First, understand that your son will not get into the best college he possibly can if he goes to Bellarmine. This is lost in the fine print and is conveniently elided in the promo materials. The school will tout the few grads that end up at MIT or Harvard and act like they pulled those strings, but the truth is those kids are geniuses and would have gotten into those colleges with or without Bellarmine's name. In order to understand this effect, we have to look at the average performers at Bellarmine --- the average kids who work up until 3 AM every night only to get rejected by UC Davis or Cal Poly. A good portion of Bell grads even end up at SJ State. I personally know a grad who ended up at community college. Allow me to ask a very simple question: if you're paying money for an institution, should you not harvest an advantage from that institution? These types of outcomes are simply unacceptable for the tuition fees that Bellarmine demands (100k). The problem is every student at Bellarmine is ultimately remarkable and intelligent. However, colleges can only accept a certain amount of students per school. Thus, only the geniuses (who are fine on their own) get top acceptances while your reasonably bright son ends up with a disappointing result. This is the dirty secret at Bellarmine. There is a lot of coping built into the culture where people say "Well, at least I'm prepared for college" --- not understanding that their college result would have been much better had they just gone to a public school for FREE. Their grades would be better and their workload would be slashed in half. This outcome is absolutely unacceptable for the dollars spent. Second, the workload at Bellarmine is huge. Even nearly 12 years later, I am shocked at the inhuman level of work assigned if a student opted for a competitive curriculum (APs, Honors, etc.). It was commonly accepted that the average bedtime was 2 AM. Students walked around with heavy backpacks filled to the brim with books. The library was always crammed with students studying and finishing up presentations. Stress was rampant. During junior year, a classmate ran away from home after scoring a B on an exam. For this level of work, one would expect great rewards upon graduating. This never materialized. Tons of students who worked themselves to the bone found themselves matriculating at unremarkable colleges surrounded by students from public schools who didn't work nearly as hard. Unacceptable. Third, the academic difficulty at Bellarmine was ridiculous. English classes expected students to write at a college-level and graded as if it was college-level. Presentations were expected to last the entire class period (30-50 minutes). Afterwards, you were picked apart by an open forum like a thesis defense. Exams were incredibly difficult. I distinctly remember a random pop quiz dropped everyone's grades by 10 percent. A's to B's in 10 minutes. This is absolutely UNTHINKABLE in public school. When I finally had gone to college, I was mortified to learn that presentations were 10 minutes max at even upper division level courses. Now, you might think that academic difficulty is fine for a "college-preparatory" high school, but your son bears that price when his war-torn "B" is weighed disadvantageously against an "A" from a kid who didn't nearly work as hard. Colleges do not make that distinction. Bellarmine is only locally recognized, but it likes to think of itself as Philips Exeter. This is a horrific deal. Fourth, there is a problematic culture of teacher worship at Bellarmine. Now, there are always good & bad apples. But the bad ones had a profound effect on the students. Teachers are very aware of the hyper-academic culture enforced at Bellarmine and understand the power they wield over their students. What results is extremely unprofessional behavior: yelling, berating, inappropriate jokes with underage boys, and deeply personal attacks. I recall a teacher once mocked a student's garage rock band as the reason why he scored a C on a quiz. Such comments upon reflection are incredibly unprofessional and are not befitting of an institution with its hands in your pockets. This culture of teacher worship was perpetuated by students who were afraid of being vindictively graded, and was what allowed controversies like a former English teacher's sexual grooming of female students (visitors from another campus) to be even possible and go unquestioned for years. In summary --- Bellarmine delivers partly on its promises. Does it have a great facility? Yes. Are the teachers good? Most of them. However, it is also a steward of some deeply problematic issues: it is academically punishing and unforgiving, and it screws over your son when it comes to college admissions. A parent who wants to pay 100k tuition for their son to go to this school should understand two things: he will likely give a great talk on food production rights, and he will also attend USF. read more

Love this school so much! Teachers are very professional and kind! The facility is very high technology!

