Big 15??

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

I asked you first. I Googled Gonzaga’s alums, and I only recognized 2-3 names. That’s hardly a list that rival’s Sidwell’s alumni. But I know you’re typing things that have no basis in facts.

Btw, you can Google Sidwell’s alums. They put Gonzaga’s to shame.

Definitely not. Both are on Wikipedia. Sidwell’s most notable alumni are “children of”. We prefer alumni that are noteworthy based on their own accomplishments. Funny enough, despite all those “children of” educated by Sidwell, Gonzaga has a more impressive list of alumni in the political/govt category. And let’s not even get started on the sports category…

Name them.

Pat Buchanan, Ken Cuccinelli, Martin O'Malley, and Don Beyer to name a few.

This is the “impressive list of alumni” you’ve been boasting about?!? Ken and Don who? My sympathies to Gonzaga for having Pat Buchanan as an alum—such an odious excuse for a human being. It also appears that Gonzaga’s four most “accomplished” alums are, for whatever reason” siloed in politics.

Sidwell’s notable alums have distinguished themselves across a much wider variety of industries. Here’s a sampling:

Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman: Co-founders of College Hunks Hauling Junk, which has over 100 franchises across the United States;

Roger Ferguson: First African American Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve and Former President and CEO of a Fortune 500 Company (TIAA-CREF);

Ann Brashares: Author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book series (later adapted into a movie);

Philip Davis Guggenheim: Screenwriter, director, and producer whose work includes An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud, and Waiting for "Superman";

Walter Gilbert: Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (DNA sequencing); and

Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Business, science, sports, politics, filmmaking, and literature. Sidwell alums have made their mark everywhere.

PP was responding to a comment about political alum. Just check Wikipedia, Gonzaga’s list is more impressive across many categories.

I checked Wikipedia. No, Gonzaga’s list is not more impressive.

In addition to the Sidwell alums listed above, another poster upthread mentioned:

Charlie Gibson (former Good Morning America host, and the anchor of World News with Charles Gibson),

Ethan Brown (founded Beyond Meat Co.), and

Hanna Holborn Gray (the FIRST woman President of the University of Chicago—and one of the first in the United States).

I’ll also add two current NBA players: Josh Hart and Saddiq Bey.

Gonzaga’s alums do not have the range.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

First Gonzaga vs Potomac now Gonzaga vs Sidwell. These Gonzaga parents have lost it. You need a reality check ASAP.

This forum needs a reality check. No one is using any real objective metrics to rank any of these schools and it’s full of bias. There is no objective metric that makes Sidwell #1 but for some reason we’re all supposed to accept it as gospel. It doesn’t have the best campus/facilities, price, college outcomes, alumni or sports. People throw these rankings around with no real rigor.

Which DC Private school has better facilities, college outcomes, alumni or sports than Sidwell? I’ll give you price, though.

And I mean name one DC Metro school that is better than Sidwell in all areas listed above? Gonzaga is already out based on its facilities/location (practically a homeless shelter), academics, college outcomes, and alumni.

Although Gonzaga does host homeless men on their campus for lunch, the campus is quite lovely.





https://imgur.com/Iee4GyW

Wow didn't expect this. Very nice. May need to check this out for my middle schooler.

I work in the reddish brick building right next door (our office overlooks Gonzaga’s field). It is a gorgeous campus inside and out.

I’ve been in my building 8 years and have never had any issues with crimes or homeless people accosting me or anything. It is a safe area despite what others say and I’ve never met more polite young men during my interactions with Gonzaga students. I observe and interact with them on the MARC and metro coming in and out of DC and also at lunchtime because they frequent the same lunch spots as me and my colleagues. I would love to send my son here when he is older and would be perfectly comfortable with him commuting back and forth (and I say this as a former District prosecutor who knows the City inside and out).

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

I asked you first. I Googled Gonzaga’s alums, and I only recognized 2-3 names. That’s hardly a list that rival’s Sidwell’s alumni. But I know you’re typing things that have no basis in facts.

Btw, you can Google Sidwell’s alums. They put Gonzaga’s to shame.

