SJC and Gonzaga. ? about admissions as a non-Catholic

[Anonymous]

Well most of the alums I know from Gonzaga are idiots. Lots of bartenders living the dream...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesuits (GZ) pride themselves on being the educational choice for rich and powerful Catholics.

And for the most part here in DC that's what has happened. The great majority of the boys of the well-off, long time resident Catholics go to either Gonzaga or Georgetown Prep.

There may be more non-Catholics at these schools today but these places are run for and by the families that have traditionally gone there and supported them.

Gonzaga boys wear "Eye Street Irish" T-shirts and that about sums the place up. People outside that group are along for the ride and the core group is driving the bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes to both your questions. Have him score sky high on the HSPT.

There are also many music scholarship programs at SJC as well. They require auditions and are very competitive. SJC just opened its new addition with the performing arts wing. Last year they performed in the Bahamas, cruised there and won awards. Take a look also at the cadet program - they don't do a great job of promoting it but it is a phenomenol leadership program. Students need to join when they choose courses, but have your child take a close look when looking at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gonzaga is 78% white and only 12% African American.

Not sure what you mean to imply by "only" 12%. That's over 250% greater portion of African Americans than there are African Americans that are Catholic. I wish more were Catholic, but they are not. And what is meant by "white"? Everybody else?

Greatschools website lists Gonzaga as 80% white, 12% African-American, and 6% Latino. By any measure (i.e., for a Catholic high school, an independent school, a school in DC, or even a suburban school district), that is a pretty awful record on student diversity---and that's not even addressing, of course, that there are zero girl students.

And the problem can't be that most African-Americans (like most whites) are not Catholic. Other DC Catholic high schools have more diverse student bodies, and Gonzaga admits significant numbers of non-Catholic students. Why still so white in 2016?[/quote
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How could mirroring the racial proportionality of America not be considered diverse? Anything else would not be an accurate representation. And it has already been pointed out that if you mirrored the Catholic population, you are schooling 2,5 times more of a minority than is represented in the Catholic faith. Even if none of the AA are Catholic, the Catholic school is still happy to have them. The mission To do so is there, and it is a great education.

[Anonymous]

How could mirroring the racial proportionality of America not be considered diverse? Anything else would not be an accurate representation. And it has already been pointed out that if you mirrored the Catholic population, you are schooling 2,5 times more of a minority than is represented in the Catholic faith. Even if none of the AA are Catholic, the Catholic school is still happy to have them. The mission To do so is there, and it is a great education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have always viewed Gonzaga as a gloried public school.

It is not nearly as Catholic as you think.

Gonzaga is as far from a public school as you can get. Not sure where pp is getting this impression. First of all, it is single sex. I have, however, heard of SJC getting that description. DS shadowed there, and he said it felt like public school with uniforms.

FYI, they outlawed prayer in public school years ago. They've also increased class sizes, eliminated class retreats, and stopped major investments in athletic facilities. Oh, and the public HS floors and grounds aren't so clean you could eat off of them. SJC does not feel like a public in those ways. However, in the spirit of Saint John de la Salle, SJC is committed to serving the entire DC community. That includes SE. Is that what made it feel like a public school?

Outlawed organized prayer - students are still allowed to have prayer groups, and relatively non-denominational things like invocations are still permissible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you in the know about SJC or Gonzaga--

How much of a ding is it to not be Catholic when it comes to admissions? (assuming that otherwise the child is an equally qualified applicant).
My child is white and coming from a DCPS. We are quite observant Episcopalians (and we love the idea of a Catholic high school). We're just not Catholic.

Do non-catholic kids have a shot at the honors program at St Johns? At any of the scholarships at either school?

Two kids at SJC. I'd say SJC is less than 1/2 Catholic, and it might be considerably less than that. The school is almost half African American, who by population are only 5% Catholic. I don't think religious affiliation really matters in the admissions process, nor is it in their mission to educate primarily Catholics (unlike Diocesan schools). But is is a Catholic school - you will get 4 years of religion as an academic subject, prayer before meetings/games, Mass about once/mo, etc.

So, based on this it sounds like the SJC student population consists of 50% AAs (who are not Catholic) and 50% traditional Catholics.

These stats are way off. SJC is close to 65% Catholic (no idea what percent are active) and AA population is closer to 20-25% (non-"white" population is about 40%)