St. Joseph By the Sea Admissions Profile for Parents

St. Joseph By the Sea is co-ed college preparatory school in the Huguenot neighborhood of Staten Island, New York. Founded in 1963, its goal is to educate young men and women in ‘in the image of Jesus Christ.’ The stated mission of this school is to ‘help students grow spiritually, academically, athletically and socially. This will prepare them to take up their personal and social responsibility’

St. Joseph By the Sea Quick Facts

Percentage of students accepted to college	100%
Yearly tuition	$8,400
Number of clubs and organizations	50+
Number of sports and athletic teams	32
Student to teacher ratio	23:1
Approximate grade size	300 with equal amounts of boys and girls
Religious foundation	Catholic
Student body	co-ed
Average SAT score	1240
Average ACT score	26
St. Joseph By the Sea Admissions Exam	TACHS in November of 8th grade
TACHS Choice Ranking	Any choice Scholarship applicants looking for a full scholarship must select Sea as their 1st or 2nd choice. Sea gives strong preference to 1st choice. Students cannot place Sea 3rd and receive a scholarship!
St. Joseph By the Sea Scholarship Exam	No separate scholarship exam. Scholarships awarded based on TACHS results and grades.
Website	https://www.privateschoolsstatenisland.com/
Virtual Tour	https://www.privateschoolsstatenisland.com/virtual-open-house-2020/
Test Dates, Open House Dates, Information Session Dates	https://www.privateschoolsstatenisland.com/admissions/

 

Saint Joseph By the Sea Scholarship Offerings and Financial Information

Tuition rates vary for St. Joseph By the Sea each year; however, they pride themselves on being one of the least expensive schools on the island. Tuition for 2021 is set at $8,400 per student. This may not include activity and sports fees, FACTS fees, and others. It does include an iPad, which will be upgraded for the student every two years at no additional cost.

There are payment plans available and Sea does offer sibling discounts if more than one student from the same family is attending.

St. Joseph Sea awards more scholarships than all other Catholic high schools on Staten Island combined.

Students who are interested in financial aid assistance must contact the school to request further information.

 

St. Joseph By the Sea Academics

Sea ranks in the top 50% of private schools in New York for college prep and for diversity, as well as ranking highly for their athletics and STEM offerings. Students who attend Sea are granted an Advanced Regents Diploma.

Sea prides itself on providing the best possible learning environment for all students, which is why they provide all freshmen and juniors with brand new iPads that are preloaded with access to all of their textbooks and their school account. This, along with Canvas, which offers seamless online learning, provides students with a highly technological edge on learning.

On top of all of this the school offers Smart Classrooms with Wi-Fi, Smart Boards, and discussion boards. Lessons can even be downloaded to student iPads and all iPads are immediately backed up internally. The school even allows for exams to be taken entirely online through a system called ExamSoft. They are the first high school in the country to use this type of college-level software with their students.

College Preparation Program

All students are encouraged to push themselves at Sea. This is emphasized by the courses offered and the opportunity to earn college credits. While most students complete at least a small number of college courses to obtain credit, some are able to complete 2 full years of college. 53% earning at least a full semester and 84% earning some level of college credits while attending Sea. Students must be enrolled in the Honors program to be eligible to receive two full years (or up to 60 credits). All students can earn at least 18 credits.

Students take 4 years of English, social studies, mathematics, religious studies, physical education, and science. Students will also take three years of modern foreign language and a semester each of health, PSAT math, PSAT English, American history writing lab, art, music, and other senior courses.

All students graduate with an Advanced Regents diploma, after taking Regents exams in English, U.S. history, global studies, algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2/trigonometry, biology, chemistry, and physics/earth science.

All students meet with the guidance department to assist them with planning out their college options, admissions, and more. They also attend semi-annual college fairs, online college advisory courses, and more to prepare them for their future college plans.

Advanced Programs

Sea offers a specialty program called the Institute for Scientific Research that allows students the opportunity to work with two doctors of science to perform research projects to present at the New York Science and Engineering Fair in their senior year. They are eligible to join the Institute beginning in their sophomore year and work with faculty mentors to produce their project.

Students have the opportunity to work on forward genetic screens and make a difference in the field of science. They can even assist in research that they can publish and share with the global scientific community. This presents an opportunity that is not available at the high school level anywhere else.

There is also a robotics program available at Sea that allows students to interact with the Nao Robot to learn coding and more. Sea currently has two of only approximately 7,000 of these robots in the world. The program has allowed students to develop even further interest and skills with robotics.

Finally, the school offers internships in several different fields including neuroscience where students can work on research related to Alzheimer’s disease and autism, medical where students can work with Staten Island University Hospital, legal where students can work with local attorneys, and business where students can engage with several local experts in the field.

St. Joseph By the Sea Student Life

Saint Joseph By the Sea is located right off Bertram Avenue on Arbutus Lake. It is only a short distance from Raritan Bay and Lower Bay. It encompasses a large section of the block in the Huguenot neighborhood in Staten Island and provides students with a beautiful experience and view.