Definitely not. Both are on Wikipedia. Sidwell’s most notable alumni are “children of”. We prefer alumni that are noteworthy based on their own accomplishments. Funny enough, despite all those “children of” educated by Sidwell, Gonzaga has a more impressive list of alumni in the political/govt category. And let’s not even get started on the sports category…

Name them.

Pat Buchanan, Ken Cuccinelli, Martin O'Malley, and Don Beyer to name a few.

This is the “impressive list of alumni” you’ve been boasting about?!? Ken and Don who? My sympathies to Gonzaga for having Pat Buchanan as an alum—such an odious excuse for a human being. It also appears that Gonzaga’s four most “accomplished” alums are, for whatever reason” siloed in politics.

Sidwell’s notable alums have distinguished themselves across a much wider variety of industries. Here’s a sampling:

Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman: Co-founders of College Hunks Hauling Junk, which has over 100 franchises across the United States;

Roger Ferguson: First African American Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve and Former President and CEO of a Fortune 500 Company (TIAA-CREF);

Ann Brashares: Author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book series (later adapted into a movie);

Philip Davis Guggenheim: Screenwriter, director, and producer whose work includes An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud, and Waiting for "Superman";

Walter Gilbert: Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (DNA sequencing); and

Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Business, science, sports, politics, filmmaking, and literature. Sidwell alums have made their mark everywhere.

Appreciate the vitriol, but once again, reading comprehension is key. The PP asked for "alumni in the political/govt category," which is what was provided. It was not in response to the question, "Who are the four most notable alumni?"

You’re the one struggling with reading comprehension. One of the PP’s initially said that Gonzaga’s alums were more impressive than Sidwell’s, once you remove Presidents children from the equation.

Once that person realized the facts didn’t support their dubious post, they tried to backtrack and limit the comparison to alums who are politicians. Once again, Gonzaga doesn’t have the range for thi conversation.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

First Gonzaga vs Potomac now Gonzaga vs Sidwell. These Gonzaga parents have lost it. You need a reality check ASAP.

This forum needs a reality check. No one is using any real objective metrics to rank any of these schools and it’s full of bias. There is no objective metric that makes Sidwell #1 but for some reason we’re all supposed to accept it as gospel. It doesn’t have the best campus/facilities, price, college outcomes, alumni or sports. People throw these rankings around with no real rigor.

Which DC Private school has better facilities, college outcomes, alumni or sports than Sidwell? I’ll give you price, though.

And I mean name one DC Metro school that is better than Sidwell in all areas listed above? Gonzaga is already out based on its facilities/location (practically a homeless shelter), academics, college outcomes, and alumni.

Although Gonzaga does host homeless men on their campus for lunch, the campus is quite lovely.





https://imgur.com/Iee4GyW

Ehh its ok. STA, Potomac and Bullis look way better by far.

Debatable but do they look three times better?! b/c they’re like triple the price…And before you say price doesn’t matter, everyone cares about value even billionaires. No one is paying $500 for a Big Mac after all, so the price does need to reflect what you’re getting.

Yea...the price reflects great academics, sports and college results(merit and athletic). Price doesn't matter, there are so many people on FA.

People were just laying into OP on that financial aid thread the other day for asking about aid despite high income. So which one is it, is financial aid abundantly available or not b/c you can send 2 or 3 kids to Gonzaga for the price of one at these other schools. Gonzaga is very clearly a better value b/c nothing anyone here has posted shows that STA/Potomac/Bullis is leaps and bounds above Gonzaga to justify the premium. Not in terms of campus, sports, academics or alumni

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

First Gonzaga vs Potomac now Gonzaga vs Sidwell. These Gonzaga parents have lost it. You need a reality check ASAP.

This forum needs a reality check. No one is using any real objective metrics to rank any of these schools and it’s full of bias. There is no objective metric that makes Sidwell #1 but for some reason we’re all supposed to accept it as gospel. It doesn’t have the best campus/facilities, price, college outcomes, alumni or sports. People throw these rankings around with no real rigor.

Which DC Private school has better facilities, college outcomes, alumni or sports than Sidwell? I’ll give you price, though.

And I mean name one DC Metro school that is better than Sidwell in all areas listed above? Gonzaga is already out based on its facilities/location (practically a homeless shelter), academics, college outcomes, and alumni.

