Anonymous
02/18/2026 07:15
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Coed schools have the kids that party and act promiscuous. Check your kids Snapchat and instagram. So yes that is where the kids want to be.
Did you learn nothing from the Kavanaugh hearings?
Yep, Holton was a total disaster.
Anonymous
02/18/2026 07:15
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:I’m coming from a k-8 Catholic school. The top kids all want Gonzaga or Visi. Yes a lot go to other coed schools, but for most of the kids, those 2 schools are the top choice. Whether they get in is another story!
I don’t think this is bc they’re single sex, it’s bc they are the top catholic options. Every city has its k-8 Catholics favor the top catholic hs. In San Fran, it’s st ignatius, which happens to be co-ed. At the top secular k-8s in dc, no one aims for stone ridge or visi or Gonzaga.
Anonymous
02/18/2026 07:11
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:All the schools are fully enrolled every year, so doesn’t that mean that the same number of kids are choosing either option as in any past years?
It could be that these schools have a lower yield rate and have to admit more kids to fill their classes, or go deeper into their waitlists. If applications really are up, then that could offset this somewhat. However, just because a school is fully enrolled that doesn't tell you much. Admissions are not necessarily selective.
+1 the fact that these schools can fill their seats is not saying much
Then what do you suppose it is saying? What an odd take. I have kids at both Visi and Gonzaga and know admission has gotten more difficult every year. I have a child from the GZ class last year that had a crazy, unprecedented yield. Schools overall are getting more and more applications as people are turning to private.
It just shows that people are disappointed with the public options.
That’s one possibility.
Another is that these schools are popular.
Being able to fill their seats just shows these schools are not completely failing. At Gonzaga, 35% of students receive need based financial aid, so they are giving out discounts to fill their seats. In addition they offer merit based scholarships, which most top private schools do not offer. So it seems they also need to give discounts to attract better students, which is pretty abnormal.
The acceptance rate would be helpful to know, as we suspect it is significantly higher than peer schools.
The premise that any school is losing popularity because it gives need-based financial aid is ludicrous.
We get it, you hate Gonzaga. That’s fine, but doesn’t mean it is not still popular by any valid metric. Financial aid isn’t one of them, for any school.
Anonymous
02/18/2026 06:05
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:All the schools are fully enrolled every year, so doesn’t that mean that the same number of kids are choosing either option as in any past years?
It could be that these schools have a lower yield rate and have to admit more kids to fill their classes, or go deeper into their waitlists. If applications really are up, then that could offset this somewhat. However, just because a school is fully enrolled that doesn't tell you much. Admissions are not necessarily selective.
+1 the fact that these schools can fill their seats is not saying much
Then what do you suppose it is saying? What an odd take. I have kids at both Visi and Gonzaga and know admission has gotten more difficult every year. I have a child from the GZ class last year that had a crazy, unprecedented yield. Schools overall are getting more and more applications as people are turning to private.
It just shows that people are disappointed with the public options.
That’s one possibility.
Another is that these schools are popular.
Being able to fill their seats just shows these schools are not completely failing. At Gonzaga, 35% of students receive need based financial aid, so they are giving out discounts to fill their seats. In addition they offer merit based scholarships, which most top private schools do not offer. So it seems they also need to give discounts to attract better students, which is pretty abnormal.
The acceptance rate would be helpful to know, as we suspect it is significantly higher than peer schools.
Am I understanding that you think Gonzaga is full because it is giving discounts? The merit aid is a handful of students. Do you suppose, perhaps, that financial aid might be a core part of the values of the school, not a scheme to fill seats? Again, I know many, many kids disappointed to not get into Gonzaga last year and I’d estimate 90% of those 20 or so I know are full pay. They give aid to be able to serve a range of students. They could easily fill their class with full-pay students but choose to give aid.
You seem to have some odd ax to grind but the Catholic privates, even the diocesan ones, are good, extremely popular schools. No one is saying your school isn’t also great and amazing.
You say they could easily fill their seats with full pay students, but provide no evidence. This is probably wrong. I’m just going to reiterate a few points.
Need based financial aid is normal. At Gonzaga, 35% of students get financial aid. This makes sense but we have no idea if they could fill their seats with full pay students. Please don’t make up bogus things.
Second, it is not normal for top privates to provide merit based scholarships, however Gonzaga does. This suggests that the academic high fliers there are all getting discounts to be there. That is fine, but know this is an unusual practice.
Anonymous
02/18/2026 05:58
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:All the schools are fully enrolled every year, so doesn’t that mean that the same number of kids are choosing either option as in any past years?
