St Ignatius College Preparatory School

Come on, these boys were just acting like the pop culture that is being shown on tv and supported at the highest levels of government.
I think they should be suspended just because they devalued themselves by dressing and acting like thugs.
In the end it’s their constitutional right to express themselves how they want and if black people have hurt feelings about it too bad. Maybe black people should pull up their pants and stop committing crimes at the highest rate of all Americans combined.
If it was my students I would sue the school for violating the students rights.

This is the finest high school in SF and possibly the bay area. My children could have attended any private school in the city but chose SI because it had the best course selection, most competitive athletic teams, best drama productions and the best campus available in the city. None of the private schools in the city have tennis courts, pools, fields, theaters and the long history and tradition of SI. Every year — the school seems to attract incredible student athletes. The student body is well rounded and the alumni association is better than any HS in the area. There is so much envy from the other Catholic and Independent schools and I can kind of see why — SI skims the cream from SF, north bay, south bay and east bay.

14 SI students suspended from attending party with racist theme. Shameful! That’s what SI get for admitting C students and/​or students with behavior issues! i totally agree with comments from Scrubb D and Marc F! They can admit whoever they want, but pls don’t mislead top students into applying by lying about the so called admission criteria!

Can you be allowed to review this school if you didn’t even go there???
I attended SI in the 00s and am one of few people who can say they loved their HS experience. I will do everything I can to send my own children there — maybe that can echo some people’s legacy sentiments I don’t care.
The community here is unreal and there a niche for almost any student. Prep and resources for college is excellent. Sports programs are great across the board (I was an athlete so that was my personal experience). My sister is still extremely close with her learning disabilities counselor. Spiritual element and fostering is something I am still extremely thankful for today.
I am still involved in volunteering at this school and keep in touch with coaches and teachers.
It makes me very disappointed to see negative reviews here largely because a parent’s child wasn’t accepted — the school is selective because it is excellent and some people will be unlucky. Also they take a lot of $$$ students who may be a little below the average, but that allows for talented students with financial needs to attend.
AMDG!

Seeing legacy as a criteria for acceptance is about seeing the child as part of a family. Honoring family and history is not anything to bash a school for recognizing. In fact, only highlighting individual child accomplishments and stats only puts more and more pressure on kids only 12 and 13 years old. Many schools honor family history, have done that since the beginning, and I see nothing wrong with it. A perfect child’s record may not get them into every school. I’m sure they find a good school. Does it really benefit a child to put down a school, just because they didn’t get in. St Ignatius IS a great school and that is exactly the reason posters like Scrubb and Marc F. were disappointed. Accusing admissions of taking app fees and not looking whole heartedly at an applicant or dismissing an applicant on being from a single family that’s not six figure income. Seriously? Now THAT’S offensive. That post should be removed as inappropriate.

SI is a school for kids and families who are looking for a challenging high school experience. Academics, sports and social life are a challenge at SI. This is why we chose this school for our son. There are challenges at any school, however, at SI the administration, staff and faculty are exceptional and offer students the gift of resources to keep them focused and on track. Students do need to be diligent and independent in seeking out what this school has to offer. There is so much to value in resources for student learning. The wide variety of clubs and students activities is amazing.

I’m very disappointed about Magis program, They said they looked for good grades students, that’s in not true, they only choose who has family in SIHS or at Magis program. So students made their best effort, and that’s not count. They lied to people.

The feedback given by user «ScrubbD» below is spot on. The shadowing, presentations, open-​house and the inspirational speeches of this school’s administrators are nothing but sales pitches. These people brought Wall Street to the Sunset District of SF. Sad that they supposedly represent the Catholic faith only to use it as a front and recruiting tool for hypocrisy and double talk. At the end of the day and after seeing which students from my child’s parochial school were admitted, the bottom line of the admission criteria is not the Almighty but the almighty dollar, influence and connections. My child was put on waiting list and yet 2 kids that my child tutored in math and science breezed through. Another observation is that, single parent families have next to none chance for acceptance. Not a single parent family from my child’s 8^th grade batch were given acceptance, obviously, because of the concern for being a one income family thus, unable to afford tuition and likelihood of asking for tuition assistance that cuts through the profitability. Exceptional grades, hard work, honesty do not mean squat in SI admission, only money and influence. In a way, it is a blessing in disguise that we were not admitted in this school. I wouldn’t want my child’s formative years in faith and education to have anything to do with a group of administrators that are hypocrites and double-​talkers in the guise of the Catholic faith. They are precisely the reason why many once Catholics have turned away from the faith. It is an absolute shame that they teach kids the teachings of Christianity and then turn around and do the exact opposite in the quest for the almighty dollar.
If you are a single parent, can’t prove that you have a six figure income and can’t donate a huge chunk of hard earned money, save yourself the grief, time and the non-​refundable application fee and buy yourself and your child a nice dinner with it or the SI administrator’s will gladly do it for you. Over $ 80,000 from hopeful parents plunked their monies only to be told to «take a hike». Over $ 80,000 of non-​refundable app fees now on the wait for administrators first class vacations, retreats, and first class summer cruises fund. Now, tell me if that’s not Wall Street in the Sunset District of San Francisco?