As a current sophomore parent, while Bellarmine gets 5 stars for certain aspects such as teaching kids to be respectful, I'm deeply concerned about college admissions in the future for my disadvantaged asian son due to Bell's policy of not ranking + downgrading GPA's/artificially capping the # of honors/AP classes my child can take. Especially with no SAT's anymore for UC's and our kids not being considered a minority race, this is highly disadvantageous for motivated high-level academic learners and extremely unfair to cap honors and AP's. My son wanted to take several AP and honors b/c he was qualified and motivated, but they would not let him take them. Their cap is too rigid, and this rigidity will screw over kids compared to kids who learn from flexible, competitive Bay Area counterparts! The college counselors at Bellarmine are pretty much all a certain race, and they honestly don't understand how disadvantageous admissions can be towards Asians especially. Bellarmine heavily recruits superstar athletes and superstars who excel in something, and often it's not academics. For those who honestly excel at academics, but are not superstars in other arenas, their rigid capping policy makes things hugely disadvantageous for college admissions. Other comparable private schools have a recommended "AP/Honors" cap, but they are flexible when a student is motivated. We know valedictorians from several competitive schools who got around the "recommended" cap b/c they were motivated and excited learners. Why does my son have to artificially dumb down classes that he wants to take just to even the playing field for all the Bellarmine athletes, etc? If they use the excuse that they care about kids' "whole" mental health, in fact it's way way more stressful for my son's mental health that his friends at other schools get to take classes they really really want, while he has to dumb down all his classes and now can't be as competitive in the end and can't get into his dream college fit school. Please note yelp review from other recent grad on this issue. They need to roll with the times. SAT's are banned at UC's, and GPA's and weighted classes need to be counted to even be CONSIDERED for UC admissions. Bottom line: Bellarmine needs to make their capping policy flexible for the motivated kids so they don't ruin their chances at UC admissions. The rigid policies are unfair and too biased towards athletes and non-academics and certain races. They also need more minority representation and understanding in their college counseling dept who must take the time to personally help out kids who are not "first-gen" or from certain minorities that are favored in admissions b/c they need to help out all their kids equally. Every kid matters. Even those who are often discounted in admissions because of their race. read more

This campus has been hosting students from the mid 1800s to today. Is is one of the few all male Jesuit high schools left in California. It is a unique institution that prides itself on community service, the arts, science, and sports to name just a few. I found the faculty and staff to be dedicated above and beyond what is required to give their students the best education they can. It is impressive. A very nice campus hugging the train tracks that take you to San Francisco and all places in between. read more

My son just graduated from Bellarmine (Bell) and I spent over $85K in tuition in the past four years. I don't think it was worth it. Every child is different, so don't get fooled by any school's reputation. If I could do it all over again, I would have sent my son to our local high school and saved the money to hire a private college consultant. My son needed more help with the college applications. He could have probably gotten into better colleges, especially UCs, with a private college consultant. I heard that UCs favor public school students over private school students. Everyone has heard that 2022 is the most competitive year to get into college. Unfortunately, Bellarmine also made the bad decision to cap the number of honors and AP classes a student could take each academic year. The policy was in place all four years while my son was at Bell. Since UC's and other schools don't look at SAT test scores anymore, the rigor of the student's course load, class rank and GPA are increasingly more important (unless, of course, if the student is a recruited athlete or has other hooks). Bell does NOT rank and the weighted GPA was artificially capped since they capped the number of honors and AP classes a student could take. With good private colleges getting over 50,000 applications (and UCs getting over 130,000 applications), I doubt that the admission officers even had time to realize the Bell student had taken the maximum number of honors/AP classes he was allowed to take. My son was disadvantaged based on this capping policy. I did not know about this honors/AP capping policy when my son registered as a freshman. The administration never explained to me, the parent, why they felt it was a good idea to cap the number of AP and honors courses. Also, I feel that the current (2021-2022) Bell administration did NOT care about my son or what his passion was. You couldn't get the class you requested -- too bad. Bell would NOT change my son's class schedule even when he had all the right justifications and followed all the right procedures. They basically told me my son was only one of 1,600 students. In other words, his needs and aspirations did not matter. A very cold and arrogant response. I heard that the Bell principal is leaving. Hopefully things will improve. But too late for my son. So make sure Bell is the right school for your son before spending the money. read more