It could be that these schools have a lower yield rate and have to admit more kids to fill their classes, or go deeper into their waitlists. If applications really are up, then that could offset this somewhat. However, just because a school is fully enrolled that doesn't tell you much. Admissions are not necessarily selective.
+1 the fact that these schools can fill their seats is not saying much
Then what do you suppose it is saying? What an odd take. I have kids at both Visi and Gonzaga and know admission has gotten more difficult every year. I have a child from the GZ class last year that had a crazy, unprecedented yield. Schools overall are getting more and more applications as people are turning to private.
It just shows that people are disappointed with the public options.
That’s one possibility.
Another is that these schools are popular.
Being able to fill their seats just shows these schools are not completely failing. At Gonzaga, 35% of students receive need based financial aid, so they are giving out discounts to fill their seats. In addition they offer merit based scholarships, which most top private schools do not offer. So it seems they also need to give discounts to attract better students, which is pretty abnormal.
The acceptance rate would be helpful to know, as we suspect it is significantly higher than peer schools.
Am I understanding that you think Gonzaga is full because it is giving discounts? The merit aid is a handful of students. Do you suppose, perhaps, that financial aid might be a core part of the values of the school, not a scheme to fill seats? Again, I know many, many kids disappointed to not get into Gonzaga last year and I’d estimate 90% of those 20 or so I know are full pay. They give aid to be able to serve a range of students. They could easily fill their class with full-pay students but choose to give aid.
You seem to have some odd ax to grind but the Catholic privates, even the diocesan ones, are good, extremely popular schools. No one is saying your school isn’t also great and amazing.
Anonymous
02/18/2026 05:43
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:All the schools are fully enrolled every year, so doesn’t that mean that the same number of kids are choosing either option as in any past years?
It could be that these schools have a lower yield rate and have to admit more kids to fill their classes, or go deeper into their waitlists. If applications really are up, then that could offset this somewhat. However, just because a school is fully enrolled that doesn't tell you much. Admissions are not necessarily selective.
+1 the fact that these schools can fill their seats is not saying much
Then what do you suppose it is saying? What an odd take. I have kids at both Visi and Gonzaga and know admission has gotten more difficult every year. I have a child from the GZ class last year that had a crazy, unprecedented yield. Schools overall are getting more and more applications as people are turning to private.
It just shows that people are disappointed with the public options.
That’s one possibility.
Another is that these schools are popular.
Being able to fill their seats just shows these schools are not completely failing. At Gonzaga, 35% of students receive need based financial aid, so they are giving out discounts to fill their seats. In addition they offer merit based scholarships, which most top private schools do not offer. So it seems they also need to give discounts to attract better students, which is pretty abnormal.
The acceptance rate would be helpful to know, as we suspect it is significantly higher than peer schools.
Anonymous
02/17/2026 22:16
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:All the schools are fully enrolled every year, so doesn’t that mean that the same number of kids are choosing either option as in any past years?
It could be that these schools have a lower yield rate and have to admit more kids to fill their classes, or go deeper into their waitlists. If applications really are up, then that could offset this somewhat. However, just because a school is fully enrolled that doesn't tell you much. Admissions are not necessarily selective.
+1 the fact that these schools can fill their seats is not saying much
Then what do you suppose it is saying? What an odd take. I have kids at both Visi and Gonzaga and know admission has gotten more difficult every year. I have a child from the GZ class last year that had a crazy, unprecedented yield. Schools overall are getting more and more applications as people are turning to private.
It just shows that people are disappointed with the public options.
That’s one possibility.
Another is that these schools are popular.
Anonymous
02/17/2026 21:41
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:All the schools are fully enrolled every year, so doesn’t that mean that the same number of kids are choosing either option as in any past years?
It could be that these schools have a lower yield rate and have to admit more kids to fill their classes, or go deeper into their waitlists. If applications really are up, then that could offset this somewhat. However, just because a school is fully enrolled that doesn't tell you much. Admissions are not necessarily selective.
+1 the fact that these schools can fill their seats is not saying much
Then what do you suppose it is saying? What an odd take. I have kids at both Visi and Gonzaga and know admission has gotten more difficult every year. I have a child from the GZ class last year that had a crazy, unprecedented yield. Schools overall are getting more and more applications as people are turning to private.
It just shows that people are disappointed with the public options.
Anonymous
02/17/2026 17:48
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:All the schools are fully enrolled every year, so doesn’t that mean that the same number of kids are choosing either option as in any past years?
It could be that these schools have a lower yield rate and have to admit more kids to fill their classes, or go deeper into their waitlists. If applications really are up, then that could offset this somewhat. However, just because a school is fully enrolled that doesn't tell you much. Admissions are not necessarily selective.
