Not OP but also a family looking Catholic diocesan for HS.

Active Catholic but public school

All A’s with exception of one B+ in math

Expect strong teacher recommendations

Very well rounded extracurriculars including at our parish

Taking the Pre HSPT this spring but we know DC isn’t super strong at standardized tests.

Everyone is telling us diocesan schools are easy to get into but this thread has me worried. DC will go public otherwise. Not looking at any Catholic independents.

^ both my kids prepped and did lots of HSPT practice tests because we knew they had to be at the top w/out legacy or coming from a Catholic school.

We came from public and weren't legacies at a legacy heavy, sibling preference school.

For us the bar was going to be higher:

Near perfect score on HSPT (98), straight As all through middle school.
Outgoing, extracurriculars. Played 2 sports (but not recruited by school).
Spent A LOT of time on the application and the personal essay. A LOT of time.
Great teacher recs.
Members of a parish that aligned with the high school.

Son only wanted this one high school and would have gone public if it didn't happen. So- he knew a lot about the school and he made it clear they were his first and only choice.

Anonymous wrote:Athleticism is probably not very important to admissions at St. Anselm’s, other than to the extent it demonstrates the ancillary benefits of sports like team work, self-discipline, learning from setbacks, perseverance, etc.

This, and unless you are a top athlete in your sport, it won't matter at St John's or Gonzaga either. Kind of a weird list OP. Very different. Have your son visit all of them and see where he feels comfortable.

Athleticism is probably not very important to admissions at St. Anselm’s, other than to the extent it demonstrates the ancillary benefits of sports like team work, self-discipline, learning from setbacks, perseverance, etc.

What helps most is coming from a catholic K-8, being Catholic and having excellent HSPT scores. If you aren't Catholic, you absolutely need good grades and HSPT, I guess being an athlete helps but I tend to think the rumors around that are overblown.

OP if you are an active catholic I think your kid has a very good shot at getting in. If you are Christian and active in your church I would emphasize this and make sure that your kid includes this in his/her application. If you are not active in a church I would encourage your kid to discuss why he is interested in a catholic education. That is the first mission of these schools.

I know 3 of those high schools well. More and more, SJC & G will require either stellar academics or sibling/parent legacy. We have a son at one of these and it’s been perfect for him. And we have a Bishop O’C grad, DD who is smart and great but not an awesome student or athlete. O’Connell was outstanding for her. Keep a diocesan HS on your list and you’ll be fine.

Your son’s admission chances depend on how many of these boxes you can check:

Legacy (A family connection to the school, especially parents or even grandparents and aunts and uncles)
Is Catholic.
Attended a Catholic middle school ( especially one that is a frequent contributor of students and whose input on applicants is trusted by
Good student as evidenced by test scores and grades. (Able to do the work.)
Athlete (especially in the sports the schools care about )
Full pay or almost full pay.

If your son checks all these boxes, their admissions chances are very high. The fewer the boxes, the lower the chances, in the absence of being truly outstanding in something else.

Most extracurricular activities won’t matter. This isn’t like college admissions where you can pad your resume with a lot of activities.

These schools receive a lot of applications from those fleeing the public schools. Some of them get in, but most do not.

Anonymous wrote:Prepare for the HSPT specifically. If you are coming from public, know the Catholic middle schools do some HSPT prep in school and have connections to after school prep classes.

Except for SAAS, which doesn't use the HSPT. There are no prep options for their admissions tests that I know of.

Prepare for the HSPT specifically. If you are coming from public, know the Catholic middle schools do some HSPT prep in school and have connections to after school prep classes.

I would say, make sure you tailor the application around the school's mission. Work it in in the essay or interview. These schools care a lot about their mission and will be impressed by kids who follow suit.

Also, if a great athlete, have the coach write a rec.

Is he in public k-8?

We now live in another area but for the Catholic High Schools here they look for a well rounded student that does volunteer work. So, a sport, a club and then lots of volunteer hours. When our son was interviewed that is what kept coming up. They also commented favorably on our son being an Altar Server at our parish.

Our children will be looking at Catholic high schools in a few years. First kid is not an athlete and I have heard that the schools he is interested in are getting more competitive.

What helps with admissions? Thinking to emphasize certain extracurriculars over others if it might help. He is an average student with some mild learning challenges that have not been a huge issue to date. So far, Honor Roll but not Principal's List.

He is interested in the following schools:
- St. Johns (SJC)
- Gonzaga
- Bishop O'Connell
- Good Counsel
- St. Anselm's

I know these schools admit athletes more easily but are there other extracurriculars that can give a boost?