Georgetown Prep vs. Sidwell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mission of the ADW schools: Our mission is to educate all students in a Christian environment, welcoming children of all faiths. We promote the value of the individual while encouraging mutual respect through our Catholic faith and traditions.

For some reason you are hell bent on sending an unwelcoming message from Catholic schools to those on this website, not sure why. But your view is yours alone.

+1 Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Quaker Family Values = Screw the Poor

[Anonymous]

PP=rejection letter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP=rejection letter

Nope. Never considered SF, especially hearing about their sneak attack parental essay that they would spring on unsuspecting parents during a school visit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP=rejection letter

Nope. Never considered SF, especially hearing about their sneak attack parental essay that they would spring on unsuspecting parents during a school visit.

Yes, the horror of a school asking parents to write their thoughts about their kids. And, once they were told parents felt anxious about it, changing their procedure to avoid the anxiety. The horror. How could anyone possibly subject their children to such a place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mission of the ADW schools: Our mission is to educate all students in a Christian environment, welcoming children of all faiths. We promote the value of the individual while encouraging mutual respect through our Catholic faith and traditions.

For some reason you are hell bent on sending an unwelcoming message from Catholic schools to those on this website, not sure why. But your view is yours alone.

You don't spend much time with the alumni of these independent Catholic schools depending instead on position papers from the Bishops.

The piece from O'Connell was obviously written to address concerns being raised by the majority and to defend the practice of admitting non-Catholics. If people weren't complaining or asking questions there would have been no reason to write it. So maybe I'm not alone in the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP=rejection letter

Nope. Never considered SF, especially hearing about their sneak attack parental essay that they would spring on unsuspecting parents during a school visit.

Yes, the horror of a school asking parents to write their thoughts about their kids. And, once they were told parents felt anxious about it, changing their procedure to avoid the anxiety. The horror. How could anyone possibly subject their children to such a place.

What does it say about a place where they actually thought this was a good idea, and only abandoned it after being roasted for even contemplating it, let alone mandating it for years.

[Anonymous]

From what I understood, asking parents to write the essays at home meant hours upon hours of stewing and editing. This way, it was like ripping off the band-aid.

I am not sure either way is right, but ultimately, I can understand the admissions office wanting parental insights about the applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mission of the ADW schools: Our mission is to educate all students in a Christian environment, welcoming children of all faiths. We promote the value of the individual while encouraging mutual respect through our Catholic faith and traditions.

For some reason you are hell bent on sending an unwelcoming message from Catholic schools to those on this website, not sure why. But your view is yours alone.

You don't spend much time with the alumni of these independent Catholic schools depending instead on position papers from the Bishops.

The piece from O'Connell was obviously written to address concerns being raised by the majority and to defend the practice of admitting non-Catholics. If people weren't complaining or asking questions there would have been no reason to write it. So maybe I'm not alone in the world.

Yes. I do spend time with alumni of these independent Catholic schools... even ones you have probably never heard of like St. Mary's Ryken and Regina (which does not exist anymore).

I think some people have experience with the Gonzaga/Prep Bethesda/Chevy Chase/Potomac crowd and are judging a whole Archdiocese of Washington Catholic community on the few bad apples in the bunch. Yes, they can be snobby and insular, but there are 50+ catholic elementary schools in the ADW and those few are not representative of the whole catholic community. I am sorry if that crowd is insular and rude, i have been around enough to know they can be. I also know that not everybody in HR/St. Jane/BS/mercy are the same. This area is transient, and while many people have know each other for generations, many have not. Many have married non-Catholics and I have never seen anybody not welcomed due to their religion.

[Anonymous]

Maret asked for an essay when we applied to its LS as well. No big deal. Chill out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From what I understood, asking parents to write the essays at home meant hours upon hours of stewing and editing. This way, it was like ripping off the band-aid.

I am not sure either way is right, but ultimately, I can understand the admissions office wanting parental insights about the applicants.

1. Only a complete idiot would spend hours on a meaningless parental essay; and

2. Springing that on unsuspecting parents is classless, idiotic and indicates an inability to grasp common sense.

[Anonymous]

Except many people complained about the time they spent stewing over the applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From what I understood, asking parents to write the essays at home meant hours upon hours of stewing and editing. This way, it was like ripping off the band-aid.

I am not sure either way is right, but ultimately, I can understand the admissions office wanting parental insights about the applicants.

1. Only a complete idiot would spend hours on a meaningless parental essay; and

2. Springing that on unsuspecting parents is classless, idiotic and indicates an inability to grasp common sense.

NP. In one of the open house sessions I attended at Sidwell 3-4 years ago, some parent asked about this "surprise" essay (which means I guess it wasn't really a surprise at all!). The AD said they had tried it in the past for the exact reason PP described - because the school had received complaints from parents that the take-home essays were too draining. The AD also said the school had learned that some parents were actually hiring ghost writers to pen the essays for them. The AD said they tried the in-person essay as an antidote to that craziness, but then dropped it after receiving complaints about the surprise element. It seemed like a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't situation. FWIW, I've applied three different times over the course of 8 years, and never once experienced any in-person essay. I'm sure it would have been nerve-wracking, but in retrospect, it may have been less stressful than the take-home essays. OTOH, at least with take-home essays, you can recycle them for multiple schools. No good answer. HTH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mission of the ADW schools: Our mission is to educate all students in a Christian environment, welcoming children of all faiths. We promote the value of the individual while encouraging mutual respect through our Catholic faith and traditions.

For some reason you are hell bent on sending an unwelcoming message from Catholic schools to those on this website, not sure why. But your view is yours alone.

You don't spend much time with the alumni of these independent Catholic schools depending instead on position papers from the Bishops.

The piece from O'Connell was obviously written to address concerns being raised by the majority and to defend the practice of admitting non-Catholics. If people weren't complaining or asking questions there would have been no reason to write it. So maybe I'm not alone in the world.

Yes. I do spend time with alumni of these independent Catholic schools... even ones you have probably never heard of like St. Mary's Ryken and Regina (which does not exist anymore).

I think some people have experience with the Gonzaga/Prep Bethesda/Chevy Chase/Potomac crowd and are judging a whole Archdiocese of Washington Catholic community on the few bad apples in the bunch. Yes, they can be snobby and insular, but there are 50+ catholic elementary schools in the ADW and those few are not representative of the whole catholic community. I am sorry if that crowd is insular and rude, i have been around enough to know they can be. I also know that not everybody in HR/St. Jane/BS/mercy are the same. This area is transient, and while many people have know each other for generations, many have not. Many have married non-Catholics and I have never seen anybody not welcomed due to their religion.

But this thread is about Georgetown Prep and the Bethesda/Chevy Chase/ Potomac crowd that supplies the majority of Prep students. It's the group you identified as "snobby" and "insular". It's a whole different crowd and Good Counsel or St Mary's Rykien.

Becuase if this social wall that exists and other factors, attending one of the two Catholic independent schools as a non-Catholic must be a little bit like going to a fine restaurant while on a diet. It's not bad, but your experience isn't quite the same thing as the others there enjoy.

[Anonymous]

^^^^^

All 50+ ADW schools feed into Prep so you would have many different people from many different parts of the ADW schools attend Prep. But I agree, if you plan to attend Prep and you plan to only befriend the kids from Bethesda/Potomac/Chevy chase you will have an insular experience.