Category: Inside Student Life

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How to Choose Your Freshman Roommate

Grove City College Roommates

So you have decided on a school and you are ready to start thinking about the year ahead. If you are planning on living on campus you are probably thinking about your roommate situation. Going with a random roommate assigned by Student Life and Learning is always an option, as is choosing a roommate based on information from a variety of different outlets. Some people will tell you to choose a roommate to avoid a horror story, but some will tell you that you do not know a person well enough before college and that going random is a better option. It depends on your personal preferences which you go with, but if you are going to choose a roommate there are some important things to look for.

When I was a senior in high school I decided that I wanted to look for a roommate who I thought I would get along with well. I am now a senior in college and am living with the same person who I requested on Grove City College’s roommate finder four years ago – we are incredibly close and love sharing a room with one another! In the spring of our senior year of high school, we connected via our class’s Facebook page and got to know one another over text messages and the Grove City College Roommate Finder application.

As you are getting to know a potential roommate, it is important to dig deeper than small talk and hobbies and get to know one another’s living preferences and styles.  Here are the top five things to find out about a potential roommate:

1. Personality Type

By personality type, I am referring to your levels of particularity and speed of life. Going into college I knew that I needed to find an easy-going roommate who would not grow frustrated with my Type A personality and constant need to do something. I also knew that I would not live well with someone who was equally as particular as me. This has nothing to do with extroversion or introversion, and each pairing will be different – while I needed a Type B roommate, somebody else with a similar personality to myself may work best with another similar roommate. It all comes down to knowing yourself and knowing who you work best with – if you tend to clash with a certain kind of personality, that is not the kind of personality you should choose to live with.

You can learn this about a potential roommate by directly asking how they view themselves (though people will be varying levels of self-aware) and through everyday conversations as you get to know one another. For this reason it cannot hurt to start the process early – even if you do not find a roommate, you could find a great friend!

2. Cleanliness and Clutter

Do you expect that your beds are made, prefer that they are made, prefer that they are not made, or have no preference? Do you expect dirty laundry to be out of sight, is it okay for laundry to be in a basket but visible, or is it okay for laundry to be in a pile on the floor? Do you care if the room is vacuumed? Do you expect to share vacuuming duties with your roommate, or are you okay with doing it yourself?

These are just some of the things to think about in regard to cleanliness and clutter in the room. There are so many different ways to address cleanliness in a dorm room, and it is difficult to foresee all of the possibilities before arriving on campus, but you can think about it with potential future roommates by discussing dorm room clutter and cleanliness in general.

3. Room Temperature Preferences

While you do not have control of the thermostat in your dorm room, you can impact the temperature in your room by opening or closing the windows and using a fan. I tend to run warm on a day to day basis, so I definitely prefer the room to be cooler, and so I needed to find a roommate who did not prefer a toasty room. This one is simple enough to find out – just ask!

4. Sleep Schedules

While working out sleep schedules is hugely important to a college roommate relationship, it is difficult to accurately predict what your sleep will be like at college until you arrive. Definitely talk through what time you prefer to go to sleep and wake up with a potential roommate, but the best advice I can give you here is to give one another grace in this area. When you decide to live together you may both think that going to sleep at 11 p.m. and waking up around 7 a.m. sounds great, but after arriving at college it is very possible that one of you will change that schedule.

5. Guests

Are you okay with having guests in the room? Can friends be over at any time, or is there a “friend curfew”? There are lots of ways to address this, and it is another one that is difficult to know before arriving on campus, but it is important that it be an open discussion.  Unless you are a very deep sleeper, I highly recommend setting the boundary that friends not be over when either roommate is sleeping, but aside from that different roommates will have different preferences in this category. One thing in this realm that you will not have to work through as much as in other schools is that guests of the opposite gender are only allowed in your room at certain, set hours called Open Hours. While it may be frustrating for your roommate to have his/her significant other over every time there are Open Hours, you will not have to worry about them sleeping over in the room or being over every day.

