Can someone give me a rundown of the Catholic high schools?

[Anonymous]

It's hard to get in from public school.

Have your school call a school here and attend in 8th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LMGTFY

Archdiocese of Washington (includes independents like Gonzaga and SJC) - http://adw.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2015_ADWbrochure_nomarks.pdf
Diocese of Arlington - https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/catholicschools/secondary.aspx

Location will be key to your search - not all of these are commutable from Cleveland Park.

Thanks. I am able to do a Google search. I am more looking for personal experiences, the "vibes" of the different schools, etc.

Sport? ---> cross country and soccer
Coed? No preference. The high schools we were looking at here are Co-ed, but that's because the single sex schools here just aren't very good
Long Commute OK?----> preferably less than 30 minutes
Metro to School OK?----> yes
AP Level Classes a Requirement?----> nope

These schools are all on the same Metro Line (Red) that runs through Cleveland Park

Holy Cross is near a Metro stop (Grovesnor)
Stone Ridge close to the Medical City Metro.
St John's is sort of on the Metro. There's a bus, I think from Friendship Heights to St. John's that would take 5 minutes or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that there is literally something for everybody in DC Catholic schools - single sex, coed, very bookish, very sporty. If you are living in Cleveland Park, you will be a short hop to just about everything. You might want to think about living a bit further into upper NW so that you have more schools in range. I don't know Chicago schools, but DC Catholic schools are quite competitive to get into - especially the single sex and independent schools.

Thanks for the info!

The thing about Catholic schools in Chicago is that there are so dang many of them! You are never more than 15 minutes away from a Catholic high school, and there is a parish with an attached K-8 school in pretty much every suburb and many city neighborhoods (we live in a suburb just outside the city). There are HSs where basically anyone with a pulse and $XX,000 to spare can attend, and then there are ones that are very very selective. The single-sex ones tend to fall into the "anyone with a pulse" (OK that sounds really awful of me) category, co-ed is more a mixed bag. So there is something for everyone, whether a very strong student or a not-so-strong student that simply wants to go to a Catholic high school for social reasons, sports, want a smaller environment, whatever.

We will definitely give St. John's a look. From my research it looks like a very well-rounded school, the type where a lot of different kinds of kids could succeed, where there is no one "type"...am I off base here?

For the sake of anonymity I won't say which school she'll be at next year, but I'll definitely talk to the other school families once we get there. Just thought I'd get a head start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's hard to get in from public school.

Have your school call a school here and attend in 8th.

+1, and getting harder. Public schools are not trending well in the DC area as a whole due to overcrowding and other factors, so all privates have way more applicants than seats. A big school that has 200 seats per grade might get 1000 applicants. BTW, applications are due in December, so you have less time than you think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that there is literally something for everybody in DC Catholic schools - single sex, coed, very bookish, very sporty. If you are living in Cleveland Park, you will be a short hop to just about everything. You might want to think about living a bit further into upper NW so that you have more schools in range. I don't know Chicago schools, but DC Catholic schools are quite competitive to get into - especially the single sex and independent schools.

Thanks for the info!

The thing about Catholic schools in Chicago is that there are so dang many of them! You are never more than 15 minutes away from a Catholic high school, and there is a parish with an attached K-8 school in pretty much every suburb and many city neighborhoods (we live in a suburb just outside the city). There are HSs where basically anyone with a pulse and $XX,000 to spare can attend, and then there are ones that are very very selective. The single-sex ones tend to fall into the "anyone with a pulse" (OK that sounds really awful of me) category, co-ed is more a mixed bag. So there is something for everyone, whether a very strong student or a not-so-strong student that simply wants to go to a Catholic high school for social reasons, sports, want a smaller environment, whatever.

We will definitely give St. John's a look. From my research it looks like a very well-rounded school, the type where a lot of different kinds of kids could succeed, where there is no one "type"...am I off base here?

For the sake of anonymity I won't say which school she'll be at next year, but I'll definitely talk to the other school families once we get there. Just thought I'd get a head start.

90% of the students play a sport at SJC. It is a VERY sporty school. It has every non-sport activity you would expect at a HS, but sports pulls it all together. For girls, the marquis sport is basketball. I think most of the other girls sports are close to being no-cut, especially for team sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that there is literally something for everybody in DC Catholic schools - single sex, coed, very bookish, very sporty. If you are living in Cleveland Park, you will be a short hop to just about everything. You might want to think about living a bit further into upper NW so that you have more schools in range. I don't know Chicago schools, but DC Catholic schools are quite competitive to get into - especially the single sex and independent schools.

Thanks for the info!

