Landon vs. Georgetown Prep Upper School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From what I hear on the grapevine, Prep should start worrying about boys choosing Gonzaga......

Well, if they have cheap parents ...

[Anonymous]

The "cheap parents" comment is a ridiculous one, I shouldn't even call it out.

However, there is merit to the Gonzaga value proposition. The price tag is somewhere around half of Prep's. Zaga is not as good a school academically as Prep. There is no argument there. But is Prep 2x what Gonzaga is academically? No. The value is clearly better at Gonzaga, especially in these economically challeging times. It is simply a question for familiies of whether they want (or can) pay that much more for the delta in the academic quality. And if athletics is very important to the family, then Gonzaga is even more compelling. Here you get comparable athletics (very high quality) for half the price.

For this reason, Gonzaga is one of the toughest applications these days. Not because of it's academic or other "exclusivity" like at other schools. But because of it's great value. Because of the economics, for the last couple of years Gonzaga is one of the toughest applications around.

[Anonymous]

The Catholic elite will always end up over at Prep than Gonzaga.

Yes Gonzaga is the best bargain in town right now but its academics are not on the level of Prep's.

[Anonymous]

I know this is a very hard question to answer, but what are the four or five typical colleges for the top non-recruited athlete at Prep to attend. Same question for Gonzaga.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "cheap parents" comment is a ridiculous one, I shouldn't even call it out.

However, there is merit to the Gonzaga value proposition. The price tag is somewhere around half of Prep's. Zaga is not as good a school academically as Prep. There is no argument there. But is Prep 2x what Gonzaga is academically? No. The value is clearly better at Gonzaga, especially in these economically challeging times. It is simply a question for familiies of whether they want (or can) pay that much more for the delta in the academic quality. And if athletics is very important to the family, then Gonzaga is even more compelling. Here you get comparable athletics (very high quality) for half the price.

For this reason, Gonzaga is one of the toughest applications these days. Not because of it's academic or other "exclusivity" like at other schools. But because of it's great value. Because of the economics, for the last couple of years Gonzaga is one of the toughest applications around.

There are some other factors in Gonzaga's favor.

For those who really want a "Jesuit" education, Gonzaga has something GP doesn't and that's actual Jesuit priests teaching classes. I have heard Gonzaga has 17 Jesuits in teaching roles. GP might have 1 or 2 and they are ancient.

The urban location of Gonzaga is a learning experience in and of itself. At the end of four years, Gonzaga grads can negotiate DC --- or any City -- with ease. No other school can make the claim as well as Gonzaga can. No other school has a soup kitchen / shelter ON THE CAMPUS.

Diversity and real diversity of race and class. Not just numbers.

Finally, there's the "enthusiasm" associated with the school. You can actually feel the energy in the place. They --- students and others --- are absolutely convinced there is no other place that can compare.

The physical plant has been greatly improved. It's more than a great value .... it's a unique high school experience.

For what it's worth .... I am not associated with the school in any way.

[Anonymous]

[b]I know this is a very hard question to answer, but what are the four or five typical colleges for the top non-recruited athlete at Prep to attend. Same question for Gonzaga. [/b]


Great question. If you take a close look at Prep's academics, class engagement, and general student body, it is not as strong as many believe. I have heard concerns from families with regards to PP's questions. My concerns with the school first began when I heard that some alumni were no longer interested in Prep for their sons. I still think Prep is a good school; just not great, especially academically. The strong focus on sports may have attracted the athletes, but turned off the truly strong academic students and over time weaken the academic program. While the school tauts it is a "homework driven school", lots of homework does not equate with a great or even good school. While sports is one part of a students life, I wish Prep and to a larger extent our culture in general, didn't give it the importance it has. Just look at the how the conversations on this forum degenerates when sports is brought up. The priorities seem wrong.

