Lowell High School

Lowell is an excellent high school with great peers and school environment. If your child comes home and tells you that he loves Lowell, he will be happy in college because: 1) Lowell is the right school for your child and he has the skills to adapt to a vigorous academic environment and 2) your child appreciates what Lowell offers (even though Lowell could use some improvements). I have one child who graduated from Lowell and has a great freshmen experience in college and a younger one is still at Lowell. They both enjoyed Lowell even though they have totally different personalities and interests. Be realistic about Lowell. If you are a middle student and considering Lowell, keep in mind that at least top 10% of your peers will be Ivy, Cal, and UCLA bound, at least 10 of them may never get a B in high school. I strongly recommend taking a tour after your admission to Lowell. To see what Lowell is like outside the classrooms, you definitely don't want to miss its Talent Show in May, school musical and play during the year. Lowell has a great tennis team this year. No matter what your child's interests are, there is something for him to enjoy at Lowell. Good luck and enjoy HS.
—Submitted by a parent

Lowell is a very large school in terms of resources, with many ap classes, a good mix of bad and good teachers and lots of clubs. The counseling department is to say the least disappointing. In fact don't ever expect to be able to even see your counselor or ask them for advice (they're just to overloaded). This school lacks guidance but is a good environment for SELF-motivated kid. A lot of peer pressure to take weighted classes and generally the Arena system will pretty much guarantee you a year of good teachers (if you chose wisely) and a to a half a year of the worst ones. On a side note the building is very old and the bathrooms are terrible. Oh and don't expect racial diversity either.
—Submitted by a student

My son, a freshman, loves Lowell. He was worried about navigating such a big school but figured things out quickly. They have an outstanding offering of after-school clubs and extracurriculars. Really nice student body. His, and my, biggest complaints are that although there are some outstanding teachers, there are many that just coast or are not good at all. Given Lowell's reputation, we expected a high teacher quality. And while the high expectations does push kids to achieve, there is far too much attention given to GPAs, testing, etc, and less on actually learning something interesting. (Like another person who posted on Lowell, I've heard about wide-spread cheating as well.) These criticisms aside, very happy with the school. Oh, and outstanding, responsive principal!
—Submitted by a parent

This is one of the few best public schools in San Francisco. Most students that go to this school get admitted and go straight into UC Berkeley. Most of the students graduate from high school. The school is a huge campus with many classrooms. The school is mainly made up of Chinese American and Asian American students. The school is close to San Francisco State University. Every spring, the annual Chinese speech competition, from toddlers to college-aged students take place. Of course everyone is put in the right categories of school age and age.

great school. I would recommend to anyone who is considering attending and/or can get in...

A year after graduating from this great, although challenging high school, I can honestly say that if nothing else, Lowell prepares its students very well for a college workload. I've yet to hear of any of my graduating class severely struggle with the work at their colleges, regardless of what institution they are attending. Studying through 3-5 AP classes a semester will gear most students for college education. True, Lowell is not for everyone - the work can range from 2-5 hours a night, depending on the student and the classes. The environment is competitive, but there are perhaps more opportunities here than any other school in the city, partially due to Lowell's size as well as the enthusiasm of the students. Would strongly recommend for all students with a more competitive nature and a drive to do well; the caveat is that with most public schools, there is no "cushion", kids must learn to stand up on their own.
—Submitted by a student

I think Lowell is great,there's a lot of opportunities,there's a lot of people who complain about the homework,but you just need to have good time management and not procrastinate.Lowell has a lot of school activities.Everybody is pretty nice,except some teachers.Lowell was actually better than i expected.
—Submitted by a student

Yes, it is true that Lowell has many faults, including some very terrible teachers. However, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. For those who complain about homework load, classes are individually chosen and AP courses are definitely not required. The only students with 4-7 hours of homework a night are taking more than 3 college level courses. Lowell offers so many opportunities for students to learn life skills, meet new people, and excel academically and socially. If you manage your time well, it is easy to join new clubs and try out for sports teams while managing a part-time job and great SAT scores. Lowell is by far the best public school in the city academically and opportunity wise. Go Cardinals!
—Submitted by a student

Lowell is just a school filled with a bunch of smart alecs who think they're all that because they're in Lowell. It's most definitely not the best school in San Francisco, The Bay Area, or California.
—Submitted by a student

