Hi, the High Schools in the Bay Area that I’m applying to are Lick, International, Urban, SI and Bay. I really love all of these schools and I would like to know how other people feel about them. Have any of you had negative or positive experiences at any of these schools? I just want to know a public oppinion about these schools. Thanks!
Urban is extremely liberal. Social justice crazy. SI very large and of course the most traditional. Bay is tiny and a little “out there” and non-traditional.
In terms of academics and smartest kids Lick > SI > Urban > Bay. I’d say selectivity is also in that order as well.
Athletics by far the best at SI and worst at Bay. SI is so good that you’ll never play in most sports unless you are a standout and true talent.
All the above is based on parent talk and personal experience with many students at those schools. I don’t know much about international.
Any reason you are not looking at University HS? Probably has the best academic reputation but Lick is close. University is tough to get into.
Harder than the others mentioned. Best of luck choosing!
International has International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum.
Also: Don’t rule out Lowell. It is large and extremely competitive, but will prepare you well for college, especially if you end up at a large University of California campus.
(Oh, and all of the high schools in SF are pretty liberal…)
1 Like
Thanks!
The best measure is your own opinion. You should shadow at each and ask as many questions as you can, not only of your student host but as many students as you have access to. You can get a great education at all of the schools above, but one may be a better fit for you. SI is huge compared to Bay – do you feel better in a big energetic environment or do you want a smaller and more intimate scene? Are you interested in pursuing a IB offered at International? That’s one of the major appeals of that program. Are you looking for a big art scene and tons of diversity, then Lick is your best bet. Each of your options has a different culture – your job is to find what culture appeals most to you. Good luck, and don’t focus so much energy on wondering if the schools want you, think about what you want first.
Thanks!
I’ll disagree with @SatchelSF on the relative ranking just a bit. I don’t think SI would rank higher than Urban on academics. Heck, I’d put Urban up there with Lick. But this is angels-dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin stuff. Every one of the schools you list will give you a quality education.
Don’t get hung up on prestige. Go for fit. You WILL get into a college that’s right for you from any of those schools. So really, you’re looking at what school will be the right one for you during those fun, awkward, formative adolescent years.
IB is a great program. Along with International, Stuart Hall High School is now offering it too.
Lick and SI are the top privates when it comes to socioeconomic diversity, drawing smart, motivated kids from private, public, and parochial schools. Their communities feel more like San Francisco in that sense.
We got the impression that Lick was also particularly strong in STEM (made even more powerful because of the strength of arts and design) Is that not the case? Do Urban, University and Int’l have stronger STEM offerings?
@CaliMex I looked at the colleges for the different SF high schools a couple years back. I specifically looked at matriculations to what would be considered STEM colleges: e.g. Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Harvey Mudd, MIT, etc. On that score, Lick Wilmerding students went on to STEM schools at a higher rate than kids from Uni, Urban, Bay, SI.