So...where did YOU go to high school? (St. Louis, Washington: to buy, live)

[aragx6]

Thank you! I honestly don't see the issue everyone makes of it. When I have met fellow St. Louisans in Chicago it's been a funny inside joke to us and serves as a nice reminder of home. I was never offended, nor ashamed of my answer and never considered someone else might feel that way either.

How is it any different than asking someone where in St. Louis they grew up? People do that in other cities regularly when they discover someone else from their home. Metro areas are large and it's nice when you can break it down a little farther -- oh you're from Kirkwood? I knew a girl who was from there or hey my mom grew up in O'Fallon too etc etc.

[ShadowCaver]

^^ Guess more in line of what HCC mentioned in post #100 above... Me, since I didn't graduate from StL HS, but instead from "just some small school out in the sticks", don't bother me none either when asked.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Thank you! I honestly don't see the issue everyone makes of it. When I have met fellow St. Louisans in Chicago it's been a funny inside joke to us and serves as a nice reminder of home. I was never offended, nor ashamed of my answer and never considered someone else might feel that way either.

How is it any different than asking someone where in St. Louis they grew up? People do that in other cities regularly when they discover someone else from their home. Metro areas are large and it's nice when you can break it down a little farther -- oh you're from Kirkwood? I knew a girl who was from there or hey my mom grew up in O'Fallon too etc etc.

Clearly many people have opposition or negative feelings towards it and you'll just have to get used to that. You don't, and that's fine too.

[camhxf]

Villa Duchesne woowoo!

[emj326]

Originally Posted by HCC

This is late in coming, but in case someone reads this, I thought I'd chime in. I'll give you an example of how this question works in STL. I moved back to STL after college for a year to give it a chance, see if there was anything there for me, make my parents happy, ect, ect... I lived across from Forest Park in the West End in a great, old high rise, with a door man and a corner apt overlooking the park. With gated parking, work out rooms, ect, it was only $640/month!!! Can't beat THAT! Anyway, I was determined to get involved in my community, volunteer, go to cultural things, meet the love of my life, find a great job, make new friends... My father got me a membership to the STL Art Museum. I decided to go to an event they had one summer night for the 20s/30s crowd. I showed up and a 30-something Clayton couple started talking to me. They seemed enlightened, even for STL. Of course all they were interested in hearing was where I went to high school. I said, "I went to Westminster." Well, that was all they needed to hear and they sniffed, "Oh..." Their eyes glazed over and they just walked away. They couldn't care less where I went to college, where I had lived, traveled or what my ambitions were. I didn't meet their expectations based on that question and they had no use for me.

There were 2 attitudes I found over and over in STL in meeting people. One was something like, "Well, if I haven't met you by now, why on earth would I want to get to know you!" The second was this idea that one should just be friends with the same people they went to high school with the rest of their lives. Unless they were looking to upgrade to meet someone who went to a better high school than they did. It isn't called the "Show-Me State" for nothing. Eventually, I was frustrated and found these attitudes so completely narrowing and boring. I now live in NY, where most people think of STL as one big trailer park, which is also frustrating and ridiculous.

However to give in, slightly, I will answer one of the questions posted here. The top schools, at least in people's minds, are, (pretty much in this order):

Private, non-sectarian-
Mary Institute-Country Day School, John Burroughs School

Catholic-
boys-Priory, though Chamanade gets points by sheer location
girls-Villa, Visitation Academy

Public-
Ladue, Clayton, though Clayton is superior to Ladue academically, at least it was.
Also, most people who went to Ladue weren't even people who actually lived in Ladue. Most Ladue residents sent their kids to private schools and the student body was mostly made up of 63141, St Louis Annex kids and a large inner city, bused-in population, mixed with local Ladue-ites who either couldn't afford or couldn't cut it at a private school. Sorry, but that was the reality and I know this as I grew up almost across the street from Ladue High School.
You could maybe get away with Parkway Central, but I remember people sneering at Parkway West and North and South were out of the question.

Close, but not quite-
Thomas Jefferson School- yes, it may be the closest thing in STL to a real New England boarding school and the kids are something out of a Wes Anderson film, but it is too small and is located in South County and thus, will never be taken seriously in STL.
Westminster- ok, I went here, so I can rag on it. It has a good location, Ladue/Spoede, but it is too young (only founded in the 70s) and the word Christian conjures up images of scary, cross burning, right-winger, Fox News-watching bigots and sadly, that's not far from the truth.
St Joseph's Academy- Ok, it really isn't bad to say you went here, but let's face it... stocky, hard-drinkin', field hockey girls from Kirkwood go here.
De Smet- Too diverse to ever be respectable.
St Louis University High School-it's located in the city. Enough to scare most St Louisians to the core.
CBC- I guess it qualifies, but, not really...
Whitfield- Everyone knows this is like a fake private school, though I've heard it's come up since my days there.
Nerix Hall- See St Joseph's Academy for more details. Just substitute, Webster for Kirkwood.
Cor Jesu- Totally underrated. Academically superior to any Catholic girls school in the area, but it's in Affton.

You see how stupid this all is? And this is how people are branded the rest of their lives. If your school wasn't mentioned, I mean, what does THAT say? I moved to NYC where the first question is, "What do you do?"

I live in St. Louis (I did attend one of those schools, but i will not comment on the that school), and I just want to say a few things. Villa, is also full of drunken rich kids (the average age one starts to drink there is 7th grade) yes the building is great and castle like, but the school all together, well the accessories cost more than the tuition.
St. Joe's nickname is well what rhymes with Joe...
I completely agree with the CBC comment.
SLUH isin the city, but people there is nothing wrong with the city. I would tell people in my class I lived there, and I was asked, have you been shot. No I have not been shot, and then I would ask the people from the county if they liked to go hunting in their backyard. SLUH however is the best boy school for academics.
Nerinx Hall is a good school, and it is academically better than St. Joes.

