GP, St. Anselm's or St. Albans

[Anonymous]

SAAS dad here. I attended a Jesuit high school in another city so I was open to GP (and Gonzaga), but I liked the idea of going all-boys in middle school when hormones get distracting. Also, while I think the local Jesuit schools can offer great academic challenges to very smart boys, the majority of their students are more average.

St. Alban's seems like a terrific prep school in the classic mold, and even though we're Catholic, my wife and I are closer to Episcopalian in our politics and values. However, we thought our son was better fit by St. Anselm's, which we judged to be less worldly, closer-knit, and more focused on academics.

If sports were very important to our son, we might have chosen differently. But, somewhat surprisingly, he has been able to compete on teams that he might not have made in a larger or jockier school, and that's been a great experience for him.

As for colleges, I want my son to apply to the well-known Ivy that I attended, but he's less interested in liberal-arts colleges and more interested in engineering schools, and that's a very reasonable preference for him.

OP, I really think you and your wife should visit these schools if you haven't, and pay attention to your son's preference after shadowing at them all. They have very distinct cultures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just for the fun of it I looked at the St. Anselm's college list.

Are people at St. A so snotty that they would turn their nose up at a kid going to those colleges?

To the, PP, I agree I want my kids to broaden their views, which is why we will probably leave our school for a different HS even though it goes through 12th, only 10 kids will leave. Most of St. A kids are together since they were 4, not since 4th, since they were 4 years old, until they are 18.

Not true. Less than 30 boys from Beauvoir go to STA for 4th and almost 80 graduate at the end of 12th. STA adds boys at 6th, 7th, and 9th (plus a few in between when spots open). That does not equate to "most are together [from the time they are] 4 years old" now does it?

It seems the STA (NOT St. A.) parents are very sensitive. Anyway, our school is the same. Small school most kids stay together since they were practically toddlers add kids in 4th, 6th and 9th (50 more kids is not alot). Catholic schools (K-8) basically scatter after 8th and mostly go to a school with a 100+ kids. Some like to stay in a familiar environment, some don't. Some purposely go to a school "most" of the friends are going to, some want to try something new (the minority). It's not a judegement it's just a fact and I was just responding to the PP who sasked don't many want to "broaden" their horizons, no many don't.

Yes - I know it's not all the exact same kids all the way through. I actually have heard from many STA parents that kids leave middle school because the model in lower school changes in middle school to a boot camp type of academic enviornment and while it may "prove" that a kid can "do the work" it does not inspire a love of learning so they have moved on. They don't need the school name recognition.

So if you need to prove to a college that your son can "do the work" by all means go to STA. But if you want to be inspired and gain the love of learning go to St. Anselm's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your son is a scholar-athlete, St. Albans. If your son could care less about sports, St. Anselms.

I assume that you mean if OP's son could NOT care less about sports.

[Anonymous]

Thanks pp, that was so helpful.