Grove City College

College Search & Selection
1

<p>My son and I recently visited Grove City College in Grove City, PA. He has his heart set on going there. I was impressed with the college and academia offered. He is a member of NHS, has a 95 average through the first 3 years of HS, is ranked 11th in class of 300 and I think the only thing that may hold him back is his less than desirable SAT score. I believe he scored 980 out of 1600 on the critical reading and Math portions. The average score is 1250 on those two sections for freshman going their this year. He is going to take the test again to try and improve his score. I have invested in a tutor to help accomplish this. </p>

<p>Are there any other parents out there who could give me some insight as to his chances of getting accepted here if he does not bring up his score?</p>

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<p>RR, if you'd like to PM me, I'd be happy to discuss GCC with you. I'm not a student there but know many students and have been a student under many graudates. </p>

<p>GCC is a top Christian college, which means high stats are important. However, you will find it much more important that his recs are strong, his church rec on par with academic ones. The interview and the feeling the school gets for Christian character is going to be a top factor. Still, with a few hundred points below the average SAT, it's going to a be a reach. I would say you're doing the right thing with the tutor. Remember, GCC's only early plan is binding, so there's no rush to send in an early application. Don't rule out trying the test twice this year.</p>

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<p>Ouch, yes, those SATs aren't opening the doors there, and it is an excellent investment if GCC is his first choice. Besides, it is so cheap to go there, that you are going to be way ahead in the long run.</p>

<p>Carpe's advice is right on. Does your son have a sport? I know they have a huge soccer program there,and love for their students to be athletes as well as scholars and gentlepeople. </p>

<p>I might go ahead and contact admissions and see what the chances are of entrance with his stats as they stand. In 1992, my teenaged babysitter was admitted there with a similar SAT so miracles do happen. She also played V-ball for them. In fact, both she and her husband teach there now (she parttime, H fulltime + coaching).</p>

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<p>Has your son taken the ACT? He might fare better. I have done some SAT tutoring, particularly for the Writing portion, but I have worked on all sections. With those scores I would also concentrate on reading and reading speed. That can often improve scores as much, or in some cases more, than formal SAT tutoring.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>mythmom,
Thank you for responding. He is taking the ACT tomorrow morning. I am praying he fares better on that. GCC wil take either SAT or ACT.</p>

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<p>Carpe,
Thanks for the insight. He is going to take SAt again in October and November. He is taking ACT tomorrow.</p>

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<p>fencersmother,
Thanks for the insight. He does three sports, X-country, nordic skiing and track. However he feels time committment would be to much for him to handle on colllge level.</p>

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<p>I went with my niece to Grove City College's Crimson day ( last Saturday ) for prospective Freshmen. The place was PACKED. It had one of the most well organized information sessions I have ever attended. Testament to one of the best managed schools in the country ( hey, if you can refuse Federal aid and still thrive and exceed expectations, you are a school worth considering ).</p>

<p>I'm not sure if they can accomodate all applicants who want to go there.</p>

<p>And oh BTW, in case you want to find out how good the school is, a recent study by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s (ISI) National Civic Literacy Program surveyed 14,000 freshman and seniors at 50 colleges and universities across the country regarding their knowledge of Civics and Foundations of American History, and guess what ? Grove City College scored SECOND ( Harvard at #1), topping such Ivy's as Yale, Princeton, Brown and Duke ( and way ahead of its neighbor, Carnegie Mellon ).</p>

<p>See the news here :</p>

<p><a href="http://blog.acton.org/archives/1936-Colleges-and-Universities-Fail-at-Teaching-American-Civics.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://blog.acton.org/archives/1936-Colleges-and-Universities-Fail-at-Teaching-American-Civics.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The actual study can be found here :</p>

<p><a href="http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>So, why pay $35,000 in tuition for a quality college education that you can get at HALF the price ? Food for thought.</p>

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<p>Some more information to consider about Grove City College :</p>

<p>It is listed among America's TOP 10 conservative college by the Young America's Foundation. See here for the top 10 list :</p>

<p><a href="http://media.yaf.org/latest/2006_2007_top_ten.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://media.yaf.org/latest/2006_2007_top_ten.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>So, if you're a raging liberal, you'll probably not be happy here.</p>

<p>Grove City College isn't a fly by night school having been in existence since 1876 ( one of the colleges in the country to first allow women to enroll ). </p>

<p>It is : </p>

<p>1) Ranked among the top 10 conservative colleges in the country by the Young America's Foundation . Of course there are others too but I am just citing this one as an example. See the link I provided above.</p>

<p>2) Ranked #4 in a Study by the University of Connecticut in terms of Senior Civic Literacy , outclashing such celebrated schools as Cornell, Yale, Stanford and Brown. </p>

<p>3) Is one of the most competitive colleges in the country ( scroll down to the bottom to see the list ). Average GPA : 3.85 unweighted, Reading and Math SAT close to 1300 (about 1280) and average ACT : 28</p>

<p>See here : <a href="http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/CompetitiveColleges.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/CompetitiveColleges.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>4) Barron’s Educational Series has called Grove City College a “Best Buy” in recognition of the College’s quality education and affordable price. See here :</p>