PROS: I am currently attending this high school, and I have to say, it is very challenging in many ways. First of all academics. If you plan on going here, get used to staying up late. This school really puts you out of your comfort zone. If you are in an extra curricular activity, you are going to have to manage your time wisely. Sports: I tried out for the freshman basketball team (never been on a basketball team), just to see how vigorous this was. I knew I wouldn’t make it anyway, but let me just say, you need to be VERY good to make the basketball team, even the freshman one. It is super hard to make any sports team at SI, because they only want the best. Even for fine arts, you need to be very experienced as well. So, you may feel extremely challenged at times, but you know what? It’s sure going to help you prepare immensely in college! Excellent academic program so far.
CONS: Ok, so I am not the most popular, or most attractive, but I have to say that it is very challenging here socially. Each grade is literally divided up according to race. You have the white, African American, Latino, and Asian groups. Sometimes, I think that you have to be fair skinned, skinny, perfect, attractive in order to be noticed, or popular. You certainly get the feeling that you need to to speak and be talkative, just so other kids don’t think you are a freak. Yes, you have the snobs. SI is know to have kids who are rich and snobby, and yes it is true actually. Many of the kids are conceited and treat «less popular» kids like they are nothing. You really get that at SI… you really do.

What a disappointment. We were heavily sold in the literature, campus visits and presentations from the Admissions team that SI was an elite school with high standards and high expectations. And yet, the top performing kids in many of our local parochial schools were denied, while a parade of legacy kids with mediocre grades and ambivalent attitudes – several even with behavioral issues – all got waved in.
They market themselves as a merit-​based elite prep academy. In truth, it’s an old boys network. You can ~literally~ have a child with straight As, top test scores, captain of the team, president of the class, alter server, accomplished musician, whatever, and still get passed over for a legacy C student. I watched it happen, and it was disheartening for everyone involved.
SI: You get questions about this in your presentation. Please be honest about it and don’t lead people on. You’re sending a horrible message to kids who believe that hard work matters.

Overrated! Attended the old school, quite dismal Awful gray color, prison like. Too many self righteous male teachers. Just went thru the motions. Many. overly judgmental. If had the chance to do over definitely would have chosen a different school, probably public school.

The Jesuit high school in the city.
Unlike its counterpart in San Jose, it’s no longer an all boys institution. It became co-​ed in the nineties.
It has a famous rivalry with Sacred Heart and once was a football powerhouse when Dan Fouts was their quarterback eons ago.
An all around solid Catholic prep school. Not as diverse as Sacred Heart or academically viewed at the level of University, Lick, or Lowell.

A Unilocal page for a high school? Where anybody can post? Really?
How can you review a high school that you did not attend?
So this page will have «reviews» from the following classes of people:
1) Adults who went to SI and generally liked it.
2) Immature adults who did not go to SI, and yet feel the need to still bash it. Ahem. .. .. SH students. and/​or graduates.
3) Bitter parents whose kids could not get into SI and had to go SH.
So, there you have it. GO CATS!

