am a graduate of one of the three schools I will discuss below, and my son graduated from the same school about 10 years ago. (I leave it to you to guess which school.)
In alphabetical order:
Georgetown Prep. They are most recently in the news with the Kavanaugh situation. They used to benefit greatly from an elite athlete image especially in lacrosse and, to a lesser extent, football. That has dimmed in recent years with the fortunes of their lacrosse and football teams and their lack of success in competing well with their Baltimore prep opponents and local Catholic school opponents, some of them among the best teams in the country. Kavanaugh has hurt them but will dim in time. But what other high school can claim two Supreme Court Justices and the head of the Fed as alumni? They also benefit from having Mater Dei as a feeder school and very loyal alumni. In recent years, it has been pretty difficult to gain admission here for non-legacy applicants.
Landon. they were hurt some years ago by an SAT cheating scandal limited to one year/one group of boys, then the Duke lacrosse eruption, and more recently by the Huguely murder at UVA. (As to the Duke lacrosse mess, note that it ended up being a frame up with the boys exonerated and the one Landon boy charged doing a masterful job of addressing the situation in his public commentary: super brave, intelligent, and showing great leadership ability). Landon benefits from having a new headmaster who is a rapidly rising star in local school leadership).
St. Albans has long been the traditional #1 school in local boys private education - and sometimes takes that role a bit too self-importantly - but it's a great school. They too have had some scandals over the years including most recently a Washington Post article about their own yearbook problems (ala Georgetown Prep).
All three of these schools have histories and momentum that will keep them in the forefront of local private education. Their biggest challenges right now will come from their high tuition charges: $40,000 plus per year, and the possibility that single sex education will decline even further in popularity.
PS - having my own son at my school was a wonderful experience, and he and most of his classmates were exemplary boys and have become outstanding young men any family would be happy to claim. And their teachers and coaches during the high school years were all I could have hoped for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the kind of parents who know the value of having a close knit alumni network that looks out for one another - as demonstrated in today's article on Kavanaugh in WaPo know that value of sending their children to these kinds of institutions and know the value of being associated with institutions that will groom and look after their own. They know they are the elite and intend to stay that way as long as possible.

You people really place way too much into this “alumni network”. These are his high school friends who are defending him. They would do the same thing if they all went to public school.

Based on my experience in public school, then and now, it's every person for themselves. You went there because you lived within its boundaries.

When our own boys went to one of the two local Jesuit high schools, I was surprised by how they all seemed to stick together including the alumni. It was different from the shark-tank of cliques I experienced at one of the top US public high schools in a NJ town.

+100 People who are not immersed in it do not know the strong bond these boys maintain for years later. It is awesome.

this is all utter and complete nonsense. this is a great example of the weird and baseless generalizations people on this site make about public/private schools. people believe whatever they want to believe, and they will extrapolate from whatever reinforces whatever they want to believe in the first place.

Gonzaga is one school that where friendships last a lifetime. You obviously do not know anything about this school or any of the others. Does your public school have alumni events every year like Gonzaga? Alumni are always on campus, reconnecting and giving back. I am sorry, but I don't see that going on at Churchill or Whitman or any other public high schools. That doesn't make Gonzaga better than public...it is just different. You can't possibly say they are the same. If you are interested, you can get a feel for the spirit of Gonzaga here: https://vimeo.com/249255850

Doesn’t the school have a vested interest in promoting alumni interest and involvement? As surely as night follows day, these alumni events at our school are closely followed by donation solicitations seemingly sent to the same mailing lists.

[Anonymous]

Agree that this thread is filled with too many generalizations and over-simplifications. Eg -- entitled kids, overly permissive parents, and teen partying exist at both privates & publics around here (though many kids/families do not fit these descriptions); many alums from both privates & publics are lucky enough to have very special lifetime bonds with one another and incredible school spirit (not isolated to any one school or couple schools, though I suppose it's great so many alums/parents are convinced their school is THE best); many public, secular private, and religious schools place a huge emphasis on character and kindness . . . of course the foundation of this and the parents' cooperation in bolstering these lessons may vary from school to school.

