Heavy academic focus on college preparatory courses prepares cadets at Riverside, Benedictine and GMC to attend a military service academy or other accredited post-secondary institution. According to Riverside, 71 of the 74 cadets who graduated in 2010 went on to college; the remaining three entered the military directly. Each of the three schools offers honors programs in English, mathematics, science and some foreign languages. Intensive after-school tutoring is also available at each institution.
Benedictine, Riverside and GMC all have basketball, baseball, football, and track and field teams. GMC has an official cheerleading squad, and softball and soccer teams for females. Benedictine and Riverside feature wrestling, cross-country and lacrosse. Only Riverside has a riflery team. Each school has several academic clubs available for student participation, including chess and drama clubs.
Each school has ROTC programs for cadet participation. Cadets learn military customs and courtesies, military tradition, and leadership skills through the ROTC programs that are generally led by military service members. Outside the ROTC programs, cadets are expected to hold themselves and each other to high standards of performance, honor and duty. Military-style accountability formations are held several times each day. Respect for leaders is mandatory. Cadets also conduct physical training daily to prepare them for the rigors of military service.
Tuition at each of these institutions varies by year. Room and board is generally not included with tuition. The 2010-11 tuition rate for cadets at GMC was $4,250 per semester, and room and board was an additional $2,050. At Riverside, annual tuition for the 2010-11 school year was $27,500 for boarding students and $16,500 for day-only students. Both boarding and day-only students were assessed a $2,050 uniform fee for the year. Non-Catholic students at Benedictine paid $10,172 for the 2010-11 school year, while Catholic students were admitted for $9,680. Book and uniform fees at Benedictine range from $400 to $600.