As I sit in the quad waiting for the graduates to march down the path, I had a chance to reflect. We are shaded by huge trees, neatly manicured grass, and roses in bloom. The new Sobrato center is going up, way too late for this class of 2009 to enjoy it. I look over and see my son, sitting with 360 of the brotherhood now know as the Class of 2009. These are the future civic, business, spiritual, and athletic leaders of Santa Clara Valley; they just don't know it yet. Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, you name it...the roll call is a list of impressive schools that these men will be populating next fall. The outgoing Principal, Mr. Pierotti, said it best in his graduation address..."Schools such as Bellarmine are designed to be difficult...to make things intentionally hard...because you will be tested..." I felt proud being a father of a Bellarmine College Preparatory grad. Why pay $14k a year for an education you could have received for free? It's the quality of education, the spirituality, the brotherhood, and the commitment to community service. That's where people are wrong...you can't get this experience for free. It's an investment I'll gladly make over and over again. Go Bells. read more

Bellarmine College Preparatory is one of those schools that you prepare your son for years in advance. The school's motto of "Men for Others" goes to the core of the school's mission and Jesuit Catholic identity. Principal Meyercord runs what is one of the best high schools in California. Located in San Jose's College Park the school took over University of the Pacific's old campus in 1925 after they split from nearby Santa Clara University. Tuition is $18k a year, but they give $4 million in financial aid a year. The school works hard to have a student body that reflects Silicon Valley's diversity, which includes students who's families wouldn't have otherwise been able to afford it. They accept around 400 students a year, with 300 coming from the 30+ Catholic schools in the area and the other 100 non-catholic students coming from Challenger, Harker, Stratford and public/charter schools in the area. It is the only school with it's own Cal-Train College Park train station (Jack London's Call of the Wild fame) bringing students to school as far away as San Francisco and Gilroy. The 2 leading candidates for the upcoming mayor of San Jose race are both Bellarmine graduates, and even agreed to host a debate on the campus of their alma matter run by the students. SF's Riordan, Concord's De La Salle and San Mateo's Junipero Serra are the only other all boys academic institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area that I'm aware of. read more

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This is hands down the best high school (its really a college prep) for boys in the SF Bay Area. If you want to be successful in college, go here first. The campus is awesome, the Jesuits are awesome, the education is top tier. Be a man for others, attend retreats, pray in the campus chapel, get involved, study hard, work hard. Do all these things at Bellarmine and college becomes almost easy. If you have an opportunity to attend Bellarmine or send your son there do not think twice. read more

Mr. Dutton should become Dr. Dutton because that would totally rock. (Looks like my review is too short, just seventeen characters away)

Class of 2014 reporting in. This is a bit early but I have a bit of spare time, here it goes. When I stepped onto campus 3 years ago, I felt so awkward. Everyone was bigger than me, a tiny, fat kid who had no clue what he was doing. My big brothers (essentially upperclassmen who advised us) told me to cherish Bell cause it would go unimaginably quickly. I did not believe them. And I was wrong. When I was in middle school, I didn't like going to school. I don't think that's rare. Most kids don't look forward to attending school. When I wake up in the morning, I want to go to Bell. It is my home away from home. It has been my community, my retreat, and the people who make up this community - this home - are truly my brothers. As a member of the speech and debate team, I have seen firsthand what it means to support one another. How to be caring. How to help a friend cope with a loss after he spent his whole year seemingly for nothing. But I have also seen incredible joy at the excellence of our team. But it's not just the team. In fact, to call the speech and debate kids a team is interesting, because Bell itself seems to be a unified team. I have never felt more comfortable anywhere in my entire life. These guys, the Jesuit attitude, it changes you. I went from a kid who hated his life, hated himself, and was scared of the world to an outgoing person who has learned to cherish every moment because...well...3 years have already gone by. The fastest time of my life. But beyond the community...the teachers blow my mind. They are so, so, so very dedicated. I can honestly say, every class at Bellarmine is either incredibly fun or extremely educational - and more often than not, it's both. For example, math isn't really the most interactive and fun subject in the world - yet it's taught so excellently that I look forward to going to math everyday because I know I will emerge as a smarter student. The staff. Phenomenal. Thanks so far Bell, and here's to a sick senior year. read more

Imagine high school with no girls- the boys of Bellarmine don't have to, they live it each day. In their prayers, I reckon they ask the Good Lord for strength to weather the challenges of an all boys school. Bellarmine Prep's boys club education is an ancient relic of time when elite schools (like Harvard, Yale) were all male. 19th century Ivory Tower chancellors, like Charles Eliot and Ted Woolsey, believed that men learn better together with men, than with women. Today The Bells can back up that proposition with so many grads matriculating to Stanford, Berkeley, Cal Tech and other top colleges. San Jose parents agree to $14k a year, to secure a spot at top schools but also to empower their boys with weapons against the secular world. The Jesuit elders, from St. Ignatius of Loyola (c.1540) on down, believe Bell boys should develop into "Men for Others." Daily prayers and Bible studies inject conviction to their Catholic beliefs. Extensive service to the community allows the young men to practice the school credo of sacrifice. And aside from academics and service, the men of Bell are among the premier athletes of Santa Clara County. Though it will cost you dollars and dates, a graduate of Bellarmine is a man prepared for life; a man for all seasons. read more