Although Gonzaga does host homeless men on their campus for lunch, the campus is quite lovely.





https://imgur.com/Iee4GyW

Ehh its ok. STA, Potomac and Bullis look way better by far.

Debatable but do they look three times better?! b/c they’re like triple the price…And before you say price doesn’t matter, everyone cares about value even billionaires. No one is paying $500 for a Big Mac after all, so the price does need to reflect what you’re getting.

Yea...the price reflects great academics, sports and college results(merit and athletic). Price doesn't matter, there are so many people on FA.

People were just laying into OP on that financial aid thread the other day for asking about aid despite high income. So which one is it, is financial aid abundantly available or not b/c you can send 2 or 3 kids to Gonzaga for the price of one at these other schools. Gonzaga is very clearly a better value b/c nothing anyone here has posted shows that STA/Potomac/Bullis is leaps and bounds above Gonzaga to justify the premium. Not in terms of campus, sports, academics or alumni

Here are two important things that are better (than Gonzaga) at all 3 schools. Size (Gonzaga is almost 1,000 kids!) that is almost the size Potomac’s K-12 program. And of course, college admissions is way better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

I asked you first. I Googled Gonzaga’s alums, and I only recognized 2-3 names. That’s hardly a list that rival’s Sidwell’s alumni. But I know you’re typing things that have no basis in facts.

Btw, you can Google Sidwell’s alums. They put Gonzaga’s to shame.

Definitely not. Both are on Wikipedia. Sidwell’s most notable alumni are “children of”. We prefer alumni that are noteworthy based on their own accomplishments. Funny enough, despite all those “children of” educated by Sidwell, Gonzaga has a more impressive list of alumni in the political/govt category. And let’s not even get started on the sports category…

Name them.

Pat Buchanan, Ken Cuccinelli, Martin O'Malley, and Don Beyer to name a few.

This is the “impressive list of alumni” you’ve been boasting about?!? Ken and Don who? My sympathies to Gonzaga for having Pat Buchanan as an alum—such an odious excuse for a human being. It also appears that Gonzaga’s four most “accomplished” alums are, for whatever reason” siloed in politics.

Sidwell’s notable alums have distinguished themselves across a much wider variety of industries. Here’s a sampling:

Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman: Co-founders of College Hunks Hauling Junk, which has over 100 franchises across the United States;

Roger Ferguson: First African American Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve and Former President and CEO of a Fortune 500 Company (TIAA-CREF);

Ann Brashares: Author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book series (later adapted into a movie);

Philip Davis Guggenheim: Screenwriter, director, and producer whose work includes An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud, and Waiting for "Superman";

Walter Gilbert: Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (DNA sequencing); and

Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Business, science, sports, politics, filmmaking, and literature. Sidwell alums have made their mark everywhere.

Everywhere? You just named a handful of alumni, most of whom are pretty obscure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

First Gonzaga vs Potomac now Gonzaga vs Sidwell. These Gonzaga parents have lost it. You need a reality check ASAP.

This forum needs a reality check. No one is using any real objective metrics to rank any of these schools and it’s full of bias. There is no objective metric that makes Sidwell #1 but for some reason we’re all supposed to accept it as gospel. It doesn’t have the best campus/facilities, price, college outcomes, alumni or sports. People throw these rankings around with no real rigor.

Which DC Private school has better facilities, college outcomes, alumni or sports than Sidwell? I’ll give you price, though.

And I mean name one DC Metro school that is better than Sidwell in all areas listed above? Gonzaga is already out based on its facilities/location (practically a homeless shelter), academics, college outcomes, and alumni.

Although Gonzaga does host homeless men on their campus for lunch, the campus is quite lovely.





https://imgur.com/Iee4GyW

Ehh its ok. STA, Potomac and Bullis look way better by far.

Debatable but do they look three times better?! b/c they’re like triple the price…And before you say price doesn’t matter, everyone cares about value even billionaires. No one is paying $500 for a Big Mac after all, so the price does need to reflect what you’re getting.

Yea...the price reflects great academics, sports and college results(merit and athletic). Price doesn't matter, there are so many people on FA.

