MOUNT GREENWOOD — Al and Julie Stinites' four children all attend Marist High School — in different grades.
Max Stinites, 18, is wrapping up his final year at the Mount Greenwood school. He's a member of the school's renowned math team and is interested in studying engineering in college.
Nate Stinites, 16, is a junior and also has a spot on the math team beside his brother. Nate Stinites is also in Model UN and is considering a career as an actuary.
Grace Stinites, 15, is a sophomore who runs on the cross country team with her freshman sister, Annie, 14. The two are just one year and one month apart in age.
"It wasn't pretty when they were toddlers," said Julie Stinites, who works as a physical therapist. Her husband, Sgt. Al Stinites, is a spokesman for the Chicago Police Department.
The parents said they "work a lot" to be able to afford the Catholic school's tuition, which is listed at $11,300 annually per student. The family does receive a bit of a financial break through academic scholarships as well as a sibling discount, Al Stinites said.
"We feel like we are getting a lot for our money," said Al Stinites, who lives in Morgan Park. All four of his children also graduated from St. Cajetan Elementary School.
None of the Stinites children said they felt any pressure to attend Marist. Al Stinites graduated from Leo High School in Auburn Gresham and didn't push his sons to follow in his footsteps. Julie Stinites graduated from a public high school in suburban Oak Lawn.
"I shadowed here, and I shadowed a couple of those places, too," said Max Stinites, adding that his eighth-grade visits included a trip to Marist rival Brother Rice High School as well as St. Ignatius College Prep.
Nate Stinites also shadowed at the all-boys Brother Rice before deciding to attend co-ed Marist with his brother. Grace Stinites shadowed at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School before choosing Marist. The final Stinites, Annie, said she was pretty convinced by the time she was ready to go to high school and chose Marist without much browsing.
"You could feel the difference," Grace Stinites said about visiting other schools. "They do make you feel at home here."
Since all of their decisions have been made, Julie Stinites came clean, saying she quietly hoped her children would choose Marist. She added that she once stuffed Marist pencils into their Christmas stockings in an attempt to make a subtle nudge.
The siblings are quite comfortable seeing their brothers or sisters in the hallways. In fact, Max and Nate Stinites are lab partners in chemistry class. And because the Stinites kids are in honors classes, they often have the same teachers.
The siblings also bond over a common affinity for alternative rock music. For Christmas, Max Stinites bought tickets for all of his brother and sisters to attend the Muse concert. They've also gone together to see Imagine Dragons and other indie rock acts.
The Stinites kids wouldn't rule out the possibility of seeing each other on the same college campus someday either. But each of them said they'd make their post-Marist decisions based on their own career goals and personal preference.
As he prepares to graduate, Max Stinites said his top two colleges are Purdue University and the University of Iowa. Nate Stinites said he's also looking at Big Ten schools.
"But I wouldn't go there just because he is going there," Nate Stinites said.
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