Anonymous wrote:PP, if you've concluded that GP is one of the most prestigious schools in the country, you've got some more research to do. St. Albans, Landon, Gonzaga, and St. Anselm's (for academics anyway), are all stronger schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Story Lady,

I am going to assume you are a real person and being honest with your prior posts and respond to you as such. I think that Georgetown Prep is a fantastic school and if I ever have a son I'd be extremely proud and excited to send him there. Here's my reasoning:
I'm AA and my husband is AA and Latino. We are in our 30's both grew up in PG County. My husband graduated from GP went on the the Naval Academy and then law school. Prior to prep he went to his local Catholic school in Lanham, MD. I went to the Potomac School, Groton School and then Harvard. DH education at GP was definitely equivalent to mine (schools often labeled more prestigious on this board) and in some ways superior.

In every way, I have been consistently amazed by the quality and breadth of education my husband received at GP. In my mind GP is definitely equivalent to most of the aforementioned schools and, for many boys, sports are a huge part of their high school development. It probably is an aggressive, sink or swim environment and not suited to all boys. That's a fair comment from PP. DH played basketball at GP and Navy and was a special forces Marine -- GP was great for him but, like any school, not the best fit for everyone. GP is also not an ivy or little ivy feeder like STA, Sidwell or Potomac, so if that's a concern for you, do look at the last 5 years exmissions data.

Being honest, from what he's told me, as an AA student my husband was not a part of the "in crowd" or "cliques" that seemed to form pre-GP (mostly at mater dei). He had plenty of great friends, many of whom he's still in contact with today and was class president for 2 years. Realistically, for many AA kids, this kind of social isolation is likely to be the case at any independent school. Its critically important to maintain contact with a community of AA friends, family and potential dates outside of your private school. Some of this is definitely achieved through "mixers" with other AA kids at DC independent schools.

PG County is a hard decision. When I was growing up it was a different place. I wish I could be surprised by PP comments about sub-par schools, community facilities, falling home prices and crime -- but she's dead on. At the same time, I drive out of DC every day and take my almost 2 y/o DD to Mitchellville to daycare because I LOVE my tiny AA home daycare where the other families and teachers share my culture and values. There are a lot of very hard-working, intelligent, education focused AA families in PG county (many of whom end up in private schools). Unfortunately, I just don't think PG is what it used to be so I personally am more likely to move to MoCo and work hard to find AA friends for my DD. Based on the number of AA I see around Bethesda, that seems to be getting less hard!

If you are serious about GP definitely ask to speak with some current AA families and grads.

Best of luck to you and your son!

I do see your point. STA, Potomac and Sidwell are a different animal. They are really putting out to some great colleges. STA seems fairly welcoming. I had studied them before but felt it was too much like St. Anselms. After studying for the past few days I think it might be a decent fit for my son. It is worth an application. It also sort of looks like a school for the well connected. Lets face it, there are no senators here. At the end of the day, I just like GP. It might be that it is the only one that I spent a nearly an entire day visiting. STA,Potomac and Sidwell provide a clear shot to an Ivy if you do decent there. I think my boy can handle it. I mean STA. I do trust GP to get him where he needs to go without a doubt. Heck their all good information overload! I hope your friends in Montgomery County have electricity. It has been an awful storm.

Anonymous wrote:Story Lady,

I am going to assume you are a real person and being honest with your prior posts and respond to you as such. I think that Georgetown Prep is a fantastic school and if I ever have a son I'd be extremely proud and excited to send him there. Here's my reasoning:
I'm AA and my husband is AA and Latino. We are in our 30's both grew up in PG County. My husband graduated from GP went on the the Naval Academy and then law school. Prior to prep he went to his local Catholic school in Lanham, MD. I went to the Potomac School, Groton School and then Harvard. DH education at GP was definitely equivalent to mine (schools often labeled more prestigious on this board) and in some ways superior.

In every way, I have been consistently amazed by the quality and breadth of education my husband received at GP. In my mind GP is definitely equivalent to most of the aforementioned schools and, for many boys, sports are a huge part of their high school development. It probably is an aggressive, sink or swim environment and not suited to all boys. That's a fair comment from PP. DH played basketball at GP and Navy and was a special forces Marine -- GP was great for him but, like any school, not the best fit for everyone. GP is also not an ivy or little ivy feeder like STA, Sidwell or Potomac, so if that's a concern for you, do look at the last 5 years exmissions data.

Being honest, from what he's told me, as an AA student my husband was not a part of the "in crowd" or "cliques" that seemed to form pre-GP (mostly at mater dei). He had plenty of great friends, many of whom he's still in contact with today and was class president for 2 years. Realistically, for many AA kids, this kind of social isolation is likely to be the case at any independent school. Its critically important to maintain contact with a community of AA friends, family and potential dates outside of your private school. Some of this is definitely achieved through "mixers" with other AA kids at DC independent schools.

PG County is a hard decision. When I was growing up it was a different place. I wish I could be surprised by PP comments about sub-par schools, community facilities, falling home prices and crime -- but she's dead on. At the same time, I drive out of DC every day and take my almost 2 y/o DD to Mitchellville to daycare because I LOVE my tiny AA home daycare where the other families and teachers share my culture and values. There are a lot of very hard-working, intelligent, education focused AA families in PG county (many of whom end up in private schools). Unfortunately, I just don't think PG is what it used to be so I personally am more likely to move to MoCo and work hard to find AA friends for my DD. Based on the number of AA I see around Bethesda, that seems to be getting less hard!

