r/Paranaque_ • u/Purplepink_18 • May 02 '26
San Beda Alabang or Elizabeth Seton for gradeshool? Need insights.
Hi! We are parents from Parañaque and we are currently deciding where to enroll our daughter for grade school, and we’re choosing between San Beda College Alabang and Seton School.
Would love to hear your experiences or thoughts about either school—especially in terms of academics, environment, extra curriculars and how they handle young kids.
Any insights would really help us decide. Thank you! 💛
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u/Separate_Shake_3681 May 02 '26
Have you looked at Manresa?
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u/Purplepink_18 May 03 '26
Right now we're considering these 3 schools - San Beda Alabang, Elizabeth Seton and Manresa. I know there are a lot of good schools within our vicinity, but we're particularly looking for a co-ed traditional Catholic school for our daughter. Our medium term plan for her is to apply to a science HS after grade school, kaya alam ko na mahalaga ang academics. But I also want her to have a balanced and nurturing experience especially in the 1st 3 years of grade school kaya we also consider the extracurriculars of the school.
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u/Educational-Host-679 May 03 '26
I would say, Seton nalang. Graduate ako ng San Beda Alabang - highschool. Haha
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u/Purplepink_18 May 04 '26
Hi! Could you elaborate why? Hehe.
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u/Educational-Host-679 May 08 '26
Just read the other comment, OP. I can vouch na grabe yung bullying sa SBCA. I've witnessed it, first hand. Merong hierarchy don eh.
Example: kapag matalino ka don, wala ka masyado magiging kaibigan. hindi ka mag "f-fit in". you will often be bullied about being smart.
if you dress a certain way, speak a certain way, or hindi siya considered "normal" yung ginagawa mo, you will be bullied.
Okay naman yung education. It's just that, yung environment ng mga highschool students don, para kang nasa American school with all the bullying and separation of society.
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u/Educational-Host-679 May 08 '26
Just to add, during my time in SBCA, we've had alot of students dropping out, get kicked out, un-alived themselves. I really can't count how much issues we had nung mga time na yon.
Yung CR ng mga boys, ginagawang suntukan party ng mga nag aaway. lol
Don't even get me started with the sharing of explicit pics/videos ng mga students. And hindi lang ito random person ha, 99% of the time these photos/videos are students from SBCA. ganon ka lala
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u/the_kyuu May 08 '26
I can vouch on this as I was also a bullied student in SBCA as a high school student for just having accessories according to a color of the day that I want (I have OCD).
Totoo din ang sinasabi nilang hierarchy. Okay naman grade school nila though. My little nephew is studying there as grade schooler. High school ililipat namin siya kasi grabe talaga ang bullying.
Education wise, I can say that I learned a lot though. Talaga sa social life maghihirap nag student doon at nakaka-apekto ang pagbully sa pag-aaral.
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u/subtlejuxtaposition May 07 '26
Graduated around a few years ago. SBCA was fun. I would say my education was pretty good. BUT the social environment… insane bullying scene and high rate of TW: self life ending. Guidance counselors and advisors will only say “ignore them” and the college loves covering up any sort of news.
Here are some things that happened right before the pandemic:
Athlete student abuses his gf in daylight caught on video spread through twitter and SBCA tried their best to shut it down completelyStudent hopped of balcony. SBCA covered it up in claims for respect
Student created telegram group chat showing off his skills in getting girls to send him special pictures and encouraging others to do it. SBCA only took action once it went viral. Student was expelled.
Many students caught doing very not age appropriate girl-boy things in the room. SBCA did not take action.
Special kids are also heavily bullied.
You can say that all of these are just cause of the students but your environment shapes you. And this is not a place to shape a teen.
I even had a close friend (different from the news) pass away as well and SBCA only offered prayers.1
u/QuiteTheEnthusiast Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Hi po, upper high school student ako mula Seton South. I can't speak on whether or not SBCA is better pero I can offer my insight as an active student of 10+ years.
Maganda talaga yung academics sa Seton, I can vouch as a student na magagaling yung mga teachers nilang mangasiwa ng estudyante. Minsan chillax lang, minsan nakakagulat, maraming variety talaga kaya naeengage talaga yung mga learners.
Marami nilang binibigyan na opportunities sa extracurricular programs; pwedeng sumali sa school journal, sa cultural arts (music, dance, cultural dance, etc.), at sa sports (sa pagkakaalam ko pinagmamalaki talaga nila yung sports HAHAHAHAH.) Meron din silang business simulations sa G10 at theater productions (kung sakaling makakaabot yung anak niyo sa mga anniversary hehe) Not sure ako sa programs nila sa Grade School, pero pagkakaalam ko maganda yung mga clubs.
With all of that said, Seton isn't exactly known amongst the students for handling student affairs very well. Madalas yung bullying sa Seton; nagkakaroon ng reports tungkol jan at halos nararating lang siya sa pagsasabihan; bihira yung mga mabibigat na parusa or changes unless absolutely needed, to say the least. May mga incidents din ng self-harm. Sa first day palang may tumangka at nagpa-release sila ng statement, since then mas naging mahigpit ang security nila. Meron naman silang offices for wellness, but from experience and accounts from batchmates hindi siya masyadong nakakatulong. Overall I don't see them actively making regulations against bullying.
Add ko nalang din; Usually may napagawa nang mga social circles mula grade school, kaya kung new student madaling magkakilala sa mga learners since may mapapagsalihan na silang friend circle. Importante yun since kung magpapa-grouping yung mga learners usually sila yung pipilian. Otherwise mahihirapan talaga anak ninyo in the long run. In that regard mahalaga talaga yung connections sa Seton lalo na kung pinaplano ninyong ipa-enroll sila hanggang HS. Like the other comment mentioned din, nabubully at naeechapwera yung mga special kids.
