Can someone give me a rundown of the Catholic high schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that there is literally something for everybody in DC Catholic schools - single sex, coed, very bookish, very sporty. If you are living in Cleveland Park, you will be a short hop to just about everything. You might want to think about living a bit further into upper NW so that you have more schools in range. I don't know Chicago schools, but DC Catholic schools are quite competitive to get into - especially the single sex and independent schools.

Thanks for the info!

The thing about Catholic schools in Chicago is that there are so dang many of them! You are never more than 15 minutes away from a Catholic high school, and there is a parish with an attached K-8 school in pretty much every suburb and many city neighborhoods (we live in a suburb just outside the city). There are HSs where basically anyone with a pulse and $XX,000 to spare can attend, and then there are ones that are very very selective. The single-sex ones tend to fall into the "anyone with a pulse" (OK that sounds really awful of me) category, co-ed is more a mixed bag. So there is something for everyone, whether a very strong student or a not-so-strong student that simply wants to go to a Catholic high school for social reasons, sports, want a smaller environment, whatever.

We will definitely give St. John's a look. From my research it looks like a very well-rounded school, the type where a lot of different kinds of kids could succeed, where there is no one "type"...am I off base here?

For the sake of anonymity I won't say which school she'll be at next year, but I'll definitely talk to the other school families once we get there. Just thought I'd get a head start.

90% of the students play a sport at SJC. It is a VERY sporty school. It has every non-sport activity you would expect at a HS, but sports pulls it all together. For girls, the marquis sport is basketball. I think most of the other girls sports are close to being no-cut, especially for team sports.

OK- good to know. My daughter is sporty but she does cross country and soccer.

You will be very close to NCS - National Cathedral School. Is she s very strong student? If so look into that school. Also Maret though it's not Catholic.
Visitation is all girls and a serious school and pretty preppy and waspy (as is NCS).
Stone ridge is a little more diverse (not a lot but a little) has strong academic programs and a great spirit.
Holy child is very good for girls with learning issues or just regular students.
Holy cross and Brookewood would not be worth the crazy commute from DC.
SJC is very diverse and coed.

NCS is also not Catholic. It is Episcopalian.

I agree that NCS is waspy, but Visi is Catholic. You can't be waspy (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) and Catholic.

Holy Cross is a great school. It's commute is no more crazy that SR. It's one more metro stop, but much more conveniently located relative to the stop than SR.

NCS is 38% diverse. I am not sure it is as waspy as you think.

[Anonymous]

Blessed Sacrament is a a great parish school in NWDC - Chevy Chase, DC if you are considering trying to find a spot for your daughter for next fall. They may not have openings, but I know sometimes spots can be made available to out of town transfers at most privates if deemed a good fit.

In terms of high schools, Stone Ridge (k-12) and Visitation (9-12) are all girls and the best academically. SJC (9-12) is less academically strong, but (as others have commented) is improving greatly and undergoing lots of renovations in the coming years. SJC is the strongest athletically, but Visitation and Stone Ridge also have strong sports programs. Visitation is the closest to Cleveland Park in Georgetown, SJC is located the second furthest away in Chevy Chase, DC, and Stone Ridge is the farthest in Bethesda, MD. Lots of people commute to SR from NWDC so I am sure you can find a carpool without much difficulty.

Hope this helps! Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

You asked about Academy of the Holy Cross....They take all types of girls - from top of the class to bottom from my daughter's grade school class. Down to earth families and your typical all-girl Catholic school. Probably not the strongest academically but great girls who love their school. We ultimately chose Stone Ridge over AHC (Holy Cross) and Visi based on my daughter's shadow days. Going to a school and seeing what it is like is a great indicator of the best fit for your daughter and your family.

[Anonymous]

In the DC area, many are biased into thinking the top Catholic Schools are all boys (St. Anselms, Gonzaga or Georgetown Prep) or all girls (Georgetown Visitation or Stone Ridge). Here is a website with ranking the Catholic schools in the area:

https://k12.nichebeta.com/rankings/private-high-schools/best-catholic/m/washington-dc-metro-area/

Rundown of Catholic High Schools in DC or Montgomery County (don't know as much about Va Schools or PG County) based on reputation and what people talk about.

Girls Schools:

Stone Ridge and Visitation are the top Catholic girls schools in the area (reputation wise). Families with money, very smart girls and well rounded kids. College placement is about equal with girls going to top Catholic colleges, some ivies plus others. Stone Ridge is an independent school but part of the Sacred Heart network (you may be familiar with) and Visi is part of the ADW with old Catholic families with legacies often getting in over more qualified new girls. You can't go wrong with either if your daughter has the grades, test scores or activities to get in. Visi slightly harder to get in because they take so many legacies. In all rankings, however, SR always comes out on top for some reason.