Your Roommate Relationship

These are just scratching the surface of what plays an important part in the roommate relationship, but they are things to discuss before agreeing to live someone – especially someone who you have not met in person yet. No matter what, just remember to give one another grace to grow and change, and you will be okay. Do not be afraid to have direct conversations about the way you live together, and try to keep it an open conversation in order to avoid difficult confrontations or passive aggressive situations that can be even worse. Roommates can become some of your best friends, but it is okay if you are not incredibly close.

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Freshmen Fitness Class: What is It?

The new Fitwell uniforms.

Entering my freshmen year at Grove City College, I knew that there was a required fitness course, but I had no idea what to expect. I figured it would be some sort of unorganized mess of putting students in a gym and having us play various sports for the required 50 minutes, twice a week. However, my expectations were wrong. The required fitness course is called “Fitwell” and is very organized.

According to the Department of Physical Education, “The required Fitness and Wellness courses for both men and women are designed to give each incoming student an awareness of personal fitness and wellness. The evaluation process for each student is comprised of written examinations, skill tests, special projects, swimming evaluations, and fitness appraisals. The ultimate goal is to provide an opportunity for each student to develop a personal responsibility for his/her own lifestyle.”

Fitwell is a one-credit course which freshmen will take both their fall and spring semester. The first section of the course covers about half of the fall semester. It is lecture based, and men and women are split up. In the lecture section, I learned about nutrition, injuries, living a healthy lifestyle, and health disorders. I also had to complete a weekly meal log and recorded all of my meals for a week. Then I looked at the nutrition breakdown charts and compared them to the suggested calories for my specific height, weight, and activity level. It made me more aware of what I was eating and how it is a choice of whether to eat healthy.

The second half of the first semester, and the rest of the spring semester is lab based. Students will pick their top lab choices and then will go to work-out during the allotted time for Fitwell. There are many choices which include: circuit training, swimming, aerobic conditioning, walk/jog/run, weightlifting, and more.

The first lab I chose was circuit training. This involved high-intensity workouts for about 60 second intervals. Some of the stations included: step ups, jump rope, and planks. Circuit training is used to increase endurance and stamina. For the end of the lab, we had to come up with our own circuit training program. We had to take pictures of the various exercises and decide how many reps to complete. I enjoyed this lab because it was a great workout and changing stations made the workouts interesting.

The second lab I did was called aerobic conditioning. It involved longer workout sessions. One of the workouts we did were kickboxing, we watched a video and followed along. At the end of every workout, we measured our heartrate to see if we were in the target range for our specific age group. I also enjoyed this lab because of the wide variety of workouts and the longer workout sessions.

The last lab I did was walk/jog/run. This was a more individualized course because we went at our own pace and counted how many laps we completed in a certain amount of time. We also ran the mile at the beginning of the course, and then tried to improve on that time by the end of the course. I enjoyed this lab because it was so individualized, and inside the gym there is a track which made it easy to know how far I had run.

Overall, Fitwell is a great way to meet new people in the freshman class and get a break from the lecture atmosphere!

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Big News: Free Laundry!

Free laundry! Yes, this year at Grove City College, the laundry is included in tuition. No longer will students need to add money to their ID card or search for quarters in their drawers. “It’s amazing! I don’t have to pay for laundry anymore!” says Abby Jopek, a sophomore.

Not only is there no charge for laundry, the laundry rooms have also been updated and new washers and dryers have been installed over the summer. According to Operations, “the washing machines and dryers in Hicks, Memorial, Lincoln, Hopeman, Ketler, Alumni, Harker, MAP North and MAP South have been replaced. These laundry rooms were also cleaned and painted. MEP and MAP West’s washers and dryers were previously replaced and painted approximately one year ago.”

Laundry rooms are located in every dorm building, typically on every floor. The freshmen woman’s dorm hall, for example, has two washers and two dryers on every floor. The washers and dryers are very simple to use. According to the instructions posted on the wall, the washers are High-Efficiency, so it is suggested to use detergent that has a HE label. Simply put your clothes in the washer, add the detergent, select the cycle, and press go! No more inserting coins or running to the Student Union to add money to your ID card. I remember on many occasions last year, putting my laundry in the machines and not having enough money on my ID card to start the cycle. It was the middle of winter and snow covered the ground. I made the trek to the Student Union to add cash to my ID card, and then returned to start laundry. Thankfully, I do not even have to worry now about how much money is on my card!

