Gonzaga vs. Landon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The alumni network is very supportive and extensive at Gonzaga.

Now that's a true statement if there ever was one.

There's this huge Purple nation of alums and Gonzaga families especially in Maryland and DC. They are strongly attached to the school and their fellow alumni. Gonzaga is one of the places that gives currency to the frequently heard statement, "In DC, where you went to high school is more important than where you went to college".

They, of course, are talking about the impact of the high school on your adult circle of friends, what clubs you belong to, where you live and where you do and do not send your kids to school.

An older Gonzaga parent, not from the area, once told me that he hadn't seen a doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant or real estate person in the last twenty years that wasn't somehow associated with Gonzaga.

I have no association to Gonzaga but can confirm their alumni are very vocal. Their student section is definitely the loudest at WCAC games. There's clearly a lot of school pride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An older Gonzaga parent, not from the area, once told me that he hadn't seen a doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant or real estate person in the last twenty years that wasn't somehow associated with Gonzaga.

Meritocracy is clearly alive and well.

[Anonymous]

I know a family that sent one child to Gonzaga and one to Landon. So both must have been a good fit for one family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is exploring these two schools. If you and your DS picked one over the other, I'd love to know why.

(and if your DS doesn't attend either, I'm not interested in negative feedback about these schools, thank you

Our boys went to Gonzaga.

This seems an odd set of schools to choose between. I can't remember anyone I have ever talked to or knew of that chose between these two.

The alternative to Gonzaga for western Moco and NW DC residents is almost always GPrep. It's a brother Jesuit school and many families are connected to both GPrep and Gonzaga. If you look at the matriculation lists from the Catholic K-8's, you'll see lots of kids going to either Gonzaga, Prep or St Johns and very rarely one going to Landon.

Gonzaga and Landon are so different, it's probably easier to come up with a short list of similarities than the long list of differences. They are both private, single sex and athletics are a big deal. But beyond that ….

Gonzaga is much larger (3x?). It's in an urban environment, about as busy and urban as it gets in DC. There's a homeless shelter on the grounds. It's run by priests. It's student population is mostly Catholics, many with family, neighborhood or parish ties to the school. Large proportions of the students come from Virginia and the District. Sports are highly competitive. A multi-sport athlete at Landon struggle to make one team at Gonzaga. The college matriculation lists at Gonzaga include a lot of Catholic schools.

Gonzaga is less expensive and that does translate into facilities, class size, etc.

K-8s only list matriculations to 9th grade. Landon and other schools (like St. Anselm's and St. Alban's) have lower schools, so matriculation to those schools are not listed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There really isn’t much these two schools have in common. Are you catholic or not? If so, then choose Gonzaga. If not, Landon.

Nah, there are Landon boys in my kids' Catholic Sunday school classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a family that sent one child to Gonzaga and one to Landon. So both must have been a good fit for one family.

Who knows?

But this is such a rare occurrence, it hardly speaks to anything.

Gonzaga has 1,000 students and one has a brother at Landon?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There really isn’t much these two schools have in common. Are you catholic or not? If so, then choose Gonzaga. If not, Landon.

Nah, there are Landon boys in my kids' Catholic Sunday school classes.

There's a few Catholic kids at Landon.

There's 1,000 at Gonzaga, 500 at Georgetown Prep and hundreds at the Heights, St. John's, etc.

Why do people want to mislead the OP, who seems to know very little about the huge differences between these schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An older Gonzaga parent, not from the area, once told me that he hadn't seen a doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant or real estate person in the last twenty years that wasn't somehow associated with Gonzaga.

Meritocracy is clearly alive and well.

It's called a "network". That's one of the things most Gonzaga people buy into. And that others don't get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There really isn’t much these two schools have in common. Are you catholic or not? If so, then choose Gonzaga. If not, Landon.

Nah, there are Landon boys in my kids' Catholic Sunday school classes.

There's a few Catholic kids at Landon.

There's 1,000 at Gonzaga, 500 at Georgetown Prep and hundreds at the Heights, St. John's, etc.

Why do people want to mislead the OP, who seems to know very little about the huge differences between these schools?

It's misleading to tell OP that she can't choose Landon if she's Catholic. It's not misleading to say, that's ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am more familiar with Gonzaga, but honestly, both are great schools for boys. One is Catholic. You didn't mention religion, so I am assuming it is not important to you. If that is the case, you should have you son shadow at both and let him decide what feels like a better fit. There are lots of non Catholics at Gonzaga, but I won't lie -- they live their faith out at Gonzaga in many ways -- from a mass at least once a month, to prayer to start a class or other event, to the required religion and theology classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There really isn’t much these two schools have in common. Are you catholic or not? If so, then choose Gonzaga. If not, Landon.

This sums up what I was thinking and about to write!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There really isn’t much these two schools have in common. Are you catholic or not? If so, then choose Gonzaga. If not, Landon.

This sums up what I was thinking and about to write!

It’s 2019 so that thinking is myopic. It’s not the 60’s or even the 80’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There really isn’t much these two schools have in common. Are you catholic or not? If so, then choose Gonzaga. If not, Landon.

This sums up what I was thinking and about to write!

It's probably the simplest decision tree you'll ever see. If "True" do this. If "False" do that.

The big problem with this whole conversation is that the OP is pretty much at square one of understanding. The help he/she needs is to say, "If you are considering Landon, you might also consider other smaller, secular, schools within a reasonable distance from Bethesda." That list might include St Albans, Bullis, St Andrew's, etc..

The face-offs for Gonzaga might be Prep, St Johns, the Heights, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There really isn’t much these two schools have in common. Are you catholic or not? If so, then choose Gonzaga. If not, Landon.

This sums up what I was thinking and about to write!

It's probably the simplest decision tree you'll ever see. If "True" do this. If "False" do that.

The big problem with this whole conversation is that the OP is pretty much at square one of understanding. The help he/she needs is to say, "If you are considering Landon, you might also consider other smaller, secular, schools within a reasonable distance from Bethesda." That list might include St Albans, Bullis, St Andrew's, etc..

The face-offs for Gonzaga might be Prep, St Johns, the Heights, etc.

Or if your son isn’t already in a K-8 Catholic school you might want to go to Landon since he’s going to be an outcast and everybody’s already created their friends group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There really isn’t much these two schools have in common. Are you catholic or not? If so, then choose Gonzaga. If not, Landon.

This sums up what I was thinking and about to write!

It’s 2019 so that thinking is myopic. It’s not the 60’s or even the 80’s.

To many, the idea of Catholic education for Catholic families has not gone out of fashion. We send or children to Catholic schools to reinforce our faith and values and to build the community. Its been going on quite successfully for a couple of hundred years here and is not subject to the whims of the latest 2019-era thinking.