Anonymous wrote:Did anyone with high 80's HSPT and no hooks get into Gonzaga? We do not know anyone to write recommendations other than teachers.

DS had a 92% and no significant hooks. He came from a Catholic K-8 and had a lot of service hours, alter server, other good ECs for the school. He was initially deferred but got off the waitlist after the first week. This was 4 years ago though.

FWIW, up until last year, every boy who was waitlisted from our Catholic K-8 over the last 5 years ended up being offered a spot at Gonzaga. So it is a real waitlist, not a soft rejection.

The waitlist situation from last year was an anomaly that impacted not just Gonzaga, but many local high schools.

Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure how you’d know he got a 99th percentile on a practice. If you mean 99%, then he’ll absolutely be in the 99th percentile.

Your principal might be able to give you some reassurance. Assuming you’re Catholic, your hooks are Catholic and a feeder school, which definitely “count.” Make sure there’s enthusiasm in the essay. They love families who love Gonzaga (and I mean that sincerely, people are happy partly because so many people are just really into the place. Including my family).

My son had the best 4 yrs at Gonzaga. It's truly a wonderful and challenging school.

Anonymous wrote:In our experience the essay means a lot. Place a lot of emphasis on why he wants to go there.

+1. in our experience the essay is the most important piece of the application. The admissions team really emphasizes this as well.

In our experience the essay means a lot. Place a lot of emphasis on why he wants to go there.

Did anyone with high 80's HSPT and no hooks get into Gonzaga? We do not know anyone to write recommendations other than teachers.

Anonymous wrote:The average SAT score of seniors at Gonzaga is no higher than the better public schools in Montgomery, Fairfax and Arlington. So how competitive can admissions really be?

Because in addition to the cohort of high achieving 99th percentile types from places like the Arlington diocese, there’s a cohort from the Washington diocese who have various backgrounds and abilities. And a cohort of athletes who have a variety of scores. There are kids have parents who don’t speak English. The Jesuit mission means they serve many communities. It’s one of my favorite parts of the school. My boys met the rich country club types, of course, but it’s much more diverse than that.

This board tends to get the parents of the top scorers or with means to take HSPT prep but the actual class will be more diverse than that. We just don’t hear from/about them on DCUM that much. So no surprise the average SAT isn’t just reflective of the top kids we hear about here.

Anonymous wrote:The average SAT score of seniors at Gonzaga is no higher than the better public schools in Montgomery, Fairfax and Arlington. So how competitive can admissions really be?

This is irrelevant, and not why men go to Gonzaga.

Anonymous wrote:The average SAT score of seniors at Gonzaga is no higher than the better public schools in Montgomery, Fairfax and Arlington. So how competitive can admissions really be?

Extremely if you don't go to a parochial K-8 or Mater Dei. If you do, then you are likely fine.

I have been told that the school pays particular attention to the essays so have your son give his best effort to them. Also the recommendations are important, so I would be selective in who you ask to give them (and emphasis how important they are so give the person an out if they don’t have time or don’t want to write them, then ask someone else).

This was the advice we were giving when my son was applying last year. We were coming from a local private (but not Catholic school). My son did fine on the HSPT but not in the 99% like everyone else claims their kids did so we were worried about that. He had excellent MS grades. But I made sure he spent a lot of time doing the essays (there are a lot) and started them in September so he had 3 months to finish. We also did the optional third recommendation. He got in last spring in that crazy yield class. We are very grateful.

Anonymous wrote:The average SAT score of seniors at Gonzaga is no higher than the better public schools in Montgomery, Fairfax and Arlington. So how competitive can admissions really be?

Very competitive and increasingly so. Last year, the yield was so high that they did not go to the waitlist. Athletes are recruited like college level. Not sure about average SAT scores, but likely offset by a student body with not only strong scholars but also strong athletics and arts programs. Not everyone is great in all areas, but everyone does seem to find their place. The young men are generally happy there, which in itself is a huge draw, and the parent community is the strongest and most positive we have seen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS had similar grades and HSPT, and he was offered admission as a Presidential Scholar, so maybe your son will also.

What is the Presidential Scholar program?

It's not really a program (like SJC); it's a 4-year merit scholarship, totaling $20K ($5K per year).
Gonzaga Presidential Scholarship: $20,000
$5,000 per year for four consecutive years
The top academic applicants are awarded an annual scholarship for each of their four years at Gonzaga. Families cannot apply for Presidential Scholarships. They are awarded by the Admissions Committee at the time of admission to incoming freshmen only.
https://www.gonzaga.org/admissions/tuition-and-financial-aid

The average SAT score of seniors at Gonzaga is no higher than the better public schools in Montgomery, Fairfax and Arlington. So how competitive can admissions really be?

Anonymous wrote:My DS had similar grades and HSPT, and he was offered admission as a Presidential Scholar, so maybe your son will also.

What is the Presidential Scholar program?

My son had similar stats last year except coming from Montgomery County Catholic school and was admitted with a Presidential scholarship as well. We have no alumni connections and he did not say he would attend if admitted in the essay.