Anonymous wrote:

MOCOS wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are his other options? Why does he like Prep?

Other options are Gonzaga, Landon. He is a relatively quiet kid and did not think the GZ vibe is a good fit for him. Impressed with Landon but heard its academics is pretty challenging. Was hoping GP is just at the right level, where the kids will get pushed, but not too much. Again, he is up for challenges, but want to avoid pressure cooker.

Landon all the way. Much better peer group both for the kid and you. No bullying

You can't be serious. One of my DS's best friends was bullied relentlessly at Landon, particularly on the bus. School did very little to help and the parents basically had to manage the whole thing. He thought about transferring out but ultimately hung in and things got better. But do not think there aren't mean boys out there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d echo other comments from current Prep families. We have a 9th grader who came from public middle school. The academics have been a definite step up, but nothing extreme. The hardest thing for him this year has been the grammar part of English, because his public middle school did not teach that but the feeder parochial schools did. He’s felt some stress about the amount of work and the pace (lots of tests and quizzes), but it’s been manageable. He’s developing great organizational and study skills. The students and faculty are very supportive. And not all the kids are gunning for straight As. Some of them appear to be more focused on sports. So it’s not like all the students are non-stop stressing about their grades.

I did hear their English program is very rigorous - grammar, writing, etc. it’s good to know that it’s manageable. How about Latin?

And math? He has the ambition to go beyond Algebra 1 as his current school is teaching Algebra 1 at 8th grade - I think he’d need to take an assessment test- and the curriculum lists out the next level to be either Honors Alg or Geometry. Any experience there?

9th grade Latin has been manageable - lots of flashcards and memorization. Regarding math, incoming freshmen will be placed in Algebra unless they take an assessment that places them in honors Algebra or geometry. It is rare for a 9th grader to be placed in geometry. Our son took algebra in 8th grade, took the assessment, and was placed in regular algebra. There are a few ways to accelerate the math curriculum during the 4 years, but the kid has to demonstrate aptitude.

Several freshman this year are in honors Precalc and on to Calculus BC next year.

Anonymous wrote:One third from mater dei is a different kind of pressure cooker definitely.

Eh, yes and no.

A lot of parents send their kids to Mater Dei to catch up—oftentimes starting off by repeating the grade they completed elsewhere. This gives the kid an extra year to mature and develop better study habits (and catch up in math).

This isn’t unique to MD and Gtown Prep. I know boys who strategically enroll in a grade they just completed when to better equip them for a prep school environment.

I also don’t think Gtown Prep is especially rigorous. If you went to a single-sex catholic high school, you realize they are all pretty much the same.

The real difference is demographics. Some schools do an excellent job of providing need-based financial assistance while others are just the logical landing place for certain affluent families.

The good news is that GP isn’t the pre-frat boy jerk factory it was in the 1980s/90s etc.

Having said that, the school did retain its reputation for launching entrepreneurs: at least one student (who graduated within the last handful of years) made quite a bit of money selling high quality fake ids…primarily to kids in local public schools.

One third from mater dei is a different kind of pressure cooker definitely.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current GP family.
I feel the curriculum can be moderate or hard depending on the classes the students take. The honors and AP classes are hard but I don’t think they are harder than comparable privates from what I’ve seen from my son’s friends.
I wouldn’t say the school is a pressure cooker but it’s not a walk in the park either.
Our son is also a quiet kid but he’s not super athletic and he found a nice group of friends. Contrary to the school’s reputation of only attracting jocks ( and there are many ) there are all types of different kids there. Best of luck in your decision

This -- it's not like St. Anselm's were the most challenging courses are the only option; you can pick and choose and take some challenging, some less challenging in areas that aren't your strength, etc. There are leveled options.

Can you say more about this? Our DS is choosing between St. Anselm’s and Prep.

Anonymous wrote:At prep, a quarter of the class will be coming from one place this year (mater dei.) As a previous poster said, Gonzaga doesn’t seem to have a huge group coming from one place so that’s something to keep in mind too.

Wasn’t there a CSPAN special about the culture at Prep?

MOCOS wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are his other options? Why does he like Prep?

Other options are Gonzaga, Landon. He is a relatively quiet kid and did not think the GZ vibe is a good fit for him. Impressed with Landon but heard its academics is pretty challenging. Was hoping GP is just at the right level, where the kids will get pushed, but not too much. Again, he is up for challenges, but want to avoid pressure cooker.

Landon all the way. Much better peer group both for the kid and you. No bullying

Wow!!! A third?!

Anonymous wrote:At prep, a quarter of the class will be coming from one place this year (mater dei.) As a previous poster said, Gonzaga doesn’t seem to have a huge group coming from one place so that’s something to keep in mind too.

Well, actually when you look at just Day students and take the (largely International) students out of the equation about a third of the incoming freshman are from Mater Dei. There’s also another large chunk from traditional feeder schools (Catholic K-8s in NWDC, western MoCo and the VA towns close to the AL bridge. So Prep classes are generally more homogeneous than those on Eye Street which have a much broader geographic range. Prep’s high price also affect the composition of the class.

A quarter of the class from one place is a lot.

Anonymous wrote:Any school which DCUM thinks is "rigorous" is a pressure cooker - at least on the rigorous track.

The real question is whether there is only a rigorous track at Prep or if there also are other tracks which are leas rigorous for less competitive students.

There are very few honors classes available to freshman. And, only a few sophomores can take an AP class. Definitely not a pressure cooker environment. Students have time to mature and figure out what level classes are the best fit for them.

At prep, a quarter of the class will be coming from one place this year (mater dei.) As a previous poster said, Gonzaga doesn’t seem to have a huge group coming from one place so that’s something to keep in mind too.

Any school which DCUM thinks is "rigorous" is a pressure cooker - at least on the rigorous track.

The real question is whether there is only a rigorous track at Prep or if there also are other tracks which are leas rigorous for less competitive students.

For Prep it all depends on how quickly each boy gets with Prep's program. Some are better prepared than others, for instance if they're coming from Mater Dei, while some boys are a year older and more mature. DS came from a very soft and very kind MS, where, during the early pandemic years it was okay to turn homework in late and the option always seemed to exist to retake a test he hadn't done well in. Accordingly, that was his expectation of Prep going in as a new 9th grader. Prep isn't soft. It took DS the best part of an academic year to succumb and get fully on board with Prep's academic expectations. But he's on board now, doing well academically, is challenged, and loves his school.