People were just laying into OP on that financial aid thread the other day for asking about aid despite high income. So which one is it, is financial aid abundantly available or not b/c you can send 2 or 3 kids to Gonzaga for the price of one at these other schools. Gonzaga is very clearly a better value b/c nothing anyone here has posted shows that STA/Potomac/Bullis is leaps and bounds above Gonzaga to justify the premium. Not in terms of campus, sports, academics or alumni

Here are two important things that are better (than Gonzaga) at all 3 schools. Size (Gonzaga is almost 1,000 kids!) that is almost the size Potomac’s K-12 program. And of course, college admissions is way better.

Agree to disagree on college placement, but size is a fair comparison point. I don’t think it matters as much in HS and even at K-12 the HS is usually the largest division, but this is the sort of objective criteria we should be using to rank compare these schools. Most of the previous lists were very much skewed by location bias, religious bias, gender bias, political bias and even racial bias. The more Catholic schools, the pg county schools, the conservative schools, the md and Va schools and to a lesser extent the girls schools always seemed to be toward the bottom of the list or not on it at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

First Gonzaga vs Potomac now Gonzaga vs Sidwell. These Gonzaga parents have lost it. You need a reality check ASAP.

This forum needs a reality check. No one is using any real objective metrics to rank any of these schools and it’s full of bias. There is no objective metric that makes Sidwell #1 but for some reason we’re all supposed to accept it as gospel. It doesn’t have the best campus/facilities, price, college outcomes, alumni or sports. People throw these rankings around with no real rigor.

Which DC Private school has better facilities, college outcomes, alumni or sports than Sidwell? I’ll give you price, though.

And I mean name one DC Metro school that is better than Sidwell in all areas listed above? Gonzaga is already out based on its facilities/location (practically a homeless shelter), academics, college outcomes, and alumni.

Although Gonzaga does host homeless men on their campus for lunch, the campus is quite lovely.





https://imgur.com/Iee4GyW

Ehh its ok. STA, Potomac and Bullis look way better by far.

Debatable but do they look three times better?! b/c they’re like triple the price…And before you say price doesn’t matter, everyone cares about value even billionaires. No one is paying $500 for a Big Mac after all, so the price does need to reflect what you’re getting.

Yea...the price reflects great academics, sports and college results(merit and athletic). Price doesn't matter, there are so many people on FA.

People were just laying into OP on that financial aid thread the other day for asking about aid despite high income. So which one is it, is financial aid abundantly available or not b/c you can send 2 or 3 kids to Gonzaga for the price of one at these other schools. Gonzaga is very clearly a better value b/c nothing anyone here has posted shows that STA/Potomac/Bullis is leaps and bounds above Gonzaga to justify the premium. Not in terms of campus, sports, academics or alumni

What type of sick delusion. The campus/facilities at Sta, Potomac and Bullis are better and so are the academics(everyone knows the academics are impressive). Actually, if you want to really go there, SJC and Prep look better than Gonzaga... much larger and up to date.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It does seem like public school parents are insecure about some private/independent schools. Why come into a private/independent school forum to discuss public schools? In all honesty, who cares? Send your child where you want. It's an anonymous message board; most of these folks are probably posting to get a response from the few people who take this stuff too personally.

Private schools parents do that all the times. Check the MCPS forum. It is overrun by private schools parents.

I don't believe you. There is absolutely no reason to go on a public school forum. The worlds do not intersect. Once a year we play a public school in sports that is it. Separate worlds socially and school wise.

Sometimes I'll get a caddy at the club who attends a local public school. Nice kids but wouldn't want them dating my daughters.

Sorry to tell you Dad but your daughters are already hooking up with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

First Gonzaga vs Potomac now Gonzaga vs Sidwell. These Gonzaga parents have lost it. You need a reality check ASAP.

This forum needs a reality check. No one is using any real objective metrics to rank any of these schools and it’s full of bias. There is no objective metric that makes Sidwell #1 but for some reason we’re all supposed to accept it as gospel. It doesn’t have the best campus/facilities, price, college outcomes, alumni or sports. People throw these rankings around with no real rigor.

Which DC Private school has better facilities, college outcomes, alumni or sports than Sidwell? I’ll give you price, though.

