Gettysburg is almost like a dream. I feel more at home here than I do anywhere else and being on campus makes me smile. I feel really lucky to get to attend this school and am really going to miss it when I graduate.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
In your interview here, the admissions staff isn't trying to trick you. They aren't looking for some phrase that is the password to getting admitted. They want you to be yourself. They want to get to know who you are, so that when they are bringing your application before the entire committee, they have a personality to go with it. So just be you. You don't have to impress anyone. You just need to show them what makes you, you. Are you passionate about your sticker collection? Tell them. Do you have a little business walking all the neighbors dogs? Tell them what you've learned from it, and how it's made you who you are. Just be you. But be proactive as well. They're looking for the best students, the ones who want to go here. Do your research. Learn about your intended major, email professors (and don't be afraid! They love getting email!!) and then be able to talk about how you would contribute, even in some small way, to the school. What you want to do here, what club you want to join, or start, or anything that excites you about Gettysburg.
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
Getting an A at Gburg is tough. It really makes you rethink what a personal achievement is. This may be really tough to hear, especially for those students for whom a 4.0 is everything, but there are many instances where you learn more from a class you got a B- in than any of the high school classes you took where you got an A+. It really challenges you... and I feel like that is more of a take-away than anything else. You're definitely getting your money's worth with these classes. Professors also expect a lot. You really need to step it up in order to succeed.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
Dorms are exactly what you would expect. Some are much nicer than others, but the older dorms have the plus of being 15 seconds from the dining hall and library. You are housed with your first year seminar, which is a group of students who are taking the same, fun, discussion style seminar as you- on any variety of topics from cancer research to modern dance to sports medicine. They are capped at 16 students and taught by a professor who loves what they're teaching- they design the class after all! So you know coming in on the first day that you have something in common with 15 other students on your floor. The upperclassmen dorms are very, very nice, ranging from motel style living to lofted suites or theme houses, where students design a theme and then live in the house together and organize yearly events on the theme they choose.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
Servo, our main dining hall, has been rated in the top 10 campus foods among colleges 7 out go the last 15 years. The food is absolutely phenomenal. All the food is organic and classically prepared by a team of chefs. There are always 7-10 different options including a gluten-free section and a vegetarian and vegan bar, along with a panini press and deli. The Servo staff is very focused on sustainability, avoiding waste where possible. And the Servo cookies are to die for. They are so good that students request them when they are abroad and have them sent to Australia, Denmark, China, Japan, wherever, because they miss them more than their own mother's cooking. Freshmen have unlimited meal plans and upperclassmen have more choices on different plans that are all very reasonable. The other dining halls on campus include a sub line, a sushi and salad bar and a smoothie bar, all of which are awesome.
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
Gettysburg may be in the middle of nowhere, but the nights are always packed with activities. The fraternities are always open on the weekends, but the Attic, our campus hangout always has dances and games and activities. The Junction is a fun place to go too, where they hold coffeehouses and other musical events at night. There are three movie theaters in town, and free transportation to those, along with other events, such as Relay for Life and Up All Night for St. Judes.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
Gburg is pretty pricey. But you get a lot for that money. You can study abroad twice within the cost of your tuition so you don't have to pay more out of pocket, and the college puts on a ton of events and brings in entertainment and speakers and lecturers and makes school a great time. You are definitely going to enjoy what you pay for.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
Gburg is HUGE on tradition. My favorite is Servo Thanksgiving, where the professors and administration serve a full thanksgiving dinner to you and ten of your friends- full turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, bread rolls, pumpkin pie, you name it. The whole campus shows up for it, its absolutely phenomenal. Convocation is pretty cool. On the first day of Orientation, you have a big ceremony where you are officially welcomed to Gettysburg College by all the professors, the President, the Deans of Admission, Student Life, Residence Life, etc... and you walk through the main campus building, Pennsylvania Hall, through a line of professors who are clapping and cheering and down through the other side where your parents are waiting to greet you. After this the steps of Penn Hall are roped off, and you don't walk on them again until graduation, where you repeat the ceremony, but you walk from the other side and end up where you started four years earlier. Its a really touching tradition.