Holy Child - independent traditionally known for girls who have more learning differences with money. They've been making strides to get top students in past years by giving money. Typically many girls come from the Potomac area; known to be cliquey, but sounds like people with experience at this school love it. Known for beautiful facilities, warm and caring staff. Have not traditionally not had same college placement results as Visi or SR but I haven't looked lately.

Academy of the Holy Cross - ADW school with a lot of buzz right now, trying to recruit top students but also take weaker academically and give support. Traditional Catholic girls school, good sports teams, friendly, nice people. Not as strong academically with college placement not as impressive as SR or Visi but the girls there love it. Some people look down on it for not being as academic or having as much money as Visi or SR.

Oakcrest - in Virigina and Opus Dei....very conservative and small.

Brookewood - very small, conservative and lots of Opus Dei.

Coed Schools:

St. Johns College HS - used to be all boys military school. Now infused with tons of money thanks to Under Armour founder and alum, Kevin Plank. Big buzz right now but your child won't play sports there unless they are recruited or top athlete in their sport. Very impressive sports teams, but not known as being as academic as the all girl or all boy schools in the area. People I know love it there. Have a program called Benilde for kids who need more academic support.

Good Counsel HS - beautiful new facility now but far out if you are living in DC. Incredible new theater with theater program that is quite impressive. Also top sports school with many kids being recruited for their talents. Varied levels of academics - from strong to Riken program which helps kids with learning differences. Large school which some complain is almost like a public Catholic school.

Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You asked about Academy of the Holy Cross....They take all types of girls - from top of the class to bottom from my daughter's grade school class. Down to earth families and your typical all-girl Catholic school. Probably not the strongest academically but great girls who love their school. We ultimately chose Stone Ridge over AHC (Holy Cross) and Visi based on my daughter's shadow days. Going to a school and seeing what it is like is a great indicator of the best fit for your daughter and your family.

Holy Cross has an IB program which is substantially increasing their academic value. IB classes are available to all students even if they are not enrolled in the full IB diploma program. They also have an inclusion program for special needs students which is an added social value for schools educating in Catholic values. Great sports teams too.

[Anonymous]

Holy Cross alumnae here and I wouldn't have traded that experience for any other all girls school. I applied to and was accepted at Stone Ridge, Holy Child, and Holton Arms.

Some of my favorite memories were the sports (field hockey and swimming), and the tremendous sense of community, sisterhood, and life long friendships I made while I was there. At a wedding of a classmate last year, there were 23 girls from our graduating class who attended, 5 of them in the bridal party.

Kairos, a 5 day religious retreat was also something very special that AHC hosts for their seniors and selective juniors.

I was a 4.0 student at Holy Cross with AP classes from Junior through Senior year. My undergrad was Catholic University, for MA and PHD went to Georgetown.

We did have girls who were on financial aid, but in this day and age I don't think that's so odd considering tuition and cost of expenses for a girl who is active in sports and other school activities (studying abroad, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Holy Cross would be worth a look if all-girls appeals to your DD. Good soccer and track programs, very easily metro accessible, draws from DC well into MD suburbs, solid IB program.

I'd think the commute from Cleveland Park to Holy Cross would take more than 30 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that there is literally something for everybody in DC Catholic schools - single sex, coed, very bookish, very sporty. If you are living in Cleveland Park, you will be a short hop to just about everything. You might want to think about living a bit further into upper NW so that you have more schools in range. I don't know Chicago schools, but DC Catholic schools are quite competitive to get into - especially the single sex and independent schools.

Thanks for the info!

The thing about Catholic schools in Chicago is that there are so dang many of them! You are never more than 15 minutes away from a Catholic high school, and there is a parish with an attached K-8 school in pretty much every suburb and many city neighborhoods (we live in a suburb just outside the city). There are HSs where basically anyone with a pulse and $XX,000 to spare can attend, and then there are ones that are very very selective. The single-sex ones tend to fall into the "anyone with a pulse" (OK that sounds really awful of me) category, co-ed is more a mixed bag. So there is something for everyone, whether a very strong student or a not-so-strong student that simply wants to go to a Catholic high school for social reasons, sports, want a smaller environment, whatever.

We will definitely give St. John's a look. From my research it looks like a very well-rounded school, the type where a lot of different kinds of kids could succeed, where there is no one "type"...am I off base here?