[Anonymous]

[b]The priorities seem wrong. [/b]

The priorities [u]are[/u] wrong.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][b]I know this is a very hard question to answer, but what are the four or five typical colleges for the top non-recruited athlete at Prep to attend. Same question for Gonzaga. [/b]


Great question. If you take a close look at Prep's academics, class engagement, and general student body, it is not as strong as many believe. I have heard concerns from families with regards to PP's questions. My concerns with the school first began when I heard that some alumni were no longer interested in Prep for their sons. I still think Prep is a good school; just not great, especially academically. The strong focus on sports may have attracted the athletes, but turned off the truly strong academic students and over time weaken the academic program. While the school tauts it is a "homework driven school", lots of homework does not equate with a great or even good school. While sports is one part of a students life, I wish Prep and to a larger extent our culture in general, didn't give it the importance it has. Just look at the how the conversations on this forum degenerates when sports is brought up. The priorities seem wrong. [/quote]

I disagree with the commtary about the academics not as strong as many believe.

However, if you lend some credibility to that argument, here is another positive development. The new president of the school (arrived this year), is much more focused on strengthening the academic component. His predecessor was very focused on athletics.

[Anonymous]

We did a lot of research last fall for our son who'll be applying for 9th grade this fall. We looked at Landon, St. Alban's, Prep, and Maret (we live in Woodley Park, so we felt obligated to look at Maret -- although ultimately, we want single sex. Anyway, despite the fact that it is further from home and that we're not Catholic, we were most taken with Prep. Our son is an athlete (football and baseball), and he is also a nearly straight-A student at a coed k-8. He really excels in mathematics and writing.

We love the balance (e.g., "whole man") that Prep emphasizes and we were of course blown away by the facilities. We've also been impressed with the Prep alumi whom we've associated with -- and see the balance in them.

Of course, we still need to get through the application process, and we will be applying to St. Alban's and Landon -- both great schools too. Crossing our fingers he'll get in somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did a lot of research last fall for our son who'll be applying for 9th grade this fall. We looked at Landon, St. Alban's, Prep, and Maret (we live in Woodley Park, so we felt obligated to look at Maret -- although ultimately, we want single sex. Anyway, despite the fact that it is further from home and that we're not Catholic, we were most taken with Prep. Our son is an athlete (football and baseball), and he is also a nearly straight-A student at a coed k-8. He really excels in mathematics and writing.

We love the balance (e.g., "whole man") that Prep emphasizes and we were of course blown away by the facilities. We've also been impressed with the Prep alumi whom we've associated with -- and see the balance in them.

Of course, we still need to get through the application process, and we will be applying to St. Alban's and Landon -- both great schools too. Crossing our fingers he'll get in somewhere.

If you live in Woodley Park and get into St. Albans think hard before you trade in the 3 minute commute for a longer one! It really adds up over the years. All of these schools sound like good fits, however; good luck!

[Anonymous]

Years ago, it was unheard of for Mater Dei kids to even think about applying to Gonzaga. Now, nearly 50% or more of Mater Dei kids are ending up at Gonzaga. Clearly, the 50% lower tuition is something a lot of families must consider. Academically, the schools are comparable in terms of reputation. Prep has superior facilities and Gonzaga has a tight community that appeals to many.

[Anonymous]

[quote][b]... The new president of the school (arrived this year), is much more focused on strengthening the academic component. His predecessor was very focused on athletics.
[/b][/quote]

PP how do you know the new president of Prep is more focused on strengthening the academics at the school. I would love this to be true. However, we looked at Prep, attended functions, spoke to families, a few teachers, etc., but did not hear anything about a change/improvement in its academic program. We asked what if anything might be changed in the near future, academically or otherwise, and was told there were no changes planned because "..why change what is successful." The overall impression we got, and confirmed by current families, is that they do not want to be questioned.

[Anonymous]

No answer on colleges for non-recruited athletes....?

[Anonymous]

Look on the website!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No answer on colleges for non-recruited athletes....?

Look at the bottom of this page.

http://www.preplax.com/alumni.htm#Current_Year_Players_to_College_Programs

You will see that his year's list of lacrosse players are not going to the top schools in the numbers they have in the past.

And this is all about lacrosse players ... other sports are generally not even close in terms of college recruits.

The whole page gives a long list of players and schools.

But keep in mind, some of this goes back 20 years. And some of these kids were smart enough to get into these schools without lacrosse. They were better students than lacrosse players and had short careers at Yale and some of the others. The GP lacrosse program takes credit for everything they can.