My eldest daughter is a sophomore at Lowell and is doing quite well. All though she is not at the top of all of her classes, she still has a real sense of accomplishment and pride at succeeding with her often advanced curriculum. She also feels confident that she s being well prepared for college and really looks forward to going. Lastly, although Lowell has a reputation of being hypercompetitive and antisocial the kids are just kids. After the first month it just seems, well, normal. Still, Lowell is not for every student (due to the high demands) and some classes are just not that great, as other posters have mentioned nothings perfect. If your San Francisco student is academically oriented, and you get the Lowell invitation letter in the mail, please follow up and don't be intimidated by rumor!
—Submitted by a parent

Like every school, Lowell has its share of professional, principled, enthusiastic teachers. But recently, there's been a "disconnect" between teachers and students, as seen in the poor morale of the students, widespread cheating, their grades, and STAR scores. In particular, I'm referring to my two daughters' Algebra and Biology classes. Look up Lowell's recent test scores by grade level and subject-It's on the Calif. Dept of Educ. website. The more parents I speak with, the more I realize that they are sending their children for private, expensive, TUTORING to compensate for incompetent or unfair teachers. Keep that in mind when comparing STAR results! -L.Lee
—Submitted by a parent

Lowell is the best high school in Northern California, public or private. There is a lot of misinformation from the haters. It is hard, but college is much easier and no shock. Also, they send 100 kids a year to Cal, 30 to Stanford, 50 to the Ivy League and over 300 to the UC System, out of 660. Also, you'll get respect in college if you go to Lowell, because it's public. If you go to a private school, people will say you just got into Cal or whatever college because your parents are rich and you're priveleged. From Lowell, they'll say you earned it, and you will have. Lowell has higher SAT averages than any private or public school in SF. The teachers are probably just slightly better than average, but all the students are good, they've had 1 pregnancy in the past 30 years and 60% are girls.
—Submitted by a parent

I didn't want my child to go to Lowell, and was willing to pay for private school. Her grades were such she could go anywhere...with 700 kids in a class how will she stand out when applying to colleges? Plus I felt that many colleges would pass her by because she wouldn't add to their diversity ranks. She fought us on the decision and won out with Lowell. Well, #1 reason for happiness is my daughter just thrived at LHS. #2 she got into the college of her choice, an Ivy. Lowell is not just a feeder for UC's though many kids go. We conveniently live in the neighborhood and I am surprised about how respectful they are. Socially, there is not a drinking culture, like at some schools! Most teachers have been really great. English, History, Drama, and French have been superb.
—Submitted by a parent

it's a great school, with caring teachers and a community with a variety of students.
—Submitted by a student

i think this is a very nice school with many oppertunities for the students there,and a great future.

As a current junior, I just want to address a few errors that a few of the reviews have. 1) Freshman year is probably the least stressful year at Lowell for most students because most of the freshman classes are not at the honors/AP level yet. When considering Lowell as a school for your child, do think about the first year, when your child will adjust to the new environment, but absolutely consider the challenging years following the first year. If you know that your child will want to compete with the most diligent kids in his/her class by taking loads of honors/AP courses later on, then of course, the years ahead after freshman year will become much more stressful. It is all about time management. 2) AP Human Geography is not a class that is offered at Lowell, but students are more than welcomed to take the exam in May.
—Submitted by a student

Lowell is a pretty okay school. It isn't fantastic like everyone says it is.The classes I don't enjoy much but the people are amazing!
—Submitted by a student

Nowhere else in the Bay Area can you go to a school that offers so much. I am a frreshman, and they're offering AP Human Geography to us. Sure, the expectations are high, but, honestly, parents lie about the amount of homework we get at Lowell. It is not 4-6 hours a day, it's definitely more like 2-3 hours, and if you're efficient, 1. I, for one, am juggling extra curriculars, a job, and homework and am still getting 7 hours of sleep a night. Send your child here if they actually want to part in their education and get the most out of high school.
—Submitted by a student

Sure, Lowell is a great school with an amazing academic record and stands as the supreme in sports, but it is not total utopia as others think. Every night, the average student gets 3-7 hours of sleep, with 4-6 hours of homework a night. You must make sure that you or your child really wants this lifestyle...it can be extremely stressful..not mentioning the major drops of GPA possible compared to middle school GPA.
—Submitted by a student

Great teachers, great parent community, great students! My daughter is really enjoying her freshman year!
—Submitted by a parent