Culture of St. Anselm’s Abbey school?

[Anonymous]

Regarding the point above about scholarships, there is a profile in the catholic standard about the student in the 2020 class who is going to Vanderbilt, which mentions that he is on a full tuition merit scholarship...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am curious why then college acceptance rates do not bare this out. The school appears to be academically rigorous, well run and is churning out nice boys with high SAT scores.

SAAS's website list the rolling 3 years of admissions for 2018-2020 (about 120 boys total).

Of note:

Bates
Boston College (13)
Claremont McKenna
Carnegie Mellon
Columbia
Cornell (2)
Dartmouth
Duke (2)
Emory (5)
Fordham (10)
GW (4)
Georgetown (4)
GA Tech (4)
Johns Hopkins
Kings College of London (#31 in the world per USNWR)
McGill
Miami OH (one of the "public ivies")
Middlebury
Princeton
Rice
UNC-CH (public ivy)
UT Austin (public ivy)
Trinity College CT
University College of London (#8 in the world per USNWR)
Several UCal schools
Chicago
Michigan (public ivy) (7)
Notre Dame (7)
Penn (3)
UVA (public ivy) (14)
Wisconsin
Vanderbilt (2)
Vassar (2)
Va Tech
Wash U. St. Louis
William and Mary (16)
Williams College

This is a pretty impressive list given the number of graduates they have. Sure there are plenty of lesser known schools too, but there is a smattering of actual Ivies, several top-ranked SLACs, "public ivies, "Catholic Ivies" and some extremely competive non-Ivies like Chicago, Duke, Emory, WashU and Vanderbilt. Only people who are "HYP or Bust" would find these schools disappointing. Top graduates of these schools have virtually no career doors closed to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious why then college acceptance rates do not bare this out. The school appears to be academically rigorous, well run and is churning out nice boys with high SAT scores.

SAAS annual reports are posted publicly and include matriculation lists (see, e.g., page 37 here: https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1600196924/stanselms/qvg5r3t8chu6ggvm0hfk/AR1920.pdf )

Last year's class of 37 included matriculations to Columbia, Penn, Duke, Chicago, Georgetown (2), Rice, Vandy, UVA, W&M (2), Notre Dame (2), Haverford, Boston College (3), Tulane, and Lehigh. That's over half the class (and there are plenty of other fine schools on the rest of the list). Have a look. I don't know where this "unimpressive placements" nonsense comes from.

PP I think these are acceptances not enrollments. A student might have got accepted at Columbia but did not actually enroll there per the matriculation list on Anselms website - Columbia is not listed.

Try clicking the actual link before popping off. The annual report has a page of "Class of 2020 College & University Matriculations," which lists individual graduates with the college/university they'll be attending--including Columbia. If you think there's contradictory data out there, post a link.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regarding the point above about scholarships, there is a profile in the catholic standard about the student in the 2020 class who is going to Vanderbilt, which mentions that he is on a full tuition merit scholarship...

He's also a great kid who contributed to the school in all kinds of ways beyond academic during his time there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regarding the point above about scholarships, there is a profile in the catholic standard about the student in the 2020 class who is going to Vanderbilt, which mentions that he is on a full tuition merit scholarship...

40% of the boys at SAAS receive need-based financial aid (from a much lower tuition than charged by the Sidwells of the world). So naturally cost will be a factor in where a significant portion of the school's graduates attend college.

[Anonymous]

Remember the boys who live in the District can participate in the TAG program which gives $10K off any state school in the country. Between that and merit money, that makes state schools really attractive for these kids. Since the school in general is less wealthy than many other privates, you're going to see more kids making those sorts of decisions. Plus the kids are looking toward schools that are truly good fits for them, not just big names. Great school. Great group of boys.

[Anonymous]

Parent of a graduate. Many graduates definitely take advantage of merit awards. Great bunch of boys, wonderful families, fabulous high school!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read on another thread that this school is for gifted boys. Is this correct?

While there are undoubtedly gifted boys at SAAS, our DS goes there and we would not say he is gifted. Very bright, hard-working, loves learning, and intellectually curious is how I would describe him and many of his classmates. The school is a wonderful environment for smart boys who want to put in the hard work to succeed at SAAS. But for all the academic rigor, the school is not a pressure cooker, the school encourages fun, and there's lots of support. [/quote

Frequently get homework assigned on weekends, meaning when school is out, a new assignment will show up through email on a Saturday that is due next school day. Typically have 3-4 hours of homework for middle school-this is ongoing throughout the school year.

[Anonymous]

Always homework assigned for the weekend in upper school.

[Anonymous]

Abbey a bit of a sink or swim environment TBH. The student body is not cut-throat competitive, nor are parents crazy demanding. But there is also not a lot of academic counseling and support for your son. He’s expected to reach out and determine how to prepare, study, get tests back, etc. Teachers aren’t really creating detailed grading rubrics, or even handing out example “A” essays.

[Anonymous]

Would a non-quirky, athletic boy fit in socially at SAAS? We have read a lot about the St. Anselm’s ‘type’ of boy and our son while bright, is not a studious, book loving, quirky kid.

[Anonymous]

I think you have other schools that would fit better. HS Curriculum is through Latin level 4, 4 years of religion, modern language though level 4. A lot of required classes to graduate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would a non-quirky, athletic boy fit in socially at SAAS? We have read a lot about the St. Anselm’s ‘type’ of boy and our son while bright, is not a studious, book loving, quirky kid.

Yes, there all kinds of boys there, including some serious athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you have other schools that would fit better. HS Curriculum is through Latin level 4, 4 years of religion, modern language though level 4. A lot of required classes to graduate.

Correction Latin to level 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would a non-quirky, athletic boy fit in socially at SAAS? We have read a lot about the St. Anselm’s ‘type’ of boy and our son while bright, is not a studious, book loving, quirky kid.

Yes, there all kinds of boys there, including some serious athletes.

^^ oh, but the non-studious part would be a concern. It can be an adjustment for even seriously studious boys.