<p>Does anyone have any insights (the good,the bad, the ugly) on the following Dallas Prep schools?</p>
<p>St. Marks, Jesuit College Prep, Hockaday and Greenhill have come up consistently as the better schools, are there any others we should consider?</p>
<p>We are also considering St. Stephens in Austin, in addition to the Dallas schools for our sons and daughters.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Yeah, I live in East Dallas and attend First Baptist Academy, but I will readily admit that those are the best schools in the area. I’d also recommend Bishop Lynch-its very comparable to Jesuit, and it may be a lot closer depending on where you live. Greenhill is the only school for both genders, so that eliminates it down to 2 for your daughter, unless you’d also like to consider Ursuline, Jesuit’s sister school, which is another good one.</p>
<p>St Marks</p>
<p>The Good: The best academically in Dallas easily.
The Bad: There really isnt any other than how hard it is to get into. If your sons get admitted, send them there. I dont necessarily like the idea of an all guys schoolm, but st mark’s has such a great reputation, and will be great for getting your kids into a top university</p>
<p>Jesuit: </p>
<p>The Good: Probably the best catholic school in Dallas, lots of AP classes to choose from, tons of National Merit scholars</p>
<p>The Bad: I dont like all guys schools. Also, the parties over at JESUIT are INSANE. Drugs, booze, sex galore. I figured as a parent you may consider that a drawback. I know it happens everywhere, but Jesuit is infamous for having the volume turned up. Also, this school is kind of out of the way unless you live really close to the the LBJ tollway</p>
<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Jesuit[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Jesuit</a> (good article on the school)</p>
<p>Greenhill: I really dont think they’re any better than the school I go to. If you live in addison, send your kids to TCA instead. That said though, the average SAT there is 1285 which is pretty impressive. Also, Im not saying this is good bad or indifferent, but they’re the only private school in dallas with no uniforms and no religious affiliation.</p>
<p>Hockaday: Easily the top school for girls if you want to go the all girl school route.</p>
<p>There’s also Episcopal School of Dallas (ESD), located in the Park Cities.</p>
<p>I went to Greenhill back in the sixties, and I loved it. Of the schools mentioned so far, only Hockaday and Greenhill have no religious affilitation. St. Mark’s is Episcopal and requires chapel. TCA is Trinity Christian Academy (fundamentalist Christian). Jesuit and Bishop Lynch are Catholic, of course, as is Ursuline (girls only).</p>
<p>My son went to St. Mark’s lower school but we pulled him out because, although it is VERY HARD to get into (same as Greenhill and ESD), the lower grades did not offer acceleration for gifted boys. They wouldn’t advance him for reading or math and he was bored out of his mind. It was more important to have the boys all matriculate together, in matching shirts and shorts, with the idea that they would mold a model Marksman by grade 12. No thanks.</p>
<p>Hockaday and St. Mark’s are sister-brother schools, even though the campuses are several miles apart. The kids frequently date each other. Money and social status are very important, but that’s Dallas in general.</p>
<p>Greenhill, ESD and TCA are coed.</p>
<p>There’s also a new Catholic high school in Plano. Don’t know the name.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in public schools, the Plano school district has some stellar statistics, as does Highland Park ISD. You might also check out McKinney ISD.</p>
<p>Thank you for your candor. These responses are extremely helpful.
You mentioned pulling out your son from St. Marks - where did he go from there? Also, since you went to Greenhill, why didn’t your son? We have not applied to Greenhill because the academics appear to be several notched below St. Marks and Hockaday, but it may be worth another look.</p>
<p>As for the public schools, we deliberately have not investigated them, only because they all appear so large. For children coming from a small town, we feared it may be too intimidating, but…</p>
<p>Your analysis is very helpful. Thank you and also for the drug/alcohol issue. One thing I’ve learnt is that it is everywhere, but moreso in affluent areas. It is just dressed up in designer clothes.
