St. Mark's Admission for 9th Grade (Dallas: spring break, credit, transfer)

[cynthiazxm]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Like, you would only move here if he got admitted to SM? What?!!? I’m confused FWIW, SM has a very large contingency of “old Dallas money” enrolled in school and also on the board. McDermotts, Hunts, etc. The titans of Dallas business & culture have their names and money entrenched at SM.

We are lucky to have quite a few truly fabulous private schools in the Dallas area…Greenhill (coed non-sectarian), Cistercian (Catholic boys), Jesuit (Catholic boys), Parish (coed Episcopalian), etc. These schools all emphasize critical thinking and analysis skills, not rote memorization or teaching to standardized tests.

Thank you for the recommendation. Yes we will only move if he gets admitted. We consider Dallas also because he is a competitive swimmer. We need to find a place with good swimming clubs as well. So what makes St. Mark’s so unique compared to other schools? My kid is likely to do high school swimming as well. Do private schools that you mentioned have good high school sport support?
When I said old money, I meant the schools here are not so diversified.

[DFWGuy422]

Originally Posted by cynthiazxm

What other private schools do you recommend? Thank you!

Look up Junior Symphony Ball and stick to the high schools listed there. The most direct competitors to St. Mark’s are Cistercian (all boys Catholic school/monastery), Greenhill (co-ed, secular), and Episcopal School of Dallas (co Ed).

[cynthiazxm]

Originally Posted by DFWGuy422

Look up Junior Symphony Ball and stick to the high schools listed there. The most direct competitors to St. Mark’s are Cistercian (all boys Catholic school/monastery), Greenhill (co-ed, secular), and Episcopal School of Dallas (co Ed).

Thank you!

[DFWGuy422]

Originally Posted by cynthiazxm

When I said old money, I meant the schools here are not so diversified.

St. Mark’s is pretty racially diverse, but it has very little socioeconomic diversity. Like the other posters mentioned, it is Uber wealthy, and a handful of kids on scholarship doesn’t change this. The Catholic schools are by far the most socioeconomically diverse.

[cynthiazxm]

Originally Posted by DFWGuy422

St. Mark’s is pretty racially diverse, but it has very little socioeconomic diversity. Like the other posters mentioned, it is Uber wealthy, and a handful of kids on scholarship doesn’t change this. The Catholic schools are by far the most socioeconomically diverse.

I see. I am looking for a school environment that is all inclusive and hate free. I know the public school has done a good job on making sure the school is a hate free zone and is very serious about racisms. I want my kids to be empathetic and understand how the whole society is formed instead of being placed in an environment that is full of monetary comparisons, etc.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by cynthiazxm

I see. I am looking for a school environment that is all inclusive and hate free. I know the public school has done a good job on making sure the school is a hate free zone and is very serious about racisms. I want my kids to be empathetic and understand how the whole society is formed instead of being placed in an environment that is full of monetary comparisons, etc.

IMO you should develop a list ordered from most important to least important and try to find the first couple on the list.

You are not going to find all of great academics, little teaching to tests (truth is every school everywhere teaches to tests - anyone here who thinks SMS does not teach to the SAT isn't paying attention....these schools require excellent test results just to get in, little money stratification, swimming and all the soft side stuff you seem to require.

Pick two or three.

[barnicles]

Originally Posted by cynthiazxm

Thank you for the recommendation. Yes we will only move if he gets admitted. We consider Dallas also because he is a competitive swimmer. We need to find a place with good swimming clubs as well. So what makes St. Mark’s so unique compared to other schools? My kid is likely to do high school swimming as well. Do private schools that you mentioned have good high school sport support?
When I said old money, I meant the schools here are not so diversified.

You should look at Jesuit. They have a fairly new natatorium and the school is phenomenal for athletes, competing in the highest division statewide and doing well in nearly every sport. Students have a full hour in the morning to lift weights and work out in their sport related conditioning before school starts... meaning School starts a full hour later than other area privates due to training. They have a state of the art training center. And this is in addition to afternoon sports practice.

St. Marks has an excellent sports program too but it is not the emphasis and while they will certainly look at the students who play different sports as an added advantage to the program (swimmers included), they will not admit an excellent athlete who might have difficulty with the academic side. Jesuit will, as they admit about 300 freshman, all incoming, every year. Just as a comparison, St. Marks already has a full 8th grade class of wonderful young men (my son is in it, and I have heard several times that it's one of the nicest groups to come through the school in years), and they will only admit a handful of new students into the freshman class--- well, maybe two handfuls. So the requirements for admission will be more specific.