The laundry facilities are also high tech. Many times in previous years, I found myself hauling my full laundry bag to the laundry room, only to find all the washers full. I would then proceed to go up the stairs to the next laundry room, only to be met with the same dilemma again! However, this is no longer a problem thanks to the “LaundryView Mobile” which allows students to see on their phone what washers and dryers are available in every building. The app says which washer or dryer is empty, and if it is running, it says how much time is remaining in the cycle. There are also text notifications, where students can be notified when their laundry is finished.

New folding tables and baskets are also available for use. The benefit of having a table to fold clothes on is that it is a great place to place unclaimed laundry. Sometimes students forget about their clothing in the washers or dryers, so putting their finished clothes on the table is an acceptable way to free up space so others can do their laundry. There is also a basket designated in some laundry rooms for missing socks and miscellaneous clothing items.

Now, when it is time to do laundry, I do not worry about having to stuff the machine as full as possible to save $1. The new technology, new machines, and no charge laundry has been a great addition to Grove City College.

 

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Freshman Profiles: Interview with Thomas Andrews Class of ’21

 

  • So, you’re a freshman here at Grove City College. How’s everything going, is the school living up to your expectations or what other people told you it would be like?

Yes, the school has been really good to me, my hallmates are really great. All my classes are tough but not excessively so.

  • What’s your major and what dorm are you in?

I’m in Hicks dormitory and I’m undeclared. I don’t know what I am doing yet but the school provides lots of counseling and options. I came in not knowing at all what I want to do, but I have narrowed it down to English with maybe a business minor.

  • Could you talk a little about dorm life in Hicks ?

I was pretty skeptical going in because it was a different environment. But everyone on my hall is pretty great. One challenge I  have come across is constantly having people going in and out of my room. It is not as quiet or private as I expected, but I am glad people want to be around me – it is comforting to never be alone!

  • Grove City is known for a lot of things, most notably it’s beautiful campus, awesome cost-value ratio, and its challenging curriculum. What most attracted you to the school?

It is like an Ivy League in regards to quality education, but it is affordable. With that, I really appreciated the fact that the College considers itself “conservative”. I knew I would feel right at home.

  • How many other Colleges did you look at? And did you want a small school, a Christian school or anything specific, like your college decision being based off your specific major?

I applied to five other colleges. They were all different ranges but I primarily wanted a small school like Grove City College. The fact that professors would know me personally and I could engage in class discussion was appealing to me when college shopping.

  • Out of all the colleges you looked at, what made you choose Grove City; did Grove City have something to offer more than other colleges that you wanted or was it simply where you felt the most called?

I liked the location because it was very far from home. I like cold weather and want to see some snow. The size, like I said before, was also a huge deciding factor. I wanted my professors to know me on a personal level.

  • Alright, we’ve talked extensively about the Grove, now let’s jump into some more general questions. What is the biggest difference for you from high school and living at home, do living in a different state in a dorm?

I feel myself being more independent than when I was at home. I have a lot more freedom to make my own schedule and decide when I want to go out for an afternoon or stay on campus. I really like it!

  • What is the most enjoyable thing about college life?

I enjoy the friends I have made,being on the hall, and the people I have met.

 

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Top 10 Perks of Attending a Small College

A view of a football game.

Small or large college? Which one to choose? It is a question I asked myself, and a choice I had to make before I decided on attending Grove City College. I had both options available to me. My sister chose the large state school, and I had visited her many times. I was able to see her experiences and make the best decision for myself. I had planned on studying Business Management, and that is a degree that I could obtain at either a small or large institution. I knew I wanted a small school, mostly because I am from a small town in the country. My graduating class was around 70 students. I knew there would be both positives and negatives from choosing a smaller school, but I never realized many of these perks until I actually started school here. While some may think a small school is boring and there are no perks, I would have to argue otherwise. Here are my top 10 reasons:

#1 It is easier to meet people – Grove City College places freshmen together in dorms, and there are many hall activities. I got to know the girls on my freshmen hall and make some very close relationships. Meeting people through various campus organizations and activities is also a great way to get involved on campus.