Academics: Anything involving reading or writing (like English, History, etc.) was top-notch. Nearly all teachers in those areas were very passionate and very knowledgeable about their subjects. I wrote term papers in high school there that I later used again at university, so I have to give Bellarmine high marks here. Anything involving calculation (like Math, Science, etc.) on the other hand, was not so hot. Honorable exemption to Mr. Mike Janda, whose Chemistry class was top notch. However, most math and science classes were arguably inferior to the better schools on the west end of Greater San Jose (an arc from Los Gatos to Palo Alto). I used to ask fellow students from those areas why they were stuck in "The Bell" and not out in "The World". However those of us who would have otherwise gone to San Jose Unified and East Side Union high schools, which were often crime and gang infested, knew very well why we were Bells. Academics in those public schools were clearly crap. Disclaimer: I did my time in "The Bell" a while back; and Bellarmine math and science teachers and classes may have dramatically improved in the last decade or two. Heck, maybe even San Jose Unified and East Side Union high schools have improved since then, although the odds of that are much less favorable. Social: To put it bluntly, the social situation at Bellarmine sucked. The big suck. Most of my peers were like characters out of the novels "Lord Of The Flies" and "The Chocolate War". Every high school has its cliques and its bullying, of course. But in "Bell Hell", thuggish behavior in the name of "school spirit" was at least condoned if not encouraged. Call it "School Sponsored Terrorism". I gladly lost contact with most of my peers from those days, although in fairness the few I do stay in contact with are and will remain lifelong friends. Although again, in fairness, this might have been better than one of the San Jose Unified or East Side Union high schools, with their gang problems and whatnot. Political: This one is touch and go. As another reviewer noted with respect to Bernie Ward, certain Jesuit "teachers" have pretty warped political agendas, although in fairness most do not. But watch out for creeps pushing warped political agendas. You will get enough of that in universities later. So for current and prospective students: (1) Just focus on the academics. (2) Don't do extracurricular activities (unless you really *want* to do a particular one) and resist any social pressure to join; for college transcripts they are really overrated. (3) If you still find yourself with spare time, get a job--no matter how menial, you will learn a lot for a teenager, relatively speaking. (4) Meet girls on the internet--I wish I had it back in the day. School sponsored events in this realm are pathetic. (5) Avoid the "teachers" pushing warped agendas as much as possible. You will recognize them easily. read more

Do not take Summer school in the Math dept!! The campus is beautiful and I love the fact it's very near to cal train. I enrolled my daughter who goes to Mitty in a summer geometry class to help prepare her for sophomore year. The reason behind is that my daughter is a good student who needs a little help and more time in Math; her goal is 3.5 and she plays two big sports which require m-f and sat practices and games on the weekends for fall and spring. So she's busy and I like her to keep a balance and hence the reason to take a summer class. The rest of the sumner she just played sports and slept; we decided not take the class for credit to make sure she gets a descent grade to get something from it. The other reason I enrolled her at Bellarmine is that she can be a little more independent taking cal train as we always usually drive them to and from school and it's good for her to a be independent and yet I feel she's safe. Anyway the teacher was so disorganized and not prepared I was a upset to have wasted our money. I gave the feedback about third week of a six week course and the assistant director just sounded like a 13 years old inexperience little boy. I told him the teacher was terrible in his organization skills and gave examples and facts and proof backing my feedback. Such as not providing a course syllabus where he would outline the lesson plan so the students can plan accordingly for tests, etc Also he gave the parents access to a google drive where the answer sheets it additional course documentation to help them 3 weeks after class started and many had access issues. When there was a test he did not provide the prior quizzes until after the test. To me for a fast paced class you need to give that in a timely manner. The kids could use the quiz to help prepare them for the test to see where they did get the problem correct. He said I was unprofessional calling him terrible. First , for being an English teacher, I didn't call him terrible I called his organization and coordination or planning of the course terrible; in fact it sucked! For this type of class and this amount of time you can't be late. I spoke to other parents and other students and it seem they're teachers for the sumner especially in the Math dept is just not worth $1400! And for my daughters feedback she said the biggest reason she struggled was because when he taught a topic and worked the problem out he wound get the answer wrong and confuse everyone when he had to go back to correct his answer and reteach how to get the correct answer. ‍ read more

