St Albans vs St Anselm's

[Anonymous]

Hoping someone can articulate the subtler cultural, social, and academic similarities and differences between these two schools. We are looking at both and understand the most obvious differences: proximity of a girl's school, role athletics plays, location, perceived social prestige, even the difference of religious flavor that comes with an Episcopalian versus Catholic identity. However, at the end of the day, they are both small, all-boys, academically rigorous, traditional-leaning schools, and we are curious if anyone can speak to the nuances. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

So you don’t care about the large differences between the schools, just the subtle nuances?

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP. These schools are worlds apart and it isn't in the nuance.

[Anonymous]

At a high level, you have mentioned many of the major differences. In making the rounds on the informational sessions, our son remarked that the two schools are very very similar. As parents, our sense is that the faculty and the student peer groups may have some differences. The schools both attract very bright students. In broad generalizations, St. Albans actively draws from higher social-economic and educational backgrounds of parents with more elite careers as senior government and/or corporate leaders. While St. Anselms has students from those demographics, it does not take that much into account in their admissions. Rather, from its founding by the monks who were professors teaching at Catholic University, they started a high school (and later a middle school) that affirmatively seeks to attract and serve "bright boys who might not otherwise have the opportunity for a gifted education". Before this past year, they tested the boys using the two "gifted" standardized tests --OLSAT and SCAT--and those tests were performed at and paid for by the school. That is core to their mission. The result is you have students from a more diverse socio-economic communities than other DC elite privates, but you also have a kind of humility and simplicity that, for us, is unusual and attractive. The facilities are also qualitatively different in that St. Albans has very well-resourced and beautiful facilities. St. Anselms is still using its building built in the 1940s and 1950s with few modern upgrades, as their investment is less in the facilities and more in the educational and athletic/arts resources and in need-based scholarships. St. Albans (4-12) is larger than St. Anselms (6-12) by more than 2x, so St. Albans and that also impacts the culture and experience of the students. Hope that's helpful.

[Anonymous]

I have a STA son and best friend's son attends SAAS.
STA is a much wealthier and connected crowd overall (honestly, it's kind of night and day) but there are regular Joes there as well (my family is one of them so we know many of the others). Sports are at a higher level and focus at STA but not the level of say Georgetown Prep or Gonzaga. SAAS plays in a lower league which can be good for a boy who wants to play sports but isn't a standout athlete. It can be difficult to get playing time at STA in some sports. Not all but some and it depends on the year. There is also boys in each STA grade who aren't focused on sports at all. SAAS has a higher percentage of quirky/geeky boys but they exist at both schools. Honestly you can't stereotype the boys at either. You have plenty of academics at STA and athletes at SAAS. Teachers are fantastic at both. Academics are very strong at both. I don't think you can go wrong. I would tour both and see what feels more like home. And check the commute! They are quite far apart and you are bound to live much closer to one.

[Anonymous]

SAAS has a strong service culture that requires 150 hours before graduation. However many of the teacher and staff also participate in service. It gives the school an orientation towards helping others that is not superficial and enhances the overall school experience. The boys help in many different roles at the school.

If your family would rather focus on other activities that’s a choice. It’s not leadership or research awards. But my family found it worthwhile.

[Anonymous]

One additional nuance is that SAAS emphasizes AP classes while I don't believe STA offers AP classes at all. My son finished SAAS with 13 or 14 AP exams which earned him college credits and allowed him to skip introductory level college classes. As a result, he graduated in 3.5 years in a STEM field from a Top-15 (and only needed to take 3 classes his last semester).

[Anonymous]

Is a $20k difference in tuition a nuance?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone really cross-shop these?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone really cross-shop these?

Um apparently OP is. Why the obvious question?

[Anonymous]

Those who love SAAS tout it's rigorous academics. There is nothing wrong with that, obviously, but few would describe it as a well-rounded school. Their athletics are poor, their facilities are bare bones, the location is brutally inconvenient for most. There is not a "sister school," and most describe the social scene as, well, a bunch of academically focused boys. Again, for some, this is ideal. For those looking for a more traditional high school environment, not so much. It's not quite as single-typed as BASIS, but not far off.

