Author: wishingjc1

One thing Grove City College is known for is its rigorous academics; and along with a high-end education comes many, many hours of studying. It can be easy to get burned out if you are not careful to split up your studying in manageable chunks. Thankfully, though, there are many different ways to study at Grove City, which helps to keep things from getting boring.

Of course, one way to keep things fresh is by using different study habits. This can look like studying on your own or in groups, taking hand-written notes or using digital note-taking software (like OneNote), making flashcards, or reviewing homework assignments. Using different creative study methods is a great way to get through the grunt work of studying for tests or preparing for projects.

Another way to keep things from getting too stale is by switching up where you study, and there are so many places students can study on campus. Different locations can also be good for different study methods. Here is a list of some of the many places students can utilize on campus:

Dorm room: If you are able to work things out with your roommate, your dorm can be a great place to study on your own. Depending on the noise level on your hall or outside your room, it can be a great place to focus. Also, if you keep all your books at your desk, you have all your necessary study materials right at your fingertips.

Henry Buhl Library: This is another great place to study as you can get almost any book you could need. The library is currently undergoing a massive renovation, and by the beginning of next fall, it will have rooms for group work and quiet spaces for individual work, as well as a café if you need a pick-me-up.

The Student Union: As this is an area with more commotion, this is the perfect place to get work done while chatting with friends and running into people as they go about their day. One of the three main cafeterias is here, so if you are studying during meal hours, you can use a meal swipe to get some food for your study session, or you can purchase other food and beverage items from their retail menu if they are not offering something you are craving at the time being.

While these are only three of the main study locations on campus, there are many other places students can get their work done, and each place has its own unique feel to it.

Living as a student at Grove City College, there is certainly no shortage of campus activities to attend. From sports events, to the performing arts, to guest speakers, it is hard to go a week without seeing advertisements for some sort of event.

One thing that is fun about going to Grove City is the ability to host large, campus-wide events as students. While most of the of events listed above need to be planned by large organizations on campus, there are still many other large events on campus that students get together to organize and facilitate. Some of these, to name a few, are campus-wide dances, cookouts, and game nights.

This year, I got the chance to help my fraternity organize a campus-wide Spikeball tournament. Because we threw the same event last year, it was not too difficult to get approval from the school. We submitted a request form to reserve the soccer field for the event, but because in Grove City it is difficult to trust the weather, we reserved the IM basketball courts as a backup location. Thankfully, we were able to hold the tournament outside.

We made posters to promote the event and hung them all over campus. Because the event was on a Saturday, we sat in the Student Union the week leading up to it getting teams of two on the roster. We still had it, though, so that people could show up the night of the event and sign up then if they did not get a chance to stop by the sign-up booth beforehand.

The fraternity wanted to make it a charity event, so we spent a bit of time at the beginning of the semester discussing what cause we wanted to support. One of our alumni that graduated in the ’80s suffered from ALS, and because we know some of his kids who are on campus now, we wanted to donate all the proceeds to an organization that helped the family through the process.

Getting to host events on campus that build community is so fun as a student, and it is even more rewarding when you know that people in need are going to benefit from it.

One of Grove City College’s five core values is community. In my time at Grove City, there have been so many opportunities to build community with fellow students. Freshmen move in a few days earlier than returning students and, in this time, have the opportunity to partake in activities organized by the Orientation Board. This was certainly one of the most fun parts of college as it almost felt like a mini-summer camp structured around getting students ready for classes, turning any potential fears or anxiety into excitement for the semester ahead, and making connections with classmates. Throughout the semester, various groups on campus hold campus-wide events, like cookouts, dances, athletic competitions, and more. One of the times that the power of Grove City’s community really shines is during Homecoming, when hundreds of alumni pack campus to reunite with old friends and meet current students.

All of these large, exciting events are examples of some of the ways the College intentionally builds community, but one of the ways community is built on campus is much less flashy and more mundane: connecting over mealtime.

In the thick of the semester, it can become difficult to find large chunks of free time to hang out with friends, especially at a school with such rigorous academics. To compensate, many students on campus take advantage of mealtimes, using them as windows of availability to hang out and connect with friends. While eating with people who share the same schedule as you is often a routine way of getting meals, students will also intentionally make plans to find a window of time to eat with friends they might not otherwise see. Furthermore, the dining halls are set up to foster this kind of community, with lots of booths, four- to eight-seater tables, and long tables for larger groups. Some of my favorite college memories have been made around the dinner table. I am so grateful I get to attend a school with peers that value community so highly.

During the fall semester of my junior year of college, I had the opportunity to take a class on campus that got me certified as an Excel Specialist. I liked it so much that I signed up to take the advanced version of the class in the spring, which got me certified as an Excel Expert. The main reason I took the classes was to help boost my resume as a business major. Many employers today value prospects that are proficient in Excel, and I wanted to try to set my self up as best as possible for graduation. What I did not realize was that, because I took these classes, I was now going to be able to make money on campus as a student.

