Good Counsel high
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Anonymous
Both are relatively large (SJC ~1100 ; GC ~ 1200); co-ed. Tuition is ~$15K for both. St. Johns is older and has more of an established reputation. It is also in DC, hence more discussion on forums like DCUM. Good Counsel, based on its Olney location (longer commute from DC), isn't discussed much on DCUM, and as a result, isn't highly regarded by most in the DCUM "community." However, this doesn't mean it isn't an excellent school. Sports wise, both are in the highly-competitive WCAC. |
Anonymous
| 13:21 here. 13:18 provides a great summary/comparison. I was a little late. |
Anonymous
| Both schools are good and you will get mixed reviews on any school. Tour them, have your kid shadow and see for yourself. |
Anonymous
Thanks! DC has toured both but only shadowed at SJC. They liked the energy of the classroom but have mixed feelings about the social atmosphere by what they saw at lunch. Plus the host wasn't a good match and kept loosing DC in the hallways. No shadow was done at OLGC, but DC is leaning towards it since we live close by, the beautiful facilities, and the athletics. DC wants to shadow at OLGC if accepted before making a decision. I was hoping to hear from parents who had kids in both schools. |
Anonymous
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I graduated from GC just after it went co-ed, I loved it. My brother went to SJC as well as my dad, uncles, and grandfather. My brother eventually transferred to GC and my younger brother went there too.
We all had wonderful experiences there and 17 years later we all still have many great friends from GC. The thing I loved about it was that even the most popular kids were friends with the math geeks, etc there was a very cohesive feeling within the school and the teachers were great. |
Anonymous
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Well, I have posted a few times early on in this thread. 2 of my 3 kids graduated from GC. They loved the school, got good grades and, believe it or not, had their pick of highly ranked colleges. In fact, my DD2 got into 2 colleges that her best friend from a Big 3 was wait listed for. The danger of seeking advice from DCUM is that most of the people weighing in do not have a personal experience with the schools. They have heard things or they know somebody. Personally, I would take their advice with a grain of salt. See, it is a funny thing about reputations. I am not sure that GC’s reputation among DCUM “parents” is the same as its current reputation among college admissions officers. If you can, talk to current and former parents. Some will give a positive review and some will not. But you are least getting information based on personal experience.
Let me point out one thing that a counselor at GC made to me. If you think about it objectively, it makes perfect sense. She said that because of the economy and the relative difference in tuition, a lot of kids who would have otherwise attended a Big 3, Prep, or Stone Ridge, etc. are now attending GC. In looking at my daughters’ peer group, these were all smart kids with very good academic resumes who all were admitted to schools with “higher” reputations. Most of them ended up at GC because of the money and they figured that if they did well at GC, they would have good opportunities. They were right. All that being said, you have to determine whether GC is a good fit. As others have said, it has a very heavy extracurricular focus (athletics, music and theater). GC also has different academic programs so identifying which program is the best fit will take some fact finding. Also. like any other private school, certain donors and families seem to get better treatment. We had a couple of issues (as with any other school), but I have no regrets sending my kids there. |
Anonymous
| Thank you very much. That's the first hand feedback I was looking for. |
Anonymous
| 10:03, great feedback / context provided. |
Anonymous
| GC is undoubtedly a hot school right now, particularly for MoCo kids in parochial schools who don't want a single sex high school. |
Anonymous
| I think this forum is focused on Kindergarten admissions, the horror of kindergarten kids getting financial aid, tall kids that look like they are too old for kindergarten class, wisp/wisc scores (don't remember what it is called, but the percentile thing) etc |
Anonymous
"Very few kids get turned down"? Explain how over 800 applicants can squeeze into 300 spots?! Anyway, I believe any negative perceptions of GC are perpetuated by people from the so-called "top tier" schools who only knew GC from many years ago. As far as academics, I heard that this year's graduating class at GC earned over $21 million in academic scholarships. Not too shabby!!! GC has it all--a place for every student--from high achieving (strong IB and AP, and St. Mary's Scholars) to those with mild learning differences (the highly regarded Ryken program accepts about 30 students/grade). A comfortable and diverse place where there is a mutual respect for each other--so whether you're a football player or a tuba player--you'll belong. |
Anonymous
| Good Counsel = a public school you pay tuition to attend. |
Anonymous
Explain...Is it because it's diverse? Because the socio-economics are balanced? You know...sort of like the "real world"? Seems to me to be pretty similar to many top-tier colleges and universities. |
Anonymous
| I remember when it was a dump located in Wheaton. The campus now in Olney is amazing. |
Anonymous
lol, I was actually talking with someone last week who transferred to the new facility in her senior year. She said most of the kids back then preferred the old facility as they got to see their friends on a daily basis as it was much smaller. |