Reply to Please tell me whether Georgetown Prep is a pressure cooker?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We had two boys graduate from Prep and one from Gonzaga. And we have a bunch of neighbors and friends whose sons went to Landon.

I disagree with much that has been written on this thread.

Prep and Landon are very close to one another academically. There are a dozen reasons to choose one over the other, but academic workload is not one of them. They both have a range of students and produce roughly comparable college matriculation results with Prep students choosing Catholic colleges much more frequently.

The greatest difference is that the student body, faculty and staff at Prep are overwhelmingly Catholics. (Especially when you subtract out the International borders and some of the URMs) This, of course, is not true of Landon.

I find the idea that Prep is some sort of academic pressure cooker amusing. There is a segment of the student body that is very academically focused. And the school does address this group.

My overall impression is that the Prep experience is idyllic. The boys love it there and appreciate it as a privilege. T here’s no way to measure this for comparison purposes, but if there were, I would venture that Prep has the happiest, most satisfied “customers” in the area.

Gonzaga is a different experience. But the school is buoyed by this incredible, palpable school spirit and enthusiasm.

Between Prep and Landon, it’s a toss-up. If you are Catholic, choose Prep. If you are not, it’s Landon.[/quote]

Why is Gonzaga a different experience?  How so?[/quote]

Although there are lots of similarities, much of the difference is driven by location, size and diversity (including geographic diversity). Just getting there and back (at least for our son was a challenge in car polls, on the Metro and then driving). It was part of the learning experience. Gonzaga seemed a very busy, place. The Prep environment was much more sedate. Our sons at Prep ate lunch in the South Room. My Gonzaga son bought half smokes from food trucks and ate them on North Capitol Street. After four years he was very comfortable with downtown DC as he would be in any large city.

Boys at Gonzaga come from a wider geographic area. You have many from Alexandria and Arlington that include military families. Most of the Prep boys were from NW DC, western Montgomery County and from NoVa close to the American Legion Bridge.

All that said, all three of all boys would have been happy at either school. As I said, they are more similar than different.

I don't know what the current count is, but there were many more Jesuit priests and scholastics at Gonzaga. I saw that as a significant benefit as their presence influences a number of things.[/quote]

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