NP but getting back to the OPs original point. My DS got in the low 70s percentile on SSAT. Is that an automatic disqualifier at Prep? Should he retake?

Anonymous wrote:Does Prep take boys that aren't athletes? Do they value musicians or actors? I can't imagine they want an entire class of jocks?

Not all of the freshman class are athletes or even athletic.

And there are people on campus who care about theater and music. But there isn't the same level of enthusiasm for those pursuits as there is for football and lacrosse.

Does Prep take boys that aren't athletes? Do they value musicians or actors? I can't imagine they want an entire class of jocks?

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Anonymous wrote:DS is very interested in Gtown Prep but has not done well on practice SSATs. He has mostly As (coming from public), is a good athlete and will get great recommendations. Wondering how important test scores are. Should we give up hope if below a certain score?

Two questions. Will you need significant financial aid and are you Catholic?

We will be full pay but are not Catholic.

Being full pay will help. Not being Catholic is not a disqualifier. But to a extent it's a numbers game. This is not a game in which everyone's chances are equal.

About a third of Prep's incoming freshman class of Day students come from a single, all boy's Catholic school, Mater Dei.

Several local parishes regularly send boys to Prep (Blessed Sacrament, Mercy, Little Flower, St Elizabeth's, De Chantal, Holy Redeemer, etc., etc.) There is a longstanding symbiotic relationship between Prep and these schools and the best applicants from these schools are almost always accepted.

Add to this the legacy boys that don't go to one of the feeder schools, faculty kids, URMs, top athletes, and other "connected' families and the classes get filled pretty quickly.

Still, every year public school grads including some non-Catholics are admitted.

Your son might want to consider Landon as an alternative. It draws from a more heterogeneous community. It's about the same size, plays in the same athletic conference, has about the same level of academics, and sends kids tot the same sort of colleges. (Although Prep sends a lot of kids to Catholic colleges)

This year less than 20 percent are from mater dei.

I said as a percentage of “Day” students. Which, of course, is what this boy will be applying to.

The 20 or so boarders don’t count in this. So 30 boys from Mater Dei is roughly 1/3rd of the 100 Day students.

Your number is incorrect.

What is the correct number in that case?

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Anonymous wrote:DS is very interested in Gtown Prep but has not done well on practice SSATs. He has mostly As (coming from public), is a good athlete and will get great recommendations. Wondering how important test scores are. Should we give up hope if below a certain score?

Two questions. Will you need significant financial aid and are you Catholic?

We will be full pay but are not Catholic.

Being full pay will help. Not being Catholic is not a disqualifier. But to a extent it's a numbers game. This is not a game in which everyone's chances are equal.

About a third of Prep's incoming freshman class of Day students come from a single, all boy's Catholic school, Mater Dei.

Several local parishes regularly send boys to Prep (Blessed Sacrament, Mercy, Little Flower, St Elizabeth's, De Chantal, Holy Redeemer, etc., etc.) There is a longstanding symbiotic relationship between Prep and these schools and the best applicants from these schools are almost always accepted.

Add to this the legacy boys that don't go to one of the feeder schools, faculty kids, URMs, top athletes, and other "connected' families and the classes get filled pretty quickly.

Still, every year public school grads including some non-Catholics are admitted.

Your son might want to consider Landon as an alternative. It draws from a more heterogeneous community. It's about the same size, plays in the same athletic conference, has about the same level of academics, and sends kids tot the same sort of colleges. (Although Prep sends a lot of kids to Catholic colleges)

This year less than 20 percent are from mater dei.

I said as a percentage of “Day” students. Which, of course, is what this boy will be applying to.

The 20 or so boarders don’t count in this. So 30 boys from Mater Dei is roughly 1/3rd of the 100 Day students.

Your number is incorrect.

NP and Prep mama here. I highly recommend your son does a few sessions with a good SSAT tutor ( look up places like Prep Matters or C2) . My son is a straight A student as well but did poorly on his first SSAT because he wasn’t used to the testing format. 12 tutoring sessions later and his score went up by 20 percentile points!
Prep is a wonderful school. If you have the resources, it’s totally worth it to invest in a good tutor to increase your son’s chances of getting in. I believe he still has until January to take the test. Good luck!

Definitely apply, and make sure your DS and you (in the interview) emphasize that Prep is his first choice. If the SSAT score isn’t great, send them whatever else you have - such as standardized test results from middle school. My son’s SSAT scores weren’t great and that’s what we did. It’s impossible to say whether that made a difference, but he was admitted. I think the interview is very important at Prep for families who are “new” or unknown to Prep. They want polite, sporty and smart kids. The kid interviews alone with admissions before the parents come in, so do what you can to make your DS comfortable with that beforehand.

I’ll also just say, Prep is wonderful and I’d strongly encourage boys from public schools and other non-parochial backgrounds to apply. The fact that a chunk of each class comes from Mater Dei doesn’t matter - if anything those boys might stick together, but each student makes friends through sports and activities. It is a special place.

