Holton is the strnger school academically and has a better reputation with colleges, no question. The Holton name will get you farther. Visi is also a good school...catholic...less expensive...urban. Very different places.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are very nice. The absolute bottom of the class at Visi goes to worse colleges than the absolute bottom at Holton. I had never heard of some of those schools some of the Visi girls went to. My husband worked with many folks who sent their kids to Visi. They must not have had smart kids...5 or 6 went to "no name" type colleges. Whereas, everyone from my DD's class at Holton went to great places. Visi does have bigger classes...so maybe they stretch more on the bottom end to admit some girls who may not belong there.

Do you think some of those "no name" schools are well know in the Catholic community, but perhaps not in your community? Holton's website indicates they have students that go on to: Goucher College, Point Park University, Hillsdale College, and Beloit...just to name a few. Or maybe you consider Rollins in FL a "name" school. I think you can major in waterskiing if you go there.

So I'm not sure what kind of "name" the PP is talking about, but girls graduate from both schools and go to outstanding colleges including Ivies, liberal arts schools all across the country, and challenging state schools in our area. That has more to do with the girl than the school since both are outstand college prep schools. To me it sounds, especially based on PP, that Holton affiliated folks are more elitest? Just a thought to ponder.

Their lists looks very similar and links are below
http://www.visi.org/documents/college%20acceptances%20for%20web%20page%202009.pdf
http://www.holton-arms.edu/uploaded/documents/admissions/school_profile_sy2011.pdf

If you READ Holton's list you would see that the schools the girls actually attended are in bold print. Only one girl matriculated at ONE of the schools you listed.

Anonymous wrote:I am Catholic pp -- so of course, I have heard of all of the Catholic Colleges in America. I consider only G'town, ND, and BC to be worthy.

Do you actually talk like that? Or just save it for annonymous posts? I'm willing to bet that absolutely nobody reading these threads cares what you deem "to be worthy" just based on what you've already said. A wee bit too full of yourself, don't ya think?

Anonymous wrote:I am Catholic pp -- so of course, I have heard of all of the Cartholic Colleges in America. I consider only G'town, ND, and BC to be worthy.

Oh good, leave the rest of the wonderful "second tier" schools for the rest of us! Can you name the colleges all your co-workers or friends went to? Probably not unless they are flashy about it. There are good solid educations to be had at so many public and private colleges that are "unworthy" of your children. ANd the kicker - I got into all and went to one of those schools you mentioned so I'm not disgruntled because of a rejection. I often envy the great education and experiences my siblings had at other smaller schools.

I didn't want to split hairs on the 2 schools -- I had said earlier that both were very nice.

There are several excellent small Jesuit Colleges, such as Santa Clara, that are also highly respected.

I am Catholic pp -- so of course, I have heard of all of the Cartholic Colleges in America. I consider only G'town, ND, and BC to be worthy.

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are very nice. The absolute bottom of the class at Visi goes to worse colleges than the absolute bottom at Holton. I had never heard of some of those schools some of the Visi girls went to. My husband worked with many folks who sent their kids to Visi. They must not have had smart kids...5 or 6 went to "no name" type colleges. Whereas, everyone from my DD's class at Holton went to great places. Visi does have bigger classes...so maybe they stretch more on the bottom end to admit some girls who may not belong there.

Do you think some of those "no name" schools are well know in the Catholic community, but perhaps not in your community? Holton's website indicates they have students that go on to: Goucher College, Point Park University, Hillsdale College, and Beloit...just to name a few. Or maybe you consider Rollins in FL a "name" school. I think you can major in waterskiing if you go there.

So I'm not sure what kind of "name" the PP is talking about, but girls graduate from both schools and go to outstanding colleges including Ivies, liberal arts schools all across the country, and challenging state schools in our area. That has more to do with the girl than the school since both are outstand college prep schools. To me it sounds, especially based on PP, that Holton affiliated folks are more elitest? Just a thought to ponder.

Their lists looks very similar and links are below
http://www.visi.org/documents/college%20acceptances%20for%20web%20page%202009.pdf
http://www.holton-arms.edu/uploaded/documents/admissions/school_profile_sy2011.pdf

Both schools are very nice. The absolute bottom of the class at Visi goes to worse colleges than the absolute bottom at Holton. I had never heard of some of those schools some of the Visi girls went to. My husband worked with many folks who sent their kids to Visi. They must not have had smart kids...5 or 6 went to "no name" type colleges. Whereas, everyone from my DD's class at Holton went to great places. Visi does have bigger classes...so maybe they stretch more on the bottom end to admit some girls who may not belong there.

OP, how does faith figure into your/your DD's decision?

You are getting some interesting "votes" and it seems that anyone who has a connection to Holton votes for Holton and anyone who has a connection to Visitation votes for Visitation. No surprise. It would be interesting to hear the opinion of somebody who either had a kid at both schools or left one for the other.

Seems like they are also geographically totally different. So socially that has important implications too.

Go with Holton. I think it is a stronger school all around. It is a very special place, my DD loves her school, but more importantly she loves the sense of community at Holton. I would suggest having your daughter go to each school for a visit and really see what they are like. Also, Holton's science and engineering program is top notch. Good luck!

Visi alum here...I'm still very active with the school and can say it absolutely can challenge any student. If you go beyond what Visi can offer, you can leave and take classes at Gtown. Math and science has always been strong. These were my favorite subjects and led me all the way to medical school.

But the absolute best part of Visi is their traditions and sense of community. Many of my classmates had older sisters, moms, and grandmothers who has all gone there and either been "Gold" or "White." I'm not catholic, but really loved the catholic sense of loyalty and solidarity. I didn't mind the religion classes at all. And there is so much community support. These are still my best friends, 20 yrs later.

I am struggling with this choice as well (Holton vs. Visitation). My DD has settled on Visitation. She knows way more students there, has been going to Catholic grade school. We very much like the idea of continuing at a Catholic school, but are not wedded to the idea. I know she would love Visitation and do well there. I am certain she would not have trouble making friends and fitting in at Holton, either (but she is less certain than I). I worry that in choosing Visitation (perhaps only because it will be an easier transition), she might be passing up on better academic opportunity, more widely recognized school. Neither is that much more convenient than the other, drivewise.

She is also accepted at Potomac, but she seems to have a preference for all-girls (still, not a deal-breaker). I wish I were more settled with the decision. I realize we've had months to weigh the options, but I thought I'd let the admissions decisions take some of the decisionmaking out of our hands.

Thoughts?

Last year several girls did get in off the waiting list. They got in around a month or so after the initial acceptances were sent out. Most others who were waitlisted did not get in, however. The freshman class had 125 girls, not 135.