And I mean name one DC Metro school that is better than Sidwell in all areas listed above? Gonzaga is already out based on its facilities/location (practically a homeless shelter), academics, college outcomes, and alumni.

Although Gonzaga does host homeless men on their campus for lunch, the campus is quite lovely.





https://imgur.com/Iee4GyW

Ehh its ok. STA, Potomac and Bullis look way better by far.

Debatable but do they look three times better?! b/c they’re like triple the price…And before you say price doesn’t matter, everyone cares about value even billionaires. No one is paying $500 for a Big Mac after all, so the price does need to reflect what you’re getting.

Yea...the price reflects great academics, sports and college results(merit and athletic). Price doesn't matter, there are so many people on FA.

People were just laying into OP on that financial aid thread the other day for asking about aid despite high income. So which one is it, is financial aid abundantly available or not b/c you can send 2 or 3 kids to Gonzaga for the price of one at these other schools. Gonzaga is very clearly a better value b/c nothing anyone here has posted shows that STA/Potomac/Bullis is leaps and bounds above Gonzaga to justify the premium. Not in terms of campus, sports, academics or alumni

Here are two important things that are better (than Gonzaga) at all 3 schools. Size (Gonzaga is almost 1,000 kids!) that is almost the size Potomac’s K-12 program. And of course, college admissions is way better.

Agree to disagree on college placement, but size is a fair comparison point. I don’t think it matters as much in HS and even at K-12 the HS is usually the largest division, but this is the sort of objective criteria we should be using to rank compare these schools. Most of the previous lists were very much skewed by location bias, religious bias, gender bias, political bias and even racial bias. The more Catholic schools, the pg county schools, the conservative schools, the md and Va schools and to a lesser extent the girls schools always seemed to be toward the bottom of the list or not on it at all.

No to your point about gender bias ranking. Some people cant accept facts. NCS, Madeira, Holton and SR are powerhouses. No need to include HC, AHC, Visi and such. Location wise and politically wise, I agree. It doesn't matter what the general political background of the parents are, it shouldn't make one school better than the other. The academics, tradition, notability, matriculation, alums and sports should be the factors. Location doesn't matter as long as its an independent school in the DMV.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

I asked you first. I Googled Gonzaga’s alums, and I only recognized 2-3 names. That’s hardly a list that rival’s Sidwell’s alumni. But I know you’re typing things that have no basis in facts.

Btw, you can Google Sidwell’s alums. They put Gonzaga’s to shame.

Definitely not. Both are on Wikipedia. Sidwell’s most notable alumni are “children of”. We prefer alumni that are noteworthy based on their own accomplishments. Funny enough, despite all those “children of” educated by Sidwell, Gonzaga has a more impressive list of alumni in the political/govt category. And let’s not even get started on the sports category…

Name them.

Pat Buchanan, Ken Cuccinelli, Martin O'Malley, and Don Beyer to name a few.

This is the “impressive list of alumni” you’ve been boasting about?!? Ken and Don who? My sympathies to Gonzaga for having Pat Buchanan as an alum—such an odious excuse for a human being. It also appears that Gonzaga’s four most “accomplished” alums are, for whatever reason” siloed in politics.

Sidwell’s notable alums have distinguished themselves across a much wider variety of industries. Here’s a sampling:

Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman: Co-founders of College Hunks Hauling Junk, which has over 100 franchises across the United States;

Roger Ferguson: First African American Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve and Former President and CEO of a Fortune 500 Company (TIAA-CREF);

Ann Brashares: Author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book series (later adapted into a movie);

Philip Davis Guggenheim: Screenwriter, director, and producer whose work includes An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud, and Waiting for "Superman";

Walter Gilbert: Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (DNA sequencing); and

Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Business, science, sports, politics, filmmaking, and literature. Sidwell alums have made their mark everywhere.

Everywhere? You just named a handful of alumni, most of whom are pretty obscure.

Yes, everywhere. This discussion isn’t about who has the most “household name famous” alums (Sidwell would beat Gonzaga in that category as well). This discussion is about the most notable alums. Most of the Sidwell alums listed have achieved at the highest levels in their respective fields (Nobel Laureate, Fortune 500 CEO, First woman President of an Ivy+ University, Founders of business empires, NBA stars, Award winning authors and National network news anchors). You may not like Sidwell, but it’s alumni’s accomplishments are undeniable.