Why so negative? OP Georgetown Prep has been an incredible place for my son. I would use the next month or so to improve SSAT. You should keep in mind that a lot of people lie about scores. Don’t be hard on your son’s performance. It has been years but I think it is worthwhile to call Preo Matters and get tutoring asap. In Prep’s defense they use the SSAT to level the various curriculums at all the schools. Freshman year is hard and I mean really hard. They need to know your son can do the work. Rarely but some kids leave after freshman year because the adjustment to non block schedule is hard. They want to avoid this. There is hours of homework and daily quizzes in all the subjects. There is a dedicated test day for long form for each class weekly. I recall thinking this was hard. I am grateful now for their approach. My son became organized in a way I did not think possible and it prepared him for college. There is also help every step of the way with teachers and also older boys who will help tutor free after school. He also developed as a man of faith and character and I feel great about the experience. I know as a Jesuit school they care about what your son wants to do to give back to most vulnerable and make sure this comes across in essay. They also appreciate candor. If his SSAT is not reflective of how he performs at school, have your school write an additional letter explaining. In terms of other schools, Gonzaga would be closest to Preo in philosophy and is a great school. Hope this helps.

Anonymous wrote:My son came from public school and did well in the SSAT, but did not great grades in middle school. He has thrived at Prep. I hope your son studies for the SSAT, get strong recommendations from his teachers, and a recommendation from someone with close ties to Prep.

I’d have a back up plan, if I were them. Once the school goes through the legacies, connected kids, feeder school candidates, URMs and special athletes, there aren’t a lot of spots left.

My son came from public school and did well in the SSAT, but did not great grades in middle school. He has thrived at Prep. I hope your son studies for the SSAT, get strong recommendations from his teachers, and a recommendation from someone with close ties to Prep.

Anonymous wrote:OP, please do not let these responses discourage you from continuing to look at Prep. It’s a great school and our son has been happy there. He is a non-Catholic student athlete in a “lesser” sport according to PPs and had a slightly underwhelming SSAT score, but good grades. It worked out for our son and might for yours as well. Good luck!

Thank you for encouragement. Prep really is his and our first choice so we hope he can improve his scores and that other factors will weigh in his favor!

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Anonymous wrote:DS is very interested in Gtown Prep but has not done well on practice SSATs. He has mostly As (coming from public), is a good athlete and will get great recommendations. Wondering how important test scores are. Should we give up hope if below a certain score?

Two questions. Will you need significant financial aid and are you Catholic?

We will be full pay but are not Catholic.

Being full pay will help. Not being Catholic is not a disqualifier. But to a extent it's a numbers game. This is not a game in which everyone's chances are equal.

About a third of Prep's incoming freshman class of Day students come from a single, all boy's Catholic school, Mater Dei.

Several local parishes regularly send boys to Prep (Blessed Sacrament, Mercy, Little Flower, St Elizabeth's, De Chantal, Holy Redeemer, etc., etc.) There is a longstanding symbiotic relationship between Prep and these schools and the best applicants from these schools are almost always accepted.

Add to this the legacy boys that don't go to one of the feeder schools, faculty kids, URMs, top athletes, and other "connected' families and the classes get filled pretty quickly.

Still, every year public school grads including some non-Catholics are admitted.

Your son might want to consider Landon as an alternative. It draws from a more heterogeneous community. It's about the same size, plays in the same athletic conference, has about the same level of academics, and sends kids tot the same sort of colleges. (Although Prep sends a lot of kids to Catholic colleges)

This year less than 20 percent are from mater dei.

I said as a percentage of “Day” students. Which, of course, is what this boy will be applying to.

The 20 or so boarders don’t count in this. So 30 boys from Mater Dei is roughly 1/3rd of the 100 Day students.

SSAT score is a factor for sure. There are many others most of which have been listed by PPs. Others include the essay in the application, the interview, and your son's commitment to community service. Just how much your son really wants to go to Prep is very important too. I wish your son well. Attending Prep has been very instrumental in shaping our son's character and preparing him for college and beyond.

There is still time to prep for the SSAT. I would get a private tutor, if you can afford one. If not, there are a lot of prep books and practice tests. Scores can increase pretty significantly with practice. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is very interested in Gtown Prep but has not done well on practice SSATs. He has mostly As (coming from public), is a good athlete and will get great recommendations. Wondering how important test scores are. Should we give up hope if below a certain score?

Two questions. Will you need significant financial aid and are you Catholic?

We will be full pay but are not Catholic.

Being full pay will help. Not being Catholic is not a disqualifier. But to a extent it's a numbers game. This is not a game in which everyone's chances are equal.

About a third of Prep's incoming freshman class of Day students come from a single, all boy's Catholic school, Mater Dei.

Several local parishes regularly send boys to Prep (Blessed Sacrament, Mercy, Little Flower, St Elizabeth's, De Chantal, Holy Redeemer, etc., etc.) There is a longstanding symbiotic relationship between Prep and these schools and the best applicants from these schools are almost always accepted.

Add to this the legacy boys that don't go to one of the feeder schools, faculty kids, URMs, top athletes, and other "connected' families and the classes get filled pretty quickly.

Still, every year public school grads including some non-Catholics are admitted.

Your son might want to consider Landon as an alternative. It draws from a more heterogeneous community. It's about the same size, plays in the same athletic conference, has about the same level of academics, and sends kids tot the same sort of colleges. (Although Prep sends a lot of kids to Catholic colleges)

This year less than 20 percent are from mater dei.