Reputation of St. John's College HS and other "normal" privates

[Anonymous]

I don't see SJC mentioned much at all here. I wonder if it's because it's not one of the top schools, is affordable for normies, and doesn't carry the pretense some of the other more famous privates do. Is that right? We are not from the area and feel a little lost navigating the world of private schools. Both went to fairly elite private schools back home where everyone just kinda intutively knows which schools are the "rich kid schools", the "smart kid schools", "the artsy kid schools", etc. I fantasize sometimes about sending my kids to one of the cathedral schools, for example but I think financially, it's just not gonna be in the cards for us. I am trying to explore what I think of as the second tier schools like Gonzaga, possibly SJC, etc. I don't mean to denigrate any of these schools in any way; I don't know enough about any of them to have much to say positively or negatively. Just talking about tuition alone. Based on what I can gather, we would not qualify for aid but at the same time, $50k+ per child would be pretty uncomfortable for us. I ask about SJC specifically because we live nearby and I just saw on their website that tuition could be doable for us. But I'm really interested in learning about the general reputations of any schools outside of the STA/NCS, Sidwell, GDS, realm where the doctors, lawyers, and otherwise elite send their kids.

[Anonymous]

SJC is mentioned quite a bit, so not sure what you are talking about.

I assume you know it and other WCAC schools are considered sports powerhouses, so don't think your kid can just show up and play many sports if not recruited.

Solid academically, but not crazy amounts of homework. Produced 2 NMSFs this year vs. anywhere from 6-10 at GDS, Sidwell, STA just to give you some benchmark.

Good size...1200 kids total vs. 300 at STA, 600ish at Sidwell/GDS.

[Anonymous]

Where to begin?

First, the Catholic locals, which is a large group of people here, would be offended by your identifying Gonzaga or Prep or even St John’s “second tier”. For this group, the Catholic schools are the top tier and they very rarely even consider sending their kids to non-Catholic private schools including the Big 3 or Big 5. These schools are where the Catholic lawyers, doctors, etc. send their kids.

From what I see, St John’s appeals to several groups:

Legacies – St Johns has a large group of alumni who have strong feelings about the school even though the St Johns of today is vastly different from the one they attended through 2000. It used to be all boys with a significant military presence. The school went into a deep dive in the 1990’s and alumni helped resurrect it. The new buildings and athletic fields bear the names of some of these people.

Catholics from local Parish schools – Who want to continue at a Catholic high school and 90%+ of them do. Many of these parishes are located in NW DC and Montgomery County. St John’s does very, very well attracting students from these parishes. The school now even challenges Gonzaga and Prep for the best students and athletes including those from families that could pay the sky-high tuition at other schools.

DC Residents looking for an alternative to DCPS.

Non-Catholics looking for a safety school or for a lower-priced alternative to most other private schools. (You appear to be in this group)

Through the years, St John's has done all sorts of things to make itself more attractive. They went co-ed, they have all sorts of academic programs for different kinds of students, and they have invested huge amounts of donated money in athletic fields and the sports programs

I don’t know where you are from, but most areas have large, co-ed Catholic schools that have excellent sports teams and that have a range of students attending. That's what St Johns has become.

If you live close by, go to a St, John's football game this Fall. You'll see the student body and the alumni and get a sense of the energy of the place. The experience will answer questions you wouldn't even think af asking.

[Anonymous]

Normies? Really?!?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where to begin?

First, the Catholic locals, which is a large group of people here, would be offended by your identifying Gonzaga or Prep or even St John’s “second tier”. For this group, the Catholic schools are the top tier and they very rarely even consider sending their kids to non-Catholic private schools including the Big 3 or Big 5. These schools are where the Catholic lawyers, doctors, etc. send their kids.

From what I see, St John’s appeals to several groups:

Legacies – St Johns has a large group of alumni who have strong feelings about the school even though the St Johns of today is vastly different from the one they attended through 2000. It used to be all boys with a significant military presence. The school went into a deep dive in the 1990’s and alumni helped resurrect it. The new buildings and athletic fields bear the names of some of these people.

Catholics from local Parish schools – Who want to continue at a Catholic high school and 90%+ of them do. Many of these parishes are located in NW DC and Montgomery County. St John’s does very, very well attracting students from these parishes. The school now even challenges Gonzaga and Prep for the best students and athletes including those from families that could pay the sky-high tuition at other schools.

DC Residents looking for an alternative to DCPS.

Non-Catholics looking for a safety school or for a lower-priced alternative to most other private schools. (You appear to be in this group)

Through the years, St John's has done all sorts of things to make itself more attractive. They went co-ed, they have all sorts of academic programs for different kinds of students, and they have invested huge amounts of donated money in athletic fields and the sports programs

I don’t know where you are from, but most areas have large, co-ed Catholic schools that have excellent sports teams and that have a range of students attending. That's what St Johns has become.

