St. Andrew's School, DE - Review #11

A commitment to financial aid and the social, financial and ethic diversity it fosters. Kids really did come from truly varied backgrounds. Also, an almost complete lack of an alcohol and drug culture.

I obviously became independent at school and I learned how to survive and prosper amid intense academic setting.

Very little. I had fantastic time at St. Andrew's and would take much of it back.

The spirit and community that is born out of a strikingly diverse group of kids thorn together in a spectacular setting with dedicated faculty.

Get out on the pond and in the other parts of the massive 2000 acre campus. Also Hillier corridor for life, not that you have any choice in your freshman housing. I lived their again my senior keeping an eye on underclassman and loved it just as much.

Rigorous. We worked hard. That being said I think It payed off. You learned how to manage your time and get things done within the often overwhelming setting of academia. Discussion was always emphasized both in small classes and the circular shape of all classroom seating. English and writing was also emphasized which really strengthened my abilities as a writer. The arts program was also fabulous and some of my favorite classes were in the studio. The facilities and faculty of this department were particularly good.

You are obligated to play a sport each season though their are ways out of this such as theater or community service which seems to become increasingly available to upper clansmen. As a result of the obligation sports are a huge part of the culture of the school. Their frequency and time-commitments helps foster both physical and mental discipline and helped build strong bonds with one's classmates. I would say that these good times with teammates were my favorite part of high school athletics.

As I already mentioned I loved the studio art program. I was an art "major" which meant I took studio art as a normal class as opposed to a two period one my senior year. We got our own studio. It was a blast. Some of my fondest memories of my final year at SAS were in that room blaring music and painting or drawing into the night with friends. The other arts department are also strong fostered in part by the relatively new, state-of-the-art building that houses them. The orchestra and choral scholar (elite singing group) are particularly impressive and the acapella group is fun and well-attended.

There is a wide range of clubs at SAS. In terms of ones I participated in the The environmental club was active while I was a student and was constantly striving to make the school a more sustainable place- usually with at least enthusiasm from the administration. I was also in the chapel choir and the small bag pipe marching band that was started while I was a student. One of the more fun groups I was a part of was and the polar bear club. Once a month we would jump in the lake at 7:15 am. I was the co-president in my senior year.

I can only speak for boys in this regard. Girls lived in a couple scatted dorms about campus. In contrast, all the guys lived in the second and third floor of the main building. As you might imagine this was rowdy, raucous and always fun. The rooms were always adequate and I always enjoyed dorm (or more accurately, corridor) life.

The dining hall was fairly basic. More interesting was the meal schedule. Every school day but Wednesday we had family style lunch with an assigned group of students from each grade and a couple professors. Non-seniors would then rotate being waiter, plate clears etc. It was a good way to get to know people and teachers though you could occasionally be stuck at bad tables. One Wednesday night before chapel service we had a more formal family style dinner instead.

The school is very insulated from the town which is ok because Middletown doesn't have that much to offer- basically all the amenities of roadside, strip mall America and that's about it.

Social life was constricted but usually fun. Seeing as we had Saturday classes it was all about that night. The school and the student run student activities committee to a good job of getting things together for then. Despite this I find most of my better memories come from odd moments on corridor, at lunch or at school meeting.