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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Really? You have a kid at both Landon and STA?

Thoughts on the two as we are strongly considering both options for our son who plays football and baseball. [/quote]

Check out both – – take visit days, etc.   The religious element of St. Albans (mostly experienced through the chapel program – – essentially twice a week) was  something we liked.   Pretty broad range of student abilities at both schools, but a broader range at Landon so a little bit easier to navigate if a student is weaker in a certain subject area. But very challenging courses at the top at Landon as well.   It can be a little frustrating to be a good athlete at Landon in a spring sport other than lacrosse – – lacrosse really dominates the sports culture come springtime, but the baseball program is excellent and has generally done well.  At St. Albans,  there is not a fixed focus on one sport in the same way which can be nice.  Very warm and kind relationships between faculty and students in both places I would say.   I would actually disagree with the idea that St. Albans is a "pressure cooker" by definition --  to me, that seemed more a function of the characteristic of the student and/or their families --  some kids are a bit more anxious than others and put more pressure on themselves to excel and I think that is true anywhere (including college).   There are certainly many happy go lucky guys at St. Albans who have a ball in their high school years. And there is a nice support system  for when anxiety might strike or pressure does feel present.

Good college results in both places, although stronger for St. Albans which has more high testing kids  and always has a bunch of national merit semi finalists.   Top academic colleges are well aware of both of them as a source for smart, accomplished athletes.   Football has been down at STA for about four years but admin  appears committed to strengthening the program.  (And we have been there long enough to know that they won three or four IAC banners in this decade, so we are not talking about an IAC equivalent of Columbia football here LOL.)  Probably a great time to be applying to St. Albans as a good football player with good academic promise from an admissions standpoint.   Football at Landon is strong and competitive, although everyone in the league has had trouble keeping up with some of the resources/focus of Bullis,  which set out to and has largely become a football powerhouse under the current head of school.

Two excellent options, and two schools that often are not really captured all that accurately on DCUM.   People really think they know them, and may have some characteristics correct, but often miss out on some very major elements of both places, let alone the nuances.   Friendly admissions offices in both places so definitely take full advantage of open houses and such. [/quote]

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