If you haven't already applied though, you are out of luck for 2022-2023. Admissions decisions will go out this week.

I recently spent some time at Jesuit as I was interviewing for a teaching position there and I was quite blown away by the school. They are very progressive in their academic focus and certainly teach boys to think critically rather than by rote learning, from what I could see. The students are very diverse and not just in terms of ethnicity, but also in terms of religion and socio-economic class.

I have found St. Marks to be very diverse in these categories as well. Both are wonderful schools. If my son wanted to be a competitive swimmer, to try for USC or the olympics or something, I'd apply there.

[DFWGuy422]

Originally Posted by barnicles

You should look at Jesuit. They have a fairly new natatorium and the school is phenomenal for athletes, competing in the highest division statewide and doing well in nearly every sport. Students have a full hour in the morning to lift weights and work out in their sport related conditioning before school starts... meaning School starts a full hour later than other area privates due to training. They have a state of the art training center. And this is in addition to afternoon sports practice.

St. Marks has an excellent sports program too but it is not the emphasis and while they will certainly look at the students who play different sports as an added advantage to the program (swimmers included), they will not admit an excellent athlete who might have difficulty with the academic side. Jesuit will, as they admit about 300 freshman, all incoming, every year. Just as a comparison, St. Marks already has a full 8th grade class of wonderful young men (my son is in it, and I have heard several times that it's one of the nicest groups to come through the school in years), and they will only admit a handful of new students into the freshman class--- well, maybe two handfuls. So the requirements for admission will be more specific.

If you haven't already applied though, you are out of luck for 2022-2023. Admissions decisions will go out this week.

I recently spent some time at Jesuit as I was interviewing for a teaching position there and I was quite blown away by the school. They are very progressive in their academic focus and certainly teach boys to think critically rather than by rote learning, from what I could see. The students are very diverse and not just in terms of ethnicity, but also in terms of religion and socio-economic class.

I have found St. Marks to be very diverse in these categories as well. Both are wonderful schools. If my son wanted to be a competitive swimmer, to try for USC or the olympics or something, I'd apply there.

+1 on the Jesuit recommendation:
1. Almost zero teaching to tests (relative to other privates/high-level publics) and little busy work
2. Good academics for solid students, great academics for excellent students (they offer regulars and honors tracks that students can mix and match by class)
3. Not only are they head and shoulders above St. Mark's in sports, but your son would definitely find more likeminded people i.e. star athletes
4. Socioeconomically diverse

[cynthiazxm]

Originally Posted by barnicles

You should look at Jesuit. They have a fairly new natatorium and the school is phenomenal for athletes, competing in the highest division statewide and doing well in nearly every sport. Students have a full hour in the morning to lift weights and work out in their sport related conditioning before school starts... meaning School starts a full hour later than other area privates due to training. They have a state of the art training center. And this is in addition to afternoon sports practice.

St. Marks has an excellent sports program too but it is not the emphasis and while they will certainly look at the students who play different sports as an added advantage to the program (swimmers included), they will not admit an excellent athlete who might have difficulty with the academic side. Jesuit will, as they admit about 300 freshman, all incoming, every year. Just as a comparison, St. Marks already has a full 8th grade class of wonderful young men (my son is in it, and I have heard several times that it's one of the nicest groups to come through the school in years), and they will only admit a handful of new students into the freshman class--- well, maybe two handfuls. So the requirements for admission will be more specific.

If you haven't already applied though, you are out of luck for 2022-2023. Admissions decisions will go out this week.

I recently spent some time at Jesuit as I was interviewing for a teaching position there and I was quite blown away by the school. They are very progressive in their academic focus and certainly teach boys to think critically rather than by rote learning, from what I could see. The students are very diverse and not just in terms of ethnicity, but also in terms of religion and socio-economic class.

I have found St. Marks to be very diverse in these categories as well. Both are wonderful schools. If my son wanted to be a competitive swimmer, to try for USC or the olympics or something, I'd apply there.

It’s great to know all these details. I will definitely look at Jesuit. Thank you!

[astropath]

I have a 7th grader at a public school who is very hard working, competitive and high achieving. Although we have been happy at the public school, as we look to the high school, we are starting to realize the GPA race means not doing music and sports (since they are regular courses and not honors) and wondering if this wouldn't be the case at top private schools like St. mark. So for those with kids at top private school, is there less of a GPA focus? Or do the kids take as many honors/APs as they can? There is just something sad about not taking electives without worrying about honors/GPA bump.