What’s it like at St. John’s in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Being good in sports pulls in more athletes. We are looking at SJC but pretty bummed that our kids won’t be playing their current sports. But, we won’t select a school based on sports.

To be fair some sports are like this at the big public schools too. When you have 3,000 students and only JV and Varsity teams it is super competitive. Say soccer has roster sizes of 18-20. That’s 40 spots total across all 4 grades, when you can get a few hundred showing up at tryouts, that’s a lot of kids cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are their sports team almost too good? Just from perusing the high school sports section of the Post, it seems SJC wins nearly everything. Are they weak in any sports?

Also makes me wonder what happens to kids who get cut. That would be quite a bummer to be a pretty good athlete but because the team is full of so many college recruits you're cut or ride the bench.

So are they not suppose to have good teams so everyone can feel like they can play? HS sports are competitive. They have solid academics and solid sports and solid activities that are non sport related. Kids can do other activities at school. Kids who don’t make the cut do other activities and participate in sports elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Being good in sports pulls in more athletes. We are looking at SJC but pretty bummed that our kids won’t be playing their current sports. But, we won’t select a school based on sports.

My son is a freshman in the Scholar's Program. He played baseball and soccer for years but is intimidated by the sports program at SJC. We are encouraging him to reach out to the AD to talk about options. He isn't interested in riding the bench in his previous sports but we want him getting the exercise and working on a team. That being said, he's loving SJC and very happy with his choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being good in sports pulls in more athletes. We are looking at SJC but pretty bummed that our kids won’t be playing their current sports. But, we won’t select a school based on sports.

My son is a freshman in the Scholar's Program. He played baseball and soccer for years but is intimidated by the sports program at SJC. We are encouraging him to reach out to the AD to talk about options. He isn't interested in riding the bench in his previous sports but we want him getting the exercise and working on a team. That being said, he's loving SJC and very happy with his choice.

He should join cross-country or crew or ask about other basically no cut sports. From your description, it doesn't sound like he'd play HS baseball or soccer (almost anywhere)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being good in sports pulls in more athletes. We are looking at SJC but pretty bummed that our kids won’t be playing their current sports. But, we won’t select a school based on sports.

My son is a freshman in the Scholar's Program. He played baseball and soccer for years but is intimidated by the sports program at SJC. We are encouraging him to reach out to the AD to talk about options. He isn't interested in riding the bench in his previous sports but we want him getting the exercise and working on a team. That being said, he's loving SJC and very happy with his choice.

He should join cross-country or crew or ask about other basically no cut sports. From your description, it doesn't sound like he'd play HS baseball or soccer (almost anywhere)

+1. Swimming, crew, track/cc are all no cut. Rugby is another option. I will put in a plug for Track/CC. Coach Dunham and his team are amazing and committed to running a no cut program that has a place for anybody willing to put in the time to improve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being good in sports pulls in more athletes. We are looking at SJC but pretty bummed that our kids won’t be playing their current sports. But, we won’t select a school based on sports.

My son is a freshman in the Scholar's Program. He played baseball and soccer for years but is intimidated by the sports program at SJC. We are encouraging him to reach out to the AD to talk about options. He isn't interested in riding the bench in his previous sports but we want him getting the exercise and working on a team. That being said, he's loving SJC and very happy with his choice.

He should join cross-country or crew or ask about other basically no cut sports. From your description, it doesn't sound like he'd play HS baseball or soccer (almost anywhere)

+1. Swimming, crew, track/cc are all no cut. Rugby is another option. I will put in a plug for Track/CC. Coach Dunham and his team are amazing and committed to running a no cut program that has a place for anybody willing to put in the time to improve.

+2 about track and Coach Dunham.

[Anonymous]

The SJC Crew program is full of nice kids and parents. No experience necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being good in sports pulls in more athletes. We are looking at SJC but pretty bummed that our kids won’t be playing their current sports. But, we won’t select a school based on sports.

My son is a freshman in the Scholar's Program. He played baseball and soccer for years but is intimidated by the sports program at SJC. We are encouraging him to reach out to the AD to talk about options. He isn't interested in riding the bench in his previous sports but we want him getting the exercise and working on a team. That being said, he's loving SJC and very happy with his choice.

He should join cross-country or crew or ask about other basically no cut sports. From your description, it doesn't sound like he'd play HS baseball or soccer (almost anywhere)

PP here. He actually might have been able to play at our local public and while he might not have made the baseball team at Gonzaga or Prep, some of the other schools have less of a pressure cooker environment because some of the kids he's played with for years are playing at difference schools. I was more saying something here about not picking a school based on sports and that it can lead to happy and well adjusted students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was under the impression that everyone got in

Your impression is wrong. 1200 applications for less than 300 spots.