Regarding the Prep letter -- I think the poster(s) who mentioned it may have misunderstood the intention. Jesuit ideals would be entirely inconsistent with it being some kind of boast about being elitist, and the whole intent seemed to be to counteract that stereotype/caricature. The letter focused on aspects of Prep that are inconsistent with these stereotypes, and it also delivered a little bit of a "check your privilege" message mixed with "to whom much is given, much is expected." In other words, I think they were acknowledging that the institution, community, and students of Prep have many resources and opportunities, and that those should not make them arrogant or superior, but make them resolve to live up to high ideals, religious/moral values, and responsibilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard for me to believe it won't have an impact. I went to a coed Jesuit high school (not metro DC area), and I have to say it's affected my support of the school. I've been getting calls about attending an upcoming fundraising event, and right now I just can't bring myself to financially support a Jesuit, Catholic institution. I suspect this is not an uncommon feeling, as based on the frequency of the calls I think attendance and support must be down overall.

+1. I went to a small all girls Catholic school and an all boys Jesuit Catholic school was our brother school. I'm having a hard time considering our local Catholic school for my kids, and I haven't donated to my school recently (for both the well known national Catholic school issues and some school specific issues.)

If you think like that Do not buy food at safeway one of the men accused used to work there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard for me to believe it won't have an impact. I went to a coed Jesuit high school (not metro DC area), and I have to say it's affected my support of the school. I've been getting calls about attending an upcoming fundraising event, and right now I just can't bring myself to financially support a Jesuit, Catholic institution. I suspect this is not an uncommon feeling, as based on the frequency of the calls I think attendance and support must be down overall.

+1. I went to a small all girls Catholic school and an all boys Jesuit Catholic school was our brother school. I'm having a hard time considering our local Catholic school for my kids, and I haven't donated to my school recently (for both the well known national Catholic school issues and some school specific issues.)

If you think like that Do not buy food at safeway one of the men accused used to work there.

That was pretty weak. You can do better!

[Anonymous]

To answer the original question, nope, won't effect application numbers and won't make it easier to get in.

If you look back, every single year, there is a thread like this posted that the most recent scandal/crisis/political/financial issue will effect admissions. Never has.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think the negative press surrounding Kavanaugh will impact admissions at GP or other top privates but I do suspect that applications at Catholic parish elementary schools will decline because of the news that came out over the Summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do the same people who think Georgetown Prep will take a hit also think Holton Arms will? Their yearbooks from that era were in some ways worse. There are pictures in the yearbooks of girls at parties with beer bottles. They talk about how much they partied and make references to passing out. There's a whole section titled "Why the parents were out" that discuss their alcohol infused parties including someone throwing up all over someone's parents' Persian rug. Why do those of you who judge Georgetown Prep, not judge Holton Arms for allowing the same type of sentiments to be expressed?

If a Holton girl from 30 years ago is accused of a crime, then there might be something to talk about. But some kids at ALL the schools partied and drank alcohol then. SR, Visi, Holton, Gonzaga, NCS, Landon, etc. While it’s crazy that the party photos and references are in the yearbook, the big problem, and why the attend is focused on GP, is that a graduate is accused of a crime against another person and the culture of the school (then) seemed to support that type of action.

Exactly. Whoever is trying to equate Holton with GP is a sexist. Is that you Trump? Men commit the vast majority of crimes in this country. i've not met a single woman in my life who comitted a crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do the same people who think Georgetown Prep will take a hit also think Holton Arms will? Their yearbooks from that era were in some ways worse. There are pictures in the yearbooks of girls at parties with beer bottles. They talk about how much they partied and make references to passing out. There's a whole section titled "Why the parents were out" that discuss their alcohol infused parties including someone throwing up all over someone's parents' Persian rug. Why do those of you who judge Georgetown Prep, not judge Holton Arms for allowing the same type of sentiments to be expressed?

If a Holton girl from 30 years ago is accused of a crime, then there might be something to talk about. But some kids at ALL the schools partied and drank alcohol then. SR, Visi, Holton, Gonzaga, NCS, Landon, etc. While it’s crazy that the party photos and references are in the yearbook, the big problem, and why the attend is focused on GP, is that a graduate is accused of a crime against another person and the culture of the school (then) seemed to support that type of action.

Exactly. Whoever is trying to equate Holton with GP is a sexist. Is that you Trump? Men commit the vast majority of crimes in this country. i've not met a single woman in my life who comitted a crime.

Just ignore them. It’s more women against women. I feel sorry for their daughters.