I have a freshman in the Scholars program this year. He has plenty of opportunity and time for other pursuits.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you so much, SJC parents! Really helpful to know that my DS would still get a great education even if he is not in the Scholars program. I was really impressed with the open house yesterday. I met students, parents, teachers, and coaches. What a wonderful opportunity to see all the school has to offer. I spoke with so many teachers -- that really made the difference for me.

OP, my DD graduated from SJC in spring 2021. She had excellent outcomes with her college applications. She was a solid A-B student and was not interested in taking any AP classes although SJC has plenty. Neither I nor DH pushed her to take the APs. She still got into great colleges with merit aid. The teachers at SJC are very caring and the college counseling is superb. Even during the pandemic, the college counselors were on top of things with recommendations and grade reports. DD had a very good experience academically and socially at SJC. She did play a varsity sport all four years but like other PPs have stated, a non-sporty student will find lots of clubs and non-sports activities to engage in. It was well worth the money.

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster above who said I thought the open house was terrific! But one question for SJC parents -- I know the Scholars program is supposedly great -- and there was alot of talk about it at the open house -- but that is only for 50 kids per grade. I have a DS who is very bright, gets great grades, but he loves sports and definitely does not want to take all honors classes. His pre-HSPT score is within the Scholars requirements, but he does not want to apply.

So long way to ask -- how is SJC for bright, motivated boys who want to have a more balanced high school experience? Can SJC be a great education for those outside of the Scholars program? Maybe he would take 3 honors classes?

PP, there is no cap on the number of Scholars students. It varies by year.
If he chose not to do Scholars, he could still place into Honors Math, English, etc. Double check that. I’m not convinced that Scholars does not provide a balanced experience. My DC is only a freshman in Scholars but has plenty of free time so far.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG. You're asking about financial aid?

I think you're asking because you're not used to paying tuition. One of my friends did the same thing. They have multiple houses and take trips to Europe...and want financial aid.

We make way less than you do and pay about $22k. You have to prioritize and budget differently. SMH

Again, OP, I know three families that make >$300k and get some merit based aid.

Yes, and how many kids do they have that are enrolled in Catholic schools? Quite different for someone with just one kid.

Anonymous wrote:SJC gives significant merit academic scholarships. If your kid has excellent grades and is a good test taker it is worth it to have them study for the hspt.

If your child applies to the Scholars Program and is accepted, there is a small scholarship of around $2k per year - I think it can go up to $5k but check online.

Thank you so much, SJC parents! Really helpful to know that my DS would still get a great education even if he is not in the Scholars program. I was really impressed with the open house yesterday. I met students, parents, teachers, and coaches. What a wonderful opportunity to see all the school has to offer. I spoke with so many teachers -- that really made the difference for me.

15:51 your son can get a great education at SJC outside the scholars program. He can take the classes that are in his interests and go from there. SJC has a large mix of every kind of student you can think of. They all find their place there.

I can weigh in on this. I have a kid in the scholars program. There isn't a separate "honors program". The scholars kids take many of the honors classes-- but not all of them. It depends on their interests and their strengths. The school works with them to identify these and make sure the classes line up with them over the 4 years. Likewise there are **many** students who take the honors classes that are not in the formal scholars program. There are very high achievers not in the specific scholars program.

O’Connell and Visi also had Ooen Houses

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster above who said I thought the open house was terrific! But one question for SJC parents -- I know the Scholars program is supposedly great -- and there was alot of talk about it at the open house -- but that is only for 50 kids per grade. I have a DS who is very bright, gets great grades, but he loves sports and definitely does not want to take all honors classes. His pre-HSPT score is within the Scholars requirements, but he does not want to apply.

So long way to ask -- how is SJC for bright, motivated boys who want to have a more balanced high school experience? Can SJC be a great education for those outside of the Scholars program? Maybe he would take 3 honors classes?

There's the scholars program and then there's also the Honor's program. I think they take the same classes but the scholars kids also have thing like the retreat, study aboard, enhanced college counseling, etc.

My son was coming from public as a non-Catholic. Straight As, 99% HSPT, athlete. Applied to the SJC Scholar's program and was not accepted but the acceptance letter said that he was admitted to the SJC Honor's program.
My impression is that the Honor's program is Scholar's program without the full commitment and might be a good fit for your child.
He was also accepted to Sidwell, STA, Potomac, Gonzaga, GDS so he was a competitive applicant. In our experience, getting a Scholar's spot as a non-Catholic was quite competitive. He ended up at his top choice so all worked out.

I am the poster above who said I thought the open house was terrific! But one question for SJC parents -- I know the Scholars program is supposedly great -- and there was alot of talk about it at the open house -- but that is only for 50 kids per grade. I have a DS who is very bright, gets great grades, but he loves sports and definitely does not want to take all honors classes. His pre-HSPT score is within the Scholars requirements, but he does not want to apply.

So long way to ask -- how is SJC for bright, motivated boys who want to have a more balanced high school experience? Can SJC be a great education for those outside of the Scholars program? Maybe he would take 3 honors classes?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better than some and worse than others. They have a wide range of students, by design. Move along if that is not for you.

Who else has had an in person open house this season?

Bishop Ireton

Do you really think they are in same class as St Johns?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better than some and worse than others. They have a wide range of students, by design. Move along if that is not for you.

Who else has had an in person open house this season?

Bishop Ireton

Georgetown Prep

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better than some and worse than others. They have a wide range of students, by design. Move along if that is not for you.

Who else has had an in person open house this season?

Bishop Ireton

Anonymous wrote:OP if you decide to send him there and you feel strapped, you can always move out of the Wilson district. You're paying a big premium to live there.

Not really. Even Hyattsville and Silver Spring houses are running $1m these days.