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Grove City College

How this student rated the school
Educational QualityA- Faculty AccessibilityB+
Useful SchoolworkB Excess CompetitionB
Academic SuccessB Creativity/ InnovationC
Individual ValueB+ University Resource UseB-
Campus Aesthetics/ BeautyA FriendlinessB+
Campus MaintenanceA- Social LifeD
Surrounding CityD- Extra CurricularsB-
SafetyA
Describes the student body as:
Friendly, Afraid, Closeminded

Describes the faculty as:
Friendly, Helpful, Self Absorbed

Male
SAT1380
Bright
Lowest Rating
Surrounding City
D-
Highest Rating
Campus Aesthetics/ Beauty
A
He cares more about Social Life than the average student.
Date: Nov 19 2009
Major: Computer Science (This Major's Salary over time)
Honestly, the school just isn't for me. If you are one of the following, you will probably hate your time at GCC: liberal or independent, homosexual, non-christian, of a minority. Unfortunately, I am all but one of these, and because of it am afraid to express myself here. If you didn't know, here are some of the rules: no drinking on campus by ANY student, no premarital sex on or OFF campus (like they could regulate that anyways), no pornography (our RA gave us a talk on porn and sex, which I probably wisely skipped), and no having the opposite gender in your room, except at designated times (and you have to leave the door open). Oh, and here's something that they don't mention before you get here, so listen up: students are NOT allowed to play any multiplayer online games. This ranges from console games to PC games to flash games. I didn't know this, and combined with how boring the campus is, it's hard to find anything to do in my free time.

Conservative Christian viewpoints are treated as shared by the whole student body because that's what the school expects. I spend a lot of my time trying to avoid expressing differing opinions out of fear of retaliation, perhaps even violence. The school houses a Conservative think-tank on the third floor of the administrative building, which will often show politically charged movies which I call propaganda but is accepted by everyone else here.

There is probably a quality education to be had here if you can get past all that, especially in the Computer Science department. I found that we prayed before the beginning of class in all but one of my courses (not including the mandatory gym class). While the physics course often begins by asking students to see "God's thumbprint" on the world, religious explanations for the physical world have thankfully been avoided, and having taken the same material in high school I can say that it is a quality program. Computer science is the only class where there is no mention of religion, and since it is a fundamentals class I find it easy. Calculus is a bit of a mixed bag: I understand the material better than in high school, but the teacher often bumbles through board problems and has to be corrected by students.

The humanities course is where I have some of my main complaints. The class is called 'Civilization', but it is more like 'Why Christianity is right and them A-thee-ists are wrong, hurr'. Every other class, the professor will rant against 'intellectuals' (which usually means professors at secular universities) while making faces and noises that resemble a prodded monkey.

The mandatory gym class is easy. If they didn't take attendance I wouldn't have gone. I didn't study and still got an A and B on the exams by using common sense. Oh, and I learned that apparently your 'spiritual health' is an important part of your wellness.

You're required to go to 16 chapels a semester. Thankfully, many of these are musical events or presentations on mission trips. I only got one where the speaker ranted on

them homosexuals and secularists, arrrgh

The campus itself is very nice, but there's not much to do here. There's a rec room that's usually empty other than people studying, and a gym that has various nets set up, but unless intermurals are on at that time, it's usually empty. The football team went .500, but lost 3 of 5 home games, and there were more townspeople there than students by a factor of about 10:1. Speaking of the surrounding town, there really isn't one. There is a street lined with stores, but most are for insurance and stuff like that. There is a one screen movie theater and some restaurants, but not much else.

If I didn't have a few good friends online, I would have gone insane here. I'm probably not coming back from spring semester, and will apply to a bigger state school for next fall. However, if you fit in with the GCC mold, you'll probably find a good education here.

Responses
I am not trying to degrade the school in anyway. However, as a graduate, I have been outcompeted for many job opportunites and programs by students from other universities who have not experienced the same academic rigors. Please be warned: expect to work harder and get worse grades than your public school counterparts. Moreover, after you finish college, your grades will follow you and hinder many job and vocational programs. While the school provides an exceptional education, if you are attempting to attend graduate programs/ vocational training outside of the PA bubble, you will be outcompeted by students who have higher grades and less knowledge in their respective fields. I worked hard and graduated with a 3.2 in molecular biology, and I have found it impossible to apply to west coast medical schools (even with a good MCAT). Please take all this into consideration, or you may make the same mistake I did.
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