P.S. In terms of politics, those that have achieved at the highest levels of government and politics (Presidents and VPs) send their children to Sidwell, at a rate that is unmatched anywhere in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

I asked you first. I Googled Gonzaga’s alums, and I only recognized 2-3 names. That’s hardly a list that rival’s Sidwell’s alumni. But I know you’re typing things that have no basis in facts.

Btw, you can Google Sidwell’s alums. They put Gonzaga’s to shame.

Definitely not. Both are on Wikipedia. Sidwell’s most notable alumni are “children of”. We prefer alumni that are noteworthy based on their own accomplishments. Funny enough, despite all those “children of” educated by Sidwell, Gonzaga has a more impressive list of alumni in the political/govt category. And let’s not even get started on the sports category…

Name them.

Pat Buchanan, Ken Cuccinelli, Martin O'Malley, and Don Beyer to name a few.

This is the “impressive list of alumni” you’ve been boasting about?!? Ken and Don who? My sympathies to Gonzaga for having Pat Buchanan as an alum—such an odious excuse for a human being. It also appears that Gonzaga’s four most “accomplished” alums are, for whatever reason” siloed in politics.

Sidwell’s notable alums have distinguished themselves across a much wider variety of industries. Here’s a sampling:

Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman: Co-founders of College Hunks Hauling Junk, which has over 100 franchises across the United States;

Roger Ferguson: First African American Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve and Former President and CEO of a Fortune 500 Company (TIAA-CREF);

Ann Brashares: Author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book series (later adapted into a movie);

Philip Davis Guggenheim: Screenwriter, director, and producer whose work includes An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud, and Waiting for "Superman";

Walter Gilbert: Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (DNA sequencing); and

Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Business, science, sports, politics, filmmaking, and literature. Sidwell alums have made their mark everywhere.

Appreciate the vitriol, but once again, reading comprehension is key. The PP asked for "alumni in the political/govt category," which is what was provided. It was not in response to the question, "Who are the four most notable alumni?"

You’re the one struggling with reading comprehension. One of the PP’s initially said that Gonzaga’s alums were more impressive than Sidwell’s, once you remove Presidents children from the equation.

Once that person realized the facts didn’t support their dubious post, they tried to backtrack and limit the comparison to alums who are politicians. Once again, Gonzaga doesn’t have the range for thi conversation.

I know it often works for Trump, but you can't simply change the facts to suit your argument. Below is the exchange. Slow down, take your time, and take a deep breath. It will click eventually!

Gonzaga has a more impressive list of alumni in the political/govt category. And let’s not even get started on the sports category…

Name them.

Pat Buchanan, Ken Cuccinelli, Martin O'Malley, and Don Beyer to name a few.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

First Gonzaga vs Potomac now Gonzaga vs Sidwell. These Gonzaga parents have lost it. You need a reality check ASAP.

This forum needs a reality check. No one is using any real objective metrics to rank any of these schools and it’s full of bias. There is no objective metric that makes Sidwell #1 but for some reason we’re all supposed to accept it as gospel. It doesn’t have the best campus/facilities, price, college outcomes, alumni or sports. People throw these rankings around with no real rigor.

Which DC Private school has better facilities, college outcomes, alumni or sports than Sidwell? I’ll give you price, though.

And I mean name one DC Metro school that is better than Sidwell in all areas listed above? Gonzaga is already out based on its facilities/location (practically a homeless shelter), academics, college outcomes, and alumni.

Although Gonzaga does host homeless men on their campus for lunch, the campus is quite lovely.





https://imgur.com/Iee4GyW

Ehh its ok. STA, Potomac and Bullis look way better by far.

Debatable but do they look three times better?! b/c they’re like triple the price…And before you say price doesn’t matter, everyone cares about value even billionaires. No one is paying $500 for a Big Mac after all, so the price does need to reflect what you’re getting.

Yea...the price reflects great academics, sports and college results(merit and athletic). Price doesn't matter, there are so many people on FA.