+1 the fact that these schools can fill their seats is not saying much
Then what do you suppose it is saying? What an odd take. I have kids at both Visi and Gonzaga and know admission has gotten more difficult every year. I have a child from the GZ class last year that had a crazy, unprecedented yield. Schools overall are getting more and more applications as people are turning to private.
Anonymous
02/17/2026 14:25
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:All the schools are fully enrolled every year, so doesn’t that mean that the same number of kids are choosing either option as in any past years?
It could be that these schools have a lower yield rate and have to admit more kids to fill their classes, or go deeper into their waitlists. If applications really are up, then that could offset this somewhat. However, just because a school is fully enrolled that doesn't tell you much. Admissions are not necessarily selective.
+1 the fact that these schools can fill their seats is not saying much
Anonymous
02/17/2026 11:46
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I’m coming from a k-8 Catholic school. The top kids all want Gonzaga or Visi. Yes a lot go to other coed schools, but for most of the kids, those 2 schools are the top choice. Whether they get in is another story!
Of course! I mean that the students who are ACCEPTED to single sex schools like Visi/GZ are turning them down because they go with a co-ed school instead. These are amazing schools and I am not trying to belittle them, but when talking to parents and teachers, there has been a notable switch the past few years. I’m sure there are other factors involved like commute, extracurriculars, cost, etc., but curious because this was not the case 10 years ago.
Interesting. This is definitely not the trend at our k-8 school. Nobody who gets into GZ or Visi will be turning them down for a co-ed, I can guarantee that.
No you can’t. Their parents might force them or you might assume the ones going to co-ed didn’t get in but you are completely wrong.
Every 8th-grade class is different, and every kid is different. So yes, it's very true that at one school, GZ and Visi remain far and away the top choices for kids. It can also be very true that at another school, other schools are far and away the top choices for kids. Using personal anecdotes to define an overall trend is a losing battle in both directions.
Are there ANY local Catholic high schools that do NOT reach capacity each year, or which are experiencing declining applicant numbers?
Anonymous
02/17/2026 11:29
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:This thread is weird. I had one son choose GZ for various reasons and the other chose GC. He was accepted to GZ, but felt GC was a better fit for many reasons. In hindsight, I’m 100000% positive each child chose the right school for him. Kids DO turn down GZ and Visi and other schools that people on here covet. Remember, the world isn’t made of just one flavor despite what many people here think
Ditto… when my son chose not to go to GZ every GZ parent we know was like I’m so sorry he didn’t get in what a surprise.. I was like he did get in and the shock!
Kids aren’t shocked just the 80’s GZ parents.
Anonymous
02/17/2026 11:26
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I’m coming from a k-8 Catholic school. The top kids all want Gonzaga or Visi. Yes a lot go to other coed schools, but for most of the kids, those 2 schools are the top choice. Whether they get in is another story!
Of course! I mean that the students who are ACCEPTED to single sex schools like Visi/GZ are turning them down because they go with a co-ed school instead. These are amazing schools and I am not trying to belittle them, but when talking to parents and teachers, there has been a notable switch the past few years. I’m sure there are other factors involved like commute, extracurriculars, cost, etc., but curious because this was not the case 10 years ago.
Interesting. This is definitely not the trend at our k-8 school. Nobody who gets into GZ or Visi will be turning them down for a co-ed, I can guarantee that.
No you can’t. Their parents might force them or you might assume the ones going to co-ed didn’t get in but you are completely wrong.
Anonymous
02/17/2026 11:25
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
Anonymous wrote:I’m coming from a k-8 Catholic school. The top kids all want Gonzaga or Visi. Yes a lot go to other coed schools, but for most of the kids, those 2 schools are the top choice. Whether they get in is another story!
This is not true.
Anonymous
02/17/2026 11:23
Subject: Are co-ed high schools becoming more popular?
To my knowledge, both types of schools (co-ed and single-gender) in our area reach capacity each year, indicating they are as popular as ever. Without a drop in numbers, OP's question/ premise within here is anecdotal at best.
Another potential metric would be the number of applications a given school receives in a given cycle. My understanding is that application numbers have been spiking over the last several years, and I assume that will have been the case this year, too. Until we see evidence to the contrary, there's no data to support the premise.... or rather, arguing about it one way or another is silly.
Another potential metric would be the number of applications a given school receives in a given cycle. My understanding is that application numbers have been spiking over the last several years, and I assume that will have been the case this year, too. Until we see evidence to the contrary, there's no data to support the premise.... or rather, arguing about it one way or another is silly.