I went here. Got me into USC. Can't really argue with that. Best teachers I've ever had. If you get a chance to send your son(s) here, do it. read more

The best education money can buy. Didn't appreciate the thousands of dollars my parents wasted on my education every year until I got halfway through college and realized why I didn't have to try as hard as my peers. Thanks mom and dad, but at this point in life I would have taken the down payment on a house instead... Would get five stars if it was co-ed. Unfortunately, Charissa is right about the bellarmine freak. sigh... read more

Bellarmine College Preparatory is an experience that, if you let it, will dramatically impact who you become as a man. The experiences & education you receive as a young adult have a significant impact on how you view & interact with the world as you mature. Investing your formidable years wisely is imperative. My appreciation for Bellarmine is well deserved. This high school assisted me in living the life I desired. Particularly, the value of learning through history & research, appreciating and utilizing creative thinking, ethics, the concept of constantly questioning what is considered normal, and that no matter what you focus on (business, arts, math or science) that all skill-sets are equally important & can be mastered following a simple method of questioning, research, hypothesis & discovery. No matter the man you want to be, BCP will support you. Tip - It's true, no matter what high school you attend, your social experiences will depend on how YOU interact with people. read more

I'll admit I'm very biased here but in my opinion, Bellarmine is the best high school in San Jose, maybe only Harker comes close (Harker is really a great school too, especially with their new sports facilities). The South Bay practically runs on Bell grads. It's like a mini-Stanford with the best facilities imaginable for their kids. They have an awesome gym, science building, theatre, library and college-level pool. No parking however and because of that I took the bus home until I was a senior and was able to get spots to park. I could tell you some amazing bus stories my friends and I took. Looking back, I think I learned almost as much about life from the bus as in school. For example, no matter who sits near you just smile, don't say a word and above all make yourself as invisible as possible. You'll stay safer and avoid a lot of unnecessary hassles. That also applies to a lot of other things too. It is not cheap and the chances for getting your kid in here are really low but if you are one of the lucky ones, you will go to a top college. 99.5% of the Bellarmine graduates go on to college according to their statistics. I transferred around and graduated from UC Berkeley, then have taken several courses at Stanford. None were as hard as any of my Bellarmine classes, because actually Bellarmine is a college, not just a college prep. I took actual college courses my senior year and got a great head start. So the competition and class requirements are high and the athletic program is maybe the best in all of California, especially in football, volleyball, swimming and soccer, but they also have a great scholarship program for low income students because the alumni are so generous with their time and money. Everyone says their school is the best but Bellarmine Prep, Harker, Castilleja and Harvard-Westlake are probably the best high schools in the state, no bragging, just fact. read more

Bellarmine is like a great parent: the good things are so numerous and hard to describe that it would take too long to explain and even then it probably wouldn't do the school justice. Still, no one is perfect but Bellarmine is as close as you can get. Responses to other Yelp!ers: Charissa I. re:The Bellarmine Freak... PRICELESS! This is a great example of some of the detractions of the single sex environment. The fact that you still see this in 21+ clubs probably has less to do with running into aged Bellarmine graduates and more to do with the demographics of Man-Jose! Sebastian M. - I was Scott Petersen's year! Congrats to him. He deserves it after the unfortunate incident in Modesto that tarnished his good name! read more