If you are serious about GP definitely ask to speak with some current AA families and grads.

Best of luck to you and your son!

Anonymous wrote:Gotta admit, I don't have kids that go to GP. However, the kids (and their parents) that I know (more than a few) are obnoxious people. Some have lots of $$ and others want to look like they have lots of $$. That's the value system. That's the front. There is nothing behind it. All about outer appearance. I get stuck listening and paybacks are ugly. It's good to be anonymous!

Anonymous wrote:Story Lady,

I am going to assume you are a real person and being honest with your prior posts and respond to you as such. I think that Georgetown Prep is a fantastic school and if I ever have a son I'd be extremely proud and excited to send him there. Here's my reasoning:
I'm AA and my husband is AA and Latino. We are in our 30's both grew up in PG County. My husband graduated from GP went on the the Naval Academy and then law school. Prior to prep he went to his local Catholic school in Lanham, MD. I went to the Potomac School, Groton School and then Harvard. DH education at GP was definitely equivalent to mine (schools often labeled more prestigious on this board) and in some ways superior.

In every way, I have been consistently amazed by the quality and breadth of education my husband received at GP. In my mind GP is definitely equivalent to most of the aforementioned schools and, for many boys, sports are a huge part of their high school development. It probably is an aggressive, sink or swim environment and not suited to all boys. That's a fair comment from PP. DH played basketball at GP and Navy and was a special forces Marine -- GP was great for him but, like any school, not the best fit for everyone. GP is also not an ivy or little ivy feeder like STA, Sidwell or Potomac, so if that's a concern for you, do look at the last 5 years exmissions data.

Being honest, from what he's told me, as an AA student my husband was not a part of the "in crowd" or "cliques" that seemed to form pre-GP (mostly at mater dei). He had plenty of great friends, many of whom he's still in contact with today and was class president for 2 years. Realistically, for many AA kids, this kind of social isolation is likely to be the case at any independent school. Its critically important to maintain contact with a community of AA friends, family and potential dates outside of your private school. Some of this is definitely achieved through "mixers" with other AA kids at DC independent schools.

PG County is a hard decision. When I was growing up it was a different place. I wish I could be surprised by PP comments about sub-par schools, community facilities, falling home prices and crime -- but she's dead on. At the same time, I drive out of DC every day and take my almost 2 y/o DD to Mitchellville to daycare because I LOVE my tiny AA home daycare where the other families and teachers share my culture and values. There are a lot of very hard-working, intelligent, education focused AA families in PG county (many of whom end up in private schools). Unfortunately, I just don't think PG is what it used to be so I personally am more likely to move to MoCo and work hard to find AA friends for my DD. Based on the number of AA I see around Bethesda, that seems to be getting less hard!

If you are serious about GP definitely ask to speak with some current AA families and grads.

Best of luck to you and your son!

Anonymous wrote:I have a boy in one of these schools and I've lived in DC almost my whole life. "Story Lady" -- who is a little odd, if you ask me, first claining to be new to the area and then spouting all sorts of opinions about the various schools, seems primarily interested in Catholic schools, and that's fine. But, I don't think you can compare most of the Catholic schools with the other major privates because you're talking about a different kind of parent body, a different school culture (conservative, which is a turnoff for a lot of folks around here), and a whole different approach to education. Sure, the Catholic schools do very well in sports, and some of them are solid academically (Gonzaga, for one). But, with the exception of St. Anselm's (where my son was accepted but did not choose to attend), they're just not as strong academically as St. Albans and Landon and the other co-ed schools like GDS, Sidwell etc. So if you're only interested in Catholic Schools and REALLY interested in sports, sure, GP might be a fine choice, but don't fool yourself that its academics are as strong as other places.

Anonymous wrote:The idea that GP is as tough on academics as STA and St Anselms is silly. GP has been known as a jocks school for decades. St Anselms is not supposed to be a school for any kid. Very smart, academic oriented kids. Great to have that option in town. Gonzaga and GP are no doubt better sports schools than STA. Both are larger and focus on that. I do point out that STA generally has a better baseball team than Gonzaga at least. STA is a much smaller school than the large Catholic boys schools. It has no desire to be DeMatha, etc. Nothing wrong with that either.

Anonymous wrote:The idea that GP is as tough on academics as STA and St Anselms is silly. GP has been known as a jocks school for decades. St Anselms is not supposed to be a school for any kid. Very smart, academic oriented kids. Great to have that option in town. Gonzaga and GP are no doubt better sports schools than STA. Both are larger and focus on that. I do point out that STA generally has a better baseball team than Gonzaga at least. STA is a much smaller school than the large Catholic boys schools. It has no desire to be DeMatha, etc. Nothing wrong with that either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, if you've concluded that GP is one of the most prestigious schools in the country, you've got some more research to do. St. Albans, Landon, Gonzaga, and St. Anselm's (for academics anyway), are all stronger schools.

I don't know of anyone who applied to St Anselm's and the other 4 or a combination thereof. Why the slams at GP? Do you have boys in high school?