Mission

The mission of St. Joseph's Prep as a Catholic, Jesuit, urban, college-preparatory school is to develop the minds, hearts, souls and characters of young men in their pursuit of becoming men for and with others.

Points Of Pride

We are the only Jesuit school in Philadelphia, and we have been located at 17th and Girard since 1851.

In 1966, a fire devastated the school and destroyed two-thirds of its physical plant. Although many urged the school to follow the lead of many other schools and move to the suburbs, the Jesuit priests in charge of the Prep made a conscious decision to stay in the city. The central location of its campus makes the Prep accessible from all over the Delaware Valley. At this time, 25 percent of the students come from Philadelphia, 20 percent hail from New Jersey, and 55 percent come from the Pennsylvania suburbs.

The Prep is proud to boast an alumni base of more than 11,000, many of whom occupy high-level positions throughout the city and region, including former Philadelphia Mayor, Michael Nutter (class of 1975) and three members of Philadelphia's City Council.

Prep students complete at least 75 hours of community service by their graduation; many complete many more than that. Each summer, several groups travel throughout the country and the world to serve communities in need.

Admissions Policy

All applicants should strive to achieve mostly A's (or comparative numerical scores) in his 6th and 7th grade final report cards and 8th grade first report card, receive an outstanding recommendation from his teacher(s), and receive a satisfactory score on the Entrance Exam.

Accreditations and Honors

The Prep is fully accredited by the Pennsylvania State Department of Public Instruction and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. It is also an active member of the Jesuit Secondary Education Association, the National Catholic Education Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools, and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools. The Prep is also a Blue Ribbon School, designated by the US Government and recently was named a "No Place for Hate" institution.

Hours of Operation

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Extended Programming Details

Entrance Instructions