Hi all - my DS has been accepted to Regis. He is STEM focused and advanced in math. We don’t know anyone’s who’s going / went to Regis, so I’m wondering if anyone can give some feedback about Regis:
I heard Regis is “a lot of grind” for 4 years - is that true? how bad is the HW load? How many hours per day / weekend?
Is Regis flexible for someone who is advanced in Math, and need to skip 1 or 2 math levels? How about when the student is in 12th grade, and has exhausted all in-school classes?
Is the school itself rigid in its teachings, way of doing things (esp compared with the private schools like Horace Mann/Trinity/Dalton?)?
how’s Regis’ college exmissions for STEM kids?
For a Math-centric kid, would he be more challenged at Regis, or at a private like Horance Mann/Trinity/Dalton? Which school would provide better support/advancement options in Math?
We have a revisit day already scheduled at Regis so my son can take a look for himself, but want to hear from others who have had experience at the school.
Please feel free to mention anything other Pros/Cons about the school. We are not NYC residents so not eligible for SHS like Stuy.
Do you still have up to a three-hour (round trip, hopefully) commute? Do you have acceptances in hand from all those other schools? Do you have any options that are closer to home?
I am not a NYC resident, live in the midwest. I attended and later taught at a Jesuit school that is on par with the quality of education one would receive at Regis. I can assure you the rigor is real, the grind is genuine, and they would not have selected you if they thought you could not do it. But that is the point of selecting a school such as this… You want to be pushed by the best to be the best…
To me the hallmark of any Jesuit education, and what sets it apart from many others, is that the education is delivered not for the sake of the education but rather the challenge to use (and skillsets nurtured to exercise) the education for the greater good. Regis’s motto is “Deo et Patriae Pietas Christiana Erexit” which translates to Christian devotion built this for God and country. These lofty goals are attempted to be obtained by teaching students to find God in all things.
Math is math, science is science, etc… but how you use those for the betterment of your fellow man is the critical piece that Jesuit schools routinely deliver to their students. And it is within this context of developing leadership, generosity, lifelong learning, and service to others that Jesuit schools generate a sense of community that has so long been heralded.
I know nothing about the other schools you have mentioned but am confident if you attend Regis with an open heart and mind, you will not be disappointed in your decision.
@stalecookies It’s very possible that I’m overthinking here - I tend to do that sometimes We have a Regis revisit day scheduled, so my son can experience Regis for himself.
@Yonkers6thBoro I think it’s about a 2-hr round trip commute, after speaking to another parent who has a DS at Regis, who lives near to us.
Currently still waiting for private school results coming out this friday. So if he has acceptances (with FA), he will be deciding between Regis and privates.
He has options closer to home, but none close to the level of Regis/privates so we’ve ruled them out.
My son loves math, and is gifted in this field. My main goal is to find him a school that he can be challenged, and fully supported to explore his Math talents. Personally, I don’t believe in “grind” for the sake of “grind”. Doing a thousand calculus exercises may not be the best or most effective way to learn, and that’s what I’m trying to figure out about Regis.
There is also Davidson Academy which offers single online courses to profoundly gifted kids if he wants to take extra/advanced classes outside of school. Such a long commute for better math seems like a huge time expense.
@guesswewillsee thank you for your comment. Regis is certainly all you described, esp the service part, based on the open houses / town halls we’ve attended. It’s a great school from everyone that I’ve spoken with. No question about that. I’m just concerned if it maybe a little too rigid for someone that’s not on the usual academic track.
@helpingthekid73 two hour in total per day, ~ one hour each way. I agree with you though: 2-hr a day is the max. Anything beyond that just doesn’t make sense.
OK, that is not much different than most kids do for NYC selective schools, my husband still talks about the kids who went to Stuyvesant from Staten Island.
Two hours round trip in high school is a lot when the high school expects 3-4 hours a night of homework’s as Regis does. Some do fine with it, but adolescent challenges hit different kids at different times. Speaking from personal experience, I had a similar high school commute in NYC as a kid. Freshman & sophomore years were fine, but I grew 5” in junior year, was exhausted when I got home after a day which included after school activities, and was falling asleep over my homework. My grades suffered as a result. The commute wasn’t worth it in my case, so I transferred to a school closer to home for senior year. I can’t say what you should do, but it’s hard to project 4 years ahead and know what these years will bring at this age.
