Highland Park or Bishop Lynch, academically. (Howe: 2013, mortgage, credit)

[Mavsfan2011]

Strictly from an academic standpoint, how would those 2 schools stack up against each other?

Hoping for some help here, as I find it hard to get much info when comparing a public to a private, and it’s basically boiling down to those 2 choices for us. The number of NMSF’s is the only real comparable data I could find, and while HP vastly outperforms BL in that area, that’s only one metric, and perhaps a questionable one at that.

It’s about same for us financially, b/c the BL tuition payments (2 kids) are almost equal to the amount (after-tax) of additional taxes & mortgage interest we’d pay in HP. And all the other key factors (social, cultural, geographic, demographic, etc.) are more personal and kid-specific, which we can evaluate ourselves.

But from an academic standpoint only, we’re struggling to get a good feel between the two.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

[TurtleCreek80]

I have never had the impression that BL is that demanding academically. Cisterican and Ursuline are known for being the academic Catholic high schools. That said, it's difficult to compare public v private. BL's graduating class is half the size of HP's. Class sizes are smaller. Lots of intangibles.


From a curriculum perspective, HP offers 36 AP courses to BL's 22. HP offers more breadth across all AP categories from the arts to math and science. 78% of HP's AP students passed their AP exams last year. BL does not provide info on their pass rates.

I don't like that BL's school profile has no info on average or mid-50% SAT scores and that the school speaks in terms of "cumulative number" of NMSF's. My thought is that if a school's stats are brag-worthy, they provide them....

Regarding faculty, 76% of HP's teachers have master's degrees, with quite a few having subject matter PhD's as well. 63% of BL's teachers have a master's degree and 5% have a PhD.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Mavsfan2011

Strictly from an academic standpoint, how would those 2 schools stack up against each other?

Hoping for some help here, as I find it hard to get much info when comparing a public to a private, and it’s basically boiling down to those 2 choices for us. The number of NMSF’s is the only real comparable data I could find, and while HP vastly outperforms BL in that area, that’s only one metric, and perhaps a questionable one at that.

It’s about same for us financially, b/c the BL tuition payments (2 kids) are almost equal to the amount (after-tax) of additional taxes & mortgage interest we’d pay in HP. And all the other key factors (social, cultural, geographic, demographic, etc.) are more personal and kid-specific, which we can evaluate ourselves.

But from an academic standpoint only, we’re struggling to get a good feel between the two.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

Well the beauty of your conundrum is that either school is a fine choice.

I have/have had zero direct affiliation with either school. My kids have numerous friends who graduated from both schools. However, both my kids attended catholic schools here in town.

1. From what I can tell grads from both schools seem proud of their schools and the time invested.
2. I think people tend to over value "diversity" within the context of education - to the point the term is partially trite or often an afterthought. That said if racial, ethnic and financial diversity are important to you in this context BL has much, much more of all three.
3. If NMSF status is important to you, personally I believe it's a useful metric but one with limits, HP wins. However, for reasons I've never really understood save Cistercian the catholic schools around here and especially the diocesan high schools (BL, Bishop Dunne, JPII) haven't really seemed to care about NMSF status until very recently.
4. I've flip-flopped over the years such that I am now a big proponent of "old school" classical 9-12 education - BL offers that in spades.
5. BL's dual-credit program is almost certainly the best around.
6. BL doesn't look great in a SAT v. SAT comparison with HP (I've seen the numbers).........that's because BL takes maybe 1/3 of each class from groups that don't really exist at HP.

Here's the hand as I see it, if you believe your kiddo will be a top 1/3 or better performer in high school I'd give BL the edge in part because if s/he plays the cards well s/he may well leave BL with 30-60 real college credits in pocket. If you think otherwise it's a push.

[Mavsfan2011]

Thank you, TC and EDS. Great and thoughtful responses, as always.

[jgn2013]

Originally Posted by EDS_

I think people tend to over value "diversity" within the context of education - to the point the term is partially trite or often an afterthought. That said if racial, ethnic and financial diversity are important to you in this context BL has much, much more of all three.