#2 A walk around campus means you will see lots of people you know – When classes are released, chances are you are going to see some people you know. Even if it is not on a first-name basis, you will recognize people from your classes, or other campus activities you are involved in.

#3 You are not just a number – When I walked around a large state school’s campus of over 50,000 students, I felt like I was just a drop of water in the bucket of people. Being on a small campus makes me feel as though I am not just a number, but an individual.

#4 You get good seats at sporting events – Granted, we are not a Division I school, we are Division III, but getting front row seats at the volleyball or basketball games sure is fun. Plus, sporting events are free!

#5 You can actually walk to class – No need to have a bike here at Grove City College. It takes me five minutes to walk to class in the morning. Every building is within a reasonable walking distance and its easy to navigate the campus.

#6 Professors know you personally – I have had the same professors for multiple classes and they all know my name. Many professors take the time to personally get to know their students. It makes me feel important and that they actually value having me there as a student.

#7 No Outrageous Lines – We might think a line of 10 people at the panini press in the cafeteria is long, but going to a state school’s cafeteria is much busier and lines are much longer.

#8 Classes are Smaller – The average class size at Grove City College is 25 students. There are no lecture halls filled with hundreds of students.

#9 More Feedback on Assignments – Professors have less students, and are therefore able to provide more comments and suggestions and papers and homework assignments. Therefore, you get more out of college!

#10 You Can Become More Involved on Campus – Some might debate that large schools would have more campus activities, but I would argue that going to a smaller school means you can participate in more events. I am able to work on the chapel staff, do cheerleading, work as a tour guide, and go to various Bible studies while still having the time to do schoolwork.

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Freshman Profiles: Interview with Josh Padgett, Class of ’21

  • So, you’re a freshman here at Grove City College. How’s everything going, is the school living up to your expectations or what other people told you it would be like?

Yes. Everything is pretty good, classes are tough, but I’m learning a lot and the community is accepting and warm. All the students I have met thus far are really nice.

  • What’s your major and what dorm are you in?

I am a mechanical engineer and I am in Hicks dormitory (the one attached to the dining hall).

  • Could you talk a little about dorm life in Hicks?

Its chaotic, energetic, and very entertaining. People are always in your room to talk or play video games. I love how it is common for people to invite themselves over whenever – as long as no one is napping, the door is open!

  • Grove City is known for a lot of things, most notably it’s beautiful campus, awesome cost-value ratio, and its challenging curriculum. What most attracted you to the school?

The location: the seclusion and the weather are cool. But you’re not to far from the big city Pittsburgh. It is only 45 minutes so freshmen can always get rides from upperclassmen if they need a taste of the outside world for an afternoon. On top of that, it was also awesome for me to have the opportunity to play lacrosse on a brand new team. This past spring Grove City added men’s lacrosse to their varsity roster and I am beyond excited to be able to play with them soon.

  • How many other colleges did you look at? And did you want a small school, a Christian school or anything specific? 

The smaller class size was good and the price was cheaper than some of the other colleges I looked at. Those were the main aspects. I knew I needed to be more than just a face in the crowd to my professors and Grove City certainly offers that. I am not in any large classes so my professors know me by name and they show effort in getting to know my personality to better serve my academic talents. The tuition, like I said before, was a huge fact as well. If you do your research when looking at schools, you will get a feel for the differences in cost and quality. Grove City was both for me.

  • Out of all the colleges you looked at, what made you choose Grove City; did Grove City have something to offer more than other colleges that you wanted or was it simply where you felt the most called?

More personalized education, and a safer community were important to me and I felt Grove City offered that more than the other schools I looked at.

  • Alright, we’ve talked extensively about the Grove, now lets jump into some more general questions. What is the biggest difference for you from high school and living at home, to living in a different state in a dorm?