That being said this w/end we will do a comparison of all the schools mentioned and go from there. Thanks again and good luck.</p>
<p>As far as public schools go, if you live in Highland Park or University Park, that’s definitely the school to go to (Rated #12 nationally amongst all public schools). But landing a house in that area isnt that easy.</p>
<p>Vyse,
Where are you getting the rankings on the schools?</p>
<p>For public school rankings, google “U.S. News top 100 schools list”</p>
<p>My private school rankings are coming from an article D Magazine wrote a couple years ago ramkings the private schools. I know St marks and Hockaday were 1 and 2, and my school was 11th. I havent been ale to pull up that article on google though.</p>
<p>You are getting some incorrect information. St. Mark’s is NOT an Episcopal school. It began as one, but has been non-denominational for many years. There is a chapel service, but it is not religious-based. The choir does perform an Episcopal evensong on Sunday evenings (once a month or so) and there is an Episcopal chaplain at the school. There are as many Jewish kids there as Christians (including in the choir).
Bishop Lynch isn’t even in the same ballpark as Hockaday, St. MArk’s, Greenhill, Episcopal and Cistercian. Lynch has some things going for it (more like a big public high school, but it isn’t what you are looking for.
Jesuit has perhaps the biggest drug and alcohol problem, but the “good” kids there are the best in town. The acceptances to elite colleges are not as plentiful as some of the other privates, but there are several each year who do get in.<br>
Greenhill has extremely strong academics and is right up there with Hockaday and St. Mark’s, in my opinion.</p>
<p>It’s true that St. Mark’s is officially non-denominational, but there is an Episcopal chaplain on the staff and (at least in lower school) attendance at chapel is mandatory. But there isn’t a religious course of study as such. </p>
<p>Interestingly, I have read that Greenhill was founded because St. Mark’s did discriminate against Jews in the late 1950’s. Most of my class at Greenhill in the early 1960’s was Jewish. I know that’s not true today.</p>
<p>We chose St. Mark’s over Greenhill because it was easier to drive to for us. I didn’t graduate from Greenhill. I think Greenhill from the 1960’s probably has little in common with Greenhill today. The facilities sure have improved!</p>
<p>I didn’t graduate from Greenhill. I left when middle school began. My parents moved into a more desirable public school neighborhood and I graduated from public school. My brother, however, did graduate from St. Mark’s. Even when he went there, years and years ago, you could certainly find trouble (parties, drugs, booze) if you wanted it. I don’t think any school, regardless of the size, is immune to that.</p>
<p>St. Mark’s is the best :)</p>
<p>i’m graduating this year and have been there since first grade, let me know if you have ANY questions at all and i’ll be glad to help you out.</p>
<p>Thank you for responding. Can you give more detail? We have lots of questions. </p>
<p>What makes SM the best? What is the student population like? What about the staff? We have heard that sports plays a more prominent role than academics, Is this so? Would a boy with no sport interest find a place? Where are you going for college? How helpful is the college counseling office? What is the r/ship w/ hockaday? Do the students use laptops in school? </p>
<p>How does SM compare to the other schools mentioned. Please some details.</p>
<p>What is the student population like?
