St. Anselm's Abbey High School

[Anonymous]

This is my DS’s 5th year at the Abbey. He and his friends aren’t quirky or nerdy but they are intellectually very “quick”, meaning they understand material easily and need a challenge. It’s not that my son enjoys doing homework, he’d much rather play video games, but he acknowledges that he is happier at the Abbey despite the higher workload compared to his previous well regarded school. I think it’s because he doesn’t feel like he’s wasting time. Tonight he told me that he’s enjoying math more this year because it’s challenging him (pre calc vs geometry). To me that’s the type of kid that is particularly well suited for the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

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.

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.

Did he apply to the Big 3 and get rejected?

Not the previous poster, but we chose it over a big 3 and love it. Many families make this choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

This is the part where the SAAS crowd loses credibility. In today’s world, kids who need financial aid get it at the most prestigious schools. Many top tier universities offer free admission to students whose parents earn less than a fairly high amount. Saint Anselms may be a great, rigorous, challenging school that the rest simply don’t understand. But, the college outcomes are mediocre and not because parents choose Fordham or Providence College for financial reasons when they were also accepted at Columbia and Yale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

This is the part where the SAAS crowd loses credibility. In today’s world, kids who need financial aid get it at the most prestigious schools. Many top tier universities offer free admission to students whose parents earn less than a fairly high amount. Saint Anselms may be a great, rigorous, challenging school that the rest simply don’t understand. But, the college outcomes are mediocre and not because parents choose Fordham or Providence College for financial reasons when they were also accepted at Columbia and Yale.

I guess you don’t understand what it’s like to be a doughnut family.