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Besides the religion and the size, what are the perks between the two schools? Which gets you more prepared for life and college,which would most people recommend, which offers better courses etc.? Thanks!
In my opinion Wando is a great school, for a government run institution, but if you can afford the private school go for it the smaller classes and better teachers are worth it...
As to which better prepares you for the world, the government school, college probably neither one unless you are going to go to a religious college....
Yes, Catholic schools are often populated by students not there to be Catholic ... but oh, how fortunate those are that truly embrace the philosophy of such an education.
Sorry if you think that I can't help with your actual question.
They both offer good educational opportunities but it's like anything else; you get out what you put into it. I've known kids that couldn't get into USC coming out of Bishop England and kids that went to Ivy League coming out of Wando (and vice versa). My daughter goes to Wando and I've been very impressed and I know parents that swear by Bishop England. Probably not much of a help!
Wando has a large school population but also has the resources available to deal with the numbers. My son is a sophmore and class size has not been an issue in any of his classes for the last two years. Wando has received many national and state accolades over the years. Engineering, arts, athletics. My son takes music and Wando's band and music program can't be beat.
I'm in the media center once a week and I'm so impressed with the staff, the kids, the atmosphere. The Principal is visible in the school, at school activities, including sporting events, arts presentations, etc.
I would bet, because of the size, Wando would have more AP offerings. I know that many of the kids participate in Trident courses taught at the school, as well as other college level courses in computing.
They are expanding Wando with the building of a school to offer technical and career specific courses. That will offer students another option.
I would take a tour of both schools and see what fits your expectations.
My friends son said the Bishop English girls wear shorter skirts..........
I went to Bishop England this is true. The "good" girls do like to hooch it up a bit...
Both are good schools. Both will prepare your child for college and life beyond as well as can be expected.
There are some notable differences however.
BE will be a great deal more expensive. Tuition, uniform, books (usually from someone who took the class the year before), transportation (they had a bus on Daniel Island but there was a charge for it, not sure how much because I had a car), etc can all add up. The education is second to none and the school is recognized at Catholic universities across the nation (Notre Dame, Georgetown, etc).
Wando will be less expensive but is probably the best high school in the Charleston County School District and may be the best public high school in the area. I would say that it is academically on the same level as Bishop England at a much easier price tag.
My suggestion would be to visit both schools and get a feel for it before making a final decision but here is how I would approach the decision.
Ask two important questions:
1. What kind of student is your child?
Special needs-Wando. They are better equipped. Most private schools are not.
Average-Wando. BE is challenging to say the least. When I was there, they used a 5 point grading scale instead of a 4 and grades there were equivalent to a letter grade higher at a public school. Average kids can make it, but it's expensive.
Above average-BE will offer enough of a challenge to keep the student engaged. Wando probably would, but I can't guarantee it.
2. Where does your child want to go to college?
BE has a slightly better pedigree and is recognizable out of South Carolina, especially at Catholic universities.
In state schools will recongnize Wando just fine and you could save the money you'd have spent on tuition at BE and spend it on college OR on a car for the student (if their grades warrant it) or something like that.
Above average-BE will offer enough of a challenge to keep the student engaged. Wando probably would, but I can't guarantee it.
I don't know enough about BE to comment at all on the comparison.
I have been astounded at the number of honors and AP classes available at Wando. The only classes my 17 year old has taken that weren't offered to him as honors or higher were his language classes (which may actually be offered as honors but he isn't eligible) and his first two years of JROTC. He will walk out of Wando with at least his first semester of college completed because of all the AP dual credit classes. (Knock on wood, assuming he passes all the AP exams.)
Probably BE has similar offerings, I just thought I'd mention that.
And -- honestly -- the biggest weight to applying to ANY college anywhere is that SAT score and/or the AP exam score. Not so sure BE would be more known out of state than Wando. I think both probably don't register on any of the really important out of state colleges radar.
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