Blue Ridge School - Review #4

Over all, Blue Ridge School is a fantastic place for those who love the out doors. Not only is the Outdoor Program #1 in the country, but the campus is located on 400 acres of Appalachian Forrest with groomed mountain biking trails and interpretive hiking trails.

Entering Blue Ridge I was a boy, I left a man of well rounded education. My greatest achievement was based out of personal goals. I rode my bicycle ~750 miles from Austin Texas to Blue Ridge School. However I would have never achieved this goal if I didn't receive such a push from my school and my teachers. My college counselor Carrie Woods and my guidance counselor Markley Anderson actually rode countless miles with me in my journey helping me along the way.

I would have been more prepared for dorm life... In the beginning I didn't have a laptop to type papers in my room with, having a television would have been nice. Instead of getting a huge sound system to blast music on, get blue tooth headphones that cancel noise. Always stock up on snack food. Options are limited on campus.Getting homesick is part of growing up, sometimes it happens to me in college. Being at boarding school is for a great cause, yourself. Anyone in your family or at home who loves you understands that this is a great opportunity to seize.

Anything I wanted to pursue academically or athletically could be pursued. The Blue Ridge School Outdoor Program is by far my favorite part of the school. I went snowboarding, canoeing, hiking, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, zip-lining, and/or backpacking almost every weekend while maintaining grades I was proud of.

I recommend checking out Senior Rock, its a great place to hang out on a sunny day. I enjoyed being in dorms that backed up to the trails, look at the campus map on the website. Always stock up on food when possible.

Due to the fact that BRS is an all male school, it opens up new opportunities in the classroom not being afraid of what a girl may think of your comment behind you or even distracting you at all. The amount of writing I had to do for each of my classes was not too much, but allowed us to share our ideas and philosophies on different subjects in a healthy and entertaining way. The motto above the doorway of the academic wing of the school is "Teaching Boys to Reach", this is a college-prep school, but not your typical college-prep in the fact that the competitiveness within class is there if you desire it. But the honest truth is, they will help you no matter what. Be honest, work hard, and you will be rewarded at this school.

The athletics program is great, due to the boarding school schedule you are able to get out and practice/play vastly more than any day or co-ed school. During my time there, BRS won the state championship for football. The athletics coaches are truly talented in pushing you to your fullest potential, in and out of the classroom. They are all intellectuals and value school over sport. As the Mountain biking team captain I found myself right at home fixing bikes, teaching friends, and getting to ride every single day. Mandatory participation in 2 active sports out of 3 afternoon programs is required, in my experience this helped me blow off stress, I did Mountain biking, soccer, indoor soccer, drama, and rock band.

Jerry King. The mastermind behind all of the production of Blue Ridge School. He is inspiring, talented, and most of all the greatest friend you could ask for. He goes above and beyond in all aspects of life. He pushes each person in a show to their peak performance, and the results are spectacular. Mr.King goes to the local public high school to ask the director if any girls would like to be in the Blue Ridge productions, many leap at the opportunity because of the individual acting coaching they get with Mr.King. I was never in the visual arts program, however David Welty is fabulous artist and has had students go to art schools all over the world, and his studio has massive amounts of supplies. If you work hard at art here, you will be able to participate in projects you wouldn't have dreamed of.

Saturday Morning programs were pretty neat, waking up and watching a movie or seeing a performance as a school. Ranging from lectures from college professors to Lord of the Rings movie marathons to entire camps capture the flag, something is always happening on Saturday mornings at blue ridge school.

Dorm life at Blue Ridge can be tough, but the dorm parents and staff really make it feel like home. room selection for new students is typically pretty random, the transfer process takes about 3 weeks after the trimester has started. Typically shared bathroom with a hall, 2 to a room, desks, dressers. The fancier dorm Boogher Hall is suite style with typically 4 to a bathroom. Usually second year students get into the nicer dorms. also lights out is lights out there is no food access unless brought.

The dining hall is one thing that I missed the most my freshman year of college. The food is great, but as you can imagine cooking for 250+ people can prove to be extremely difficult. So I started the Food Committee my senior year, a student and faculty correspondence with the kitchen staff to create menus and meals. The cafeteria is open only during meal hours.

The remarkable thing about Blue Ridge is that it doesn't have a surrounding town. The mountains are your back yard. Charlottesville is only a short bus ride away, and mall trips usually go out one or twice a week.

Everyone is famous for something at blue ridge, and everyone is part of the family. Boarding schools have a weird social dynamic in themselves. Having Chinese roommates and meeting people from Ghana was an eye opening experience. The teachers that live on campus become your neighbors and friends rather than superiors