My son and I are visiting Grove City college in September. He will be graduating in 2009. He wants to major in business and is interested in music and drama. Will this be a good school for him.
My son will be starting as a freshman in August. He loves it there. It is a special place. We are from Western PA. It has a very strong reputation in the area, and I think those that know about it from around the country also consider it top notch.
Difficult to tell whether a bus major interested in music and drama will find it a good school, and I only say that because my son is not looking at those major's or concentrations. Perhaps someone else could comment further.
My son is not a partier, but likes to have fun. He went to a couple classes last spring, spent some time on campus even before then, and came away knowing that the fit was right for him.
So he is there!! On the other hand my daughter is interested in drama and journalism, and I think she will take a strong look at GC. I just do not know much about the drama dept there. But like I said, it is a special place. My wife and I were MOST impressed with the career placement department, and the friendly, caring atmosphere on campus.
The feeling that I get is that the student profile is academically very strong. Admit rate ~ 40%. Not the easiest school to get in.
As I am sure you are aware Grove City accepts no federal support whatsoever. Won a Supreme Court Case back in 1984(??), to be independent.
Overall, campus is very nice, student population seems bright and friendly, faculty very committed to the welfare of the students.
Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. I am learning more and more about the GCC life as time goes on.
We are from Laguna Beach, Ca. My son is very conservative, not a partier, but likes to have fun as well. Most schools in California are very liberal, so my husband and I have been looking at GC for a while. Seems like a good fit for our son. We may visit this August and have an interview then. Any tips for the interview?
No specific tips, other than be yourself, relax, and if your son is interested in attending make that known.
Laguna Beach Cali to Grove City Penna.....big lifestyle change there I would think. But you guys will get a good feel for fit after a short time. My son didn't really interview per se.
I live about 30 minutes from GC, although my son will reside in the dorms there. If you want to know more info about the area or school feel free to ask me. I'll answer any questions that I can.
Amish horse buggies are just slightly less numerous than the bikini clad skater girls down near the beach at Laguna (or is it Ventura?). I am offering a bit of tongue in cheek here for you, but just to give you a slight feel.
Pit airport less than an hour away. Pittsurgh is a really nice city (my hometown) and is a little over an hour away. Great Lake about 1.25 hours to the north.
What, no bikini clad skater girls at Grove City? I don't know if he will be able to give that up for Amish horse buggies ;-) How are the winters? My son has seen snow only once. We are actually taking him sking for the first time in December. Did you ever find out more about the social life at GC?
Yea there are a few bikini clad skaters....WAY OUTNUMBERED by the buggies.
Based on some of the interaction with the class of 2011 on facebook and some of the discussion forums along with DS meeting up with 3 or 4 kids from down the road an hour or so for an afternoon a week ago, I would have to say that there are probably a lot of things to do, and that the campus atmosphere is pretty friendly. If you are looking for the party scene, I think you'd be able to find it (it is college after all), but activities, clubs, speakers abound.
It is listed as one of the top schools for the fitness of the students, and the athletic activities, clubs, and facillities are very nice.
Relative to the winter.... Your son will get to see much more snow than he has....but in this portion of Western PA we dont get a lot (I lived in the snow belt up North for a while....record snowfalls are upwards of 100 inches in a given winter month...basically snows every day!), but not so in this area. You'll get a week or two of some sub freezing weather maybe sometimes 3 weeks worth, a few scattered snow falls of a few inches or so generally, but the winters are not bad. My son ski's and us living so close we see us driving over and dropping him off a car so he can go up the road for a ski trip or something.
Admittedly, you see FAR FEWER even bikini clad girls during winter!!
Changed my EA. Do you know if GC has a sailing team? My son has been teaching sailing for the past 5 years. It would be nice if he could keep up his sport. If not he thought he might start a sail club. Is there a good lake to sail on? Otherwise, he can continue teaching during his summer break. We've decided to visit at the end of August. Thanks for all of your info!!!
Several really nice lakes in the area for sailing however. Within a half hour there are 2 lakes associated with Pennsylvania State Parks, Lake Arthur (Associated with Moraine State Park), and Lake Wilhelm (Maurice K Goddard State Park).