When I took the Excel class, the Teacher’s Assistant was one of my friends. She graduated in the spring, though, so the instructor needed to find a new assistant to help with grading. My friend recommended that I be the new TA, and after talking through the expectations with the instructor, I decided to accept the offer. I am so glad I did, because the experience has been great.

Because I have a light course load this semester, I have enough time to be able to do the work that is required of me without feeling overwhelmed. Because the class is all online, there is really not a lot of work for me to do as most assignments are graded automatically by the course’s software. All I need to do is grade a couple of the longer, more intensive assignments when the students have them, but it does not take more than two to four hours per week.

This low commitment position has been great for two reasons. It helps keep me sharp on my knowledge of Excel so that I can still be up to date on the software when I graduate, and because it is a paid position, it gives me spending money that I can use throughout the week.

If you get to college and end up really liking one of your classes, I would recommend reaching out to the instructor to see if they need a TA so that you can get paid for staying up to date on a subject that you find to be interesting.

One of my favorite parts of college is having the ability to take electives. For general elective hours, you can really take any class you want, but Grove City College has a long list of classes that would not normally be considered “academic.” This means that, essentially, you can get credit for having fun. These classes are usually only one or two credits, but they are a great way to fill time if you need to meet your general elective requirement. Some examples of classes like these that students can take are bowling, ballroom dancing, tennis, and racquetball.

I am currently in my last semester of college and only needed nine more credits to fulfill the requirement for my degree. In order to live on campus as a full-time student, though, I had to enroll in a minimum 12 credits. I saw this as an opportunity to take some fun, one-credit courses so I could meet the minimum credit requirement without overwhelming myself.

One of the classes I decided to enroll in is a beginner piano class. I have played the violin since second grade, so I am already very familiar with sheet music and general music theory. Since I have not had to learn any of the difficult, conceptual parts of music theory, the class has been a fun way to simply pick up the basics of a new instrument that I otherwise probably would have not had the time or motivation to learn.

Because the class is only one credit, we only meet once a week. This also means that the coursework for the class is minimal. Our instructor gives us a couple pieces to practice each week, and at the beginning of every class, she checks up on our progress to make sure we are keeping up with the material. Thankfully, the pianos in the classroom all have headsets, so nobody needs to worry about how they sound in comparison to their peers. The class is really just a way to improve on your own personal skills in a judgment-free zone.

This is just one example of a leisurely elective I have taken in my time here at the Grove, but thankfully, I have been lucky enough to have a couple classes like this. If you ever get in a bind trying to fill time in your schedule once you get to college, do not forget to search for fun learning opportunities like this one!

Coming into college, I was in a pretty chaotic headspace. I had a lot of deeply rooted personal issues that I knew I needed to confront, but I did not know how to on my own. On top of that, for most people, the adjustment to college from high school tends to be overwhelming to varying degrees, and I certainly was not exempt from those feelings of discomfort. Adjusting to a new schedule, trying to make new friends, and navigating my own personal growth was a lot to handle. But thankfully, I did not need to do it on my own.

Grove City College has one of the top-ranked counseling centers in the nation. According to the 2020 Princeton Review, the College’s counseling center ranked 14th in the country, and this is for good reason.

From a strictly pragmatic view, the counseling center is incredibly convenient for students to access. It is right on campus, making it is easy to get to. There are also many hours of availability, so it is easy to get an appointment set up. They do all the heavy lifting for you when it comes to scheduling. They are able to pull up your class schedule and see what counselors have openings according to your availability, then give you a list of options to choose from. Cost for service is factored into every student’s room and board, so there is no additional fee for any sessions.

From a more interpersonal view, the counseling center has various counselors that cover a broad mix of personality types. This means students can be paired with a counselor they feel comfortable with. If a student tries out a counselor but realizes they do not feel like they can be entirely open with them, the center is more than happy to pair the student with a new counselor until they feel they have found a good match. I was able to find my counselor on the second try, but many students are happy with their first pairing.

All the counselors at the school approach tackling mental health with a Christ-centered focus. This is not to say that they give the message that “you just need to pray harder and all your problems will go away.” Rather, the counselors understand that we are all broken human beings that do not have the strength to solve all our issues on our own. They do not give advice from a place of judgment or disappointment, but rather, from a place of empathy and desire to see us get better. Furthermore, because they are counselors and not therapists, the relationship you build with the counselor is very laid back. Even though the counselors are highly trained professionals, they feel like an insightful friend instead of a cold, hard-wired psychologist.

In my experience, my counselor has been a great mentor to help me determine which issues are valid and which I am blowing out proportion. When my issues are valid, she has helped me come up with detailed methods to overcome them. When I am making things bigger than they need to be, she has taught me how to recognize my own unhealthy mental patterns so I do not create more unnecessary issues for myself in the future.

