Reply to Mater dei

Forum Index » Private & Independent Schools

Reply to "Mater dei"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]After mater dei, who feeds the most into Georgetown Prep?

Also, who feeds most into Gonzaga? St Johns? [/quote]

I went to MD and Prep.  I’m sending my kid to parochial school (and probably Prep but who knows).

There is no one feeder parochial school.  There are many parochial schools that send some but not all boys to Prep.  Go look at the ones near your house and pick one that’s a good fit.  Where you think your kid will fit in and get a rigorous education.
[/quote]

Was there a reason you chose parochial over MD for your own kids? Did you think MD/Prep was a good experience?

Do you have a sense which parochial in this area near Prep are rigorous (I agree with you on that point and it is very important to me)?

Also, does anyone have feedback on staff  and headmaster leaving MD? Similarly, I saw the principal at St Janes is retiring and I heard she was very good at running the school. [/quote]

I liked Prep and did very well academically and got into a great college.  I expect my sons will attend.  (Nothing is certain but the older one has very good grades so far.)  But I’m not insisting on it.  It’s just an option I’m willing to pay for if they want and get in.

I thought I got a good education at Mater Dei but struggled socially.  I came in middle school, was a summer birthday and not held back and didn’t play lacrosse.  There is a clique, and I wasn’t in it.  I had friends in elementary, high school and college so the common denominator was MD not me.  I am guessing from internet gossip the culture is still similar.  Because there is a mold, I would avoid it unless you know your kid fits it.  Parochial schools don’t necessarily have a mold and that has advantages.  Plus my kids like it, get good grades and have friends.  Since everything is working fine, there’s no reason to pay more money and risk a bad fit.  It’s a different calculation if your current school isn’t working well.  (I know there are many people that love it, this is just my experience.)

Prep recruits the top couple kids (who are interested) from pretty much every parochial school on the western side of MoCo.  That’s why I didn’t provide a specific list before. Blessed Sacrament, St. Barts, Little Flower, Our Lady of Mercy, Our Lady of Lourdes, Holy Redeemer, De Chantal, St. Elizabeth’s, St. Raphael’s and Mary of Nazareth all feed regularly.  There are granular reputational differences that wax and wane over time (IMO, if the principal is good/not good the school will rise or fall accordingly).  If you narrow your list you will get more specific feedback as to current conditions.

They take students from DC, VA, eastern MoCo, PG too, I am just listing the most likely suspects.  These are community schools and most people live close by, so you and your kids will have a better experience if you pick one close, go to mass there and sign your kids up for the after school activities.

If they are one of the top 2-3 boys academically at any of these schools, and you can pay and are a known good member of the local community, your kid has an excellent shot of admission to Prep.  Historically they went lower in the class for Mater Dei kids, but I just wasn’t convinced that marginal difference (if it still exists) is worth it or necessary for my kids.

Last piece of advice.  When I applied to Prep, the librarian apparently called the admissions director and told him I was always very polite to her and loved reading.  This was unsolicited but I heard about it from the admissions director later.  So keep in mind there are all sorts of community connections at play here.  The best way to have that work in your favor is to join the community - get involved, go to mass, meet your priest, coach rec soccer, volunteer at the food drive and teach your kids to be hard working, polite and enthusiastic.  If you do that it will work out at Prep or Gonzaga or SJC or anywhere else.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics