the games doesn't draw anything close to 4,000 people anymore. It used to draw up towards 6,000 or 7,000 10 - 15 years ago. Now it seems like its no more than 2,000 fans.

Anonymous wrote:My son is a non Catholic underclassman at GP and I barely recognize the description of the school in the early posts of this thread. I think it may have changed in recent years. My son plays sports (but not lacrosse) at Prep and he has never mentioned Landon to me. He certainly doesn't think that Landon is their primary rival. He does not know kids at Landon, but he does know girls from many of the independent schools in the area and boys from Gonzaga, St. Johns, Sidwell and Bullis. He is very aware that Gonzaga is now the sports power house. But he loves the community feeling and the relationship he has with the other boys and coaches at GP-- boarders and non boarders. He just loves the school. He and his friends seem to me to be respectful of girls and women. The dean of students is a woman, and there are other female teachers. I have been to many football, basketball , baseball, and rugby games and swim meets at GP and have never witnessed poor sportsmanship by GP or the competing teams. GP hosts many events including those with girls' teams, and they seem comfortable on campus.

I think your son is either a little out of it or not really telling you what is going on. The landon Prep lacrosse game is typically the most well attended game with 3000-4000 people going. It usually is televised and each school had tee shirts for students to wear specifically for that game.

Anonymous wrote:My son is a non Catholic underclassman at GP and I barely recognize the description of the school in the early posts of this thread. I think it may have changed in recent years. My son plays sports (but not lacrosse) at Prep and he has never mentioned Landon to me. He certainly doesn't think that Landon is their primary rival. He does not know kids at Landon, but he does know girls from many of the independent schools in the area and boys from Gonzaga, St. Johns, Sidwell and Bullis. He is very aware that Gonzaga is now the sports power house. But he loves the community feeling and the relationship he has with the other boys and coaches at GP-- boarders and non boarders. He just loves the school. He and his friends seem to me to be respectful of girls and women. The dean of students is a woman, and there are other female teachers. I have been to many football, basketball , baseball, and rugby games and swim meets at GP and have never witnessed poor sportsmanship by GP or the competing teams. GP hosts many events including those with girls' teams, and they seem comfortable on campus.

No offense, buy I'm not sure that non-Catholic parent of an underclassman who doesn't play one of the major sports is in the best position to comment on GP culture.

There certainly is a community feel about Prep but the antipathy towards all things Landon is still there. That's unless Landon has changed their stripes which is very doubtful.

I think the only time prep students are out of control are probably during a big rival contest against landon or gonzaga. The same can probably be said about other schools cheering sections too. Mob mentality seems to be the common theme at sporting events.

Have you heard Prep kids at a basketball, football or lacrosse game? If you have, you wouldn't call them "respectful".

My son is a non Catholic underclassman at GP and I barely recognize the description of the school in the early posts of this thread. I think it may have changed in recent years. My son plays sports (but not lacrosse) at Prep and he has never mentioned Landon to me. He certainly doesn't think that Landon is their primary rival. He does not know kids at Landon, but he does know girls from many of the independent schools in the area and boys from Gonzaga, St. Johns, Sidwell and Bullis. He is very aware that Gonzaga is now the sports power house. But he loves the community feeling and the relationship he has with the other boys and coaches at GP-- boarders and non boarders. He just loves the school. He and his friends seem to me to be respectful of girls and women. The dean of students is a woman, and there are other female teachers. I have been to many football, basketball , baseball, and rugby games and swim meets at GP and have never witnessed poor sportsmanship by GP or the competing teams. GP hosts many events including those with girls' teams, and they seem comfortable on campus.

Kids from both schools are insufferable.

the jesuit arrogance...

Anonymous wrote:Hi All,


My son applied to GP , Gonzaga , St. John.
We are not really impress by St. John for many reasons so we are left with GP and Gonzaga.
We leave in Bethesda so GP is near our home but my son is very interested in computers and technology and GP is not very good in these areas.
Gonzaga is far but they have many AP classes in computers.
Any comments/advice to help us make the right choice will be much appreciated.
TIA

I wouldn't worry about the distance to Gonzaga. The metro makes that commute easy.

The student bodies are more similar than the partisans would have you believe. GP draws largely from lower Montgomery County. Gonzaga draws from all over the metro area because of the Metro.

You really, really need you son to experience both environments. They are quite different, so he won't have any problem choosing the one he likes best. College admissions staffs talk about "Institutional Fit". It's the feeling the prospective student gets when he gets on a campus. They know what they like and where they fit..

Go to a basketball game and see the student body in action and the stage on which the teams compete. The student bodies at both schools really get after the opposition and their fans.

The availability of a few courses doesn't seem like a good basis on which to decide.

Gonzaga is in the heart of the City. That alone is a learning experience. As upperclassmen, they feel comfortable in an urban environment. More comfortable than their parents in all likelihood. They see a real slice of life. There's a homeless shelter on the campus.

There are more Jesuits at Gonzaga even on a per student basis. They prefer the city environment with all the facets of it.

Prep sits in its own park-like campus. It's a much more serene place.

The school spirit is high at Prep. At Gonzaga, it's almost ridiculously high. The kids and the alumni seem to believe there is no better place on earth.

Both have large, very loyal alumni groups to which your son would be welcomed.

Either one is a good choice for the right kid and family. They are IMO the best of Catholic education.

Anonymous wrote:Hi All,


My son applied to GP , Gonzaga , St. John.
We are not really impress by St. John for many reasons so we are left with GP and Gonzaga.
We leave in Bethesda so GP is near our home but my son is very interested in computers and technology and GP is not very good in these areas.
Gonzaga is far but they have many AP classes in computers.
Any comments/advice to help us make the right choice will be much appreciated.
TIA

Should of choose OLGC.

Hi All,


My son applied to GP , Gonzaga , St. John.
We are not really impress by St. John for many reasons so we are left with GP and Gonzaga.
We leave in Bethesda so GP is near our home but my son is very interested in computers and technology and GP is not very good in these areas.
Gonzaga is far but they have many AP classes in computers.
Any comments/advice to help us make the right choice will be much appreciated.
TIA

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not the size, it's the cost. More and more Catholic families are opting away from Prep in favor of Gonzaga and other parochial schools that are significantly less.

Prep has an issue going forward.

But Prep enrollment is at an all time high.

How can that be, if families are opting to go to Gonzaga and others?

Or is Gonzaga what it has always been? Where you go if you can't get into Prep or can't afford it.

If you can afford it you can get it.

Anonymous wrote:How can it be? Because the population is growing at a faster rate than Catholic schools are opening up. Plenty of parents in our Bethesda parish school have sent thier kids to Gonzaga in the last 10 yrs instead of Prep. These kids were Prep admits who could easily afford the tuition, but chose Gonzaga for a variety of different reasons.

Just so they don't go to Landon.

Prep's enrollment remains high due to its boarding faction. It gets a huge contigen of kids who board from Korea and maybe even China.

Prep is no longer the #1 choice for Catholics in the DC area.

The school's culture is changing as you are starting to see lesss and less legacy kids within the school.

How can it be? Because the population is growing at a faster rate than Catholic schools are opening up. Plenty of parents in our Bethesda parish school have sent thier kids to Gonzaga in the last 10 yrs instead of Prep. These kids were Prep admits who could easily afford the tuition, but chose Gonzaga for a variety of different reasons.