Why all the hype over Visitation?
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Anonymous
Exactly. |
Anonymous
| There is probably not a single best answer to this question. My daughters have had very different experiences at Visi, which makes sense because they each have different interests, strengths and weaknesses. One commonality of their experiences, which I think goes to the "special" atmosphere that some people talk about, is the true support that the girls seem to have for each other. I have heard other girls schools can foster a really competitive atmosphere among the students (academically, socially and otherwise), and that just doesn't seem to exist there. They really do seem to celebrate their friends' successes. There are definitely "cliques," but these seem pretty fluid and especially in later high school years, these groups really mix together. |
Anonymous
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Visitation alum here. "Magical"? LOL.
Campus is a real gem. I went to the old school before the fire and it was really charming and historic. I mean, it is the oldest Catholic girls' school in the country. But it's not hogwarts. |
Anonymous
| I will bite. No dog in this fight either as my kids go to another area independent. Many Catholic families go to local parish school with the hope of saving their money for hs at places like visi and Gonzaga. Only a few kids each graduating class (some better feeders than others) get slots so that alone creates an almost feeding frenzy of competition to get in. Via and Gonzaga have so kept tuition costs down compared to say NCS. Both Visi and Gonzaga are still excellent though but is the main reason. So the families who have their kids get in are thrilled. |
Anonymous
| My sister went there in the 80s. I think it was OK--she spent most of her time in Georgetown at Commander Salamander and hiking up her skirt, but Catholic schools always attract that element (the rebels). I think it is a very attractive school if you're are Catholic. Sort of the crème de la crème for Catholics--who are after all a religious minority in the US compared to Protestant denominations and so don't have as many crème de la crème institutions. FWIW I like Gonzaga but our kid had a poor shadow day. More favorably impressed by St. Johns --seemed like an all around good place, not full of itself, with something for everyone. We ultimately decided on neither, but St. Johns seemed a happy place for boys and girls. |
Anonymous
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Our girl thrived at Visi. We were completely stunned by the experience and transformation. We really believe that she would not have had the same wonderful personal growth at another school. So while we have never described it as 'magical', we definitely agree with the assessment -and- will adopt the term in our own descriptions to others.
Don't get me wrong, we went into the experience with no small amount of trepidation. We are both public elementary/high school grads ourselves so the private school process was a completely new experience. We thought that Visi would be an amped up version of parochial school but not really in a good way. However much we were concerned, though, she -really- wanted to go and we let her because the school has a solid reputation, we knew she would get a great education and we liked the focus on the 'whole girl'. During our girl's 6th & 7th grade years we also happened to meet a few Visi alum in a random way (intern at husband's office, friend of a friend's daughter on vacation, casual at the pool, etc) and we had positive impressions of the girls and liked what they had to say about the school as well as what seem to be lasting friendships with the other girls they met there. We also knew we could pull her at any time if it wasn't a good fit. We strongly believe that her experience at Visi changed the way she views herself, her world and her place in the world -- all for the better. We don't know the particulars of the how and why but, wow, just wow, the amount of personal growth we saw in our girl and her confidence in herself far exceeds what we saw in our friends' daughters who attended other all-girl or co-ed private schools. Be forewarned ... it is tough academically. Our girl had to work -much- harder than her friends at other private schools. There were tears and late nights for all of us. There was a lot of homework. But she persevered and learned a lot academically as well as a lot about life, the universe and everything in the process. So, to the skeptics, I guess you'll have to haze me for the lack of precision in my answer 'cuz all I can do is stare dreamily into the distance (no ponytail to swing, though) and wistfully describe it as 'magical'. But it was great. We weren't expecting it but there it is. We are so, so, so glad that we didn't let our lack of familiarity with the school cause us to not let her attend. In any event, we would do it again in a heart beat! |
Anonymous
| Well.....then send your daughter someplace else. |
Anonymous
| A few girls from my DS's middle school got into Visitation. Frankly they were some of the worst students in the class. But their parents were wealthy or they had older sisters there. Faculty at my son's school openly wondered how these girls could even survive academically. I wouldn't assume the school only takes the "best of the best." It doesn't. Not by a long shot. |
Anonymous
| I think Visi is the hardest of the Catholic girls schools to get into which adds to the mystique. They are very big on legacies, often taking less qualified girls whose moms or sisters went there over new, better qualified girls. I'm not knocking that practice - I think it works for them and creates strong bonds with their alums (and probably helps with the money from these alums). Often times these legacies are required to do summer school just to catch up to the girls who did manage to get in on their own merits. But perhaps many of the schools do this? The interesting thing is that if you look at any school ranking, NCS, Holton and SR are all always ranked higher than Visi. If you are just looking at Catholic schools, Visi is more difficult to get in than SR, perhaps because of the draw of the Virginia schools. But in any ranking, SR always does better than Visi and is more impressive academically IMHO. That being said, obviously each child is different and every family can decide what fits their child best. In terms of college placement, I would say Visi and SR are comparable with where the girls go. We chose SR because it fit our daughter better and loved the service component it offered which is second to none. Visi is an excellent school, however, and has an impressive alum network. The people I know who went or currently go there are well adjusted, kind people who love their school. They definitely think it is the best show in town, but we all don't have to agree, right? |
Anonymous
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Perhaps it is that strong link of legacies that adds to some sort of mystique? I went to an all-girls school in another state and at this point some families are in their fourth or fifth generation attending the school. At some point, does that contribute to a sense of tradition or specialness?
I know nothing about the academics or anything else about the girls and families at Visi or any of the other privates, but we do want to send our daughter to private for HS so I keep an eye on this board and occasionally comment. |
Anonymous
We viewed Visitation and SR as fairly comparable in many respects and, yes, SR often ranks higher academically. That said, we felt that the big difference in the two schools was tone. Visi is very legacy oriented and heavy on tradition, which makes sense given its age. SR came across as more "modern" in the sense that their focus on how girls learn and their service component stand out. They are both good schools and, at the end of the day, girls who apply themselves at either will do well. |
Anonymous
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A co-worker's daughter recently went there and the co-worker raved (favorably) about it on many occasions. It's the right school for the right girl. There can be a sisterhood feel that some girls crave, from what I can tell.
My sister went there years ago too and has fond memories. I'll never forget her and classmates, for some kind of special event day, putting their hair in ponytails and pigtails wrapped around wire coathangers, so the hair-tales would stick out - incredibly hilarious. The campus is huge and gorgeous too. And as others have said, there is a tight alumni community. Comparing Stone Ridge and Visi -- I'd think it really comes down to logistics. If you live close to Visi, you'll likely want to go there; if you live in Chevy Chase or Rockville, etc., you go to Stone Ridge rather than drive the long haul to Georgetown. |
Anonymous
| Are the academics at Visi equivalent to Sidwell or the Cathederal schools? Anyone with experience at both? We haven't looked at Visi because we are not Catholic and don't ever hear much about it. I know they have a great lacrosse team. |
Anonymous
Np. No dog in this fight either. From people that go there it seems that it holds high sentimental value. Think how Sandra Bullock's attitude was in The Blind Side about everyone going to Ole Miss. Hard to measure intrinsic value to different families. |
Anonymous
| We know of several girls, top students, over the past few years who have toured and shadowed there and came away disappointed. What's magical to some is definitely not to others. You view any school based on whether you think it is the right for for your daughter, not what the neighbor thinks. |