Gonzaga, Georgetown Prep, Langdon, Saint Anslems, St. Albans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:43% at STA?

My question would be, “Exactly what groups included under your definition of POC?”

Includes Irish, Italians, and those with a HHI of less than $450 per year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:43% at STA?

My question would be, “Exactly what groups included under your definition of POC?”

Includes Irish, Italians, and those with a HHI of less than $450 per year.

No doubt.

I had to laugh at the posters who wrote about the WASPs at Georgetown Prep. I don't think the Irish, Italian and other Catholics whose ancestors were treated quite rudely by them would appreciate being identified as White Anglo Saxon Protestants.

My grandfather had a sign in his workshop that he had somehow acquired. It read "Help Wanted - No Irish. I wondered about it at the time, but now I know it gave him added incentive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we have/are visiting the various open houses. Honestly, we've gotten a really good impression from some if them. However, when I've shared that with friends, I sometimes hear very negative experiences that have been relayed to them by others (i.e., not direct experiences). By asking this question, I'm hoping to get some balanced and honest perspective from families who have attended these schools. If you can share your experiences I'd be most appreciative. Would love to hear about your experiences over x many years and how it evolved. Whether you left the school to attend another school and why. Looking back, was your decision to leave really worth it. I'm really just looking for honest, reflective sharing of experiences.

DS who's black went to Georgetown Prep. He had a great time there for 4 years.

Very competitive admissions. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I graduated from Prep. It was the best experience of my life. My son graduated from Prep as well, and he may have enjoyed it more than I did. Attending Prep changed the trajectory of my life--in a good way. Prep was the only academic institution I attended where I felt like an equal with my classmates because we are taught that Prep is a brotherhood--not just a high school. I never experienced or witnessed discrimination or bullying and neither did my son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we have/are visiting the various open houses. Honestly, we've gotten a really good impression from some if them. However, when I've shared that with friends, I sometimes hear very negative experiences that have been relayed to them by others (i.e., not direct experiences). By asking this question, I'm hoping to get some balanced and honest perspective from families who have attended these schools. If you can share your experiences I'd be most appreciative. Would love to hear about your experiences over x many years and how it evolved. Whether you left the school to attend another school and why. Looking back, was your decision to leave really worth it. I'm really just looking for honest, reflective sharing of experiences.

DS who's black went to Georgetown Prep. He had a great time there for 4 years.

Very competitive admissions. Good luck.

OP here - sorry for just responding. Thank you for your post. I will say that we loved what we saw and experienced when we attended the open house at Prep. Our tour guide was an international student and we spoke with a number of minority students there, who all seemed to be enjoying their experience at Prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from Prep. It was the best experience of my life. My son graduated from Prep as well, and he may have enjoyed it more than I did. Attending Prep changed the trajectory of my life--in a good way. Prep was the only academic institution I attended where I felt like an equal with my classmates because we are taught that Prep is a brotherhood--not just a high school. I never experienced or witnessed discrimination or bullying and neither did my son.

OP here - thank you for sharing. Your post is ij line with what others with first hand experience at Prep have shared. Would you mind sharing when your son attend Prep? Just trying to get a sense of how recent his experience was. Prep is definitely on our list of all boys schools thar we are excited about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from Prep. It was the best experience of my life. My son graduated from Prep as well, and he may have enjoyed it more than I did. Attending Prep changed the trajectory of my life--in a good way. Prep was the only academic institution I attended where I felt like an equal with my classmates because we are taught that Prep is a brotherhood--not just a high school. I never experienced or witnessed discrimination or bullying and neither did my son.

OP here - thank you for sharing. Your post is ij line with what others with first hand experience at Prep have shared. Would you mind sharing when your son attend Prep? Just trying to get a sense of how recent his experience was. Prep is definitely on our list of all boys schools thar we are excited about.

Please forgive the typos. I should have re-read my post before hitting send.

[Anonymous]

Do all of them also have affinity groups or mentoring programs for minority boys?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we set out to find the right all-boys school for our son, we knew exactly what we wanted:

Strong academics.
Catholic values—or something like that.
A sense of brotherhood.
And, of course, diversity.

The kind of diversity that looks great on a website but still feels reassuring when you drop your kid off in the morning.

We first toured DeMatha, and it was…energetic. So much energy! So much music! So much art! So much personality! My husband whispered, “You can feel the brotherhood.” I whispered back, “You can feel the brotherhood.” We loved it, but ultimately felt our son might “get lost in the crowd,” which was code for “we didn’t see anyone else from country club.”

At Gonzaga, we were told the boys learn to serve others and challenge injustice. The admissions director proudly noted, “Our student body is one of the most diverse among Jesuit schools.” We nodded enthusiastically, pretending not to notice that “diverse” apparently meant “one student of color for every four rowing shells.”

Georgetown Prep felt comfortable. There was a Starbucks nearby, and the campus had a pond that whispered “legacy.” The admissions video featured boys of every background, each one talking about leadership while standing in front of brick architecture that probably cost more than our house. When they mentioned their “global perspective,” my husband teared up a little. He studied abroad once, in London.

St. Albans impressed us with its charm and Episcopalian restraint. “We’re 43% students of color,” the headmaster said, his smile both humble and rehearsed. We loved the number. It sounded like justice with manners.

At Landon, the admissions office described the school as “evolving.” We took that to mean “still figuring out how to talk about diversity without whispering it.” Our tour guide said they had “a lot more public school kids now,” which we took as a warning.

Then there was St. Anselm’s—small, earnest, and full of genuine tradition. Actual monks! Our son said it felt “too quiet.” We said that was the sound of discernment. He rolled his eyes. We took that as spiritual growth.

In the end, we chose a school that “values diversity” while “maintaining rigorous standards,” which is parental shorthand for some variety, same comfort level. We tell our friends it was the perfect balance of tradition and inclusion.

And every time the newsletter features our son in a group photo next to a boy named Alejandro, we proudly forward it to everyone: “Look at this! This is the future!”

We mean it, too. We just hope the future still has a good lacrosse program.

OP here - what a great post! Thanks for this perspective on all the schools that you visited. If I were to guess, based on what you wrote, did you end up at Georgetown Prep?

Nice guess, but, no. I said, "good lacrosse program."

No school mentioned has a particularly good lacrosse program.

lol, all but St Anselms do actually.

I was gonna say, I thought Landon's was strong