Located in Fresh Meadows, Queens, St. Francis Prep is the largest Catholic High School in the United States. Anyone who has attended St. Francis Prep knows that it is far more than just a high school. Rather, it is a place where you make lifelong friends, create great memories, and prepare yourself for the next chapter of your life. After all, "High School is four years, the Prep is forever."
Here are 35 signs you went to St. Francis Prep:
1. You know the prayer of St. Francis by heart.
2. Your favorite thing to get from the cafeteria was David’s Cookies.
And they were even better when they were warm!
3. You never walked faster than when you had to get from the very end of East Bottom to West Top or even West Top-Top.
4. You still remember the acronyms for the schedule.
5. Chances are members of your family or your friends’ families graduated from Prep.
6. And you may have even had the same teachers!
7. If that’s the case, all you’ll hear is “I taught your mother (or another relative) in ‘84’” (or whatever year your family member graduated) for the rest of the year.
8. Having first free or last free with your friends meant a trip to Blue Bay.
9. International Night was always looked forward to and you loved sampling all of the food!
10. The Terrier Cup was taken very seriously and you still remember your team’s victory or lack thereof.
11. You’ve been to Camp Alvernia at least once and loved the time you spent there!
12. Your Cor became your family after four years, even though you only saw them for 10 minutes a day.
13. You still know the fight song or a least the melody to it.
14. You had a love-hate relationship with H period.
It was great because you’d have frees during the day, but you hated getting up earlier.
15. You still remember the sophomore dance, did it at every Sweet 16 you went to, and still do it every time you hear Montell Jordan’s “This is How We Do It."
16. And you can’t forget square dancing or the freshman mile.
17. Even though you went to the largest Catholic High School in the United States, you never felt like the school was too big.
18. Because your teachers knew you by name and you knew almost all of your classmates.
19. Pep rallies were an all day affair.
20. Nothing was better than when you had an abbreviated schedule because of the Walk-a-Thon or Mass.
21. You probably took the Q76 home and rushed out of school to try to get a seat.
22. You’re still not sure if it is “Prep” or “the Prep,” but you usually stick with just “Prep.”
23. So, when people ask you where you went to high school, you automatically respond “Prep” and then you usually have to clarify this because apparently there are other schools with “Prep” in their name.
24. You were always busy volunteering somewhere, even if service wasn’t required.
25. You were always reminded of the famous alumni who graduated Prep such as Joe Torre, Patti Ann Browne, Vince Lombardi, Frank Serpico, and Julie Chen.
26. By the time you graduated, you had enough Prep apparel and red and blue clothing to wear a different shirt for at least a month.
27. Your friends from other schools were jealous that you had a selection of different color polo shirts to choose from, even though you just put on whatever was in front of you in the morning.
28. You went on some pretty cool class trips to places like Philly, Washington DC, Ellis Island and other parts of New York City.
29. Whenever you run into another Prep alumnus, no matter their age, they treat you like their long-lost relative or someone they've known for years.
30. Every time you go back to visit, you feel like you’re back home.
31. This is probably because you spent more time at school than at home over those four years.
32. You created life long memories and made lifelong friends at Prep.
33. And it isn’t surprising to hear that classes still get together over thirty years later to celebrate milestone birthdays or just to catch up.
34. No matter what happens, you know you always have your Prep Family.
35. After all, “High school is four years, the Prep is forever.”
