Gonzaga vs. Landon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting back on topic. Both Landon and Gonzaga are excellent schools. Having gone to a school like Landon I would prefer a Gonzaga because it will be more diverse and a bit more grounded to reality. Landon will be almost exclusively rich, even more so than in the past with the pricing out of upper middle class families. While Gonzaga isn't cheap either, the lower tuition means you will have a broader range of socio-economic backgrounds from wealthy to middle class. It's just a bit more real. And being in a more urban setting also helps with this.

I'm not Catholic, nor do I have much in the way of faith but I also have respect for the Jesuit beliefs and ethics/moral instruction.

Gonzaga is much more socio-economically diverse, but far less ethnically-culturally-religiously diverse, as you might expect in a Catholic school. They are known as “The Eye Street Irish”.

Gonzaga has a commitment to the local community. It enrolls a significant number of AA’s, hosts the Washington Jesuit Academy, and the McKenna Center which serves the homeless and downtrodden. All of which are consistent with Jesuit philosophy. But the non-AA proportion of the student population is overwhelmingly Catholics, many of whom are legacies or that come from families that are connected with to the school.

The Maryland-DC contingent of any class will be dominated by boys who attended Catholic/parish schools, especially the traditional feeders. These boys will frequently know one another through family connections and CYO interactions.

Landon is much more ethnically-culturally-religiously diverse. It’s location and price obviously affect the composition of the student body.

Also, the self segregation at Gonzaga is huge. So if that is a problem for your family, something to take into account.

What is meant by self segregation?

https://lmgtfy.com/?q=self+segregation&s=g

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There really isn’t much these two schools have in common. Are you catholic or not? If so, then choose Gonzaga. If not, Landon.

My Catholic son went to Landon. He loved it. It was the perfect fit for him. We cannot say enough good things about his experience at Landon, academically and athletically. He had a boy in his class at Landon whose older brother went to Gonzaga. The one thing the parents said was that the older son did not make certain teams at Gonzaga that he might have made at Landon, simply because of the numbers. Something to think about if your son wants to be on a sports team or two but is not necessarily a starter at either school--a better chance of making a roster at the smaller school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There really isn’t much these two schools have in common. Are you catholic or not? If so, then choose Gonzaga. If not, Landon.

My Catholic son went to Landon. He loved it. It was the perfect fit for him. We cannot say enough good things about his experience at Landon, academically and athletically. He had a boy in his class at Landon whose older brother went to Gonzaga. The one thing the parents said was that the older son did not make certain teams at Gonzaga that he might have made at Landon, simply because of the numbers. Something to think about if your son wants to be on a sports team or two but is not necessarily a starter at either school--a better chance of making a roster at the smaller school.

Seems like Catholics at Landon have a better chance to integrate easily because it is so diverse religiously and ethnically.

Athletes at Gonzaga who play basketball, for example, are dedicated to basketball year round. That's what is generally required to play at the Catholic League level. Smaller schools like Landon pretty much have to have multisport athletes in order to field teams across a number of sports.

[Anonymous]

Just wondering, My child has A-B grades, Good teacher recommendations. Does he have a chance at Landon or Gonzaga?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a family that sent one child to Gonzaga and one to Landon. So both must have been a good fit for one family.

Who knows?

But this is such a rare occurrence, it hardly speaks to anything.

Gonzaga has 1,000 students and one has a brother at Landon?

Jim Neil, head of Landon, is tied tightly to the Catholic community. He is a Gonzaga graduate, a proud one at that.
A lot of Catholics who know Jim, followed him there. He is a great guy. Former head of National Presbyterian School. Well respected.
I think otherwise, Landon would NOT be on the map for most Catholics especially if father was raised in the area.

[Anonymous]

I grew up here and am Catholic. Boys from my parochial k-8 were going to Landon waaay back when. Not new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up here and am Catholic. Boys from my parochial k-8 were going to Landon waaay back when. Not new.

A few, perhaps.

Consider the size of the student bodies at Gonzaga, Prep and St John’s and it shows you just how few Catholics go to Landon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up here and am Catholic. Boys from my parochial k-8 were going to Landon waaay back when. Not new.

A few, perhaps.

Consider the size of the student bodies at Gonzaga, Prep and St John’s and it shows you just how few Catholics go to Landon.

Landon is definitely on the map for Catholic families. They just have more options and choose Landon less frequently as a result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both good schools. It's a matter of fit people. What is good for one boy may be a disaster for another. Go shadow and see which one feel good.

I agree... bottom line is that your kid is the one who will have to make the school choice.
My wife and I tried to convince our son to go to Prep but he liked GZ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up here and am Catholic. Boys from my parochial k-8 were going to Landon waaay back when. Not new.

A few, perhaps.

Consider the size of the student bodies at Gonzaga, Prep and St John’s and it shows you just how few Catholics go to Landon.

Landon is definitely on the map for Catholic families. They just have more options and choose Landon less frequently as a result.

Maybe so.

But the few Catholics at Landon are dwarfed by the number of Catholic's who go to Catholic schools. (less than 1%?)

I'm guessing that those Catholics who consider Landon aren't part of the large Catholic community dominated by Gonzaga, Prep and St John's families.

[Anonymous]

Is Gonzaga having a shadow day this year? My son is accepted but we have not heard or read anything. I assume no?

[Anonymous]

There may be Catholics at Landon but the majority of Catholic boys attend SJC, Gonzaga, Prep and Good Counsel. Landon boys tend to socialize with girls from public school and Holton while the Catholic boys socialize with girls from SJC, Visitation, Holy Child and Holy Cross.

Football is a big deal at Gonzaga with the hi-light being the SJC game. At Landon, the football games are ehh. Both have good academic and athletics with Gonzaga probably edging Gonzaga out n the athletics.

Gonzaga, SJC and Good Counsel play in the WCAC athletic conference which is the top athletic conference.

[Anonymous]

The usual alternatives to Gonzaga for the great majority of Catholics are either St. John's or Prep and maybe Good Counsel.

Those who want a smaller school, in a less competitive athletic conference in Montgomery County choose Prep, not Landon.

To many Catholics, especially "locals", Landon seems an odd choice. Especially given the long history of bad relations between Prep and Landon.

[Anonymous]

Landon Academic classes and teachers are extremely good. They have incorporated technology into teaching. I was surprised how much my shy kid was well engaged. We commute 45mins one way to Landon and it worth the sacrifice. Summer program is the best in DMV. They have lots of Academic classes. Landon of today is striving harder. They also have bus transportation. I checked admission into college for class of 2020. I was amazed at top colleges the students were able to get it into. The new Landon is very transparent and communicate with the parents. Covid19 test is weekly. Lots of precautions in place to ensure safe learning.

[Anonymous]

We struggled deciding between both. We chose Gonzaga because it was more on the conservative side.