As a parent of current Prep student, I'm curious why so many think the academics are inferior? Admitably the instruction in Math is a concern but the science and humanities are in my opinion fantastic, and sets up well for College.

http://www.saintanselms.org/college/acceptances/index.aspx

Lots of Tech schools on the list like RPI, RIT and WPI.

St. Albans probably has the best college placement of the three, but I suspect that has something to do with the fact that many St. Albans families are well-connected and many of their boys are legacies at top schools. Also, at least a few of their Ivy acceptances each year are due to sports.

Yes. Whereas SAAS is going to send a higher proportion of its graduates to schools that are not Ivies for the same reason (legacy): Notre Dame, Boston College, Loyola, Marquette, Xavier, etc.

If PP has that list from the Catholic Standard, I'd be so appreciative if s/he could link to it.

We're thinking about SAAS for our 100% non-athletic, super smart nerd boy.

You sound really defensive. Is it that your child already goes to St. Anselms and you just want some VBA time? To me, it's in a really bad neighborhood and no, that has nothing to do with the boys being nerdy. It's just a fact. Here is the link to directions to St. Anselms posted on their website: http://www.stanselms.org/directions.php
And, as I wrote, I saw the college placement list for St. Anselms in the Catholic Standard. I thought it was surprisingly bad. You can google the Catholic Standard. You can find St. Albans college placement list by googling as well.

St. Anselms and Prep are Catholic boys schools -- nothing wrong with that. STA is an elite private school.

Anonymous wrote:What's the college placement for for St. Albans? Do you know and are you saying because St. Anselm's is in a bad neighborhood (depending on what you consider a bad neighborhood) the boys are nerdy?? All I care about is getting my son the Best education possible and a school able to challenge him!

All are good schools, and though similar on paper in some ways (all-boys, religious, smallish) all three are pretty different.

St. Albans probably has the best college placement of the three, but I suspect that has something to do with the fact that many St. Albans families are well-connected and many of their boys are legacies at top schools. Also, at least a few of their Ivy acceptances each year are due to sports.

Prep probably has the best facilities of the group and most competitive sports. (But if your kid is a good/not great athlete, this may mean fewer opportunities for him.) Agree with others that their academics are probably a step down from both St. A's overall, but are still good.

St. Anselm's, though smaller, is probably more diverse than the others. Sports are not as competitive (though decent and taken seriously). Smaller community, probably a bit more laid-back than STA or GP. Challenging academics and small classes, probably better than STA at some things but not others.

I would disagree with the PP who said St. Anselm's is more conservative than STA. Yes, by and large Catholicism is more conservative than Episcopalianism. But from a cultural/social perspective, you are going to see a lot more bow ties, Brooks Brothers suits and luxury SUVs at St. Albans than at St. Anselm's. So I'd suggest that St. Albans is probably more "conservative" with a small c.

Anonymous wrote:No one mentioned about Georgetown Prep?? Is GP on the other's two level in terms of education?

GP is not on the same level academically as St albans or St anselms. It is a good school but you would not compare them to the others either on sat's, national merit or college acceptance. Nothing to to with jealously just look at the chart that sam2 put together on thus forum.

Anonymous wrote:No one mentioned about Georgetown Prep?? Is GP on the other's two level in terms of education?

In our K-8 Maryland Catholic school I have never heard of anybody applying to St. Albans and/or St. Anselms they tend to apply to GP/Gonzaga/etc. So I would just say that very few GP parents know much about the other two for comparison and visa versa.

I think it is rare to have these 3 on a list.

They are all great schools. Good Luck!

What's the college placement for for St. Albans? Do you know and are you saying because St. Anselm's is in a bad neighborhood (depending on what you consider a bad neighborhood) the boys are nerdy?? All I care about is getting my son the Best education possible and a school able to challenge him!

St. Anselms is in a bad neighborhood and tends to attract nerdy quiet boys. I would go with STA if your kid got in...has much better college placement. I saw the list for St. Anselms in the Catholic Standard and was underwhelmed.

St. Anselm's. Keep in mind, though, that most boys will fit far better at one of these schools rather than at the other. St. Anselm's is much less status-conscious and more focused on the whole student. Also there is more chance to play on a sports team at St. Anselm's if you're not really great because of its small size. But as a result St. Anselm's tends to have teams that are less "good" than the St. Alban's teams. It also is possible, though, to play three different team sports at St. Anselm's instead of concentrating on just one.

St. Anselm's

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. See prior thread about problems at GP.

What problems are these?

You couldn't possibly be referring to the fantasy problems that some posters on this board have painted in their overactive imaginations?

You aren't referring to the jealousy-driven suspicions of a few mudslingers?

They demand their curiosity be satisfied and when it is not they suggest all sorts of things.

Yes, the President resigned. But no one seems to know why. You can paint this as a scandal and those with with overactive imaginations might.

There's a fair amount of Prep-envy in DC. You will have to sort through that to get a straight answer.

Absolutely not. See prior thread about problems at GP.

No one mentioned about Georgetown Prep?? Is GP on the other's two level in terms of education?

If your son is a scholar-athlete, St. Albans. If your son could care less about sports, St. Anselms.