The town is blocked off for you too, three days after your welcome to the school, and the entire first year class walks through the town at dusk to the national cemetery, where the Gettysburg Address is read. All the townspeople and upperclassmen are cheering for you the whole way. Again, an awesome experience.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
If you're prepared to work really, really, really hard, this is the place for you. There is an air of familiarity between the students and professors because they work well together and everyone loves what they do. History majors, this is the place for you! You're surrounded by battlefields. What more could you want?! Science majors, we have a brand-new Science Center. It's gorgeous. I live there. All the labs are small, and you get so much hands on experience you wouldn't get elsewhere. In chemistry you get your own fume hood and your own drawer of materials for the year, no sharing. In genetics, you perform an independent project with fruit flies where you mate them and track patterns of inheritance- research that only Gettysburg College is doing. If you want a small class size and the ability to talk to your professors whenever you want and have them know you by name, this is the place for you.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
Gettysburg has a MASSIVE amount of clubs and activities going on at any time. A club fair is held at the beginning of every year so that everyone can see what is offered. We have an equestrian team, a fencing club, a rugby club, along with many intermurals and varsity sports. There are pre-med and pre-vet clubs, history clubs, science clubs, ROTC, dance ensembles, a cappella groups, musical ensembles, you name it, we've probably got it, and if we don't you can create one.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
Greek life is big on campus. We have 11 fraternities and 5 sororities. The sororities do not have houses although the fraternities do, although many of the sisters live together anyway. You rush your sophomore year, to give you time to get to know the school before you make any decision to join or stay independent. The parties are open to everyone and it makes an impression on campus, although it is not exclusive. The Greeks and independents get along and help out with one another's activities really nicely. Its a good mix on campus.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
DPS, our Department of Public Safety, is here 24/7 to keep us safe. The campus is a very safe place to be, personally I've never felt uncomfortable walking from the library to my dorm. But if you do feel uncomfortable, you can call them and they will come and pick you up or escort you home. The campus also is equipped with Blue lights.
Gettysburg is almost like a dream. I feel more at home here than I do anywhere else and being on campus makes me smile. I feel really lucky to get to attend this school and am really going to miss it when I graduate.
In your interview here, the admissions staff isn't trying to trick you. They aren't looking for some phrase that is the password to getting admitted. They want you to be yourself. They want to get to know who you are, so that when they are bringing your application before the entire committee, they have a personality to go with it. So just be you. You don't have to impress anyone. You just need to show them what makes you, you. Are you passionate about your sticker collection? Tell them. Do you have a little business walking all the neighbors dogs? Tell them what you've learned from it, and how it's made you who you are. Just be you. But be proactive as well. They're looking for the best students, the ones who want to go here. Do your research. Learn about your intended major, email professors (and don't be afraid! They love getting email!!) and then be able to talk about how you would contribute, even in some small way, to the school. What you want to do here, what club you want to join, or start, or anything that excites you about Gettysburg.
Getting an A at Gburg is tough. It really makes you rethink what a personal achievement is. This may be really tough to hear, especially for those students for whom a 4.0 is everything, but there are many instances where you learn more from a class you got a B- in than any of the high school classes you took where you got an A+. It really challenges you... and I feel like that is more of a take-away than anything else. You're definitely getting your money's worth with these classes. Professors also expect a lot. You really need to step it up in order to succeed.
Dorms are exactly what you would expect. Some are much nicer than others, but the older dorms have the plus of being 15 seconds from the dining hall and library. You are housed with your first year seminar, which is a group of students who are taking the same, fun, discussion style seminar as you- on any variety of topics from cancer research to modern dance to sports medicine. They are capped at 16 students and taught by a professor who loves what they're teaching- they design the class after all! So you know coming in on the first day that you have something in common with 15 other students on your floor. The upperclassmen dorms are very, very nice, ranging from motel style living to lofted suites or theme houses, where students design a theme and then live in the house together and organize yearly events on the theme they choose.
