St. John's and Good Counsel

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there lots of fights at either school?

There was one at SJC last year that was handled quickly. The students involved were expelled, and, according to rumors, the administrators who were let go mid year did not respond appropriately in trying to manage the situation.

These are Catholic schools so they have tools to deal with the kids who don’t want to be there.

Thanks I’m not op but was also looking at both coming from mcps for my son partly due to all the fights at his current school.

[Anonymous]

Very similar. But I would see that GC seems to have happier kids who truly love and enthusiastically support their school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I wrong for having the impression that SJC is considered more prestigious?

My DD goes to Visi and yes, you are wrong. The only slight difference is that GC tends to draw from some of the buck areas around Olney. But academically they are similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids have graduated, but I have direct experience with both schools as a parent. They have some obvious similarities - large, co-ed Catholic schools, sporty atmosphere with a focus on athletics and competitive sports, and they both draw from a variety of Catholic and public schools in the area. SJC draws from DC and VA in addition to MD. GC is mainly MoCo, Howard County, some Frederick County, and some PG County, including the Bowie area.

It’s been a few years since I’ve dealt with admissions to either, so I won’t address the competitive question from that angle. However, if you take a look at college placements, they seem similar. They’ve placed kids into highly competitive top 50 colleges and universities. At SJC, the Scholars get more individualized college counseling, which is a benefit.

Politically, I think SJC is a little more diverse. My child, who’s right leaning, occasionally felt like his beliefs and positions were questioned a little more directly. It’s not a bad thing to be exposed to people who think differently than you. GC felt more cohesively conservative to me. Both schools have some population of LGBTQ+ and I believe both are a welcoming environment.

The philosophies are both Catholic, but affiliated with different orders of Catholic Brothers. SJC is Lasallian, which is an older order that is more focused on social justice and serving the poor. GC is Xaverian and focused on finding God in the ordinary and relationships with others and with God. This comes out in nuanced ways, but won’t demonstrate huge differences because it’s the same Catholic Church.

I agree with the recommendation about looking if there is something niche your child is interested in - the Arts, performing arts and theater, a STEM program, cheerleading, the cadet corps, an IB diploma a specific sport that isn’t at both, etc. That may be the deciding factor for you.

If your student is interested in AP classes, I’ve heard it’s harder to get approval to take at SJC unless your child is in the Scholars Program.

Attend both open houses this fall. If your child is a senior, shadow at both. The campuses are different and you can get a sense of the general vibe from visiting.

Good luck.

I’m not op or a parent at either of these schools but this is an excellent comment.

I agree, although I think “right leaning” teenagers are odd.

Agreed too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there lots of fights at either school?

Just among the nuns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I wrong for having the impression that SJC is considered more prestigious?

My DD goes to Visi and yes, you are wrong. The only slight difference is that GC tends to draw from some of the buck areas around Olney. But academically they are similar.

What are the buck areas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I wrong for having the impression that SJC is considered more prestigious?

My DD goes to Visi and yes, you are wrong. The only slight difference is that GC tends to draw from some of the buck areas around Olney. But academically they are similar.

What are the buck areas?

Sorry - meant to type backwoods areas. So not the most sophisticated bunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I wrong for having the impression that SJC is considered more prestigious?

My DD goes to Visi and yes, you are wrong. The only slight difference is that GC tends to draw from some of the buck areas around Olney. But academically they are similar.

What are the buck areas?

Sorry - meant to type backwoods areas. So not the most sophisticated bunch.

A response that tells us more about Visi families than GC families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last spring, my husband and I were browsing the Instagram pages of private high schools in the area to see where their students were going to college. We noticed that Landon was sending most of its students to the country’s top universities, with SJC coming in a close second. Looking more closely at SJC, we discovered that it is a Christian Brothers school and is known for being very rigorous.

Strange comment…if you looked at Sidwell or GDS or Maret you would have seen far more impressive results on average if that’s your benchmark.

We did!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last spring, my husband and I were browsing the Instagram pages of private high schools in the area to see where their students were going to college. We noticed that Landon was sending most of its students to the country’s top universities, with SJC coming in a close second. Looking more closely at SJC, we discovered that it is a Christian Brothers school and is known for being very rigorous.

Strange comment…if you looked at Sidwell or GDS or Maret you would have seen far more impressive results on average if that’s your benchmark.

We did!

Then you need to have your eyes checked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of SJC kids get into the Scholar's Program?

About 50 students each year. The prerequisite is usually scoring a 95% or higher on the HSPT.

So, maybe 15-20 percent of each class? And if you're not in the program are you cut out of certain classes? I'd hate to send my kid there knowing from the get go that they're essentially handicapped from ever being in the top 15-20 percent . . .

No. 50-60 per class so about 200 students in a population of 1200 students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last spring, my husband and I were browsing the Instagram pages of private high schools in the area to see where their students were going to college. We noticed that Landon was sending most of its students to the country’s top universities, with SJC coming in a close second. Looking more closely at SJC, we discovered that it is a Christian Brothers school and is known for being very rigorous.

As a parent of an SJC student that graduated last year, I can assure SJC didn't come in second to Landon in sending kids to country's top universities on per capita because the 2025 class at SJC was huge 344.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know how many freshman SJC has this year (Class of 2029)? I heard that it was a big class compared to other years, but not sure what that means number wise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of SJC kids get into the Scholar's Program?

About 50 students each year. The prerequisite is usually scoring a 95% or higher on the HSPT.

So, maybe 15-20 percent of each class? And if you're not in the program are you cut out of certain classes? I'd hate to send my kid there knowing from the get go that they're essentially handicapped from ever being in the top 15-20 percent . . .

No. 50-60 per class so about 200 students in a population of 1200 students.

LOL. Isn't 200 in a school of 1200 15-20 percent? By my math that's 16.7 percent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very similar. They both suck.

+1

Another +1