The JV basketball coach- Coach Denker runs his own AAU Basketball program called DBA Drive. There seems to be a conflict of interest here since Coach Denker runs DBA and coaches the JV Team and is also there during Varsity games as a coach (though not technically one). The Freshman Coach, Facione also coaches in DBA. In the past few years there seems to be a pattern where in students who join DBA or those who who are already a part of DBA seem to get get a spot on the Bellarmine team. Just look at the DBA drive instagram page, it is like looking at the Bellarmine basketball team picture!! In most cases seems like good players who are not initially a part of DBA when they come in as freshman in fall, feel obliged to join DBA in the following Spring since this seems to help secure their spot on the JV team. Unless it is a huge coincidence, families/players being made to feel such an obligation to join DBA is not fair. Whether or not a player is on DBA should not influence his chances to be a part of the Bellarmine team. So far as current freshman (class of 2023) are concerned, Coach Denker already has a team of this age group which he has been coaching for a few years. After seeing the pattern during the last few years, I hope all players are treated equally during tryouts and no one is given preference during Freshman and JV tryouts based on their DBA affiliation. Coach Schneider has a son coming in as a freshman too(2023) who also plays for the DBA "B" team and Denker too has a son coming in(definitely not as skilled as his older son). So, the situation is definitely tricky. During earlier years before the DBA era, it seemed like Top Flight players used to get preference(am assuming they should thank Jamon Osby). Now Top flight players seem to come in second so far as getting preference is concerned. Bellarmine being all boys has double the number of boys to choose from which is a big advantage over other coed schools. So hopefully they will make use of this advantage instead of focusing on the affiliations some players seem to have. Yes, the basketball team does well!! But, they could do even better if good players are not turned away simply because they are not affiliated to DBA. read more

My son started Bellarmine in the fall as a freshman. I can't say enough positive things about his experience and Bellarmine. This school has it all, stunning campus, world class classrooms and sports facilities, spirituality, camaraderie, academic rigor, super nice parents. I just feel so lucky and proud that my son gets to go here. read more

I graduated in 1994, and 15 years later now I can still say that I wouldn't have wanted to go anywhere else. Bellarmine education got me into UC Berkeley, and the skills and knowledge I gained in high school still serve me well today as a successful small business owner. The English department in particular at Bellarmine is especially top-notch. Socially, I had friends both male and female outside of school, and I don't think I ended up becoming socially inept. Afterall, I did end up getting married despite whatever "weirdness" i developed in an all-boy environment. Anyway, my son is 4 years old, and I'll look forward to bringing him there in 10 years. I hope he'll be smart enough! read more

Bellarmine is the best school in the Bay Area for boys, no competition. From sports, esp, football, soccer, water polo, track, lacrosse, and more to world class debate and robotics, Bells are without argument hard to beat. The teachers are the best, and Jesuit Fathers are mentors to the boys. The motto "a man for others" means something. My older son went through the "esteemed" Palo Alto High School which focuses much more on how to get ahead. And cliques? Found in all schools, at least Bell has true school spirit and many of these boys will not only be lifelong friends but will immediately upon graduation be part of a special group of men who do give back and care about the community (such as recent San Jose mayoral election-both candidates were Bells ). So thankful my son got in! Go Bells!!! read more

Bellarmine College Preparatory - 2015 bells football team. Jv: undefeated in league. Varsity: Northern California division AA champion - Middle Schools & High Schools Near Me - San Jose, California

I took summer school here for SAT prep courses and Pre Calculus. Everyday students started off with a reading from the bible. The teachers are really cool (Mr. Bliss and Ms. Zabinski) and really know what they're teaching. The SAT writing prep didn't really help for me, but I did get some tips on how to write an essay under 25 minutes. I really enjoyed Pre-Calculus as oddly as that sounds (probably because of the awesome students I met there). there is a 15 minute break in between the two classes where students can hang out (the campus is really nice) and buy food from the cafeteria. i don't think the summer classes helped me that much, but i enjoyed my experience here meeting students from all over San Jose. :) read more

Simply amazing school. My wife and I sent three boys through, and while each had different experiences, all turned out better than we hoped. Great friends, and parents of friends. Challenging, yet comfortable atmosphere. Teachers that really care and engage the boys. We went in with very little knowledge of the school, and seven years later, finish with deep admiration and respect. It's not perfect (nothing is) but if you desire for your son a challenging, respectful, thoughtful, fun high school experience, with a laser-like focus on moving on to a four year university as their next step, I couldn't imagine a better school. It was very expensive, but at the end of the day we feel like every single penny was well spent, a great investment in our sons. read more