Servo, our main dining hall, has been rated in the top 10 campus foods among colleges 7 out go the last 15 years. The food is absolutely phenomenal. All the food is organic and classically prepared by a team of chefs. There are always 7-10 different options including a gluten-free section and a vegetarian and vegan bar, along with a panini press and deli. The Servo staff is very focused on sustainability, avoiding waste where possible. And the Servo cookies are to die for. They are so good that students request them when they are abroad and have them sent to Australia, Denmark, China, Japan, wherever, because they miss them more than their own mother's cooking. Freshmen have unlimited meal plans and upperclassmen have more choices on different plans that are all very reasonable. The other dining halls on campus include a sub line, a sushi and salad bar and a smoothie bar, all of which are awesome.
Gettysburg may be in the middle of nowhere, but the nights are always packed with activities. The fraternities are always open on the weekends, but the Attic, our campus hangout always has dances and games and activities. The Junction is a fun place to go too, where they hold coffeehouses and other musical events at night. There are three movie theaters in town, and free transportation to those, along with other events, such as Relay for Life and Up All Night for St. Judes.
Gburg is pretty pricey. But you get a lot for that money. You can study abroad twice within the cost of your tuition so you don't have to pay more out of pocket, and the college puts on a ton of events and brings in entertainment and speakers and lecturers and makes school a great time. You are definitely going to enjoy what you pay for.
Gburg is HUGE on tradition. My favorite is Servo Thanksgiving, where the professors and administration serve a full thanksgiving dinner to you and ten of your friends- full turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, bread rolls, pumpkin pie, you name it. The whole campus shows up for it, its absolutely phenomenal. Convocation is pretty cool. On the first day of Orientation, you have a big ceremony where you are officially welcomed to Gettysburg College by all the professors, the President, the Deans of Admission, Student Life, Residence Life, etc... and you walk through the main campus building, Pennsylvania Hall, through a line of professors who are clapping and cheering and down through the other side where your parents are waiting to greet you. After this the steps of Penn Hall are roped off, and you don't walk on them again until graduation, where you repeat the ceremony, but you walk from the other side and end up where you started four years earlier. Its a really touching tradition. The town is blocked off for you too, three days after your welcome to the school, and the entire first year class walks through the town at dusk to the national cemetery, where the Gettysburg Address is read. All the townspeople and upperclassmen are cheering for you the whole way. Again, an awesome experience.
If you're prepared to work really, really, really hard, this is the place for you. There is an air of familiarity between the students and professors because they work well together and everyone loves what they do. History majors, this is the place for you! You're surrounded by battlefields. What more could you want?! Science majors, we have a brand-new Science Center. It's gorgeous. I live there. All the labs are small, and you get so much hands on experience you wouldn't get elsewhere. In chemistry you get your own fume hood and your own drawer of materials for the year, no sharing. In genetics, you perform an independent project with fruit flies where you mate them and track patterns of inheritance- research that only Gettysburg College is doing. If you want a small class size and the ability to talk to your professors whenever you want and have them know you by name, this is the place for you.
Gettysburg has a MASSIVE amount of clubs and activities going on at any time. A club fair is held at the beginning of every year so that everyone can see what is offered. We have an equestrian team, a fencing club, a rugby club, along with many intermurals and varsity sports. There are pre-med and pre-vet clubs, history clubs, science clubs, ROTC, dance ensembles, a cappella groups, musical ensembles, you name it, we've probably got it, and if we don't you can create one.
Greek life is big on campus. We have 11 fraternities and 5 sororities. The sororities do not have houses although the fraternities do, although many of the sisters live together anyway. You rush your sophomore year, to give you time to get to know the school before you make any decision to join or stay independent. The parties are open to everyone and it makes an impression on campus, although it is not exclusive. The Greeks and independents get along and help out with one another's activities really nicely. Its a good mix on campus.
DPS, our Department of Public Safety, is here 24/7 to keep us safe. The campus is a very safe place to be, personally I've never felt uncomfortable walking from the library to my dorm. But if you do feel uncomfortable, you can call them and they will come and pick you up or escort you home. The campus also is equipped with Blue lights.