Pymatuning is about an hour away (Pymatuning State Park). If you are not familiar with Pa State Parks and their associated lakes, they have a 10 hp max engine size and all of these lakes are very conducive to sailing since the cowboys with the big inboards and I/O type ski boats seek their pleasure elsewhere (OK I was always a fisherman hence why I call them cowboys we had a small fishing boat, and back in those days the state lakes had a 6 HP limit). Erie is about 1.5 hours give or take (wouldn't really recommend sailing on it but I guess it depends on the size of your sailboat!!!). Presque Isle Bay (Lake Erie) has a number of sailboats however).
What I do know about GC, and keep in mind we have been looking hard at this place for a while and I continue to learn more and more, is that the college is extremely committed to the students. You could say that every college feels that way, but I have seen it and felt it....If your son wanted to start up a sailing club, I think he would be able to do so. There is an "Outing Club" that I see on the web, perhaps sailing could become an offshoot of that, but by gathering up a handful of fellow sailing enthusiasts, getting a prof to sponsor (Maybe, just guessing, not really sure what it would take to start a club...but getting the prof to sponsor would probably be the easiest thing to do there, the professors are very connected within the school and the community) your son could make it happen.
End of August will have lots of activities on campus I am sure. DS reports to FB Camp on the 13th, Dorms open, and Freshmen orientation starts on the 23rd (you may want to schedule around that), and classes begin on the 27th.
My concern would be that you might get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the start of the year, and not get as much of a personalized experience that we have observed...keep that in mind.
Holy smokes!! You'd think I was a recruiter or an Alum!!! I'm not, back in the stone age when I attended college, I didn't even apply to GCC....They probably wouldn't have accepted me anyway!!!
You would be a great recruiter! Perhaps you should think about changing professions. You certaintly have me curious about GCC. My son is sooo busy during the school year, theater, voice, piano, guitar, dance, sailing, sea scouts, homework... the only time we can visit is the end of August. He will be a junior next year, so he has a year to decide where to apply. Sounds like a lot of sailing opportunities. Thanks again for the info!!! We are also looking at Hillsdale when we are there. Do you know anything about this college?
We are also looking at Hillsdale when we are there. Do you know anything about this college?
Well, now I know how to spell it. Ha ha
Sorry I don't know of Hillsdale. I certainly understand about the busy lifestyle of the young'uns. Good luck to you and your son in your college search!
I go up to Mi on business occasionally, it is similar to PA. Perhaps a little colder and snowier in winter. Lots of activities relative to boating, and fishing.
I know about both GC and Hillsdale. Grove city has about twice as many kids on campus as H.C. but they are similar in type of student and academic program. GCC has no sailing team that I know of, there some of the guys might actually go to the state parks (I suspect to drink, but there's not really much of that at Grove city. Just from the "rebels."). Grove City is also less expensive than Hillsdale, by several thousand dollars.
At both schools, most of the kids are strongly conservative in the political spectrum. At HC, there is a lot of discussion about religion and religious issues - and there is a very strong Catholic element there, with masses on campus (in English and Latin). At Grove City, Catholics, which make up between 35-50% of the student body, are "nervous." At Hillsdale College, I have often felt that there is a more accepting attitude toward religious and especially racial differences.
GCC does enjoy a very good rep in the western PA area, with lots of engineers being hired by local companies. Grove City grads are well trained, completely competent individuals. A huge percentage of them marry in the chapel on campus within 2 years of graduation.
Hillsdale has more of a national rep especially with the distribution of the Imprimus. Also very well trained, classically educated student body. It is about an hour west of Detroit and Toledo, 20 miles north of the western-most exit off the Ohio Turnpike.
Our son is a jr at Hillsdale, and really "couldn't wrap himself around Grove City" but I currently have 2 nieces at GCC, one loves it, the other can't wait to graduate and get the heck out of Grove City. She considers it to be stilted, though rigorous and she can't stand that the kids all get married right away (or that's her perception).
