Best Private High Schools in San Antonio (NOT Christian) (Houston: 2014, house)

[lsdude]

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Saint Mary's Hall was founded in 1879 on the principles of knowledge, self-confidence, and respect for others. This original philosophy remains intact in conjunction with a comprehensive college preparatory program. The school was organized by the Episcopal Church and is now independent and coeducational. Saint Mary's Hall is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS).






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[The Rising Suun]

You are, well at least were, required to attend religious services at SMH. It was always nondenominational Christian stuff and they have/had a full time chaplain. I am a not so proud graduate. Things may have changed in the last decade though. Quite frankly it isn't worth the money.

I know people who have gone to pretty much every private school in town. Keystone is by far the most academically rigorous. It is also extremely competitive to the point of being a burden on some kids.

All I can say is, when I have kids, they won't be attending a private high school, at least not if we're living in San Antonio.

I would reconsider your stance on IB. IB has benefits, but its unique benefits are extremely specific.

[secgal1]

From [URL="http://www.tmitexas.org"]www.tmitexas.org[/URL]
"The mission of TMI is to provide an excellent educational community, with values based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, challenging motivated students to develop their full potential in service and leadership."

Challenging and good school though.

[secgal1]

Saint Mary's Hall Texas ~ History (http://www.smhall.org/podium/default.aspx?t=127252 - broken link)

In 1964 SMH went non-denominational. Doesn't always mean non-faith based though.

[TXDungeonMaster]

Judson is one of the first IB programs in San Antonio. The three high schools that are part of the Texas IB school membership (TIBS) are Burbank, Clemens, and Judson.

[kangdao]

Seems this thread died off about two years ago. I am actually a graduate of Judson's IB program and am now going to Stanford.

My motivation: I happen to have a old little brother who goes to school at one of those "harmony" schools which seems to be loosely affiliated to the schools of science and technology and will be going into the 6th grade next year (2013-2014). I also happen to be considering career options and one of the factors I am looking into is paying for my little bro's private schooling - an option that I didn't have but to a great extent wish I did just based on several of the students I have met at Stanford (some of whom went to keystone, others who went to st. mary's, there were others ... that didn't stand out). My family earns about 35K/yr and I stand to earn about 120K coming out of school ... with a bachelors (yey Stanford engineering). The only thing I plan to splurge on is my little brother's education, proper work attire, and a somewhat decent smartphone (I have never had anything better than a $40 feature phone, no texting, no internet). The rest I will save for MBA programs and the little bro's high school tuition (if he does indeed go to private school). I am going to try to find ridiculously cheap housing in the Mexican ghetto areas (this is afterall the environment i was born into) and buy my first car - probably a 6-4 year old prius (b/c stanford students like the environment) that isn't too beat up so I don't get dirty stares from co-workers. If it wasn't for others judgement I'd just get a damn ford fiesta or w/e the analog was 6 years ago #societysucks.

My Judson Experience: I have no intention of putting my little brother at Judson just because I feel like my situation was completely unique and my admissions to Stanford was an extreme outlier. I was able to take the most advanced AP and IB classes since Judson offers both programs in separate tracks and I had several teachers and administrators who quite frankly I owe my life to because they pulled so many strings for me. That said, my classmates didn't seem all that interested in college admissions / long term career goals. I am fairly certain that I had the last generation of extremely devoted IB teachers there. I will probably visit the school again since I still keep in touch with several teachers there and evaluate whether I would want my bro to go there. That said, if your kid is extremely ambitious and has the ability to protect his ambitions and project career goals 10 years in the future - Judson might still be a great place because you can really stand out from the crowd. Key takeaway here is that it your kid has to have this ambition because you won't be able to instill it, he/she will have to find the right resources and teachers, and he/she will also have to bear with the alienation of not having many (if any) peers on the same path as him/her. Be honest -_- Although I excelled here I have never felt so alone and empty in my life as the time I spent here and getting out of bed felt like war (there is more of a backstory to this, but just to give you a sense)

My current impressions: To be frank, I respect those students who went to keystone much more than I do those who went to St. Mary's solely based on my observations - keystone = company founders, st. mary's = repressed students who end up joining frats and sororities and following more standard paths (med school, consulting, usually subpar and not innovative). Yes ... I know this evaluation sounds completely ludicrous, rude, narrowminded, and even arrogant. Then again I am deciding where I want to pay for my brother to go and the students that he interacts with are of extreme importance to me since I am not back home enough to be a direct influence myself.

