Landon vs. St. Alban's

[Anonymous]

Any real differences between these two?

[Anonymous]

St. Alban's a bit stronger academically. Landon more cliques more athletics. St. Alban's more diverse. Many at Landon say it's easy to not fit in.

[Anonymous]

Is it more competitive to get into St. Alban's than Landon, especially for kids who didn't attend Beauvoir? Any feedback on the testing for 4th grade admission to St. Alban's and Landon?

[Anonymous]

I think it is harder to get into St. Albans, whether you went to Beauvoir or not, but it's a little hard to evaluate:

St. Albans notifies Beauvoir children earlier than the regular admissions population. Beauvoir kids know in January whether or not they've been accepted (versus other kids in March) and they more or less have to decide then and there whether they want to go (they have to pay $1000 and either accept the spot or not). For most of the Beauvoir kids, St. Albans is the first choice, and so most will withdraw their applications to Landon, for example (that being their second choice). But as a result, you don't get to see the Landon admissions process through to the end. The ones who remain in the Landon pool will generally be the boys who were NOT admitted to St. Albans, and Landon will accept many of those boys. So you end up with this result that there will be this pool of boys who were not admitted to St. Albans but were admitted to Landon. You just don't get to see whether or not those boys who WERE admitted to St. Albans would actually have been admitted to Landon (since they'll usually pull their applications before Landon makes a decision). But the general perception is, St. Albans is harder. I'm going to say unequivocably that for non-Beauvoir children, St. Albans has got to be harder, because it's excruciatingly hard to get it.

In terms of testing, my son found the testing at St. Albans actually easier, but it's not the test, it's how it's evaluated (could be they take an easier test, but admit only the top 10%; versus they take a harder test, but they take the top 20%).

[Anonymous]

I heard that a Landon teacher on another thread was not impressed with the academics there.

[Anonymous]

They are both great schools for boys. One is intown and the other on 72+ acres. They attract different families because of location. If you are looking for a single sex education then you should seriously consider both schools. Stereotypes of both are not necessarily true - St. Albans beat Landon in many athletic events so it is actually quite athletic not jsut about academics. Landon has a wonderful music program - recognized nationally so it can be a great place for a serious musician. As far as a teacher saying not impressed with academics at Landon, I don't believe. I know many teachers from Landon who send their kids there quite enthusiastically.

[Anonymous]

Are their any schools that feed into Landon?

[Anonymous]

public.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about feeders, but it seems like many Primary Day School boys go on to Landon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is harder to get into St. Albans, whether you went to Beauvoir or not, but it's a little hard to evaluate:

St. Albans notifies Beauvoir children earlier than the regular admissions population. Beauvoir kids know in January whether or not they've been accepted (versus other kids in March) and they more or less have to decide then and there whether they want to go (they have to pay $1000 and either accept the spot or not). For most of the Beauvoir kids, St. Albans is the first choice, and so most will withdraw their applications to Landon, for example (that being their second choice). But as a result, you don't get to see the Landon admissions process through to the end. The ones who remain in the Landon pool will generally be the boys who were NOT admitted to St. Albans, and Landon will accept many of those boys. So you end up with this result that there will be this pool of boys who were not admitted to St. Albans but were admitted to Landon. You just don't get to see whether or not those boys who WERE admitted to St. Albans would actually have been admitted to Landon (since they'll usually pull their applications before Landon makes a decision). But the general perception is, St. Albans is harder. I'm going to say unequivocably that for non-Beauvoir children, St. Albans has got to be harder, because it's excruciatingly hard to get it.

In terms of testing, my son found the testing at St. Albans actually easier, but it's not the test, it's how it's evaluated (could be they take an easier test, but admit only the top 10%; versus they take a harder test, but they take the top 20%).

What "testing" is actually involved?

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure all entrance tests are about the same...math, reading and writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to say unequivocably that for non-Beauvoir children, St. Albans has got to be harder, because it's excruciatingly hard to get it.

that should have been unequivocally...

[Anonymous]

How big is the 4th grade class. What schools apart from Beauvoir feed into STA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How big is the 4th grade class. What schools apart from Beauvoir feed into STA?

I think at least 50% of the high school students at STA enter in grade 7 or 9 and come from a wide variety of schools. Landon begins in grade 3 and has different large entry years. Many posters on DCUM focus on Maret, GDS, etc but for boys and high school many consider this group: Landon, Georgetown Prep, Gonzaga, STA. All are good schools. Prep has the most outstanding athletic facilities. Landon is the only one without a religious affiliation. STA is the only single sex school that has defined co-coordinate coed classes/sports/EC's. All 4 schools are strong academically and many top students have chosen to attend each school.

[Anonymous]

My son got into a number of very good schools and chose Landon. While the parent body is quite different from the usual DC private school, I have to say that the school is very well run, the teachers are wonderful, the campus is just beautiful, and my son is happy and getting an excellent education. We are pleased with our choice.