It’s about a 25% acceptance rate. I know because our child got one of the spots out of 1350 applications. It’s more competitive than Gonzaga.

\\

I have a hard time believing this. Literally every Deal student I know that applied this year got in, and they are not all star students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was under the impression that everyone got in

Your impression is wrong. 1200 applications for less than 300 spots.

It’s about a 25% acceptance rate. I know because our child got one of the spots out of 1350 applications. It’s more competitive than Gonzaga.

\\

I have a hard time believing this. Literally every Deal student I know that applied this year got in, and they are not all star students.

Is SJC really a more competitive admit than Gonzaga? Perhaps more importantly, are the caliber of students equivalent? In our k-8, the boys heading to Gonzaga tend to be the smartest ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are their sports team almost too good? Just from perusing the high school sports section of the Post, it seems SJC wins nearly everything. Are they weak in any sports?

Also makes me wonder what happens to kids who get cut. That would be quite a bummer to be a pretty good athlete but because the team is full of so many college recruits you're cut or ride the bench.

So are they not suppose to have good teams so everyone can feel like they can play? HS sports are competitive. They have solid academics and solid sports and solid activities that are non sport related. Kids can do other activities at school. Kids who don’t make the cut do other activities and participate in sports elsewhere.

Of course not, but if a kid is good, not great, and wants to play for their high school, maybe St John’s just isn’t the best fit for them. Like a basketball player picking between the bench at Duke and starting at Harvard. Maybe they want the high profile team or maybe they want to be a contributor on a lesser team. Different people will choose differently, but it is smart to know what situation you’re jumping into!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are their sports team almost too good? Just from perusing the high school sports section of the Post, it seems SJC wins nearly everything. Are they weak in any sports?

Also makes me wonder what happens to kids who get cut. That would be quite a bummer to be a pretty good athlete but because the team is full of so many college recruits you're cut or ride the bench.

So are they not suppose to have good teams so everyone can feel like they can play? HS sports are competitive. They have solid academics and solid sports and solid activities that are non sport related. Kids can do other activities at school. Kids who don’t make the cut do other activities and participate in sports elsewhere.

Of course not, but if a kid is good, not great, and wants to play for their high school, maybe St John’s just isn’t the best fit for them. Like a basketball player picking between the bench at Duke and starting at Harvard. Maybe they want the high profile team or maybe they want to be a contributor on a lesser team. Different people will choose differently, but it is smart to know what situation you’re jumping into!

+1 and if you believe athletics are important for development, then you should want everyone to have a chance to be involved. Winning isn't everything, and it certainly is not the most important thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was under the impression that everyone got in

Your impression is wrong. 1200 applications for less than 300 spots.

It’s about a 25% acceptance rate. I know because our child got one of the spots out of 1350 applications. It’s more competitive than Gonzaga.

\\

I have a hard time believing this. Literally every Deal student I know that applied this year got in, and they are not all star students.

Is SJC really a more competitive admit than Gonzaga? Perhaps more importantly, are the caliber of students equivalent? In our k-8, the boys heading to Gonzaga tend to be the smartest ones.

Both schools have a wide range of academic students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are their sports team almost too good? Just from perusing the high school sports section of the Post, it seems SJC wins nearly everything. Are they weak in any sports?

Also makes me wonder what happens to kids who get cut. That would be quite a bummer to be a pretty good athlete but because the team is full of so many college recruits you're cut or ride the bench.

So are they not suppose to have good teams so everyone can feel like they can play? HS sports are competitive. They have solid academics and solid sports and solid activities that are non sport related. Kids can do other activities at school. Kids who don’t make the cut do other activities and participate in sports elsewhere.

It’s high school and participation is a big part of the experience. If there are limited opportunities for participation then what sort of experience is your child having?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are their sports team almost too good? Just from perusing the high school sports section of the Post, it seems SJC wins nearly everything. Are they weak in any sports?

Also makes me wonder what happens to kids who get cut. That would be quite a bummer to be a pretty good athlete but because the team is full of so many college recruits you're cut or ride the bench.

So are they not suppose to have good teams so everyone can feel like they can play? HS sports are competitive. They have solid academics and solid sports and solid activities that are non sport related. Kids can do other activities at school. Kids who don’t make the cut do other activities and participate in sports elsewhere.

It’s high school and participation is a big part of the experience. If there are limited opportunities for participation then what sort of experience is your child having?

Kids don't have to play a varsity sport to have a good experience I have varsity athletes and there's a giant downside to spending that many hours doing sports in high school I think many kids who aren't athletes have a far better 4 years.