My questions: So my question to those parents (I assume parents) who asked these questions about 2 years ago: what has your experience been? Have you put your kids in any of these schools and if so at what level of their education? What was their experience? I have a hard time finding parents to discuss this with since my immediate social circle back home tends to be low income students who would simply not consider private school. Does anyone have any stance on magnet schools like the harmony schools vs. private schooling?

My offer: Assuming y'all are parents who are equally invested in your kids education as I am to my brother's I have a suitable bribe. To those of you who can either (1) provide me compelling answers or (2) refer me to a good contact person (by way of private msg) who I can ask for advice on the whole private school affair I will (1) go ahead and review your kid's CV, resume, experiences (2) college entrance essays, projected coursework and (3) even suggest summer experiences / collegiate programs to make them stand apart in the college admissions process. Not only was I admitted to Stanford but just about every single top tier school in the US and a few in the UK. Again, not meant to sound arrogant ... I am just kinda desperate for advice / a partner in crime when it comes to private schooling since I have NO EXPERIENCE with this.

Thanks ^_^

Post Scriptum: I am somewhat of a pseudo-passive militant atheist ... so I have close to no intention of putting my bro in a Christian school, unless there are unbelievably awesome academics to outweigh any moral indoctrinating he might have to endure. Not meant to be rude to religious folk ... just being pseudo-passive.

[BenjaminNicholas]

Originally Posted by lsdude

TMI

St. Marys Hall

Both are faith based but very fine private schools.

Please read the OP. NON faith-based was requested. There are some people out there who want an education without the added proselytizing.


Edit: Just realized this thread is older than Marie Osmond. DOH


BN

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Originally Posted by kangdao

Seems this thread died off about two years ago. I am actually a graduate of Judson's IB program and am now going to Stanford.

My motivation: I happen to have a old little brother who goes to school at one of those "harmony" schools which seems to be loosely affiliated to the schools of science and technology and will be going into the 6th grade next year (2013-2014). I also happen to be considering career options and one of the factors I am looking into is paying for my little bro's private schooling - an option that I didn't have but to a great extent wish I did just based on several of the students I have met at Stanford (some of whom went to keystone, others who went to st. mary's, there were others ... that didn't stand out). My family earns about 35K/yr and I stand to earn about 120K coming out of school ... with a bachelors (yey Stanford engineering). The only thing I plan to splurge on is my little brother's education, proper work attire, and a somewhat decent smartphone (I have never had anything better than a $40 feature phone, no texting, no internet). The rest I will save for MBA programs and the little bro's high school tuition (if he does indeed go to private school). I am going to try to find ridiculously cheap housing in the Mexican ghetto areas (this is afterall the environment i was born into) and buy my first car - probably a 6-4 year old prius (b/c stanford students like the environment) that isn't too beat up so I don't get dirty stares from co-workers. If it wasn't for others judgement I'd just get a damn ford fiesta or w/e the analog was 6 years ago #societysucks.

One thing I can contribute here is that it is not fun to be the poorest kid in your school. I went to one of the religious prep schools and my classmates made it very clear to me all 4 years that I wasn't one of them. Your parents and your brother should have some input about where he goes. Paying his tuition is nice, but it won't give him the means to fit in.

[JuanValdez]

$120k fresh out of school, eh? Good luck with that.

[prim8]

With an Engineering degree, at a good school (especially assuming he interned somewhere that liked him), $120K isn't unheard of.