Anonymous wrote:SR is very liberal, especially regarding LGBTQ. Catholicism is more of an afterthought, so if religion is important to you, then you will get less of it at SR. Visi is more traditional and prestigious, with lots of legacies, but academically is not as modern as SR.

I wouldn't say Catholicism is an afterthought, just a different take.

SR is very liberal, especially regarding LGBTQ. Catholicism is more of an afterthought, so if religion is important to you, then you will get less of it at SR. Visi is more traditional and prestigious, with lots of legacies, but academically is not as modern as SR.

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely no reason to pay obscene amounts of money for these private schools when all the girls end up at SEC (no Vandy) and mid-tier colleges anyways. Send them to public schools and they will get just as good an education and college outcomes.

Many of us are not there for the college outcomes.

Anonymous wrote:How is the Visi experience for students coming from public? DD is very interested in applying next year however we aren’t sure how tough it will be for her to establish friendships with girls who have known each other for some time. Would love to hear toward experiences coming from a similar situation.

For our DD, she was very eager to move beyond the girls she had gone to k-8 with. After all those years with the same 20 girls they were all ready for new friends. And while it made the transition easier to have a handful of familiar faces, her “friend group” is all new people except 1 from her k-8.

Except for a couple feeder schools (and we were from one), most girls come knowing 1-2 people from their previous school. It’s a good situation for making new friends because everyone’s in the same boat. Certainly easier than joining a school that starts before 9th.

How is the Visi experience for students coming from public? DD is very interested in applying next year however we aren’t sure how tough it will be for her to establish friendships with girls who have known each other for some time. Would love to hear toward experiences coming from a similar situation.

2 graduates of SR. Attended from 9-12. The vast majority of the teachers were fabulous.

They had excellent college admissions results.

Absolutely no reason to pay obscene amounts of money for these private schools when all the girls end up at SEC (no Vandy) and mid-tier colleges anyways. Send them to public schools and they will get just as good an education and college outcomes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have an 8th grader who is applying to both from a parochial school that ends in 8th. We have seen great girls choose either one and we don’t have a good sense of the differences. Our daughter is very friendly with lots of interests, athletic and a good student but not the very top academically. Would one be a better fit?

I’m hoping to not be inviting anyone to bash either school. My current impressions of both schools are very good, I’m just trying to better understand the differences so please be kind.

Would look at parent community and see if either appeals to you more. It has a large influence on your daughter's experience and also on your experience.

Is this still as true in high school?

DD has hours upon hours of HW at SR. Always and all the time. Bear this in mind!

Anonymous wrote:We have an 8th grader who is applying to both from a parochial school that ends in 8th. We have seen great girls choose either one and we don’t have a good sense of the differences. Our daughter is very friendly with lots of interests, athletic and a good student but not the very top academically. Would one be a better fit?

I’m hoping to not be inviting anyone to bash either school. My current impressions of both schools are very good, I’m just trying to better understand the differences so please be kind.

Would look at parent community and see if either appeals to you more. It has a large influence on your daughter's experience and also on your experience.

Neither purports to be Jesuit.

My DD avoided both! Had a cousin who graduated from Stone Ridge a few years ago with a miserable experience of mean girls. Most girls from her PK-8 attend Visi. We visited and were so disappointed that it didn’t continue Jesuit education like Gonzaga. She’s at a private co-ed HS and doing well!

How are the teachers at Visi or SR vs other privates like NCS or Potomac? My daughter really wants a school with strong teacher student experience.

Anonymous wrote:Our daughter is really enjoying 8th grade at SR. She has needed some academic help, and her teachers have been really responsive providing help during study hall. She can go seek them out, but they are also very welcoming, so that is a great way for her to practice low-stress advocating for her own learning. The block schedule is great and she enjoys the sports, campus, friends. She seems really happy. My sister attended Visi a billion years ago and loved it FWIW. What a campus and location!

8th grade is not on a block schedule at SR. They have 55 minute classes. The HS has 4 80 minute blocks per day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have heard Visi slots girls into tracks and can be stubborn about who gets to take honors classes. Have not heard this about SR.

SR is also very methodical about who gets into honors and AP classes. My DD knows of many who were disappointed about not getting in.

Also true at Gonzaga.

A B+ is not exactly a super high bar. I would also add that they are open to discussing the placement if there are extenuating circumstances or even if the student makes a good pitch for whey they should be allowed to take the more advanced class. DD's friend found herself in this situation and was able to talk her way into the upper-level class. I know from friends that some other schools are much more rigid on this standard. But, yes, I'm sure there were girls who were disappointed because they did not get into the class/level they wanted. I think the school could do a better job being a bit more transparent about what's grades are needed. Things got a bit murky when they removed the "teacher must recommend you for honors/AP" part of the equation.