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Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School

School rating 5 / 5 by

1524 Thirty-Fifth Street NW Washington DC 20007 United States
Day
9th to 12th
Gender
Girls only

Academic

Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School review by .

Visitation prepared me very well for my college career. They provide a very well rounded education in the arts and sciences. I felt that every student got very adequate attention and help with their respective areas of weaknesses or strength. If math was not your strong suit, there's a math tutor. If language isn't your strongest area, the teachers were more than willing to provide additional help. Freshman year, everyone takes introductory level courses and the school's program builds off of those classes while allowing students freedom to choose electives as they develop their personal interests. When I attended the school, there weren't as many electives to choose from outside of the social sciences, but I heard they have since added more options. I would say that since it is a college preparatory school, it is very easy to fall behind if you don't stay on top of your work and I would say some of the classes definitely have almost as much work as a course you would take in college. Also, the program is not at all geared towards arts students. But there are plenty of clubs that allow students with interests in the arts to showcase their talents. There's a literary magazine, newspaper, drama troupe, and art club. There just aren't many classes for technical training in the arts. The student body is very tight knit because it is small in size. It can sometimes be very cliquey but everyone tries to foster a community and their alumni network is one the best I've heard of. Being a Visi girl is something that sticks with you for life and can be very advantageous. I'd say I felt most prepared for college because of Visitation's English program. I was very good at writing and analyzing literature and I did well on my AP exams so I was placed into honor's English classes when I went to college and it was a blessing to be spared English 101. I felt least prepared for math, however. While I got tutoring, I just didn't feel that I was encouraged to do as well in math and sciences as I was in the humanities. I felt that there was a heavy emphasis on the English program. As far as the philosophy of Visitation, it is based on the Salesian virtues of spirituality, so religion was a large component. Classes were lecture and discussion based and students were sometimes to lead their own discussion in a socratic seminar type of instruction. It very much encourages girls to take an active approach to their learning. The class size was perfect for this as there were never more than 17 girls in a class, so everyone's voice could be heard and the teacher could give everyone a fair amount of attention.

College Counseling

All students are required to take a college counseling class their senior year and the....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

All of the students came from a variety of schools from the DC metropolitan area.....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

Being an all girl-school, Visitation students were pretty close with one another and cultivated very close friendships within their groups. Students also have good relationships with the teachers who are sometimes Visitation alums. Since it's a Catholic school, it's conservative. There's no sex education and religion is an integral opponent. That's not to say that everyone is catholic, but a majority of people are. As far as the make up of the socio-economic background, I'd say that most students came from an upper to upper middle class home and were some version of Christianity but there were people....

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