The thing about Catholic schools in Chicago is that there are so dang many of them! You are never more than 15 minutes away from a Catholic high school, and there is a parish with an attached K-8 school in pretty much every suburb and many city neighborhoods (we live in a suburb just outside the city). There are HSs where basically anyone with a pulse and $XX,000 to spare can attend, and then there are ones that are very very selective. The single-sex ones tend to fall into the "anyone with a pulse" (OK that sounds really awful of me) category, co-ed is more a mixed bag. So there is something for everyone, whether a very strong student or a not-so-strong student that simply wants to go to a Catholic high school for social reasons, sports, want a smaller environment, whatever.

We will definitely give St. John's a look. From my research it looks like a very well-rounded school, the type where a lot of different kinds of kids could succeed, where there is no one "type"...am I off base here?

For the sake of anonymity I won't say which school she'll be at next year, but I'll definitely talk to the other school families once we get there. Just thought I'd get a head start.

90% of the students play a sport at SJC. It is a VERY sporty school. It has every non-sport activity you would expect at a HS, but sports pulls it all together. For girls, the marquis sport is basketball. I think most of the other girls sports are close to being no-cut, especially for team sports.

OK- good to know. My daughter is sporty but she does cross country and soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that there is literally something for everybody in DC Catholic schools - single sex, coed, very bookish, very sporty. If you are living in Cleveland Park, you will be a short hop to just about everything. You might want to think about living a bit further into upper NW so that you have more schools in range. I don't know Chicago schools, but DC Catholic schools are quite competitive to get into - especially the single sex and independent schools.

Thanks for the info!

The thing about Catholic schools in Chicago is that there are so dang many of them! You are never more than 15 minutes away from a Catholic high school, and there is a parish with an attached K-8 school in pretty much every suburb and many city neighborhoods (we live in a suburb just outside the city). There are HSs where basically anyone with a pulse and $XX,000 to spare can attend, and then there are ones that are very very selective. The single-sex ones tend to fall into the "anyone with a pulse" (OK that sounds really awful of me) category, co-ed is more a mixed bag. So there is something for everyone, whether a very strong student or a not-so-strong student that simply wants to go to a Catholic high school for social reasons, sports, want a smaller environment, whatever.

We will definitely give St. John's a look. From my research it looks like a very well-rounded school, the type where a lot of different kinds of kids could succeed, where there is no one "type"...am I off base here?

For the sake of anonymity I won't say which school she'll be at next year, but I'll definitely talk to the other school families once we get there. Just thought I'd get a head start.

It's the opposite here. Anyone with a pulse and $ can attend St. John's, Good Cousel or O'Connell. Personally, I'd look at Visitation if she's a strong student.

[Anonymous]

OP, we are from Chicago also. Where are you living now? I may be able to give you some guidance based on where you are now and what may work here.

We belong to Blessed Sacrament and have kids at St. John's. If you are sticking with Cleveland Park then really Visi and SJC are your only options since commuting can be horrible unless you figure out a carpool (which makes is horrible only 1/2 of the time).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we are from Chicago also. Where are you living now? I may be able to give you some guidance based on where you are now and what may work here.

We belong to Blessed Sacrament and have kids at St. John's. If you are sticking with Cleveland Park then really Visi and SJC are your only options since commuting can be horrible unless you figure out a carpool (which makes is horrible only 1/2 of the time).

We live in Oak Park right now- my daughter wanted to go to either Fenwick or Ignatius for HS.

We are actually not sold on Cleveland Park. We are renting there for a bit because someone from DH's work had something available and it is convenient to his office. We will look to buy once we are settled, but will stay somewhere that is convenient to downtown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that there is literally something for everybody in DC Catholic schools - single sex, coed, very bookish, very sporty. If you are living in Cleveland Park, you will be a short hop to just about everything. You might want to think about living a bit further into upper NW so that you have more schools in range. I don't know Chicago schools, but DC Catholic schools are quite competitive to get into - especially the single sex and independent schools.

Thanks for the info!

The thing about Catholic schools in Chicago is that there are so dang many of them! You are never more than 15 minutes away from a Catholic high school, and there is a parish with an attached K-8 school in pretty much every suburb and many city neighborhoods (we live in a suburb just outside the city). There are HSs where basically anyone with a pulse and $XX,000 to spare can attend, and then there are ones that are very very selective. The single-sex ones tend to fall into the "anyone with a pulse" (OK that sounds really awful of me) category, co-ed is more a mixed bag. So there is something for everyone, whether a very strong student or a not-so-strong student that simply wants to go to a Catholic high school for social reasons, sports, want a smaller environment, whatever.

We will definitely give St. John's a look. From my research it looks like a very well-rounded school, the type where a lot of different kinds of kids could succeed, where there is no one "type"...am I off base here?