More responsibility; you are busier but you also have more free time. This free time has to be spent wisely. It is incredibly tempting to hang out with friends or watch Netflix instead of studying; however, with freedom comes consequences for poor decisions. Not studying = lower academic performance. I have come to learn how to balance work with play while away at school. I hope my mom is proud.

  • What is the most enjoyable thing about college life?

Constant interaction and there is so much variety in terms of what people are doing and what you can get involved in. The Student Union is always covered in posters for different clubs, campus events, mission trips, and classes to participate in. There is never a dull day on Grove City’s campus.

  • If you could go back to your freshman year and offer one piece of advice to your senior high school self and to all the other high school seniors out there, what would it be?

Don’t worry so much about college, because it is not as scary as you think it is. There is a huge support system here that I have no idea why I was so worried in the first place! Between my Resident Assistants, professors, and Orientation Board members I have a lot of people to turn to with my small and big problems.

 

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Living on Campus: What is an RA?

Living on Campus, MAP Residence Hall

You may have heard people talking about RAs or heard about them from people who have gone to college before you, but you still do not know exactly who, or what, that is. RA stands for Resident Assistant, and your RA at Grove City College will be an upperclass (sophomore through senior) student of the same gender as you. There is either one or two RAs per hall, but there may be multiple halls on a single floor depending on the size of the particular residence hall. RAs are present in freshmen and upperclassmen buildings alike. But what does an RA do and how will they affect your time at Grove City College?

Your RA will live on the hall with you, and will likely be one of the first upperclassmen that you meet upon arriving at Grove City College. If you are a freshman female, you will more than likely have two RAs, and if you are a freshman male you could have either one or two. I am an RA on a unique hall this year – my residents are 1/3 freshmen and 2/3 transfers, so my freshmen are in the minority of females who have one RA their freshman year. You will meet your RA on orientation move-in day (if not earlier, via email or because you have arrived early for a sport or club), and they will help to make your transition to Grove City College as easy as possible.

Relationship Building Roles

When you first arrive you will probably have many questions about campus and living away from home, and your RA is a great resource for when those questions arrive. Your RA will also likely hold casual events on the hall like movie nights and game nights in order to get to know you better as well as to help you meet the other people living on your hall. Many RAs on campus will keep their doors open regularly, and oftentimes these casual events occur spontaneously as people stop by – keep your eyes open for these opportunities to build relationships with the people living around you!

Your RAs will also host several more formal events throughout the semester, called RA Programs (though they will likely be advertised with different names). These are events funded by Residence Life, which means that RAs are able to use those funds to do some really cool things (oftentimes with really good food). Some programs are for fellowship and fun (i.e. a building bubble soccer tournament), some are opportunities to learn a new skill (i.e. sewing rice bag heat packs), some help to teach you more about what our campus has to offer or basic lessons on campus tools (i.e. a session with the entertainment offerings at the library or a practical lesson on how to schedule your classes for next semester). Overall, RAs do their best to plan programs that are fun and beneficial.

Administrative Roles

Perhaps what you may hear most about RAs from other schools is that they enforce school policy. This is true of Grove City College RAs as well. RAs are trained to uphold community standards and confront policy violations in a loving way, and will work with students to help them to understand the purpose or reason behind a particular policy.

Similarly, there is an RA “on duty” in each residence hall from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. every night and all day on Saturdays and Sundays.  This means that there is always an RA present in your residence hall during these times as a resource to residents in many ways – mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically (in cases of illness and/or injury or in cases of facility concerns). Contact information for the RA “on duty” is located on every hall within the building, and within most of the residence hall lobbies.

Simply put, your RA is a resource.

RAs are students just like you, and they are in a great position to support you through the school year and beyond. Your RA will likely be a helpful resource for you, and will quite possibly become a good friend to you.