Something else to consider at this age is the social life. When a kid commutes from an hour away in one direction, he might find a high school best friend who lives an hour away in the opposite direction. That complicates things. Then there is the issue of girls. Regis has none. So where does that aspect of his social life happen?
I can’t imagine what Regis has to offer that would make all of those complications worth it at a time in life when life is already complicated enough. I know that acceptance there is an honor and it’s free, but I’d look closer to home.
I might add that Regis is currently going through the transition from a retiring president (principal), who was not particularly well liked by his faculty, to a replacement who is currently principal at Fordham Prep where he is not particularly well liked by his faculty.
From their own website: “Throughout all four years of math study at Regis, students are challenged to not simply repeat processes and techniques, but to become more able thinkers and creative problem solvers.”
That sounds like the rigor is not in rote learning.
The bigger issue is that no matter how fantastic the math/STEM curriculum, your son will do more than study math in high school, no matter where he ends up.
I think that of equal importance is whether the student culture at Regis is a good match for your son. Rigor is not the issue.
All of the schools you mentioned will offer academic rigor. Regis is a fantastic school with great exmissions, particularly to top religious institutions such as Georgetown and Notre Dame. It’s definitely not a progressive institution though. Dalton is progressive and is challenging in a very different way that Regis is. HM, Trinity, and Collegiate might be more aligned with Regis from an academic standpoint. I think the most important thing here is to find a school where your son will truly thrive, not just where they might be challenged. Another thing to take into account is that Regis exmissions is more of a meritocracy than it is at the other schools. At HM, Trinity, and Dalton, it’s a fairly common practice for wealthy parents to donate millions to get their son or daughter into the Ivys/T10s. You won’t really hear these stories at Regis, which might mean that your sons future college spot won’t get taken by a kid who is objectively less qualified but has tremendous financial resources and connections. This is all hypothetical though. Just food for thought.
You might get better feedback once you know for sure; there are some similarities between those schools, but they are not a monolith.
I think the most acceleration they would allow is to take Calculus BC (or the equivalent; Regis doesn’t have AP courses) in 11th grade. There are several advanced math electives, so running out of courses won’t be an issue. While they do not have the STEM infrastructure of an NYC exam school or the big suburban Regeneron feeders, they have had highly gifted math students before and know how to get them to progress.
All schools of this caliber require a minimum of 3-4 hours studying every night to excel, for better or for worse. That is not inclusive of extracurriculars. It is a wonderful opportunity, as would be Trinity, HM, etc, but they are all a grind to some extent, there is no getting around it.
Regis’s college acceptances will look a little different from the expensive privates for two reasons: there are quite a few families that will not consider non-Catholic colleges and only so many spots at GTown and ND, and compared to a Trinity there are far more middle-class/donut-hole families who have to consider merit aid.
I hope you’ll check back in and let us know the other choices and how it turns out.
@Yonkers6thBoro Do you know more details about these math students? Just wondering if there are any more details you could share?
I know they had a Regeneron finalist recently. That’s quite an achievement so the school definitely seems capable of supporting STEM kids of that level.
And you also raised very good points about college placement - something to really think about there…
Well, there you go; I didn’t know about the recent Regeneron winner, doesn’t that basically put the issue to rest?
I remembered something about a total STEM prodigy who went there a few years ago and found this; he had basically already finished with HS science in middle school and Regis facilitated independent and outside study. He ended up at MIT
None of the schools you’ve mentioned will be so specialized that it caters completely to extremely specialized STEM-only kids. Regis and those other private schools are geared towards an excellent well-rounded academic base. They are all also rigorous and expectedly grindy to challenge gifted kids, especially at Regis which is a test-in school. Regis’ exmissions are stellar even into engineering or science programs in colleges.
We have a Regis revisit day scheduled, so my son can experience Regis for himself.