For the sake of anonymity I won't say which school she'll be at next year, but I'll definitely talk to the other school families once we get there. Just thought I'd get a head start.

90% of the students play a sport at SJC. It is a VERY sporty school. It has every non-sport activity you would expect at a HS, but sports pulls it all together. For girls, the marquis sport is basketball. I think most of the other girls sports are close to being no-cut, especially for team sports.

OK- good to know. My daughter is sporty but she does cross country and soccer.

[b]You will be very close to NCS - National Cathedral School. Is she s very strong student? If so look into that school. [b]Also Maret though it's not Catholic.
Visitation is all girls and a serious school and pretty preppy and waspy (as is NCS).
Stone ridge is a little more diverse (not a lot but a little) has strong academic programs and a great spirit.
Holy child is very good for girls with learning issues or just regular students.
Holy cross and Brookewood would not be worth the crazy commute from DC.
SJC is very diverse and coed.

NCS isn't Catholic. It would be an easy commute from CP, though.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. We are not necessarily opposed to non-Catholic HSs but that is just the trajectory we assumed she would take. Will take a look at NCS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the DC area, many are biased into thinking the top Catholic Schools are all boys (St. Anselms, Gonzaga or Georgetown Prep) or all girls (Georgetown Visitation or Stone Ridge). Here is a website with ranking the Catholic schools in the area:

https://k12.nichebeta.com/rankings/private-high-schools/best-catholic/m/washington-dc-metro-area/

Rundown of Catholic High Schools in DC or Montgomery County (don't know as much about Va Schools or PG County) based on reputation and what people talk about.

Girls Schools:

Stone Ridge and Visitation are the top Catholic girls schools in the area (reputation wise). Families with money, very smart girls and well rounded kids. College placement is about equal with girls going to top Catholic colleges, some ivies plus others. Stone Ridge is an independent school but part of the Sacred Heart network (you may be familiar with) and Visi is part of the ADW with old Catholic families with legacies often getting in over more qualified new girls. You can't go wrong with either if your daughter has the grades, test scores or activities to get in. Visi slightly harder to get in because they take so many legacies. In all rankings, however, SR always comes out on top for some reason.

Holy Child - independent traditionally known for girls who have more learning differences with money. They've been making strides to get top students in past years by giving money. Typically many girls come from the Potomac area; known to be cliquey, but sounds like people with experience at this school love it. Known for beautiful facilities, warm and caring staff. Have not traditionally not had same college placement results as Visi or SR but I haven't looked lately.

Academy of the Holy Cross - ADW school with a lot of buzz right now, trying to recruit top students but also take weaker academically and give support. Traditional Catholic girls school, good sports teams, friendly, nice people. Not as strong academically with college placement not as impressive as SR or Visi but the girls there love it. Some people look down on it for not being as academic or having as much money as Visi or SR.

Oakcrest - in Virigina and Opus Dei....very conservative and small.

Brookewood - very small, conservative and lots of Opus Dei.

Coed Schools:

St. Johns College HS - used to be all boys military school. Now infused with tons of money thanks to Under Armour founder and alum, Kevin Plank. Big buzz right now but your child won't play sports there unless they are recruited or top athlete in their sport. Very impressive sports teams, but not known as being as academic as the all girl or all boy schools in the area. People I know love it there. Have a program called Benilde for kids who need more academic support.

Good Counsel HS - beautiful new facility now but far out if you are living in DC. Incredible new theater with theater program that is quite impressive. Also top sports school with many kids being recruited for their talents. Varied levels of academics - from strong to Riken program which helps kids with learning differences. Large school which some complain is almost like a public Catholic school.

Hope this helps!

This is more or less spot on w a few minor errors.

SJC HS is getting $$ but not a ton (especially not relative to the likes of Gonzaga and Prep annually). One $15M gift does not go far. And, outside of hoops, your daughter can play pretty much any sport she wants there. Their lacrosse and softball teams are average, their swim team stinks, and their soccer team has dropped off markedly in recent years. Their field hockey team did win a WCAC championship, but I don't think anyone recruits for FH. Their academics are subpar by NW DC/MoCo Private school standards.

OLGC - same deal athletically as SJC for girls except throw in soccer and lax. Outside of that it is very much a take all comers approach for sports there. Academics are slightly better than SJC and more diverse w Riken and IB programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone. We are not necessarily opposed to non-Catholic HSs but that is just the trajectory we assumed she would take. Will take a look at NCS!

FWIW - Here in Washington, there's a very strong connection between the Catholic community as a whole and the Catholic schools that serve them. Only rarely do they consider alternatives.