<p><a href="http://www.gcc.edu/UserFiles/File/news/rankings/BarronsBestBuys.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.gcc.edu/UserFiles/File/news/rankings/BarronsBestBuys.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>5) Kaplan Publishing’s most recent National Survey of High School Guidance Counselors listed Grove City College as a top school in three areas: schools that are hidden treasures; schools that offer the best value for the tuition dollar; and schools with popular drug-free and alcohol-free activities for students. The survey named 59 institutions from among thousands of schools in the “Best Value” category by weighing their cost against the quality of education. See here :</p>

<p><a href="http://www.gcc.edu/UserFiles/File/news/rankings/KAPLAN2003.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.gcc.edu/UserFiles/File/news/rankings/KAPLAN2003.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>6) Grove City has been chosen as one of 50 “All-American Colleges” by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. ISI highly recommends the College as a school with programs tied to the “core values of the American founding and the vibrant intellectual traditions of the West.” </p>

<p>See here : <a href="http://www.gcc.edu/UserFiles/File/news/rankings/ISI2007.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.gcc.edu/UserFiles/File/news/rankings/ISI2007.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>7) According to The Princeton Review, Grove City College is one of the nation’s best value undergraduate institutions. The New York-based education services company features Grove City in the 2007 edition of “America’s Best Value Colleges.” The guide profiles 150 colleges with excellent academics and relatively low costs. It includes 103 public and 47 private colleges in 40 states. The Princeton Review chose the colleges for the book based on data the company obtained from administrators at 646 colleges and from its surveys of students attending them. </p>

<p>See here :</p>

<p><a href="http://www.gcc.edu/UserFiles/File/news/rankings/PRINCETON2006.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.gcc.edu/UserFiles/File/news/rankings/PRINCETON2006.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>8) U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" Grove City College is listed among the Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the country ( 5 years in a row ). </p>

<p>9) Princeton Review ranks Grove City College as among the Top 20 in Career/job Placement Services based on satisfaction of students who graduate from the school. </p>

<p>See here : <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/rankings/rankingDetails.asp?CategoryID=1&TopicID=64%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/rankings/rankingDetails.asp?CategoryID=1&TopicID=64&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Their job fair this year ( according to their Career Placement Office ) has over 200 recruiters coming to the campus for their job fair.</p>

<p>10) To top it all, IT REFUSES ANY FEDERAL AID ( in fact, fought a case in the 1980's all the way to the Supreme Court on this ). </p>

<p>11) Every student who gets accepted is given a free laptop and printer. </p>

<p>12) It has gorgeous, well maintained 150 acre campus with 2,500 students. Gothic architecture abounds.</p>

<p>13) Has an outstanding faculty dedicated to teaching the students that does not have the tenure system. Inspite of this, most of the faculty have been teaching at the school for years.</p>

<p>14) Has a tuition fee (includes board and lodging ) of just under $18,000 a year ( which does not even include need-based aid and merit scholarship. So if you qualify, you might even pay less than already low tuition ). </p>

<p>15) Still is a very athletic school with lots of athletic programs ( team is known as the Wolverines ). </p>

<p>16) One of the safest colleges in the country with crime non-existent. </p>

<p>17) 90% of Freshmen continue into their Sophomore year and 85% graduate within 5 years. Their pre-law and pre-med schools have a 100% acceptance tate into some of the country's best graduate schools. </p>

<p>The main drawback to many people is this -- it's a religious school that is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and : </p>

<p>A) Separates men and women dorms. </p>

<p>B) Frowns on pre-marital sex, binge drinking and carousing ( listed among the top 10 stone cold sober schools in the country). </p>

<p>C) Requires students to attend chapel 16 times a semester. </p>

<p>D) Greek life is a little too "safe and boring" for most people's taste. </p>

<p>E) Grades are not inflated, so if you were to study in that school, you better make sure you're made of solid academic stuff because you don't get high grades unless you demonstrate you know your subject matter ( which of course makes it hard to get high grades -- not good on your transcript if you want to float through college ). </p>

<p>F) Prefers to accept students who go through a PERSONAL face to face interview to make sure you fit into their system. They don't want to just accept anyone. They want to make sure that you are a good fit for the school.</p>

<p>G) Only has an undergraduate ( B.S. and B.A. ) program. </p>

<p>H) A little too non-diversified in terms of its student racial mix ( what do you expect in a school that does not discriminate based on race ? ). Roughly 95% of the student body is white. If you're hankering for diversity, you'd hate the school. </p>

<p>I've said enough... suffice it to say that Grove City is just ONE of the many colleges out there that provides a solid college education without the fluff courses with tuition fees that are relatively affordable and YET, does not accept Federal money. Other schools I can think of are --- Hillsdale Collge, Christendom College, Franciscan University of Steubenville, etc. </p>

<p>Proof positive that we don't need Washington meddling to guarantee students a good college education. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, people still <em>insist</em> that you have to go to one of the big name universities ( no matter how expensive ) to be worth your weight. The tuition fees and the excessive debt you must incur is beginning to prove otherwise.</p>

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<p>limnath is right on about all the stats and the basics of GCC. </p>

<p>Like Hillsdale Col., GCC does not accept federal money, though I think they are still accepting state aid (I'll have to check that). </p>

<p>My niece says Catholics on campus are "nervous." While that has been disputed here in this forum, I am not sure that niece's perception is not correct. That and the fact that lots of the kids pair off and get married right after college (check the chapel schedule for weddings in June/July/Aug.; it's completely booked), drives her over the edge. Second niece, also there, LOVES everything about GCC. So, to each his own.</p>