St. Anselm's Abbey High School
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Anonymous
| DC is interested in the school for high school. Can people tell me how it compares to SJC or Gonzaga for workload, sports, and social? How about transportation? |
Anonymous
There is a surfeit of threads about this. In short, SAAS is at least as hard, but probably actually harder, than the other places; has a legendary workload; does not emphasize sports to the same degree as, say, Gonzaga; likely is as good or bad socially as any given student makes it. Transportation includes campus shuttles that connect to Metro and many students come from a considerable distance. The real question is fit. The Abbey markets to “intellectually curious boys, requires its own admission tests and interviews, and is not for everyone. For a boy with a good fit and the willingness to do the work, it is a great education. |
Anonymous
| Lots of APs. If you like the College Board corporation and would like it to dictate your child's entire high school education, SAAS has got you covered. |
Anonymous
| In my experience (been in DC a long long time), it has the nicest boys of all the region’s boys’ school. A significant amount of ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic diversity for a school its size, too. The curriculum is definitely tough, and being a self-starter and hard worker is a must. |
Anonymous
| DS just started at SAAS -- it's hard but the personal and academic growth has already been phenomenal (especially executive functioning). The rigor seems to create important bonds between the boys; it doesn't seem to breed a cut-throat competitive culture like some of the other rigorous schools. Lovely community of parents and incredibly diverse. Oh, not Catholic family either. So far, we're super happy. |
Anonymous
| Can anyone say how homework load translates into hours per night for a good student? Do they give study periods to help get work done or is it a significant amount of time per night? |
Anonymous
They encourage the boys to get ahead on homework during lunch, any breaks and sometimes the activity period. Hours depend in part on efficiency, any tendency to expand work to fit the time, the student’s individual strengths and weaknesses and the level of performance they’re aiming at. So it varies by student, but it is pretty consuming. |
Anonymous
I have a DS at Saint Anselms and a DD at a big 3. HW load is comparable. Several hours. But as PP said above, a lot of it depends on the kid and how efficient they are. My DS is not super efficient and struggles in some subjects, so workload seems heavy. And he takes advantage of free periods, lunch and metro ride home to do some work. Unfortunately, DS also involved in athletics, so part of inefficiency might just be that he’s tired at the end of the day. |
Anonymous
Did he apply to the Big 3 and get rejected? |
Anonymous
2-3 hours, realistically. Some nights less, never more. That is for MS. They do not want them doing it at school—it is designed to be at home work. We were concerned but our son (who is ADHD) has picked it up very quickly and weirdly enjoys most of it (not his math homework). It's not a cut-throat super-competitive environment, but rather one where doing your homework and being proud of getting it done is THE thing to do. |
Anonymous
No. Did not apply to big 3. We came from a Catholic K-8 and unlike DD, he only applied to Catholic high schools. He loved the camaraderie of the boys at Saint Anselms and felt the most welcome there. |
Anonymous
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Some folks rave about the rigor and deem it underrated academically relatively to more prominent peers. Others argue that it has a justified inferiority complex based on less well-rounded students and meh college outcomes.
Sounds to me like if your kid is a bit quirky and nerdy, it night be nirvana. If they are athletic or seeking a more traditional high school experience, they may be better off elsewhere. |
Anonymous
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What does your child want out of his high school experience? How much time does he want to have on the weekends? Is he interested in going to football games/school spirit or big, fun dances?
The Abbey definitely has the academics. When you are in high school, the boys take AP everything. So there isn't an option to take regular/honors English instead of AP, for example. Your son needs to be very strong academically and love working for hours on end to succeed at this school. Some of the teachers are better than others, but that's the case everywhere. Other schools like St John's or Gonzaga offer more of a traditional high school experience with football games, pep rallies, and well attended dances. The Abbey tries to organize pep rallies around the basketball and soccer games, but 50 people on a field on a Friday afternoon with the BBQ club grilling burgers doesn't come close to a Gonzaga/St John's football game with hundreds of kids cheering. Gonzaga and St John's have the added benefit for kids of being able to take AP classes in their strengths, while dialing it back a bit in areas that are more of a struggle. Finally, look at the schedule. I know that St John's runs on a block schedule now and I believe Gonzaga does as well. The Abbey runs a straight 9 periods each day, which doesn't give them much time to get any work done outside of lunch. (SAAS doesn't give you a study hall/free period until 11th/12th grade.) |
Anonymous
I don't get the less well rounded comment. Not true at all. Actually, more so than other schools they are required to engage in well-rounded activities. |
Anonymous
Exactly. I find the boys to be more well rounded than at other peer schools. As for college outcomes, don’t mistake it for other schools where the students get in based on being athletic recruits or legacy or other hook. Kids at SAAS get into great schools, but many boys choose merit money over prestigious schools. |