For the sake of anonymity I won't say which school she'll be at next year, but I'll definitely talk to the other school families once we get there. Just thought I'd get a head start.

It's the opposite here. Anyone with a pulse and $ can attend St. John's, Good Cousel or O'Connell. Personally, I'd look at Visitation if she's a strong student.

I think you are working from old info on SJC. 1100 applicants this year for 250 spots. They also had much higher yield from accepted students than planned, so next year's freshman class is larger than expected. Very limited transfers allowed for next years sophomores. Expect the acceptance rate to drop further next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our daughter is a 7th grader at a K-8 parish based school in Chicago area where we currently live (moving to this area in July) and was planning on applying to a Catholic high school here, but obviously that won't happen. Of course we have some time next fall to investigate but I'm just trying to get a run down of what our options are. We will be living in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of DC, so preferably something a reasonable distance to there. Thank you!

Where will she be for 8th? A few of the high schools have middle schools too - Stone Ridge comes to mind (all girls)
. It would be a bit of a hike from Cleveland Park but doable.

SR is right on the redline and not many stops from Cleveland Park so it's not far, assuming you're not against the metro. Lots of DC kids take the metro so hopefully you're open to that. SR is a nice school and that class may even have a spot for 8th grade next fall ( it's smaller than other grades at the school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LMGTFY

Archdiocese of Washington (includes independents like Gonzaga and SJC) - http://adw.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2015_ADWbrochure_nomarks.pdf
Diocese of Arlington - https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/catholicschools/secondary.aspx

Location will be key to your search - not all of these are commutable from Cleveland Park.

Thanks. I am able to do a Google search. I am more looking for personal experiences, the "vibes" of the different schools, etc.

You probably ought to start by understanding more about the different areas of the City and the structure of the Catholic community here in DC. Your assumptions based on your Chicago experience aren't going to work here in Washington.

While the Catholic population in Chicago is a mixed bag of ethnic groups (Irish, Italian, German, etc), here the Irish are the dominant group. And many of them have lived here for several generations. The parishes and the parish schools are different based on the neighborhoods/towns in which they sit. (Our Lady of Mercy in Potomac is different from Holy Redeemer in Kensington) Blessed Sacrament at Chevy Chase Circle serves that area and there are lots of old line Catholic families there.

Stone Ridge and Visitation appeal to the same socio-economic group. But Visitation is more often the darling of the more established families.

Your best bet is to talk to people at whatever Parish you join (if you join one). They'll of course have their favorite and loyalties.

Catholic schools are a big deal here in Washington. You can see that by the sheer number and the range of them.

This is not true of PG and therefore not true for Elizabeth Seton (all girls)

[Anonymous]

Are you a more... how you say... don't want to start anything here but... relaxed (cafeteria, liberal, etc.) Catholic family, or are you a more, how you say... serious (conservative, orthodox, etc.) Catholic family? That might also give you some guidance on where you all would feel at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you a more... how you say... don't want to start anything here but... relaxed (cafeteria, liberal, etc.) Catholic family, or are you a more, how you say... serious (conservative, orthodox, etc.) Catholic family? That might also give you some guidance on where you all would feel at home.

Very funny. They are all Catholic, will have uniforms or at least dress codes, will have 4 years of religion, will teach the standard Catechism, prayer before class, require mission service, sports teams, etc. The families will be much more conservative at schools like Oakcrest and The Heights, but those are outliers in the overall community. And there are some unique ones like St. Anselm's. I think the big variable in general will be coed vs same sex. Other than the few I mentioned, I don't think one is more conservative than the next.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we are from Chicago also. Where are you living now? I may be able to give you some guidance based on where you are now and what may work here.

We belong to Blessed Sacrament and have kids at St. John's. If you are sticking with Cleveland Park then really Visi and SJC are your only options since commuting can be horrible unless you figure out a carpool (which makes is horrible only 1/2 of the time).

We live in Oak Park right now- my daughter wanted to go to either Fenwick or Ignatius for HS.

We are actually not sold on Cleveland Park. We are renting there for a bit because someone from DH's work had something available and it is convenient to his office. We will look to buy once we are settled, but will stay somewhere that is convenient to downtown.

Ack!! My husband went to Fenwick. Definitely SJC for you. Fenwick is like a cult and SJC is the same also. It is really amazing how similar they are.

Cleveland Park is great and since something is available grab it. It is a great area. We live just north of CP. It is pretty easy to get to/from SJC and my kids take the city bus home when I can't get them. Also Oak Park is similar to CP. Houses, yards though Oak Park has more density in living and commercial. But commute downtown from CP is much easier than Oak Park.

Welcome!