Brooks School - Review #7

The relationships at Brooks are unlike anything else I have ever experienced. The faculty choose Brooks because it is a lifestyle, not just a job. Your teachers are not just your educators, mentors, and coaches but your friends. You become part of their lives and they yours. Plus, Brooks has the most beautiful campus. It is green, just like the school colors. The lake is just stunning and great for watching a crew race, which has the docks as the finish line, so everyone can watch and cheer you on as you cross the line. Brooks also created a well rounded person and held you responsible for all aspects of your life. Yes academics were important, but they also wanted everyone to at least try sports and the arts. Brooks wanted us to be well rounded and have life experiences and not be afraid of trying something new.

Boarding school allowed me to have a sense of independence in a safe environment. I was able to take on greater responsibilities and gain self confidence. I always fun my self intellectually challenged and found myself discovering my true beliefs, discovering where I stood on issues, not always agreeing with what my parents told me.

Don't expect your freshman roommate to be your best friend, if it happens great. But I find that sometimes it is better when your aren't best friends. There are less emotions involved were you are just friends, but you go your separate ways during the day, then you will never feel on top of each other when you hang out all day and still have each other around when you get back to your room. Also take advantage of all the opportunities a school offers. If they have an exchange try to go on it, get involved. The more you are involved the more you will feel a part of the school, and that the school is yours.

I seriously enjoyed everything.

Girls if you can get into it, live in Merriman, large rooms and no walk to get to class.

The faculty were amazing, always available to talk and go over assignments. The range of classes available to take was also amazing. If anything, I had trouble deciding which ones to take first. I also found that teachers loved their subjects and passed that enthusiasm on to their students. The workload can sometimes seem like a lot but the school teaches students to manage their time, which helped a lot for college. In addition everyone has a similar amount of work so everyone is in it together.

The teams were competitive and while I was there we often won. There was a strong sense of school spirit and pride at all the games (even the ones we didn't win). Everyone gets involved in the athletics, for there are different levels, so everyone develops a sense of sportsmanship. The coaching staff was great! They created goals that we work hard to reach and the pushed us to be our best. I was a better athlete because of them.

The arts were so much fun. The theater program allowed me to get involved in something that I continued to do for all four years of college, tech theater. Brooks allowed me to get involved in creating costumes and sets and work everything from power tools to a sewing machine. The art department allowed me to create an independent study through which my skills increased greatly. The teachers were encouraging and enthusiastic.

The BBS and the Ashburn Society allowed for great opportunities to get involved and were fun. The school chapel was also a great place to get involved. I was a chapel server for three years.

Dorm life was fun. We had great dorm parents who cared about our well being. Living with your friends can also be great fun, even if you have to rush back to make sure you can get a shower between sports and sit down dinner. We would decorate the dorms every Halloween and the Community Service group would bring children in to come trick or treating. As a prefect I was able to help other students adjust to living away from home and with their peers. If you were having serious problems with a roommate the school would make it work so you could change rooms. The selection process was a bit of a pain, but I haven't heard of an institution where it wasn't. All in all it was a great experience and would recommend it to any student who thinks they are ready to move away from home.

The food was great as far a cafeteria standards, but we all complained about it anyway because it wasn't home cooking. There were always a lot of options, and a great soft serve ice cream machine. Sit down dinners, were not always appreciated by students, but were a great way to get to know people you normally wouldn't hang out with.

North Andover is quaint. There is a local farm, Smolak's which makes home-made donuts that are amazing and it is about 2 miles from campus which makes it easy to get to. Brooks is fairly self-contained and most boarding students don't spend too much time in North Andover itself, but go to the nearby malls and movie theater, which the schools sent shuttles to.

The social life was great. Everyone had their group of friends, but the school was small enough where you knew everyone and it wasn't awkward to sit down at lunch with someone you didn't normally talk to. The schedule meant that much of the socializing happened in dorms or over group projects, or during a free period between classes. But the weekends made for great movie days or for frisbee out on the green.