I would highly recommend for anyone at the school to take advantage of the counseling center, even if they do not think their issues are that big. Having a trained professional help me navigate personal stress from an unbiased point of view has been an incredible help in my time at college, and my experience has been so much better because of it.

I joined a fraternity my freshman year at Grove City college, and it has given me so many opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to experience.

Firstly, the fraternity has given me a stable community I have been able to fall back on throughout my entire college experience. After joining in the spring of my freshman year, I was immediately integrated into the group as a fellow brother. In the fall of my sophomore year, I got the privilege of being able to live on the hall with the rest of the fraternity and have done so during the rest of my time at the college. Grove City’s Greek Life doesn’t have off-campus housing, but the college still gives each group a designated hall in the on-campus dorms, and this ensures that the groups still get to grow in community together. One way we get to do this is through weekly Bible studies. Our fraternity chaplain comes up with the study plan for the semester, and we as brothers get to challenge our beliefs and grow closer to God in community. Knowing that I will get to have these enriching experiences every year by living on the hall has been a huge relief when it comes time to plan for housing at the end of every year.

I have also had the opportunity to partake in special fraternity events each year, like fall and spring parties, formals, and homecoming. These events give a great opportunity to decompress from academic stress with fellow fraternity brothers and make long-lasting memories. Greek groups also get to organize many of the campus-wide events during the fall rush season. For larger events, fraternities will occasionally coordinate with housing groups or sororities to throw joint events. This is a great way to form new relationships by bonding with other Greek groups on campus and meeting the new freshman class.

My time in my fraternity has also given me a lot of experiences that will help prepare me for post-graduation life. Firstly, I have had the opportunity to hold officer positions in my fraternity since my induction. In my time, I have been the historian, secretary, and president. These positions have helped me grow in my organizational, communicative, creative, event-planning, and leadership skills. Furthermore, I have had the chance to do a significant amount of community service with the fraternity. Getting to give back to local communities while bonding with my brothers has been one of the most rewarding experiences in college.

All in all, my time in my fraternity has put a positive spin on so much of my college experience. I have been able to grow closer with so many people I otherwise probably would have never come in contact with. I would recommend to any incoming freshman that they consider joining a Greek group at Grove City as it adds a significant layer of depth to the college experience.

It was never my dream to go to Grove City College. Considering the fact that I was born and raised in the small Western Pennsylvania town, I was ready to experience something new.

Growing up, I imagined going to college would look like it does on TV — moving cross-country away from everything familiar and starting a brand new life. That is not how it looked for me, though. On my freshman move-in day in 2018, I got out of bed, loaded up the car, and arrived to campus in less than five minutes. Saying goodbye to my parents was not too emotional considering this was their fourth and final time sending a kid to college. Also, I was within walking distance from home and knew I could see them any time. Quickly after they left, though, something happened that I wasn’t expecting — I felt like I was not in my hometown anymore. I had entered “The Bubble.”

Students and faculty often refer to the Grove as “The Bubble,” painting the image that, when you are on campus, you are living in your own little world. This is certainly the case.

Grove City College has its own tightly knit community. With a student body of about 2,300 young adults, it does not take long for campus to shift from feeling like unfamiliar, uncharted territory to a mini-world where everyone recognizes each other. People that were once strangers on move-in day quickly become classmates, neighbors, teammates, group project partners, SGA representatives, and more. By the end of the first year, you recognize most faces on any stroll through campus.

One of the reasons this camaraderie forms so quickly is due to Grove City’s small class sizes. While many colleges hold class in crammed lecture halls, a large class here would be one with 30 people. This intimate learning environment opens the door to in-depth class discussion where you build bonds with classmates and professors.

Another reason for this is that many people on Grove City’s campus share similar values. Because the college is so forward about their conservative Christian values, the school attracts many like-minded individuals. This creates an environment in which students can openly grow deeper in their beliefs and shape their worldview with other students. In the humanities courses that are required for all students, professors present challenging debates and ideas observed throughout history, helping students learn how to navigate them for themselves so they can grow deeper in their own beliefs and opinions that will shape them for re-entry into the “real world.”

This re-entry can be jarring at first. While Grove City’s campus community is inviting and enriching, it is still a bubble. Jumping back into everyday life outside school can feel like a bit of culture shock. This, however, gives students and recent graduates the opportunity to truly test the values they solidified in the classroom. Maintaining strong work ethic and holding oneself to a higher moral standard make Grovers stand out in a culture where it is becoming increasingly more common to have an apathetic attitude towards work and let go of traditional values.

Standing out in this way, though, is not a negative thing. Grovers catch the eye of employers quickly and often find fast roads to success, with an average placement rate of 96% within six months of graduation.

While I was pretty indifferent about going to Grove City before I got here, I am so thankful for the experiences I’ve had and the friends I’ve made while being here. Graduation is just around the corner, and even though I’ll have to prepare for yet another major life change, I can rest easy knowing that The Bubble laid a strong foundation for me to launch forward.