Sea Sports

St. Joseph By the Sea offers 13 acres of campus dedicated to their different sporting programs for both boys and girls. With over 30 different teams there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

• Archery
• Boys baseball
• Basketball
• Bowling
• Girls cheerleading
• Cross country
• Girls dance team
• Fencing
• Girls flag football
• Boys football
• Golf
• Boys hockey
• Lacrosse
• Sailing
• Soccer
• Swimming
• Girls softball
• Tennis
• Volleyball
• Boys wrestling

Sea Extracurriculars

St. Joseph By the Sea boasts over 50 different clubs and activities for students to participate in, including:

• Altar servers
• Art club
• Band
• Book club
• Chess club
• C.C.D. aides
• Chorus
• Communion & liberation
• Conservation club
• Homecoming committee
• DJ club
• Fashion club
• Fine Arts Program
• Film club
• Future business leaders
• History club
• Holy name society
• Hospital aides
• I.T.V. team
• Ladies of charity
• Lector society
• National honor society
• Newspaper: Viking Press
• Nursing home aides
• Performing arts
• Robotics club
• Senior brother & sister
• Speech & debate club
• Spring musical
• Stitchery club
• Surf club
• Student council
• Tv studio
• Theater club
• Yearbook: Saga
• Ultimate frisbee

 

Sea Famous Alumni

Sea has graduated a number of different highly skilled professions who excel in their respective fields. These include:

• Melissa Anelli – New York Times bestselling author – class of ‘97
• Joseph Borelli – New York State Assemblymen
• Sheena Colette – actress in House of Bodies, Life Before Mickey
• Pete Davidson – comedian on Saturday Night Live
• Matt Festa – baseball player in Mariners organization
• Ollie Ogbu – NFL/CFL football player – class of ‘05
• Chris Terrio – screenwriter best known for Argo
• Joey Salads – prolific YouTuber

St. Joseph By the Sea Admissions Process

Students who wish to attend St. Joseph By the Sea must take the TACHS Exam for consideration. The school is highly competitive and prefers students who select Sea as their first or second choice. Sea requires that you place them first or second to earn a scholarship. They must also submit grades from their elementary courses, which may be used to aid students who do not perform well on the TACHS Exam.

Students must have been baptized Roman Catholic, live on Staten Island (or be prepared to), have received or be set to receive their First Communion and Confirmation, and put Sea on their TACHS. Equal numbers of boys and girls are generally considered for admission each calendar year.

Taking the TACHS as Entrance Exam for St. Joseph By the Sea

Students who wish to attend St. Joseph By the Sea must complete the TACHS exam to be considered for admission. This exam is a standard for Catholic schools in the area. Sea must be listed as one of the student’s three choices. Their results from the exam must be provided to the school directly from the testing facility.

The best way to prepare for the TACHS exam is through practice tests and tutoring sessions. We offer practice tests year round, with our first test for high school entrance between November and April. From April to October, we differentiate to focus on each student’s specific schools so take TACHS, HSPT, SHSAT, ISEE, and SSAT practice exams between April and October each year. The practice exams make sure that students do not face any surprises on test day.

Comparison of the TACHS with other high school entrance exams: HSPT and SHSAT

You can schedule a practice test or see our schedule of practice tests for the year here. The earlier you start, the more prepared your child will be as all learning is cumulative and built upon previous skills and knowledge that they have mastered. Once your student takes a practice test, we will give suggestions on how to improve. We will also suggest potential group (of similar students with similar goals) or individual tutoring.

I work with students throughout their middle school careers to strengthen their academic skills. My students have earned over $12.8 million dollars in scholarships to NYC’s top private high schools.

Full Breakdown of Scholarships 2022

Signup for Your Student’s First High School Admissions Practice Exam or TACHS Here

Prep for the St. Joseph By the Sea Admissions Process

Anyone who is looking to get into Sea or to get their child into Sea will want to get started early. The school is very competitive, and doing well on the TACHS exam is crucial to being accepted. Not only that, but the school requires excellence in middle school, reflected on student transcripts and grade reports, to be considered for admission. High-level accomplishments in middle school will be a big part of getting into Saint Joseph By the Sea.

Advanced tutoring, and especially sessions with small groups or individual tutoring, will help students who are looking to get into Sea get the help they need to give them a leg up. All material throughout the tutoring process is cumulative, so the earlier your student starts, the better off they will be when it comes time to apply to Sea.

As someone who scored in the 99th percentile on these exams and earned full scholarships to all high schools I applied, including St. Joseph By the Sea, I know the preparation and commitment it takes to succeed in getting into a private high school. My tutoring team offers group and private tutoring sessions to boost your student’s academic performance and self-confidence for the rigorous private high school admissions season.

Other private high schools on Staten Island you may also consider are Monsignor Farrell, St. Peter’s, St. Joseph Hill, or Notre Dame Academy. These are either all boys or all girls high schools. Moore Catholic High School is the only other co-ed private Catholic high school on Staten Island. Xaverian in Brooklyn is a school where potential Sea students also consider. Many schools share identical preparation and have identical tests. The nuances of their admissions processes vary, but we can answer any questions you have about these. More information on other high schools and exams in NYC

Individual and Group Tutoring Sessions

My students have earned admission to some of the most prestigious schools in the country, including Regis, arguably the most prestigious high school and most difficult to get into in the country. I work with students to improve their academics to make sure they achieve success in their exams and beyond, even when they already excel.

My students have also earned large scholarships to high-level schools, earning over $12.8 million in financial assistance through merit-based scholarships with over 42 students passing the rigorous Regis exam. In addition, students I tutored have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to Sea, with countless others earning admissions to St. Joseph By the Sea.

John Zaborskis tutored students to help them earn over $966,000 to St. Joseph By the Sea High School since 2015.

John’s students who took their exams in November 2021 earned a combined total of over $3.8 million in scholarships to high school.

Most students take a TACHS practice test before their first lesson to identify areas of improvement and potentially group similar students with similar goals. We also use this to compare to future practice tests to determine what is working and what isn’t. Call, text, or email us to discuss the best options for your student, including individual one-on-one tutoring or in a group. Online group sessions have rolling starts year-round. You can view availability for groups and tutoring at Book Me.

Contact me for more info or to start tutoring lessons