Grove City College

Date: May 03 2005
Major: History/Histories (art history/etc.) (This Major's Salary over time)
Overall, my experience at Grove City College has been positive, though not perfect. The academic work is usually challenging and relevant, although there is the occasional busy work assignment or mind-numblingly dull/irrelevant class. The Humanities Core Classes required of all students tend to be watered-down ConservaChristian value speeches. It's not hard to do well in them, so long as one remembers to parrot the party line. These classes aren't really about intellectual stimulation: they're about Grove City's image and making sure the alumni dollars keep flowing. It's the other humanities/liberal arts classes that will stimulate and teach.

Most professors are more open-minded than some students like to give them credit for. While most end up coming down on the Grove City College Party Line, most are also able to be respectful and engaging when challenged, and provide a strong defense for a particular point of view (even one that is not their own). Professors also will occasionally challenge the Party Line itself, which upsets those not already upset by the consensus GCC viewpoint.

The student body is known for being undiverse, and this is mostly true. Just about every student is a middle class white kid, and carry the typical presuppositions/worldviews/angsty naivete of any other. This is magnified for many students because they've been sheltered in the evangelical Christian subculture their whole lives. There is this naivete about many students, and this is certainly not limited to the classic "Grover" group, either: many of the proudly non-Grovers are just as clueless as those they mock. Nonetheless, students in the two groups both tend to be extraordinarily arrogant about their beliefs, but safety can be found in the middle ground of students who don't really care so much about being "cool" in either a Christian or non-Christian way. Either group tends to be very close-minded about nonmembers, while decrying the intolerance of the others. In essence, human society as usual.

Complaining about the rules or the weather is cliche by now. The rules are generally made clear before applying, and it's not that difficult to find them out ahead of time anyway. And nobody is forced to come to GCC: arguments about "unfair", "fascist" and whatnot go out the window when one voluntarily signs the acceptance form. While the rules are much stricter than your average state school, GCC is also a lot safer than your average state school and fosters a much quieter, calmer atmosphere for those of us that care about academics. For the vast majority of students, the rules never rise above being a mere annoyance. Most students are from western and central Pennsylvania: Grove City weather really isn't any different than most of the state, despite what you may hear. About a month of warmish sunny weather at either end of a long, cold, windy, snowy winter. Whatever is so strange about this is beyond me.