STA is exactly what everyone else is saying. It's elite (and all that is good and bad with that), acadmically challenging, a bit bro-ey, has a more robust social scene, focus and support for sports and the arts and a higher price tag.

Admissions acceptance % is also night and day. Regardless of SAAS parents talking about it being "for special boys" or "only for those who can withstand the rigor," if your check clears and your kid is remotely able to color between the lines, they'll get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those who love SAAS tout it's rigorous academics. There is nothing wrong with that, obviously, but few would describe it as a well-rounded school. Their athletics are poor, their facilities are bare bones, the location is brutally inconvenient for most. There is not a "sister school," and most describe the social scene as, well, a bunch of academically focused boys. Again, for some, this is ideal. For those looking for a more traditional high school environment, not so much. It's not quite as single-typed as BASIS, but not far off.

STA is exactly what everyone else is saying. It's elite (and all that is good and bad with that), acadmically challenging, a bit bro-ey, has a more robust social scene, focus and support for sports and the arts and a higher price tag.

Admissions acceptance % is also night and day. Regardless of SAAS parents talking about it being "for special boys" or "only for those who can withstand the rigor," if your check clears and your kid is remotely able to color between the lines, they'll get in.

Your last sentence is simply untrue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those who love SAAS tout it's rigorous academics. There is nothing wrong with that, obviously, but few would describe it as a well-rounded school. Their athletics are poor, their facilities are bare bones, the location is brutally inconvenient for most. There is not a "sister school," and most describe the social scene as, well, a bunch of academically focused boys. Again, for some, this is ideal. For those looking for a more traditional high school environment, not so much. It's not quite as single-typed as BASIS, but not far off.

STA is exactly what everyone else is saying. It's elite (and all that is good and bad with that), acadmically challenging, a bit bro-ey, has a more robust social scene, focus and support for sports and the arts and a higher price tag.

Admissions acceptance % is also night and day. Regardless of SAAS parents talking about it being "for special boys" or "only for those who can withstand the rigor," if your check clears and your kid is remotely able to color between the lines, they'll get in.

The quoted language is untrue, unfounded and frankly defamatory.

Nobody is getting to the point where any checks are written until after a very no BS tour (there’s a written test after), a shadow day, an application and interviews, including a writing component, and testing. If SAAS has a high admissions percentage, it’s because less-suitable applicants self-select elsewhere. And I promise that “coloring between the lines” won’t cut it, not even in 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those who love SAAS tout it's rigorous academics. There is nothing wrong with that, obviously, but few would describe it as a well-rounded school. Their athletics are poor, their facilities are bare bones, the location is brutally inconvenient for most. There is not a "sister school," and most describe the social scene as, well, a bunch of academically focused boys. Again, for some, this is ideal. For those looking for a more traditional high school environment, not so much. It's not quite as single-typed as BASIS, but not far off.

STA is exactly what everyone else is saying. It's elite (and all that is good and bad with that), acadmically challenging, a bit bro-ey, has a more robust social scene, focus and support for sports and the arts and a higher price tag.

Admissions acceptance % is also night and day. Regardless of SAAS parents talking about it being "for special boys" or "only for those who can withstand the rigor," if your check clears and your kid is remotely able to color between the lines, they'll get in.

The quoted language is untrue, unfounded and frankly defamatory.

Nobody is getting to the point where any checks are written until after a very no BS tour (there’s a written test after), a shadow day, an application and interviews, including a writing component, and testing. If SAAS has a high admissions percentage, it’s because less-suitable applicants self-select elsewhere. And I promise that “coloring between the lines” won’t cut it, not even in 6th grade.

They don't have a high admissions percentage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone really cross-shop these?

No one does. It's ops way of trying to put them in the same league.