St Albans vs St Anselm's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For native and longtime Washingtonians, the Abbey’s rigor is legendary, especially among Catholic families. About 15 or 20 years ago, the Post named it the most challenging high school in DC. The school does not self-promote (nor does it have the social pedigree/connections of its Upper NW peers) and for a city as transient as DC is, I can understand why it flies under the radar. However, its reputation as one of the foremost academic experiences in the region does not need defending, and I can understand why a family who is looking for a premier all-boys education in the area would mention St Albans and St Anselm’s in the same breath.

+1[/quot


Catholic, old school, long standing DC family and have had boys attend both schools for generations. Frankly, and I am serious, the dummies in the clan have gone to Landon.

[Anonymous]

Agreed:

STA for the cache

SAAS for the quirk

Landon for the thick

[Anonymous]

STA for the secure hidden place or computer storage?

Are you saying they are strong with STEM?

[Anonymous]

STA = no snark when there’s an obvious typo

[Anonymous]

Currently Abbey parent and new poster. I’ll
say what no one else has said yet: The school
And the academics are wonderful. The college counseling is atrocious!!! There should be more boys going to higher level schools and it’s not because they aren’t trying or can’t afford it. It’s for a few reasons. First despite what some say there is ZERO grade inflation at the Abbey. It’s incredibly rigorous for colleges to look at 30 boys in this current class and see several with 4.0 does not tell the whole story. Those boys have worked their butts off. Second, the college counselors are old and out of touch and college admissions counselors do not know the abbey. We picked the Abbey for our son knowing this based on what parents said but really didn’t understand the extent of it. The one, most awful counselor is retiring but keeping him in the job for so long was a grave disservice to the students. There are a few schools that know the Abbey well.. Chicago is one of them and three boys are going this year. It’s ridiculous that those families all strategically applied there knowing that it’s one of the few top schools
That know the Abbey. I’m sure any one of those boys would have applied or an IVY if they thought they had a chance of getting in. Abbey boys are well prepared for college without doubt… but the school in no
Way gives them any help with college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Many parents at SAAS there avoided STA and Gonzaga for the bro culture. And four years later are happy they did. As for taking anyone that writes a check, that’s insanely inaccurate. It’s tough to get in and class sizes reflect that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St Anselm's isnt even in the same league as St Albans.

In what sense?

One is the epitome of the WASP DC elite, the other a Catholic, mediocre private. Not the same.

Another way of saying it is that one is full of strivers and snobs and the other is full of confident parents who don’t need a school to make them feel good about themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St Anselm's isnt even in the same league as St Albans.

In what sense?

One is the epitome of the WASP DC elite, the other a Catholic, mediocre private. Not the same.

Another way of saying it is that one is full of strivers and snobs and the other is full of confident parents who don’t need a school to make them feel good about themselves.

You are both wrong and clearly not very aware of either school. I come from a family that has been here for hundreds of years that has split sending boys to those schools for generations. Both have strengths, weaknesses etc and both have served many of my family members well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, despite the apparent academic rigor of SAAS, the Instagram list of college acceptances in years past has been pretty meh. A lot of second tier Catholic schools. I realize that STA doesn't post and others are obviously not a complete list, but the schools have been solidly 50-200 with a few outliers. They wipe out the previous list every year, but the two so far for '25 are Davidson and Alabama (with the former as an athletic recruit).

Look again. Its range represents the range of the class in all sorts of ways. It’s not a school where every kid/family is striving for an Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Currently Abbey parent and new poster. I’ll
say what no one else has said yet: The school
And the academics are wonderful. The college counseling is atrocious!!! There should be more boys going to higher level schools and it’s not because they aren’t trying or can’t afford it. It’s for a few reasons. First despite what some say there is ZERO grade inflation at the Abbey. It’s incredibly rigorous for colleges to look at 30 boys in this current class and see several with 4.0 does not tell the whole story. Those boys have worked their butts off. Second, the college counselors are old and out of touch and college admissions counselors do not know the abbey. We picked the Abbey for our son knowing this based on what parents said but really didn’t understand the extent of it. The one, most awful counselor is retiring but keeping him in the job for so long was a grave disservice to the students. There are a few schools that know the Abbey well.. Chicago is one of them and three boys are going this year. It’s ridiculous that those families all strategically applied there knowing that it’s one of the few top schools
That know the Abbey. I’m sure any one of those boys would have applied or an IVY if they thought they had a chance of getting in. Abbey boys are well prepared for college without doubt… but the school in no
Way gives them any help with college admissions.

What specifically should the college counselors do that they aren't doing? If kids are rocking their SATs, grades, activities, what are CCs doing to hold them back from ivies or whatever?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently Abbey parent and new poster. I’ll
say what no one else has said yet: The school
And the academics are wonderful. The college counseling is atrocious!!! There should be more boys going to higher level schools and it’s not because they aren’t trying or can’t afford it. It’s for a few reasons. First despite what some say there is ZERO grade inflation at the Abbey. It’s incredibly rigorous for colleges to look at 30 boys in this current class and see several with 4.0 does not tell the whole story. Those boys have worked their butts off. Second, the college counselors are old and out of touch and college admissions counselors do not know the abbey. We picked the Abbey for our son knowing this based on what parents said but really didn’t understand the extent of it. The one, most awful counselor is retiring but keeping him in the job for so long was a grave disservice to the students. There are a few schools that know the Abbey well.. Chicago is one of them and three boys are going this year. It’s ridiculous that those families all strategically applied there knowing that it’s one of the few top schools
That know the Abbey. I’m sure any one of those boys would have applied or an IVY if they thought they had a chance of getting in. Abbey boys are well prepared for college without doubt… but the school in no
Way gives them any help with college admissions.

What specifically should the college counselors do that they aren't doing? If kids are rocking their SATs, grades, activities, what are CCs doing to hold them back from ivies or whatever?

Visiting colleges; explaining what's different/special about the school; the curriculum is unique and demanding and a few colleges understand it.

[Anonymous]

If Instagram is any indication, St. Anselm’s college results this year look quite strong: 3 to Chicago, 2 to Vassar, 2 to Wake Forest, Cornell, Naval Academy, Pomona, Davidson, Tufts, Colgate, Cal Poly…sure, you might expect to see a few more Ivies at STA, but otherwise, the Abbey’s college placement looks generally typical of St Albans…and very few St Anselm’s guys have the benefit of being recruited athletes…

[Anonymous]

My son at the Abbey was given good advice on what schools are realistic by the counselor.

Boys applying to math/econ/engineering/CS have very tough time with admissions to top programs. But it’s more important, to them, that they attend schools that let them into desired fields.

Look at many other DMV privates and check out the number of kids now picking state schools or discounted schools during regular decision. Maybe St Albans families are immune to the panic but local families are not taking on big tuition obligations.

[Anonymous]

How big does SAAS expect the 9th grade class to be next fall? The current 8th grade class is pretty small, even by Abbey standards, and many of those boys are leaving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How big does SAAS expect the 9th grade class to be next fall? The current 8th grade class is pretty small, even by Abbey standards, and many of those boys are leaving.

I was told same size as always. There are always more qualified applicants for 9th than they will accept. They do not want to make the classes bigger.