If you live close by, go to a St, John's football game this Fall. You'll see the student body and the alumni and get a sense of the energy of the place. The experience will answer questions you wouldn't even think af asking.

OP: Gotcha, thanks. Definitely didn't mean to offend anyone so glad to know that categorizing these schools as second tier could come off as insulting. We're non-practicing Catholics from the Midwest where most of the Catholic schools are single sex. We're in DCPS now and probably will look at local parish schools in the next couple of years. I went to a place that seems similar to what I think I know about NCS. Academically very rigorous, bad at sports. Good idea on the football game. Probably will do that!

[Anonymous]

Why is the class size so large at SJC? I was surprised to hear from several colleagues that just moved from Shac that their classes were the same size as many public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is the class size so large at SJC? I was surprised to hear from several colleagues that just moved from Shac that their classes were the same size as many public schools.

Because they want it to be that large?

They are known for their sports teams. You can't put a nationally-ranked football team on the field (that's 80-100 kids right there), plus a JV team (that's another 50 kids) plus top-ranked baseball, softball, field hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, basketball, etc., plus freshman and JV teams...without having a bunch of kids.

Gonzaga is only boys and is 956 kids vs. 1200 for all of SJC.

[Anonymous]

Also because they like to offer a lot of choices in classes and ECs and it is a high priority to keep tuition as low as they can in keeping with the school’s mission.

[Anonymous]

Here is the best starting place to learn about Catholic High schools in the archdiocese of DC.

https://adwcatholicschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ENGLISH-2024-2025-Catholic-High-School-Directory-ONLINE.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SJC is mentioned quite a bit, so not sure what you are talking about.

I assume you know it and other WCAC schools are considered sports powerhouses, so don't think your kid can just show up and play many sports if not recruited.

Solid academically, but not crazy amounts of homework. Produced 2 NMSFs this year vs. anywhere from 6-10 at GDS, Sidwell, STA just to give you some benchmark.

Good size...1200 kids total vs. 300 at STA, 600ish at Sidwell/GDS.

I’m chiming in to provide accurate information about Sidwell. Sidwell produced 11 NMSFs this year (the highest # I’ve seen at Sidwell, in recent memory, was 16). Sidwell has ~500 students in the US.

[Anonymous]

OP- SJC has a very wide range of academic profiles and is very diverse in all areas. As PP mentioned above, they have a number of niche programs: Scholars program, the Benhilde for learning differences, Cadet Corp leadership program, Entrepreneur programs are the bigger ones.
They are very successful and often rank nationally for many sports teams. They also have a fantastic arts program.

[Anonymous]

It’s essentially IMG with weekly Mass, plus a healthy smattering of DCPS refugees whose parents prioritized a whole-house reno /addition in NWDC at some point over paying school tuitions. They kept the kids in DCPS for too long and now don’t have other HS options since Walls didn’t pan out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Normies? Really?!?!

I love it when the random teen finds DCUM and wants to talk SJC. They usually stick to the Lacrosse section.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SJC is mentioned quite a bit, so not sure what you are talking about.

I assume you know it and other WCAC schools are considered sports powerhouses, so don't think your kid can just show up and play many sports if not recruited.

Solid academically, but not crazy amounts of homework. Produced 2 NMSFs this year vs. anywhere from 6-10 at GDS, Sidwell, STA just to give you some benchmark.

Good size...1200 kids total vs. 300 at STA, 600ish at Sidwell/GDS.

I’m chiming in to provide accurate information about Sidwell. Sidwell produced 11 NMSFs this year (the highest # I’ve seen at Sidwell, in recent memory, was 16). Sidwell has ~500 students in the US.

Did well doesn’t offer a program for those with learning differences and SJC does. Sidwell has very wealthy parents so kids don’t have to work and have lots of support.

I’m not sure how anyone can say the school is better versus the school picked highly wealthy privileged students who would have done well anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SJC is mentioned quite a bit, so not sure what you are talking about.

I assume you know it and other WCAC schools are considered sports powerhouses, so don't think your kid can just show up and play many sports if not recruited.

Solid academically, but not crazy amounts of homework. Produced 2 NMSFs this year vs. anywhere from 6-10 at GDS, Sidwell, STA just to give you some benchmark.

Good size...1200 kids total vs. 300 at STA, 600ish at Sidwell/GDS.

I’m chiming in to provide accurate information about Sidwell. Sidwell produced 11 NMSFs this year (the highest # I’ve seen at Sidwell, in recent memory, was 16). Sidwell has ~500 students in the US.

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Huge eye roll. So unnecessary.