Diversity isn't important in terms of grades, SAT scores and college acceptance. However, the effects of attending homogeneous schools can manifest itself in many ways.

It's how you end up with high school/college-aged white kids painting themselves in blackface and throwing "hood" parties...and not even understanding why this is wrong. It's how you end up with police officers that get upset at belligerent 30-year old armed white guys (yet maintain their cool) but will shoot an unarmed black man in a Walmart buying a gift for his kid.

I know plenty of black and Latino kids that were uncomfortable around whites in college because they went to high schools that were 90+% black/Latino. I can't speak for others, but attending diverse schools has helped me tremendously in my career. I can relate to the bisexual half-Asian, half Latino dude just as easily as the corn-fed good ol' boy or 'woke' sista. Very helpful when networking and moving up the corporate ladder. Some of my younger, white (well-heeled) coworkers don't relate as well to those that are different and it shows. They're often the last to know about policy changes and new innovations in the pipeline because their social network is narrow.

[lakeside15]

HP hands down over BL - really no comparison.

Have you considered Jesuit/Ursuline? These are highly regarded Catholic schools that would be more comparable to HP.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by lakeside15

HP hands down over BL - really no comparison.

Have you considered Jesuit/Ursuline? These are highly regarded Catholic schools that would be more comparable to HP.

I agree. Whatever money you put in HP housing, you get it back with good appreciation when you sell. Whatever money you put in BL, is gone once paid and education/services level is not at par with HPISD and top privates.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

I agree. Whatever money you put in HP housing, you get it back with good appreciation when you sell. Whatever money you put in BL, is gone once paid and education/services level is not at par with HPISD and top privates.

Money aside what do you base that "not on par" sentiment on?

[UnfairPark]

NMSF, average SAT, elite college admissions, science/math competitions etc. From where I see, they may be amazing when it comes to intangibles but for statistics which we can measure, not very impressive for the price.

[Waterdragon8212]

Originally Posted by jgn2013

Diversity isn't important in terms of grades, SAT scores and college acceptance. However, the effects of attending homogeneous schools can manifest itself in many ways.

It's how you end up with high school/college-aged white kids painting themselves in blackface and throwing "hood" parties...and not even understanding why this is wrong. It's how you end up with police officers that get upset at belligerent 30-year old armed white guys (yet maintain their cool) but will shoot an unarmed black man in a Walmart buying a gift for his kid.

I know plenty of black and Latino kids that were uncomfortable around whites in college because they went to high schools that were 90+% black/Latino. I can't speak for others, but attending diverse schools has helped me tremendously in my career. I can relate to the bisexual half-Asian, half Latino dude just as easily as the corn-fed good ol' boy or 'woke' sista. Very helpful when networking and moving up the corporate ladder. Some of my younger, white (well-heeled) coworkers don't relate as well to those that are different and it shows. They're often the last to know about policy changes and new innovations in the pipeline because their social network is narrow.

Well said. There are many reasons to choose a school for your kids. Academic opportunities are important, but so are other intangibles - it really depends on your values and what is causing you to consider BL and HP. You said in your post that you only wanted a dialogue about academics, so for the sake of your original post, I will try to keep it to that. But I think jgn2013 has a very valid argument.

My sense is that people (in general) do not consider BL to be an "elite" or "1st tier" private. There are many on CD who will argue your money is essentially wasted outside of an "elite" private. I don't think that's necessarily true. It really depends on the academic environment you want for your kids and what your values are. From my experience talking with friends' children, BL is the choice if your child will need any academic accommodations (for LD/ADHD/mental health/etc.). Their environment simply makes them better able to accommodate individual differences. That's not to say that a child with LD or ADHD couldn't make it at HP (many do), but that you will likely have an easier time getting recommended accommodations at BL. There is also the issue of private vs. public education and what that means content/curriculum-wise in your child's education. Both schools have a very involved parent community and both graduate kids that go on to do great things. I think EDS is right in that they are both fine choices, but I also think there are too many intangible factors to compare the schools on academics alone.