You can have reviews of schools on Yelp? High school is socially tough, this place made that even worse. I do not agree with sending your kids to far away private school. Makes no sense. Have to drive far, no sense of community with others, etc.... My parents royally f'ed up sending me here and they agree after the fact. But anyway, in short let me describe the school with an example. I had Spanish teachers that were not Hispanic. California home to countless Catholic Latins who were brought up bilingual practically since birth, not one was hired to be my Spanish teacher. The teacher I did have, whose name escapes me, talked about doing cocaine when he was younger etc, he said he regretted it, etc...but how is his past drug use relevant to Spanish?! We also had teachers that were not Catholic, one even said he believed in reincarnation. Just an overall odd school. I wish the priests took a stand not let the school hire non Catholics. Anyways...the leftist agenda they have been pushing lately will bite them back real hard. read more

the positives far outweight the endless taunting and gay jokes. drove by the old alma mater the other day. reflected on the idyllic halcyon days of high school...when we were young ''men for others'' with our whole lives ahead of us... wait, f that. high school sucked. but how many people's high school experiences were that great? and most of them didn't have to go to an all-boys school. however i am realizing now more and more the value of this school and others like it. as i run around in the Valley (and across the country) i run into fellow alums and there is an instant connection and credibility built on that shared experience. bellarmine prepares kids for life in the real world - provides endlessly applicable and transferable skill sets. read more

"Man for others" is the motto. You enter as a kid and leave as a man. Unrivaled athletic program, excellent teachers, and a great sense of school pride. Unless you go through the "Bellarmine experience", you can not appreciate the quality of this school. read more

It is what you make of it and you have to give to the community to get something out of it. No doubt there will be some negative reviews and a few jokes. However, the opportunities are there for you if you take advantage of them. I don't think anyone can argue with that. read more

I am a parent of an existing Bells Junior. Yes, the school is tough, and it really prepares the boys for college and life. Recently I bumped into a Bells grad, and he told me that the subject he took at Bells, the professor at UCLA had exactly the same lecture materials, so he got an easy A. I also bumped into an alumni from Bells few years ago when I have not decided to put my son there. He is a dad now, and he told me the Bells experience was one of his best time in life. I also bumped into an Intern at Stanford doctor's office last year, he was a Bells grad and went to Stanford with his 4.6 GPA + Water Polo, he was applying to Harvard Medical School, very nice gentleman with a bright future. I also like the fact that Bells prepares young men to help others, and going to the world. It is not easy, but better to prepare than sorry. Too many good things about Bells that I cannot put them all here! Yes, no school is perfect, but at least Bells is closer to perfect! Go Bells! read more

Yeah, I went there. (Can I say "Yeah" without making Bellarmine look bad?) It was a great school before I attended, it was great while I attended, and it still is a great school. read more

Will change my rating to seven or eight stars once tuition prices fall to a more reasonable figure, our football + basketball programs experience their long overdue resurgence, and we enter the 21st century by embracing the whole co-educational thing. Just a five star institution until then. Shout outs to Fr. Ron Clemo, Big Jim Harville, the late Charlotte Smith, Senor Cristobal Wolf, and newly minted head volleyball coach Scott Petersen. read more

I don't know how good Bellarmine is compared to other high schools, but all I know is that it's amazing. The schedule is as forgiving as possible and having free dress is a godsend. The campus is amazing, too. I would definitely recommend this school to every single one of my friends. read more

Hard to understand all the worry over "all male" when one considers the praise heaped on all female education. Another example of media power. Bellermine threatens that power because it produces graduates with critical thinking skills and long attention spans. Re "Bellermine Freak": what's a nice girl like you doing in a place like that? Surely you can get your ass bumped in private. Dream on. read more

I admit that I only went here for summer school (kinda female) but it was a great experience! Loved it, well taught and helpful!

