Gettysburg College Top Questions

Gettysburg is a relatively small 'fine arts' college, but it's size is perfect, by my standards. The town isn't really a college town, as it's such a tourist location, but the school is separated from where the tourists go about, and during the "down months", it may as well be a college town. There's always something to do, whether on campus or not, as D.C. and other cities are an hour/less away. One of the best things about the school is the professors, most that I've had thus far are superb. It's a tight knit community, and you'll be satisfied.

obviously gettysburg is in a historic town which is worth checking out (too many students don't have any idea what happened 145 years ago on their own campus). the school is a good size, small enough that you recognize most faces and know a lot of your classmates pretty well. it's not a strange thing to have a couple classes a semester with a couple of the same people. too many people do greek life, though if that's your thing it's pretty big at gettysburg. there's stuff to do but the town does roll up the sidewalks at about 5 and you have to drive a ways to find anything but farm fields, so you'd probably spend a lot of time on campus at events. most of the classes are pretty good and the academics are strong. the food isn't bad either, for college food. the best part of college is probably meeting people you live with around the dorm.

If you're looking for a big town with a lot of hustle and bustle like Penn State, USC, Miami, etc., then you may want to look past this destination. Even though Gettysburg College is not very big, with a student population of 2.600 students, it's not very small either. All throughout my first college semester I considered transferring to a larger school (mainly because I grew up in a town 10 minutes away from the college – needed a new scene), but I stuck with it my second semester and started to get involved on campus. Other than playing football, I got an on campus job that worked with a large portion of the college administration. I eventually became part of the Greek system and became President of my Fraternity and increased my overall involvement with other student clubs and organizations. As I head into my senior year I can say that I’m glade I didn’t transfer. I’ve come to realize that because of Gettysburg College’s size I’ve been able to accomplish more here than I would have anywhere else.

Gettysburg is a very small liberal arts college with only around 2500 students. Everyone is very involved on campus with jobs, volunteering, extracurriculars, and in the classroom. Professors get the students involved in classes and always know your name. There isn't a lot to do outside of campus, but Gettysburg provides a lot of weekend activities.

The best thing about Gettysburg is the small classroom size. I love having a more intimate relationship with all my professors. They are great people, and most of them really know their stuff, although there are always exceptions. If I could change one thing about the school, I would be to increase the amount and variety of late night weekend activities, although that is already happening. The campus size and the size of the student body are just right. You have the opportunity to meet a lot of great people, both students and staff, but its big enough that you're never going to know everyone and are constantly going to meet new people. When I tell people I'm a student at Gettysburg, if they're my age they usually have no idea where and what it is, but people in the business world (the adult world) have heard of it, and know it to be a really good school. I usually spend most of my time hanging out in the dorms with all my friends. It's so great having so many people you know and love so close to you all the time. All your best friends are just a short walk away at the longest. You have no idea what campus/dorm life is like till you get here, its great. The administration is really good. They are experienced people who really know that they are doing, and are always open to constructive criticism to improve the college in every way possible. School pride is pretty prevalent. There will always be a large turnout at the football games, and parents and alums are always there to watch students in their matches. I'll never forget our opening orientation week before classes began in freshman year. Everyone was getting to know each other, and the Res Life staff was doing a great job of managing the ice breaking activities.

The school is small compared to other colleges and you will see everyone you know about once a day if you go outside. The school has a pretty decent reputation with people outside the college. The people of the town of Gettysburg hate college students. The past president was just kicked out for who knows what. She was relatively mediocre and most of the student body is happy she is gone. The most frequent student complaint is either about what type of food the bullet hole will offer and that the school keeps buying all the fraternities it can.

I love the size of the school. It is small enough that you really get to know the other students in your major. I have never felt like a number here. I can go talk to professors and get help. It's also the small things like hot chocolate at midnight in the library during finals week that makes life a little less stressful.

The administration at Gettysburg works very closely with the students. When I needed a recommendation from the Dean of Students earlier this year, she met with me in person and was very enthusiastic about helping in any way that she could. This would never have been the case at a larger school. The town is quirky and very touristy during the warmer months of the school year, and it dies in a big way in the winter. If you're looking for a city or even a school with easy access to one, Gettysburg is not the place for you. Transportation services are reliable and readily available, but public transportation is nonexistant. Gettysburg is a beautiful area, but it doesn't offer the 'best of both worlds' (in terms of proximity to Baltimore and D.C.) that it advertises to prospectives. The best thing about Gettysburg is it's size--any student who wants a small school would find everything they're looking for here. It is easy to meet people, and social and Greek life are relatively open to all students. It's a very easy campus to get used to and a supportive community in which to adjust to college life.

The best thing about Gettysburg is how beautiful the campus is, and how well it is organized that you're never more than 6 or 7 minutes from where you need to be. One thing I would change about Gettysburg would be to have the health center open at crucial hours, like all weekend. Especially at a frat school when most injuries occur on the weekends when people are stumbling around drunk. The school is just the right size. It's small enough that you know most of your class and can be friends with upperclassmen, and not so big that you never know your professors and your professors never know you. People usually respond with, "Oh I heard the academics are pretty hard there." These people are mostly right, and yet the academics are not so hard that you can't deal with it. I spend most of my time on campus in the Theater Building because it's what I want to do. This is also something I wish could change about campus. I wish there were a much bigger theater building, since the black box theater only holds about 30, maybe 40 people, which is really not enough for shows. There really is no town around Gettysburg. It's sort of a one shot deal. You see it, then you've seen it all. It's very touristy, so the food is pretty good, and the 7-11 and Lincoln Diner are essentials. Pings is an essential spot for good Chinese food. I think that the Gettysburg administration is fine. I don't really notice what they're doing. There is not really that much school pride. We don't have a very strong sports team in any sport, so people do wear Gettysburg shirts and sweatshirts and stuff, but there's no real face painting or foam fingers and stuff.

I just graduated from Gettysburg and couldn't stop crying as I left. The most wonderful thing about Gburg was the friends I made. From teachers to coaches to fellow students, Gburg introduced me to some of the most amazing people I've ever met. I'll never forget meeting my advisor at orientation freshman year. She pulled me aside after the group introduction and told me "Jane, you're the furthest from home. If you ever need anything, you can come over to my house and we can have milk and cookies!" Four years later I sat on her back porch as a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes having hamburgers and hot dogs as part of our annual cookout at the Wright's house. Gettysburg will always be my home away from home. Because of my athletic schedule I didn't go home much. On breaks when other students went home I took advantage of opportunities like GRAB (Gettysburg Recreation Adventure Board), where I went kayaking and backpacking in the region. Over 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students live on campus all four years, and the ones who are "off" are so close to campus the term becomes laughable. 99.9{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of people stay for the weekend and if you do leave students will give you a funny look and ask why? Why would you leave Gettysburg? Orange and Blue are the best colors on earth. There's a good amount of school spirit, especially for lacrosse. Sometimes students are so involved in their own activities it's hard to attend a lot of others. The accapella concerts are ALWAYS packed!!