What’s it like at St. John’s in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster above who said I thought the open house was terrific! But one question for SJC parents -- I know the Scholars program is supposedly great -- and there was alot of talk about it at the open house -- but that is only for 50 kids per grade. I have a DS who is very bright, gets great grades, but he loves sports and definitely does not want to take all honors classes. His pre-HSPT score is within the Scholars requirements, but he does not want to apply.

So long way to ask -- how is SJC for bright, motivated boys who want to have a more balanced high school experience? Can SJC be a great education for those outside of the Scholars program? Maybe he would take 3 honors classes?

I think some of the pp mentioned some of the benefits of the scholars program include enrichment (field trips), merit scholarship, and having their own college counselor. Apart from 9th honors religion, your child can take the same classes as the SJC scholars.

As you look as coursework, in the back of your mind don’t forget some colleges really favor the weighted GPA. We knew going in that UMDCP was something like 3.8 unweighted/4.2 weighed average GPA for accepted students. So while you don’t want your child to overdo things, you also don’t want to make the college application road harder than it has to be by not taking the honors classes and showing the rigor if your child could take those classes and do well. SJC has some guardrails built in to help make sure kids are prepared and not overloading their schedule so I think you do see a lot of kids living that balanced high school experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our child is a freshman & loves SJC. We were told to apply /express interest for something very specific Ie: a specific sport, the cadet core, audition for theater, audition for music(band, choral etc,,) Many auditions take place in Jan or early Feb. our child auditioned & we were shocked to receive a small merit scholarship for participation in xyz group.
We have friends that opted to apply without expressing specific interests & unfortunately we’re waitlisted. Good luck!

+1. I was going to give the same advice. I think they want to know how your child will contribute to the SJC community. Also as other posters mentioned, make sure to study for the HSPT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG. You're asking about financial aid?

I think you're asking because you're not used to paying tuition. One of my friends did the same thing. They have multiple houses and take trips to Europe...and want financial aid.

We make way less than you do and pay about $22k. You have to prioritize and budget differently. SMH

Again, OP, I know three families that make >$300k and get some merit based aid.

Yes, and how many kids do they have that are enrolled in Catholic schools? Quite different for someone with just one kid.

All of them have one kid. Again, I don’t think you understand what merit based means. It means they don’t even know the income of the family (they can make $500k per year (in the case as one of my friends) and still get $5k merit based per year scholarship.

[Anonymous]

Overcrowded. Overly focused on sports. Mean lower middle class kids....

[Anonymous]

I love the school but PP is not wrong. These are the negative aspects of the school. Every school has pros and cons and these are the SJC cons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Overcrowded. Overly focused on sports. Mean lower middle class kids....

Don't you mean brutish, uncivilized and unwashed lower middle class kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster above who said I thought the open house was terrific! But one question for SJC parents -- I know the Scholars program is supposedly great -- and there was alot of talk about it at the open house -- but that is only for 50 kids per grade. I have a DS who is very bright, gets great grades, but he loves sports and definitely does not want to take all honors classes. His pre-HSPT score is within the Scholars requirements, but he does not want to apply.

So long way to ask -- how is SJC for bright, motivated boys who want to have a more balanced high school experience? Can SJC be a great education for those outside of the Scholars program? Maybe he would take 3 honors classes?

I think some of the pp mentioned some of the benefits of the scholars program include enrichment (field trips), merit scholarship, and having their own college counselor. Apart from 9th honors religion, your child can take the same classes as the SJC scholars.

As you look as coursework, in the back of your mind don’t forget some colleges really favor the weighted GPA. We knew going in that UMDCP was something like 3.8 unweighted/4.2 weighed average GPA for accepted students. So while you don’t want your child to overdo things, you also don’t want to make the college application road harder than it has to be by not taking the honors classes and showing the rigor if your child could take those classes and do well. SJC has some guardrails built in to help make sure kids are prepared and not overloading their schedule so I think you do see a lot of kids living that balanced high school experience.

Yes, thank you for this perspective. It is very helpful. If my DS does not apply to the Scholars Program but is accepted to SJC, I need to make sure that he is taking rigorous classes so that he can hopefully have a great weighted GPA. It is great to know that this can still be achieved even if a student is not in the Scholars Program.

[Anonymous]

the class comments are uncalled for and ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster above who said I thought the open house was terrific! But one question for SJC parents -- I know the Scholars program is supposedly great -- and there was alot of talk about it at the open house -- but that is only for 50 kids per grade. I have a DS who is very bright, gets great grades, but he loves sports and definitely does not want to take all honors classes. His pre-HSPT score is within the Scholars requirements, but he does not want to apply.

So long way to ask -- how is SJC for bright, motivated boys who want to have a more balanced high school experience? Can SJC be a great education for those outside of the Scholars program? Maybe he would take 3 honors classes?

I think some of the pp mentioned some of the benefits of the scholars program include enrichment (field trips), merit scholarship, and having their own college counselor. Apart from 9th honors religion, your child can take the same classes as the SJC scholars.

