Seattle Preparatory School

2400 11th Avenue East

Seattle, WA 98102

8 Reviews

School District
Grade

9-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on June 04, 2024

If I could say one thing: RUN!!!
Submitted by other on July 05, 2022

Class of 2020 alum. Undergrad applying to dental school within the next year or so, so I thought it was time for reflection on my high school.Pros:Homework/ course-load: Extremely heavy compared to Garfield, BBHs, but similar to HNA. Forces students to learn study habits and works well for college.Collegio: A grade 9-11 mandated integrated history and literature class. Very critically graded with emphasis on class discussion. Basically a college class. around 40 students/collegio, 3 per grade. Random assignment into a collegio with each school year. Math dept: Strong. I made it all the way through with no complaints. Some teachers better than others, but this is expected. Parking: underground garage with public spaces also around.Literature dept: Very critical and grades extremely hard for a HS level, but teaches students to be good writers. LRC: Works with students and gives accommodations to those who need it. However, IMO they are slightly too liberal with the accommodations, as I know well that some of the kids with 1.5x time surely do not need it with their 4.0 GPAs.Cons: Science dept. is terrible: - Extremely limiting on what classes students are allowed to take in grades 9-11. Freshmen year science was this "Integrated physics and chemistry" which is basically a waste of a year. Think memorizing atomic numbers. Sophomore year mandatory biology, Jr year mandatory chemistry. In those three years, students are NOT given the option to take more than one science class at a time. It has to be those three classes (honors versions if applicable) in that specific order, ie restrictive for no reason.- In grade 12 there are some options given but they are few and far between. AP science classes are not offered until Senior year. Say you wanted to take AP bio: this means you have to take non-ap biology or honors bio sophomore year, then take AP bio senior year. This makes zero sense and is redundant.- This really screws students applying to a college on the pre-health track, as they have less science experience in grades 9-12 than some public school students have by sophomore year. Harsh Grading: Grading is harsh across the board, meaning students at prep work their faces off for a 3.6 GPA, when this same amount of work would have gotten them a >4.0 at literally any school. There is also zero grade inflation and zero curving in any classes. Ironically, prep's GPAs make applying to college harder for prep students than others.
Submitted by other on July 29, 2017

Seattle Prep was such an amazing school. I am 48 now and proud to be an Alumni the structure the school gave me was without reproach.
Submitted by parent on March 23, 2016

Seattle Prep is very strong on academics. Students are well prepared to be admitted to and succeed at the best universities. This can have drawbacks: your student may feel marginalized if they plan to apply to less than 10 universities and take fewer than 6 AP courses. The college counselors are also excellent and give each family all of the personalized attention they might hope for as they apply to college. The school's retreat programs are also an excellent embodiment of the Jesuit principle of "cura personalis" or care for the person. The administration and faculty's biggest weakness is technology: it is all somewhat functional but pretty much all of it falls short of the standard of excellence applied to other aspects of the school. The website, electronic communications, the flawed and abandoned iPad 1:1 program, anemic technology curricular and extracurricular offerings, and the sharing of confidential student information with an entire class via the classroom management system (information which remained published for months with no correction) are all examples of the many ways technology delivery falls short at Prep. This feels ironic given how many Microsoft, Amazon, and local startup employees are members of the community, and suggests that while Prep is happy to accept financial donations, baked goods, and help organizing social events from parents, they really fail to tap into the broader skills and talents of their community. The last thing to be aware of is that although this school is in Seattle, it is not really a Seattle school. Many of the students come from the Eastside and beyond. Consider the values and disposition of families who choose to send their children across the lake to Prep rather than enrolling in the best-in-state public schools of the Eastside. This can manifest in some ugly dynamics as Prep competes on the athletic field with Seattle public schools whose students lack the overwhelming privileges Prep students enjoy. It saddened me greatly to hear of Prep students making derisive cheers at games making fun of the SAT scores of their opponents from South Seattle public schools.
Submitted by parent on January 31, 2014

Seattle Prep has a great curriculum and prepares student very well for college. My daughter has thrived here. However, it is important for prospective students and parents to know that the courses are challenging and the grading system is strict - an A at Prep means something. Though I applaud Prep for not bowing to grade inflation, the kids are absolutely put at a disadvantage when they apply to college. Prep does NOT do a good job of explaining the challenge of their curriculum to colleges. The small, private colleges understand this but good luck on getting into a larger public or private school when they don't know Prep's reputation.
Submitted by student on January 07, 2014

I am a current freshmen at prep. and I want to say i really love prep! I came from a public school and didn't know anyone. everyone at prep was so welcoming and nice to me. Now im pretty close to a lot of the class. There is that thing though about the smart rich kids which is partly true. Im pretty sure most of my class went to a catholic school and in a upper class family. but they all share same respect. honestly no bullying at all. and the academics are very challenging. most of the kids go to the top colleges at prep
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2013

Seattle Prep has found it's sweet spot. The current administration and leadership are doing an excellent job. We're very pleased so far.
Submitted by student on January 06, 2013

Seattle is a great school, and should be one of your top choices out of private schools in the Seattle area. This school is meant for highly motivated students, who suceed in many areas. If you arent motivated, the teachers will help, but you will not succeed if you dont want to learn. Colleges respect Seattle prep, and even if the GPA is lower then most schools, it is because it is highly rigorous, and just by going to the school will help you gain entrance to colleges. Average gpa that is accepted to University of Washington from seattle prep is 3.6.