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Reel Life at Grove City College: Sportsmanship

Grove City College excels in sportsmanship. Even though I do not play sports myself, when I was a high-schooler looking at different colleges, the sportsmanship I saw and heard about at Grove City amazed me. I knew I wanted to spend my college years at a place with respect, faith-mindedness, determination, and talent. To my delight, when I went to my first Grove City College sports game, I saw all of those qualities shine out in the players on the field. It was wonderful to know that the College’s values came out even in a sports game. Looking back on it now though, it makes a lot of sense. How people behave on the field is a huge indicator of how they behave off of it.

I wanted to show you the wonder of a Grove City College sports match in a real, tangible way. So, when I was at an Ultimate Frisbee game the other night, I started filming. My friend on the team was nice enough to let me stand right next to the front lines the entire game so I could get some good shots. Like always, it was a wonderful experience. As I was watching, I considered, “What is it that I really love about being at a GCC sporting event?” I narrowed the phenomenon down to my top five favorite things I see at matches.

  1. Talent
  2. Excitement
  3. (Awesome) People
  4. Sportsmanship (or, Respect)
  5. Faith-mindedness

So, in this video, I have focused on showing you those five things.

I hope you enjoy this episode of Reel Life. Most of all though, I hope from watching it, you get a better idea of how uniquely special sports at Grove City College are.

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To Commute or Not to Commute?

So you have made the big decision. Grove City College is for you. Time to celebrate!

But now you have another decision that you may not have anticipated. You live close enough to campus to live at home, so you have to decide whether you will move to the college and live on campus in a dorm, or if you will stay at home and make the commute to campus every day.

As someone who made that very decision, I am here to offer you some friendly (and hopefully helpful) advice. This might seem obvious (or maybe not), but it is important to know that your college experience as a commuter student would be vastly different than you experience would be if you were to live on campus. But do not let this scare you away! You are still just as much of a college student as everybody else and just as valued as a part of the Grove City College community. Your daily routine, however, will be slightly different from that of your peers.

As you know, commuter students do not have an assigned dorm room. You will live at home and drive to campus every day. There are certainly good things about this arrangement, and there are also some drawbacks, which I will get to in a second. First, you will not have to pack up ALL YOUR STUFF and cram it into a car, just to unpack it a few miles away. You might be surprised at how much less stressful this makes the beginning and ending of the academic year.

Second, the transition to college life is a little slower, and you can take it at more of your own pace – you are not just dropped of and expected to survive. 🙂 Because you do not live on campus, you can gradually spend more time there outside of your classes. A small warning though: do not spend all your free time chilling at home. Become a part of the vibrant college community!

Finally, the best things about living at home, in no particular order:

  1. No communal bathroom – this is always a plus
  2. More options for food – you can eat at one of the dining halls OR bring your own
  3. Pets! You will be the envy of all your peers because you did not have to say goodbye to your beloved dog (or cat) for 3-4 months.
  4. Did I mention the money you will save by not paying for room and board??? Yeah, that is a big one.

At this point, commuting to the Grove probably sounds like the best idea ever. But let me caution you. Do not make this decision hastily. For nearly every one of these positive reasons to live at home, there is a downside. The biggest challenge of a commuter student is building lasting friendships and community on campus. This is exponentially more difficult to do when you do not live in the same buildings and eat in the same dining halls as your peers. You might think this is not a big deal, but, I assure you, it is. This decision should not be made lightly. Take some time to consider pros and cons of each option, and most importantly, pray about it. What is right for someone else might not be right for you, and vice versa. No matter what you decide, know that we are excited to have you at Grove City College!

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A Beautiful Photo-Op on a Beautiful Campus

There is no doubt that Grove City College has one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation. If you were like me as a prospective student, my favorite part of visiting a college was taking that “hey I’m at this college” photo. The struggle is trying to figure out where is the BEST place to get that Instagram-able/ Facebook-able photo. So I have decided to make it a little easier with the TOP 12 places to get that photo at Grove City College. I mean, it was hard to limit it to 12 as there are so many “perfectly picturable” locations around, but these are a great place to start. Also, all photos were taken on your average mobile device, so if I could take these photos, you can too. Click on the photos to enlarge and find out more info about the spots:

If it helps at all, here is an attachment to a PDF that you can print out to find your perfect Grove City College Photo Op:

Photo-Op Map