As you look as coursework, in the back of your mind don’t forget some colleges really favor the weighted GPA. We knew going in that UMDCP was something like 3.8 unweighted/4.2 weighed average GPA for accepted students. So while you don’t want your child to overdo things, you also don’t want to make the college application road harder than it has to be by not taking the honors classes and showing the rigor if your child could take those classes and do well. SJC has some guardrails built in to help make sure kids are prepared and not overloading their schedule so I think you do see a lot of kids living that balanced high school experience.

Yes, thank you for this perspective. It is very helpful. If my DS does not apply to the Scholars Program but is accepted to SJC, I need to make sure that he is taking rigorous classes so that he can hopefully have a great weighted GPA. It is great to know that this can still be achieved even if a student is not in the Scholars Program.

Doesn’t matter if there’s a weighted GPA or not. Most colleges recalibrate them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the class comments are uncalled for and ridiculous.

Unsurprising. So many people like the PP are so focused on class. Happy to be at a school that welcomes good students from families at every income level. The class-conscious can choose to go elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster above who said I thought the open house was terrific! But one question for SJC parents -- I know the Scholars program is supposedly great -- and there was alot of talk about it at the open house -- but that is only for 50 kids per grade. I have a DS who is very bright, gets great grades, but he loves sports and definitely does not want to take all honors classes. His pre-HSPT score is within the Scholars requirements, but he does not want to apply.

So long way to ask -- how is SJC for bright, motivated boys who want to have a more balanced high school experience? Can SJC be a great education for those outside of the Scholars program? Maybe he would take 3 honors classes?

I think some of the pp mentioned some of the benefits of the scholars program include enrichment (field trips), merit scholarship, and having their own college counselor. Apart from 9th honors religion, your child can take the same classes as the SJC scholars.

As you look as coursework, in the back of your mind don’t forget some colleges really favor the weighted GPA. We knew going in that UMDCP was something like 3.8 unweighted/4.2 weighed average GPA for accepted students. So while you don’t want your child to overdo things, you also don’t want to make the college application road harder than it has to be by not taking the honors classes and showing the rigor if your child could take those classes and do well. SJC has some guardrails built in to help make sure kids are prepared and not overloading their schedule so I think you do see a lot of kids living that balanced high school experience.

Yes, thank you for this perspective. It is very helpful. If my DS does not apply to the Scholars Program but is accepted to SJC, I need to make sure that he is taking rigorous classes so that he can hopefully have a great weighted GPA. It is great to know that this can still be achieved even if a student is not in the Scholars Program.

Doesn’t matter if there’s a weighted GPA or not. Most colleges recalibrate them.

Yep. How your HS weights grades is practically irrelevant to colleges. Most every college admission office has their own weighting system. They ignore certain kinds of classes or diminish their weight by a lot (e.g., required religion classes at Catholic HS are often adjusted by colleges to count for way less than the HS weighed them). PE grades are thrown out. AP Calc or Physics is weighed more than AP Psychology. I don’t know how they view AP Stats, but for the vast majority of college majors (and for life in general), Stats is more useful than AP Calc BC. Rocket scientists and engineers may use Calc BC, but most social science and even hard sciences use data science much, much more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Overcrowded. Overly focused on sports. Mean lower middle class kids....

Don't you mean brutish, uncivilized and unwashed lower middle class kids?

Clearly you have no children at SJC or who have attended the school. There are a lot of Uber wealthy families there, extremely wealthy. Just drive through the student parking lot. However, there are also lower middle class, upper middle class, etc. Unlike you, your horrible snob, the kids at SJC don’t care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Overcrowded. Overly focused on sports. Mean lower middle class kids....

Don't you mean brutish, uncivilized and unwashed lower middle class kids?

Clearly you have no children at SJC or who have attended the school. There are a lot of Uber wealthy families there, extremely wealthy. Just drive through the student parking lot. However, there are also lower middle class, upper middle class, etc. Unlike you, your horrible snob, the kids at SJC don’t care.

You horrible snob

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster above who said I thought the open house was terrific! But one question for SJC parents -- I know the Scholars program is supposedly great -- and there was alot of talk about it at the open house -- but that is only for 50 kids per grade. I have a DS who is very bright, gets great grades, but he loves sports and definitely does not want to take all honors classes. His pre-HSPT score is within the Scholars requirements, but he does not want to apply.

So long way to ask -- how is SJC for bright, motivated boys who want to have a more balanced high school experience? Can SJC be a great education for those outside of the Scholars program? Maybe he would take 3 honors classes?

Yes, a lot of guys on the lax teams are not in the s Hilary program but won academic achievement awards and take AP’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Overcrowded. Overly focused on sports. Mean lower middle class kids....

Don't you mean brutish, uncivilized and unwashed lower middle class kids?

Clearly you have no children at SJC or who have attended the school. There are a lot of Uber wealthy families there, extremely wealthy. Just drive through the student parking lot. However, there are also lower middle class, upper middle class, etc. Unlike you, your horrible snob, the kids at SJC don’t care.

You get these comments from students/parents that have never been around black peoples before… mostly Bethesda/cc/Potomac archdiocese schools.