People were just laying into OP on that financial aid thread the other day for asking about aid despite high income. So which one is it, is financial aid abundantly available or not b/c you can send 2 or 3 kids to Gonzaga for the price of one at these other schools. Gonzaga is very clearly a better value b/c nothing anyone here has posted shows that STA/Potomac/Bullis is leaps and bounds above Gonzaga to justify the premium. Not in terms of campus, sports, academics or alumni

Yes!! Such a good value Gonzaga is even with its recent high tuition increases. I think we paid about $20K a year to send our son there...such a good good value at $80K for all four years AND he got into a top 20. A few friends went to ivies! It was such a amazing experience for him. The boys have such a strong brotherhood bond and he got to experience so much more than those boring sprawling campuses in suburbia. Upon graduation, he was not only book smart, but street smart. His essays for college were chuck full of his experiences interacting directly with homeless people and learning their stories up close. No Potomac kid is doing anything like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

I asked you first. I Googled Gonzaga’s alums, and I only recognized 2-3 names. That’s hardly a list that rival’s Sidwell’s alumni. But I know you’re typing things that have no basis in facts.

Btw, you can Google Sidwell’s alums. They put Gonzaga’s to shame.

Definitely not. Both are on Wikipedia. Sidwell’s most notable alumni are “children of”. We prefer alumni that are noteworthy based on their own accomplishments. Funny enough, despite all those “children of” educated by Sidwell, Gonzaga has a more impressive list of alumni in the political/govt category. And let’s not even get started on the sports category…

Name them.

Pat Buchanan, Ken Cuccinelli, Martin O'Malley, and Don Beyer to name a few.

This is the “impressive list of alumni” you’ve been boasting about?!? Ken and Don who? My sympathies to Gonzaga for having Pat Buchanan as an alum—such an odious excuse for a human being. It also appears that Gonzaga’s four most “accomplished” alums are, for whatever reason” siloed in politics.

Sidwell’s notable alums have distinguished themselves across a much wider variety of industries. Here’s a sampling:

Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman: Co-founders of College Hunks Hauling Junk, which has over 100 franchises across the United States;

Roger Ferguson: First African American Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve and Former President and CEO of a Fortune 500 Company (TIAA-CREF);

Ann Brashares: Author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book series (later adapted into a movie);

Philip Davis Guggenheim: Screenwriter, director, and producer whose work includes An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud, and Waiting for "Superman";

Walter Gilbert: Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (DNA sequencing); and

Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Business, science, sports, politics, filmmaking, and literature. Sidwell alums have made their mark everywhere.

This is the underwhelming alumni list you’re advertising? College hunks? Please. When you land on planet earth and have WiFi access again, Wiki St. Albans. You desperately need a reality check.

And after checking myself, yes, Gonzaga alumni far more impressive than Sidwell. No contest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of big 3/5, what is the big 15?! You can’t add or take away schools, only rearrange them. Don’t even think about adding BIM. Sister and brother schools go together.
Criteria: prestige, merit, matriculation, tradition, rivalries, notability, alums, etc.

1. Sidwell
2. NCS and STA
3. GDS
4. Maret
5. Potomac
6. Holton and Landon
7. Bullis
8. Maderia
9. WIS
10. SR and GP
11. SJC
12. Episcopal
13. St Andrews
14. St Stephens St Agnes
15. Visi and Gonzaga

This is the list of 15! Some rearranging could be made with the actual ranking numbers but these are the top 15.

1. STA
2. Sidwell
3. NCS
4. GDS
5. Maret
6. Holton
7. Madiera
8. Potomac
9. Landon
10. Gonzaga
11. Prep
12. St. Johns
13. Bullis
14. St. Anselms
15. St Stephens St Agnes

next 3 would be:
16. Episcopal
17. WIS
18. Field

If Sidwell isn’t #1, then the list is incorrect. I’m not a Sidwell parent (my children attend Catholic independents), but I live in DC and I’m very familiar with how these institutions are perceived.

Prestige depends on the circle you are in. For the old money establishment types STA/NCS for sure are the top.