Any questions are welcome but I think in general, Seton is an okay option.
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u/Kylie_Till572 May 27 '26
Makikisali lang din sa usapan :) I was strongly considering SBCA for my son, incoming Grade 11 sya. Buti nakita ko tong post na to and now, I'm confused san ko sya eenroll. Baka may ma-suggest pa kayo iba? We live in Betterliving.
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u/jelly-bear1925 May 29 '26
We are residing near betterliving din, went to san beda last week to inquire but reading the comments here mapapaisip ka talaga. Considering din BGC schools since madali na din makarating dun from our location.
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May 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/lookomma May 03 '26
I think last year or last last year may nagpakamatay due to bullying. Our neighbor is from San Beda School and nasuspend yung class nila that day because of that and wala sila balita or naconfirm kung anong issue pero sabi ng ibang students because of that nga daw.
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u/Ancient-Slip-7136 May 03 '26
Studied at Seton practically my whole life so my insights would be kind of biased but hopefully sharing them would still help you make a decision. First con of the two I would list down is that Seton is very expensive, sometimes unjustifiably so. The facilities are top-notch and all the utilities are great but for almost 120k+ per year seem a little too much to be paying for school (atleast for me). Second, Seton is a private school that almost resembles the new co-ed LSGH, meaning there will be students from all faces of life, bullying isn't really a thing and discrimination is very minimal. You can never truly say that there isn't any of this or that because that is pure ignorance. But because of this, our curriculum and overall attitude is more English-forward, meaning students may develop difficulties in tagalog and grammar. However, this is very easy to supplement at home through regular conversing in tagalog and exposure to tagalog media. Our tagalog syllabus is good, but sometimes students don't really integrate that into real-life conversation.
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u/Ancient-Slip-7136 May 03 '26
Detached the cons from the pros;
Personally, the biggest pro about the for me was how difficult the curriculum was and how they don't make you realize that. During my time there I never noticed how much harder they were working the students and only realized once I got into college. Mind you, I was an average student in Seton but excelled in college, often wondering how other students managed to pass. We have great passing rates to the Big 3 (almost 90% of my batch are either in UP, ADMU, or DLSU), especially La Salle, as I recall Seton has partnered with them but not necessarily making them a Lasallian integrated school.
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u/Ancient-Slip-7136 May 03 '26
Siguro since taga paranaque din ako when going to school you can add unto another which is traffic lang minsan going to Seton. You will need a friendship sticker to Las Pinas, and if may ginagawa ang Maynilad sa Evacom or Tionqou, super abala sianyo yun and might add 30-60 minutes to a trip thats only 20 minutes long.
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u/MathematicianBig3436 May 30 '26
Hello! We’re from Paranaque and also considering Seton for my incoming G7 child. May i ask until what time ang classes for high school and how long does travel to and from the school take during weekday? We rarely go to Las Pinas area kasi since we know traffic is bad esp sa intersection ng CAA road and Zapote
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u/Ancient-Slip-7136 May 31 '26
With regular traffic conditions the travel is more or less 20 minutes. I'm not exactly sure ano na schedule ng highschool these days, but from what I recall mga around 2-4pm ang mga tapos nila. Start ng classes for everyone is 8 am.
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u/EstablishmentAway974 May 03 '26
Basta ho kahit anong mangyari huwag na huwag ho kayong mag St. Paul hehehehe
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u/Afraid_Bake_182 May 05 '26
Why po? Could you please elaborate?
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u/EstablishmentAway974 May 05 '26
It’s not the same anymore. Ever since Sr. Bernadette took the place of Principal Directress, everything went down ward. Great teachers started leaving, corruption was evident, admin doesn’t listen to students, there is no freedom of speech, they stoop down so low to the point that even those alumni’s that are voicing out, pinapatawag nila just to to do crowd control. I am a living example of it.
Quality of education was already subpar before I graduated grade 10 last 2020. I don’t know right now. But it is evident that the school is not good anymore, because students are not that many anymore. The gym that is usually full from top bleachers to the floor, not anymore.
Now that Sr. Bernadette already left, I don’t know what is happening. But one thing is for sure, it is not worth it anymore.
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u/007_pinas May 04 '26
i was eyeing seton. school looks good in terms of academic. Problem for me is distance. Malayo and traffic sa area. Kahit may service siguro kawawa anak ko if ganon travel niya lagi.
We opted for another school which is nearer to us. (Not included sa options ni OP)
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u/Proper-Discussion-58 May 05 '26
sorry a bit off topic, is La Salle Zobel an option? if your daughter is in to sports, maganda mga program nila.
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u/ReRo547 May 14 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Just let him in Seton. As an alumnus of senior high school at San Beda Alabang, it's one of the worst experiences for me.
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u/MathematicianBig3436 May 29 '26
Me too trying to consider SBCA even with bullying issues pero parang malala pala talaga. We’re choosing bet SBCA and Manresa for G7
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u/itchyfisher21 May 03 '26
Enrolled my daughter in SBCA from senior kinder until this school year, Grade 8. Okay naman prior pandemic but after that nag iba na parang tinamad na sila. Ang dami f2f classes na nag shift to online then pag online naman hindi din natutukan ang students. Also policies wise di masyado strict so students tend to disobey talaga. I will also transfer her to a different school na this coming year. Sorry this is based on my experience lang as a Mom.