Forget the picture of the typical high school experience. At Xavier, students are provided with self-starter skills and college-level classes long before they encounter a university campus, ensuring they thrive and not just survive in the “real” world.
Xavier College Preparatory, according to various freshwomen in college, has equipped girls with time-management skills and has pushed for excellence through education and extracurriculars.
Ella Fleet ‘25, attending University of Washington, said that Xavier “really taught me that anything you set your mind to shouldn’t come easy.” Students are compelled to overcome challenges and achieve goals without taking the easy route.
Not only do students learn academic excellence, but they advance in college material from early on. Due to attending Xavier, Sophie Reed ‘25, currently at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said, “I definitely feel like I know how to attack my classes and the material a little bit better than some other students at times.”
“I had a really packed schedule when I was at Xavier, so I really learned time management,” Reed said. According to Reed, discipline directly translated to her college life, allowing her to balance her schedule with classes, academics and personal pursuits.
The importance of effective time management was also a key takeaway for Fleet who said, “Xavier really taught me time management and being able to find time for myself.” This skill, she claimed, is one that some college students struggle to master when trying to balance study time and personal time.
Vivian Amoia ‘25, at the University of Miami, said, “Xavier taught me how to problem solve,” explaining the values she still carried from Xavier into her college life. On top of that, she stated how the “work load at Xavier is very similar to that of a lot of colleges,” creating a sense of preparedness for students when transitioning to university environments.
“If I had to describe Xavier in one word, I would say a sisterhood,” Amoia added. Xavier, as an all-girls high school, encourages girls to form lifelong bonds with other students to excel and push themselves.
Reed stated that the best advice she would give to a student starting high school at Xavier is to “take every opportunity that Xavier can offer you,” admitting that the opportunities are endless and students are encouraged to try new things.
Xavier pushes students to create long-lasting connections and develop social skills. “Connections are so important and Xavier forces you to get out of your comfort zone,” Amoia said.
Fleet described how the supportive environment at Xavier, particularly with students of the same interests, was key in clarifying her career aspirations. She stated, “I think my experience at Xavier helped form that idea of me wanting to be in nursing.” These connections led to valuable real-world engagement, allowing her to speak directly with medical professionals.
Besides social skills and discipline, Xavier has also taught students important study habits and approaches to learning. Although it takes some time to find one’s perfect studying method, Reed stated that time blocking was the best for her and said, “It is still something I use in college right now, and it’s really helpful with my schedule.”
Fleet claimed that Xavier presented her with various approaches to learning and found “the one that clicks” with her mind. She noticed how university students struggled with bad studying habits and it tended to “ruin your opportunity to reach your full potential,”
As a junior reporter for UMTV, Amoia stated that Xavier has shaped her to be “smart, hardworking, independent and persistent.”
Reed added, “Xavier prepared me by allowing me to practice having a lot of critical thinking skills, and also networking skills.”
She stated how going to 8th hour at Xavier helped her to attend office hours with her professors. “Going to all of those 8th hours made me much more likely to talk to my professors in college and to go to office hours, which I found has really helped me.”
For Fleet, she was prepared to apply herself to all situations and claimed how “anything is possible” and that Xavier taught her to accomplish goals and to never back down from reality.
