question about kinkaid and st john school

[LizzySWW]

Originally Posted by swopoe

Class of 2021 is only a freshman, not an upperclassman anyway. Do the math.

Swopoe, that was kind of ugly & out of the blue from you towards me.

High school students at SJS are referred to as upperclassmen, the high school is called the Upper School. The school serves K-12. Calling a 9th grader an upperclassmen is widely accepted there as it is for many K-12 privates.

Originally Posted by Vicman

Eh some people are just lazy writing on internet message boards but put way more effort into their schoolwork.

True but that seems less likely in this situation. One reason I doubt this poster is because of the many syntax mistakes in his English. That's something SJS corrects in their ESL students writing before they become upperclassmen. *Most* students take great care in representing this school on public forums. This person didn't do that. I could be wrong, but my BS radar went off pretty loud.

What's 100% certain is that whenever good private schools are mentioned in this forum, it always attracts people pretending to be prospective parents or pretending to be students.

[swopoe]

Originally Posted by LizzySWW

Swopoe, that was kind of ugly & out of the blue from you towards me.

High school students at SJS are referred to as upperclassmen, the high school is called the Upper School. The school serves K-12. Calling a 9th grader an upperclassmen is widely accepted there as it is for many K-12 privates.




True but that seems less likely in this situation. One reason I doubt this poster is because of the many syntax mistakes in his English. That's something SJS corrects in their ESL students writing before they become upperclassmen. *Most* students take great care in representing this school on public forums. This person didn't do that. I could be wrong, but my BS radar went off pretty loud.

What's 100% certain is that whenever good private schools are mentioned in this forum, it always attracts people pretending to be prospective parents or pretending to be students.

I did not mean to offend, I apologize. I also had no idea that a ninth grader would be called an upperclassman.

[radiator11]

So does anyone eslse agree that it is worthwhile to apply to SJS every year? My daughter is in elementary and a great student, any harm in trying??

[Vicman]

I'm a Houston native and I didn't know this about SJS until now.

I don't think the guy met to offend at all - the usual practice at most other high schools - especially at public ones - is to call only 11th and 12th graders "upperclassmen". That's just how the vast majority of people use those words.

Originally Posted by LizzySWW

Swopoe, that was kind of ugly & out of the blue from you towards me.

High school students at SJS are referred to as upperclassmen, the high school is called the Upper School. The school serves K-12. Calling a 9th grader an upperclassmen is widely accepted there as it is for many K-12 privates.

I re-read hchang's post. He says he's a 9th grader who *just got into the school*. A few language choices seem non-native, but for a non-native speaker it's pretty good. I teach ESL in China, so I have seen writing samples from Chinese students. It's possible he's from a wealthy ethnic Chinese family which put lots of emphasis on study, so it's not surprising they'd strive for SJS. He may have lived in Mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan for a period.

True but that seems less likely in this situation. One reason I doubt this poster is because of the many syntax mistakes in his English. That's something SJS corrects in their ESL students writing before they become upperclassmen. *Most* students take great care in representing this school on public forums. This person didn't do that. I could be wrong, but my BS radar went off pretty loud.

What's 100% certain is that whenever good private schools are mentioned in this forum, it always attracts people pretending to be prospective parents or pretending to be students.

[swopoe]

I am swopoe. I am also a woman, not a guy.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by swopoe

I am swopoe. I am also a woman, not a guy.

Understood! I meant "guy" in a gender-neutral way (as in "this person") but thanks for correcting me!

[marksmu]

Originally Posted by PinkLadyK

So private school helps upper class kids become upper class adults? What helps middle and lower class kids become upper class adults?

A child is not his parent. If the parent is making bad choices that are keeping the child down, there IS an outsider. You aren't responsible for your great-great-great-great-grandparent who owned slaves, right? Just like a kid isn't responsible for their parents' bad choices.

Networking is an excellent tool for the already wealthy....these private school kids have access to parents, friends, etc who are often wealthy, and well connected....parents who are hard working....parents who place a premium on education and hard work. If a student is only surrounded by his peers who are all smart, all hard working, all pushing to be the best it will lift them up....the adding benefit of networking is powerful later in life when these kids go out in search of a job....but only in certain career paths (banking, politics, wall street, etc)

However - while these kids certainly have an advantage, it doesn't mean other kids have no opportunity. There are 300,000,000 people in the US, there are what 300 SJS students each year? Lots of opportunity remains for everyone.

If a lower class kids wants to become an upper class one all they need to do is earn it and make smart choices about their major. What school you attend for high school only matters when you apply to college.....Your college matters less than your degree choice as well when its all said and done.

I would expect a doctor who graduated from UH undergraduate to make more money than an English major who went to Harvard. Its just a fact. Degree matters. Hard work matters.

I would expect an engineer from UT to make more than a journalism major from Yale. The stats tend to prove it out. If you get a liberal arts degree, even from an ivy league school, you will likely (not always for sure) earn less than a person who gets a BS degree from a non-ivy league school. There are just too many BA degree folks out there looking for a limited number of jobs for them.

I know many people who have moved way up in class. Doctors/Lawyers/engineers are all degree paths that do not care at all about who your parents are, or who they know.

[Houstonianmom]

St. John’s is a wonderful school. Most of the non legacies get in for 1st grade and they total about 11 boys and 11 girls for that spot. Your child is extremely bright is the only way to be one of the 11 boys/11 girls. You'll be amazed at how bright these kids are. They are geniuses.

[Tahuja]

Originally Posted by hchang21

I am a current SJS student that got accepted in grade 9 (class of 2021), and although many people would like to deny it, I know many people that got in based on their families wealth. I know that some parents would like to think that private school admission is not subjective, but admission to top private schools (where most-all people are financially stable) is not always solely based on merit. Today, students that apply to top schools bring the full package. They are academically achieving, do community service, play a sport at a high level, and participate in fine arts at a high level also. Many times, students are admitted into private school because of parents donations and funds toward the school even if the school is not a right fit for them. With this being said, as a student giving my own perspective, I would want to get into one of the top private schools in the country knowing that I did that because of my own application, time, commitment, and most importantly, not a 'bribe' to allow me to get in. If a student brings the full package and works hard to make themselves excel at what they do, you should not worry about a superficial check to bribe the school. Don't make a check to the school; make your child work for it because you cannot get everything in life from a check. Also, apply your child for every grade; sure, it's not always an entry year, but I have many friends that got into great schools at non-entry years. If you are really wondering, the entry years are pre-K, Kindergarten, 6th grade, and 9th grade, but people leave schools all the time; so, don't hesitate to apply your child even if it is a non-entry year.

Can you please let us know how to prepare for entry in 9th grade?