How selective is SJC?

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11/01/2017 14:45

Subject: How selective is SJC?

Anonymous

Some good posts in here. I'm going to add my rambling $.02 for those who are interested. By way of background, I was personally educated at both Jesuit and Lasallian schools and don't really have a bias for one over the other (i.e., SJC vs. Gonzaga/Prep). If anything, I've always had a softer spot for the Jesuits. While Catholic, we have not considered Catholic schools exclusively -- we want the right fit for our kids and, while the spiritual/religious aspect can be a plus, we never disqualified secular schools for that reason.

I have one child currently at SJC who couldn't be happier. I expect to have another there next year, though we'll have to see what happens with admissions (applying child is smart, personable, tests well, and is athletic, so with an older sibling there it would be a surprise if denied admission). Applying child is also applying to other schools (and has chosen to not apply to certain schools mentioned in this thread), but SJC is the top choice.

We live in NOVA and, therefore, were not looking for an alternative to DCPS. We actually live in a very highly regarded school district (good test scores, high achievement, good college admissions, etc.) -- a large part of the reason we bought a home there. That said, there are several reasons why we left our public schools. At the top of the list -- our kids were not happy or inspired. Enter SJC.

A few other posters have noted some things about SJC that drew us to the school and remain reasons why it is a great place for our kids (and our family). At the top of our list, for the most part the students there are just plain happy. My spouse has remarked about this over and over and we hear it regularly from others. Before school in the morning and well after school lets out in the afternoon, the campus is buzzing with kids who seem genuinely happy to be there. That was not our experience elsewhere. And it's not just a show -- our child who is there has never been happier.

Respect is the norm in the classroom and elsewhere around campus. Unlike our prior experience, there is no tolerance for disrespectful students. That said, respect for authority does not seem forced. I think this is partly because kids come from respectful families and, unlike many private schools in the area, lack the sense of entitlement that is all too common. My theory -- SJC is a school largely populated by middle class kids. It is not nearly as expensive as the elite schools in the area, however, $20K per year is a real sacrifice for many of the families with kids there. As a result, parents are more involved and are less likely to tolerate "crap" from their kids. Importantly, the respectful classroom environment is a two-way street -- teachers treat their students with respect and seem to genuinely care about them as people (not just grades or test scores which, again, was our experience elsewhere).

Our child who is there loves how diverse it is. Not just racially diverse, but diverse in so many ways. Our child has commented that there are jocks, brainy kids, popular kids, shy kids, etc., but it doesn't seem to matter -- students are largely all nice to each other and inclusive of one another. The cliques that we had grown accustomed to at other schools don't appear to be prevalent, and the social anxieties that were the norm elsewhere have become rare and minor.

Posters have commented on the importance of athletics at SJC. Guilty as charged, though I see it as more of a positive than a negative. School pride, driven largely by the success of its athletic teams, is off the charts. And it isn't just for the marquee sports like football (top 25 in the country), basketball (one of the top teams in what is probably the best HS basketball conference in the country), and baseball (WCAC champion for 4 straight years and arguably the best program in the DC Metro area). This fall it was not uncommon to see the entire varsity football team, in full pads, walk up the hill and collectively sit in the stands to cheer on the girls soccer and field hockey teams. That isn't the norm at other schools. And I don't see anything negative about it. The emphasis on athletic excellence (which includes recruiting) also results in a more racially and socioeconomically diverse student body. Again, I don't see anything negative about that. If there is one possible negative about the athletic excellence at SJC, it is that an average student athlete may have a hard time making a team and/or earning playing time in their preferred sport. That said, there are a lot of athletic offerings for students of varying abilities.

I know -- all of what I mentioned above is great but does not address the original poster's question. How selective is SJC? I'll address that in a second, but first would like anyone who is considering SJC (or any other private school) to ask themselves how important that is to them. The first question you should ask yourself is what you want for your kids. My spouse and I are fortunate to have generally the same view toward our kids' education. Academics are important, but not at the expense of their happiness. We also are not laser focused on our kids getting into colleges that have the top academic reputations. Our goal is for our kids to find the schools that are right for them (not necessarily the most challenging to get into), and to do well enough academically in high school so that they have plenty of options and opportunities to go to the schools that we collectively deem "best." Both of our kids are intelligent and naturally gifted in many ways, however, neither would be well-suited to a school that is an academic pressure cooker. We know kids who are very happy at some of the most academically elite schools in the area, so that is in no way a slam against those schools. They just wouldn't be right for our kids.

So back to the OP's question. If based solely on academic requirements (HSPT, grades, etc.), I don't think SJC is as selective as many private schools in the area. That probably includes Gonzaga and Prep for boys and Visitation for girls, not to mention the non-Catholic "elite" schools in the area. But I also think the gap is much narrower than it was a generation ago, even five years ago. The capital improvements at SJC have been massive, with many others in the works. The Plank/Kimsey money has helped a great deal. There's no shame in that. In fact, when successful alums give back to such a degree, I think it's a pretty good indication of the respect they have for their alma mater and how much they attribute their success to their growth there.

I promised rambling and I think I delivered. In short, if SJC is a good fit for your child, I think you'll be ecstatic to have him/her there. If having happy, confident teenagers is a priority for you, I think you could do worse.