I also think it is funny how you got mad at someone who stereotyped you for going to a certain highschool, when this WHOLE list is stereotypes.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by emj326

I live in St. Louis (I did attend one of those schools, but i will not comment on the that school), and I just want to say a few things. Villa, is also full of drunken rich kids (the average age one starts to drink there is 7th grade) yes the building is great and castle like, but the school all together, well the accessories cost more than the tuition.
St. Joe's nickname is well what rhymes with Joe...
I completely agree with the CBC comment.
SLUH isin the city, but people there is nothing wrong with the city. I would tell people in my class I lived there, and I was asked, have you been shot. No I have not been shot, and then I would ask the people from the county if they liked to go hunting in their backyard. SLUH however is the best boy school for academics.
Nerinx Hall is a good school, and it is academically better than St. Joes.

I also think it is funny how you got mad at someone who stereotyped you for going to a certain highschool, when this WHOLE list is stereotypes.

What is it about Spring on these boards that bring out the trolls?

Nothing like personal bias based on miniscule sample size and negative stereotype to form an opinion.

Nerinx Hall, a good all girls Catholic High School has similar test scores as St. Jospeph's Academy. Both are solid schools, below Cor Jesu in the larger 4 year Catholic all girls academic spectrum, but good schools. There are others as well.

Priory and SLUH have similar test scores, with Priory being a very small, less than 200 or so school vs SLUH's 1000 student population. DeSmet is next in line academically just below those two schools for all male Catholic High School Academics but similar, in regards to the top three in that category. There are others as well.


Villa Duschesne has a lot in common with Visitation Academy in terms of smaller all girl Catholic High Schools, with strong academics, and 7-12 grades. Both offer coed k-6 grades as well.

All of these schools are expensive, and there is a range significance among them cost-wise as well. All of these schools and other schools all have different personalities and every school is a different fit for a different person.

[HCC]

Originally Posted by Fishtacos

What is it about Spring on these boards that bring out the trolls?

Nothing like personal bias based on miniscule sample size and negative stereotype to form an opinion.

Nerinx Hall, a good all girls Catholic High School has similar test scores as St. Jospeph's Academy. Both are solid schools, below Cor Jesu in the larger 4 year Catholic all girls academic spectrum, but good schools. There are others as well.

Priory and SLUH have similar test scores, with Priory being a very small, less than 200 or so school vs SLUH's 1000 student population. DeSmet is next in line academically just below those two schools for all male Catholic High School Academics but similar, in regards to the top three in that category. There are others as well.


Villa Duschesne has a lot in common with Visitation Academy in terms of smaller all girl Catholic High Schools, with strong academics, and 7-12 grades. Both offer coed k-6 grades as well.

All of these schools are expensive, and there is a range significance among them cost-wise as well. All of these schools and other schools all have different personalities and every school is a different fit for a different person.

Dear Fishtacos,

I think what you and others might be missing about my post is, I'm not really referring to actual test scores and that type of thing. Rather, the general perception of these schools, as I remember it growing up in St Louis. As I have stated before, I was being rather tongue-in-cheek and made my apologies for even indulging in this before writing that list.

Fortunately or unfortunately, that was/is the way people think about this set of schools. I may have to make my peace with all of this as I may be relocating back to STL from NY in a couple years. (shiver)

[kshe95girl]

can we all agree that high school, in general is NOT an altogether pleasant experience?
The 121st post is the same thing that happens to me now. I really dont think if I moved back to the Lou I would encounter the snobbishness some people describe. Of course, if I did, I would tell the individual they were behaving like "new money".

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by HCC

Dear Fishtacos,

I think what you and others might be missing about my post is, I'm not really referring to actual test scores and that type of thing. Rather, the general perception of these schools, as I remember it growing up in St Louis. As I have stated before, I was being rather tongue-in-cheek and made my apologies for even indulging in this before writing that list.

Fortunately or unfortunately, that was/is the way people think about this set of schools. I may have to make my peace with all of this as I may be relocating back to STL from NY in a couple years. (shiver)

Perception isn't always reality. And, Judgemental types would take you at your word, if they were uninformed or less informed on the topic. Many people come here seeking information, in addition to supplying it.

My viewpoint is not consistent with sweeping generalizations based mostly on rumor, repeated 3rd hand type gossip, or in your case, outdated, sweeping stereotypes. One of the most common threads and posts here are about people seeking schools for their kids. And while most rational people wouldn't give much credence to an internet message board as their primary influencer of thought, I've been here long enough to notice that some people do. My personality is such that if I have more accurate information on a topic, I'll post it. If not, I don't. I'm all about the "team" but I am more individualistic than you when it comes to stereotypes. Often times I find that stereotypes don't live up to the across the board rumor, or gossip. I'm sure on occasion some accuracies can be found, and for time purposes, generalities can be necessary. However, again, if I know different about a topic, I'll post it if I see that thread/post/topic. If my experience is similar, or if my opinion is similar, or is I can support a factual claim in the affirmative, I'll do that too on here. That's how I post.

[jlawrence01]

I was enjoying dinner on a nice pier at a restaurant in Jacksonville near an a military installation. Ywo officers were having a couple beers and dinner.

One of the guys was responsible for his 25th high school reunion. He spent hours and was able to get ahold of every member in the class (which is very difficult if you have ever tried). He called up the last guy on the list. The guy thanked him for calling but told the guy that the four years in high school were the worst four years of his life. The guy assured him that he was doing well but that he NEVER wanted to be contacted again.

In general, a good number of people loved their high school years. An equal number absolutely hated the experience.