For Christian parents: If you hold to the most basic belief of historical and Biblical Christianity - that Jesus Christ is mankind's only hope - it would be wise not to send your son to Bellarmine (although if they must, make sure they have solid worldview/apologetics knowledge, a strong home church support group, and friends of likeminded parents seeking to raise their children in Christ who will join the battle with them). I could provide numerous examples of how this school is infested with atheistic humanism, and how this worldview that humans are the product of purposeless, random evolutionary processes forming us from pieces of dirt in a "prebiotic soup" and that all we need to do is live in "peace" (where God is just a crutch to make us "feel better") thoroughly pervades what they teach. It's obvious that this school is, to put it mildly, a bit on the liberal side (and we're not talking about "big government" here, but the anti Christian type of liberalism), when we read stories about oral sex, see pictures of women wearing almost no clothes on powerpoint slides with approving laughs from teachers, have "Catholic" teachers saying that they don't agree with traditional stances on abortion and gay marriage while teaching "religion," hear the F-word at least a dozen times a day from Jesuit-school-authorized-teachers. I wonder how they hold the two views in balance - the feminist views that females are the same as men, and the absolute degradation of females to body parts from teachers who show clips of women wearing bikinis, not to mention a rated-X movie that was played in class. Even worse, we're taught that the Bible is not historically accurate (both Old and New Testaments), and the most liberal scholars, who claim that Jesus got his views from traveling to India and learning from Hindu gurus (which is a position with not a shred of evidence), and many other outlandish views, are shown in the official curriculum of the "Christianity" class that every sophomore is required to take. Another thing - they don't allow Christian clubs (we tried and were disallowed). This is where I wish I were at a public school, even if the education is not as great. By the way, a great education is meaningless - what is the point of gaining the whole world and losing one's own soul? - if the building up of one's mind is not accompanied by more love, more faith, more reliance upon the only One who can save. I will gladly point out that popularity and "coolness" are not nearly as much of an issue at Bellarmine as many other schools, and people who get good grades are often applauded, yet, let me ask you this - Is the idolatry of intellectualism and extracurricular success and the path to material comforts that it takes a person any better than the idolatry of being well-liked and fitting in with peers? We should not be replacing an idol of man's praise with personal success - instead we should be replacing it with a crazy love for God, because both paths are empty and lead to death apart from Jesus Christ. One of the worse experiences I've had at Bellarmine was being quieted from sharing the Gospel. I sought to inject a new viewpoint, one based on the Bible, and to open students' eyes to the reality of humanity's fallen condition and our need for redemption and reconciliation. I was met with disciplinary action from school authorities. While I'm glad that Bellarmine is strict in punishing wrongdoing, punishing someone who is speaking truth is another matter. (I'm glad Yelp allows for free speech). I'm also glad I "only" had to endure the spiritual battle for only one year (I became a Christian my senior year when an outside friend shared the Gospel with me). Some others I know were not so "lucky" and consider themselves scarred by Bellarmine. My purpose isn't to denigrate Bellarmine-the nonreligious or religiously nonreligious can promptly ignore what I've said and send their kids to a great education-but instead to raise a little awareness of the thoroughly humanistic worldview permeating almost every aspect of the school, so that Christian parents reading yelp can make a better and more informed judgment about (sending their children to) the school. read more

Went here for a year, LOVED IT only thing that sucks was the bible class...boring shit read more

So, so proud to have been a Bell! Go Bells! I enjoyed the passion the teachers had and the dedication some of them had for Social Justice, especially Mr. Lum and Mr. Romero and others. Go Bells! read more

Bellarmine was a great educational experience for me. Yeah, you get all the lame homosexual jokes or everyone thinks your a snob, but you're there to learn. I remember my senior year doing a 10-12 page research paper. I was sitting in the Santa Clara Library going over my papers when we saw some of our friends that went to the local public high school. They were doing a group book report with poster board and everything, just like we did in middle school. I thought to myself, "What the h*ll! I should have went there!" Bellarmine was hard to me. I wasn't the best student to begin with and didn't enjoy many of the classes I had to take. I remember I averaged a "B" but was in the lower 2/3rds of my class too (that sucked having to put that on my college applications). It prepared me well for college though. I'm not catholic also and never felt pressured to do anything I didn't want to. It was a great education, I did struggle, yet I had fun. Still think it's funny that those guys had a band called "Adam Has Crabs" and they were able to wear them to school back then and not get JUG. Go Bells! read more

I lack the vocabulary without using profanity to sharing my disdain for Bellarmine. A huge regret that I did not protest much more against my parents for sending me here. Yes, I did graduate. Yes, I am fairly successful but that is despite of Bellarmine, not because of them. I cannot help how much further along I would be in life if I had gone to a more traditional school. A school where there is a sense of community and have social life that is along the same social strata as my own family. I am not Catholic and I feel that they were prejudiced against me for it. Also, Bernie Ward, the disgraced talk show radio host due to his predilection for child porn, taught there at one point. He as crazy a leftist as they come, on par with Stalin or Mao Zedong. There were also many leftist policies being forced upon the students. In the end, brainwashing a captive audience to a teachers line of thinking is something I would call "mental molestation." It may not be illegal, but should be along with physical molestation. read more

Young men need as much guidance a possible during their teenage years and Bellarmine has proven to do a great job decade after decade. I would not have gotten accepted to and graduated from West Point if I did not attend Bellarmine, period. read more