St. Ignatius prepared me for the rigorous, competitive nature of UC Berkeley as well as for the complexities of adult life. Note that I went here a little while ago (I won’t give away HOW long ago), so things may have changed, but here’s how I remember it. On my last few visits it seems that things haven’t changed all THAT much.
Yes, it is preppy. We had to wear polo shirts and were forbidden from wearing jeans. Now this was when polo shirts were NOT in style for women, so we all had to wear men’s shirts and roll them up and tie them at the back. Hairties were the best implement for that. I had all sorts of ill-​fitting khakis and cords (also not in style at that time). I’m sure everyone is much more trendy at SI today.
Yes, it is academically difficult. In some ways, more difficult than UC Berkeley. I know that sounds strange, but we had a major workload that challenged us to work very efficiently and keep our lives organized.
Yes, it keeps you well-​rounded. Practically everyone I knew did at least two other activities other than academics. Athletes also did community service, orchestra members headed the rally committee, math olympians did musical theater. I had such a great experience because we were encouraged to branch out and lead a balanced life.
Yes, the greatest demographic is probably still rich and Catholic. But the student body never made me feel alienated for not being rich and not a hardcore Catholic. Everyone had to attend liturgy, but no one was forced to participate. Many simply observed.
Yes, it is a Catholic school. But it is a Jesuit school. What’s the difference? Most Christian schools’ religion classes consist of covering passages from the Bible and taking those teachings to heart as God’s words. However at SI, we were asked to analyze the meaning of the stories that were originally told verbally and how they may have changed when recorded in text. Also we examined why analogies may have been used and what the actual history might have been. A very challenging and exciting approach to studying a powerful topic.
Yes, it is community-​oriented. Some of the best SI experiences I had were the annual retreats. Each year you are there, the retreat becomes longer and more involved. The senior retreat (Kairos) was amazing. I never felt closer to my fellow classmates, and for the first time began to realize how many people supported and cared about me, even if I didn’t know it. Cookies were involved! You know as well as I do that anything involving cookies is gonna rock.
Yes, it was awesome.
Highly recommended for a first-​rate high school education that MORE than prepares you for college.

Our family is neither rich nor Catholic. Our child went to public schools before being admitted to SI. He also was admitted to SHC and to Lowell. I think either SI or SHC would have been a fine choice. We were looking for a school that offered more than what SF Public Schools could provide with their dwindling budgets, and a school where the opportunity to develop an interest in a subject would not be thwarted by poor teachers or insufficient resources. We were not interested in the high-​end private schools in part because we could not afford them, and in part because of the social strata issues.
Our son entered SI liking math but hating the humanities and not particularly liking sciences. For the years at SI, he came home talking about history, considering majoring in English, being fascinated with physics, raising questions about ethics and social justice, and now, as a senior, is talking about human physiology and medicine. His grades are good, not great, but he’s been accepted to the colleges of his choice. His closest friends are a rainbow of colors.
SI is what I remember high school to be when California public schools had actual money to work with. High school is never perfect for any student, but I believe that has at least something to do with being a teenager. When your teenage child talks about his or her classes at the dinner table, and does so with some animation and growing convictions, I believe the school is doing something right. SI does a lot of things right.
I’m glad my son had the chance to go there, and I know that parents of children at SHC feel similarly. I wish the San Francisco public high schools could return to their former relative funding levels before Proposition 13, but in the present circumstances, I believe Saint Ignatius is an excellent school, period.

I am not quite sure how to review something that I have not been a part of for 34 years. That’s right 34 years (class of ’77) it is not a typo. I guess the most important thing I got out of four years at SI was being challenged to formulate my own ideals and beliefs as well as a good education. It made my four subsequent years at USF a cake walk.
The only thing I can say to those who did not find what they needed is you get what you put in.
What prompted this late review? My mother calling me saying she found my SI jacket in a trunk in the basement. I guess I will have to go pick it up this weekend! Ahhhh to be young again with a full head of hair and a 30″ waist!

No longer the school it used to be. Teachers are still great, but the administration has taken a big dump. The school is no longer about families, but is now run like a corporation.
If you have mega money, connections and can make things happen for certain key administrative people, then your kid is in. If you want your child to experience family and unconditional support, Sacred Heart Cathedral is your best best.
I’d stay away from this place like the plague.

SI! This school was great. Yes, it has its share of bad teachers, but overall it was a great school. I loved almost all of my teachers I had here. I’m really glad I went here. I’ll probably send my kids here for high school.
This school isn’t as diverse as they say. Over half the school is caucasian. Almost everyone here is involved in a sport. The fine arts program could be a hell of a lot better though.
It prepared me for college well, especially the english classes. They taught me how to write.
The school is a stressful and busy place. Don’t come here if you just want to take the easy way out. Be prepared to stay up late and be one of the busiest high school students on the planet.

Loved it most of the time, hated it some of the time, but there is absolutely no question that I evolved because of this place. All my experiences are imprinted in my memory and I still use the things I learned to guide my life. The teachers were brilliant, compassionate. The students were a kaleidescope of San Francisco backgrounds. You do get a heavy dose of preppy kids from St. Francis Wood /​Nob Hill but, their parents’ donations are part of the reason we all got financial aid, so it’s all good.
the cafeteria cookies never disappointed.
i still like how it looks at night when i’m driving down Sunset.

Thank you, SI, for teaching me how to write.
This is why I’m getting A papers in college without trying too hard.