I’m not really sure if there’s ones specific aspect your interested in, but I can say in general that everyone is very friendly. To be very blunt about it, St. Mark’s will not put up with *******s. The few “bullies” that have been in our class (and this applies to others as well) aren’t there anymore. So I wouldn’t worry about that too much. But there is naturally going to be some teasing in the lower grades since it is an all boys school. Ethnicity wise, well, I feel St. Mark’s is relatively well diversified when you consider it is a very expensive school. Although this might seem limiting, at St. Mark’s you do really get to know pretty much everyone in your class so you are going to be around people from very different cultural backgrounds. Economically… yes, nearly all the people who attend come from wealthy families. I am not from a very wealthy family and don’t feel that this has been much of an issue from me. The many kids from highland park do tend to be more together outside of school, probably just due to their proximity to each other though. Academically, there isn’t a ton of variation here. Everyone that goes here knows that this isn’t the place to be if you want to goof off in school. We of course have our absolutely ridiculously brilliant geniuses, many other very intelligent people, and then there are always going to be a few not so academically inclined people that you can usually guess one reason or another why they got in. Sorry I was sort of rambling there, but it is very difficult to explain the student body as there is really so much too it. I’d really encourage you to do a visit to the school if you haven’t already.</p>
<p>What about the staff? </p>
<p>The staff is absolutely the best part of our school in my opinion. Aside from the fact that these are some of the most over qualified people to teach our classes, they are all REALLY awesome people. Throughout the last twelve years I’ve stayed good friends with most of my teachers here. I still see my first grade teacher almost every day. If you want it, the opportunity is there to have more than a boring typical student teacher relationship. The faculty are there and glad to help you out with anything, whether it be academic, emotional, or just for fun. Practically all of my teachers would gladly stay for hours after school to help me out with anything at all if I asked. St. Mark’s is just as if not more selective with its teachers than it is its students. If you ask any teachers in Dallas, you’ll find it’s pretty much the dream school to teach at and the teachers there all have a real passion for what they do.</p>
<p>We have heard that sports plays a more prominent role than academics, Is this so?</p>
<p>Absolutely not true. There are definitely a few people who make it that way, but they usually won’t last and are seriously gambling with their future if they do. But don’t get me wrong, sports are a big deal. I think what really answers this question is what our baseball coach told us the very first day. “You’re parents are paying a lot of money for you to get a great education, not to play baseball.” His point was that if we needed time off, it was certainly available. Some sports(football) are going to be more intense and require more time management. If your son is able to do that, then great, if not, its time to quit playing football. Athletes are not given ANY special treatment grade wise. If someone playing a sport doesn’t realize this and lets his grades slide some, he’ll be put on academic probation and if he doesn’t shape up he shouldn’t necessarily expect to be invited back the next year. That being said, the teachers are equally aware of the pressure on an athlete and are always available for additional help and an occasional extension on major projects.</p>
<p>Would a boy with no sport interest find a place? </p>
<p>Definitely. The student body has really diverse interests. If you’re not in a sport you’ll be enrolled in a physical education class that will happen sometime during the school day. There are plenty of clubs to be involved with and if a club isn’t available that you want, you can always start one up by just asking one of your teachers to “sponsor” you which they will happily do. Don’t think that sports necessarily define who your friends are or who will be friends with you, that’s not how it works. Plenty of people don’t play sports and are still social, although I will admit sports may help one find a social group a little easier. </p>
<p>Where are you going for college? </p>
<p>I’m going to Trinity University next year with a very nice scholarship. It may not have the name of the ivy leagues but I know it will be the best place for me next year considering what I’m interested in and what I want to be involved in. Our college admissions are always very impressive. Look out on our website over the next couple weeks, our most recent school paper listed the college acceptances from our class. I’m our paper’s website coordinate and will be posting it up probably by the end of the week now that I’m done stressing over APs. I’ll post here when it’s on. </p>
<p>How helpful is the college counseling office? </p>
<p>We have two college counselors. Both are very friendly. They are available to everyone(they dont assign half the class to one and half the class to the other). My best advice would be to tell your son to just be sure and get to know them. They’ll do their best to get to know you but any effort he makes will definitely help out. I personally preferred to do most of my college researching on my own, but I know people who would spent several hours a week sitting in their office with them discussing everything about college. If you email one of the counselors one of your essays your working on, you can stop by the next day and they were happy to discuss what they liked/didn’t like about it and ways to revise it. They’re really available to you whenever you need anything. Over Christmas break, although one of them was on vacation, we still had his cell phone number and were welcome to call him anytime we needed anything. </p>