For more progressive types and less establishment club types - Sidwell or Maret

Newer money more progressive would consider GDS the top

NP. I heard about Sidwell, before moving to DC, when I still lived in LA. If you’re immersed in the world of elite private school education, you’ve probably heard of Sidwell and know it’s considered to be a great school. New money, old money, progressive, regressive—if they care about private school education, they’ve probably heard of Sidwell. That’s much less true of the Cathedral schools.

If we’re basing this on name recognition, you have to put Dematha back on the list. If it’s name recognition outside of DC, the big 3 are Dematha, Sidwell and Gonzaga (in no particular order). If we’re basing this debate on academics, all of the privates in dc have stellar academics and trade teachers so comparing on that alone is silly.

I had never heard of Dematha or Gonzaga before moving to DC because I don’t follow sports closely. Even now, I have no idea where in Maryland the school is located (I know it’s PG, though). I don’t hear much about Gonzaga, unless it’s sports related (specifically, the recent grad who will be drafted by the NFL soon). The reputation ranking of academic institutions, whether it’s high school or college, is based on the ACADEMIC reputation of the school.

Dematha and Gonzaga are not known as academic or intellectual powerhouses. And you’re definitely overstating their national recognition in sports.

People only know about Sidwell b/c of presidents kids tbh. Similarly, St Andrews would’ve never been on any of these lists pre Trump. If we want to look at college acceptances, TJ is the best school in VA and Blair is the best school in MD. I guess Sidwell can be the best school in DC (I’m not as familiar with their public’s) but it wouldn’t hold a candle to TJ or Blair, or even Poolesville for that matter.

What is a Poolesville? Get out of here PP.

Google it. You sound like a fool.

You are the fool. Just the fact that I had to look up the school says enough. "Sidwell wouldn't hold a candle to Poolesville." Do you have their senior insta page or prior year matriculation results ? I would like to see how Sidwell students compare to the Poolesville scholars you speak of!

Once again—Google it. You’ll find lots of information and national rankings to answer all of your questions. Goes to show that people on this forum are incapable of ranking schools based on academics.

We are ranking PRIVATE schools. Did you read the title of this forum?

I did, and it’s a pity that the fan favorite Sidwell is less well known and worse at sports than Dematha, has less notable alumni than Gonzaga, and worse college outcomes than public schools. But hey, whatever you have to tell yourself to make the 60k feel worth it…

Who are Gonzaga’s notable alumni?

Who are Sidwell’s?

I asked you first. I Googled Gonzaga’s alums, and I only recognized 2-3 names. That’s hardly a list that rival’s Sidwell’s alumni. But I know you’re typing things that have no basis in facts.

Btw, you can Google Sidwell’s alums. They put Gonzaga’s to shame.

Definitely not. Both are on Wikipedia. Sidwell’s most notable alumni are “children of”. We prefer alumni that are noteworthy based on their own accomplishments. Funny enough, despite all those “children of” educated by Sidwell, Gonzaga has a more impressive list of alumni in the political/govt category. And let’s not even get started on the sports category…

Name them.

Pat Buchanan, Ken Cuccinelli, Martin O'Malley, and Don Beyer to name a few.

This is the “impressive list of alumni” you’ve been boasting about?!? Ken and Don who? My sympathies to Gonzaga for having Pat Buchanan as an alum—such an odious excuse for a human being. It also appears that Gonzaga’s four most “accomplished” alums are, for whatever reason” siloed in politics.

Sidwell’s notable alums have distinguished themselves across a much wider variety of industries. Here’s a sampling:

Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman: Co-founders of College Hunks Hauling Junk, which has over 100 franchises across the United States;

Roger Ferguson: First African American Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve and Former President and CEO of a Fortune 500 Company (TIAA-CREF);

Ann Brashares: Author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book series (later adapted into a movie);

Philip Davis Guggenheim: Screenwriter, director, and producer whose work includes An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud, and Waiting for "Superman";

Walter Gilbert: Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (DNA sequencing); and

Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Business, science, sports, politics, filmmaking, and literature. Sidwell alums have made their mark everywhere.

This is the underwhelming alumni list you’re advertising? College hunks? Please. When you land on planet earth and have WiFi access again, Wiki St. Albans. You desperately need a reality check.

And after checking myself, yes, Gonzaga alumni far more impressive than Sidwell. No contest.

“College hunks” says it all. Leave imposter.