<p>What is the r/ship w/ hockaday? </p>
<p>Varies. Mainly for the year. In middle school St. Marks/Hockaday sponsor several “mixers” that go on. They’re pretty boring to be honest and they continue on throughout high school. But through these and other random ways, St. Mark’s guys do tend to socialize with people from hockaday mainly. Some will branch out to Ursuline and some others to other schools, but the vast majority are friends with people from hockaday. </p>
<p>How do we meet? Mixers, while boring, are good for socializing in the earlier years. St. Mark’s football games always draw them to our school. Hockaday will host various mixers and dances as well that St. Mark’s is invited to. Almost all community service projects (which you will have to do at least 15 hours of a year in high school) are with hockaday so you’ll meet people there. Then there are a FEW coed classes. They were reduced a couple years ago, but as of now AP Economics and AP Environmental Science are coed classes. Outside of that… the relationship you have iwth hockaday is up to you and who your friends are and who they know. But I’m living proof that being at an all boys school for 12 year is survivable 
.</p>
<p>Do the students use laptops in school? </p>
<p>No. There isn’t any ban against them. Most people just prefer to use pen and paper and do their work at home or in the computer lab. Two of my friends bought tablet PC’s this year, but out of my class there are probably only 3 or 4 that use laptops regularly. Wireless internet is not technically available… but we have smart people who find ways around these types of things . I will make one note. As of last year, Hockaday switched to an “everyone has a laptop” system, depending on how this works out St. Mark’s could surely follow in the next several years. Our tech dept is testing tablet PC’s out with a couple of our math teachers to see what they think, and I know that my calculus teacher is in love with his and would probably kill to have one of them in every students hand. The change from pen and paper to laptops is surely going to happen, its really just a question when.</p>
<p>How does SM compare to the other schools mentioned. Please some details.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to sound cliche, but honestly St. Mark’s can’t be compared to the other schools. It’s its own beast. My school pride might make me a little biased here. Other schools might produce smart boys, but St. Mark’s produces men. While it is an academically challenging school, I’ve come to realize their main goal of the school is to sculpt us into fun-loving hard-working individuals who can succeed in the real world. Again, my views are biased, but from what I’ve experienced, the average maturity of someone who attends St. Mark’s is incredibly beyond that of kids from the other private schools you listed. At parties it tends to be the Jesuit or ESD people who think it’s a good idea to throw stuff or pick fights. Cistercian may be considered an academically stronger school in some respects. For example, they require students to pass BC Calculus to graduate. The just seems a little ridiculous to me as. You can also ask pretty much anyone from any of these private schools and they’ll tell you that guys from Cistercian tend to be pretty socially awkward. Don’t get me wrong, all of these private schools can get you admission to the best schools in the US if you make the grades, but St. Mark’s will give you something the others can’t. </p>
<p>Also, if the all boys school idea is bugging you I would highly suggest you read the book Raising Cain. I’m in the middle of it right now and it’s given me some additional insight to the benefits of an all boys environment.</p>
<p>I’ve tried to answer your questions, but I’m sure I’ve left some stuff out. If there are more details or anything else you’d like to know, just ask.</p>
<p>The one the only EULESS TRINITY TROJANS!!!</p>
<p>St. Mark’s = VERY good boy’s school.
Hockaday = Possibly the best girl’s school in Texas. If you are looking to board, Hockaday has a very low percent of boarders. It is extremely hard to fit in there as a boarder.
Greenhill = Very nice campus. Not farmiliar with the reputation or stats.
Jesuit = I would NOT reccommend it. My brother went there for two years and transferred out. If you are Jewsih, don’t even bother. The academics are horrible and the athletics aren’t so hot either.</p>
<p>go to st. marks!</p>
<p>Highland Park ISD is like they say about Jesuit, a lot of drugs and a LOT of sex and alcohol in parties! Also many spoiled kids driving Hummers to school, I’ve heard it from many kids who go or went there in the past. Bummer!</p>
<p>Hi, I was wondering how you conclude that Cistercian makes “socially awkward” boys, is there a statistic or study that shows this? I am very interested in finding out because I have a 6th grader there and we’re thinking about switching schools, but not for social reasons, the academics are extremely challenging, more than we ever imagined. But he’s a very social outgoing boy, so I’d like to know where these CPS boys get that reputation. Thanks!</p>
<p>Greenhill lost 14 kids in 7th grade this year due to bullying… pretty high!</p>
<p>Old thread is old.</p>