Woodberry Forest School - Review #1

The thing I liked best about Woodberry was the incredible friends I made. Thirteen years after I graduated they're still my best friends. Living together on a dorm was a really cool experience and let us spend so much time together. The other amazing thing were our teachers... each of them was so good at their subject. Because they all live on campus they really got to know us through coaching, meals (in the dining hall or at their house), living on dorm, or helping with your homework at night. When you really get to know your teacher, and they get to know you, it becomes a lot easier to learn.

I became so much more independent and that made my move to college really easy. I had so much more confidence after boarding school than I did before. I knew how to manage my time, get my work done, and ask for help when I needed it.

I would have gotten out of my room faster and tried to make more friends early on. I was kind of shy on arrival; that changed as time went along.

The lifetime friends and the amazing teachers who treated me so well. The teachers are still people I care about a lot, and even though I've been gone a long time they still care about me.

The Fir Tree is great! I always liked the milkshake.The teachers will do anything for you... you just need to ask. They want you to be as successful as possible. It's amazing when you realize the power of that support.

The small classes and the direct attention from teachers. We did ton of discussion and hands on stuff... not much lectures. With 10-12 kids in most classes everyone participates. The work was challenging but teachers always would meet one-on-one to help you if you needed extra assistance. If you really loved a subject or were really good at it they were willing to help you really stretch and excel.

Athletic excellence. We always compete at the top of the league. But there's also a team for every level, especially when you're younger. You need to do a sport or afternoon activity each of the three seasons. There are also non-sports offerings (outdoors, skeet shooting, art, music). One thing they've added since I left is a mountain biking team.

I was in wind ensemble all four years. Aside from rehearsals I got a free weekly lesson as part of being in the band. We performed a few times a year. The cool thing of having this as a class is that it did not conflict with my sports at all, so I could do both.

There are tons of clubs. I did the student newspaper as the sports editor (and a sports writer before that). I also did quiz bowl and would compete sometimes. If you wanted to start a club that didn't exist the teachers and the school were really supportive and would help you get it going.

You were assigned a roommate your first year and got to pick your roommate each year after that. Dorms were fine but not too fancy. Really you spend your time outside because campus is so big. I lived in a new dorm my senior year which was nice. Faculty living on dorm were really cool and great to have around.

All you can eat, and it's good, too! Three nights a week we had family-style seated meal where one student was a waiter and we ate with a group of students and a faculty member. These meals were a fun way to get to meet other people not in your grade. All the other meals were buffet. There is also a great snack bar that had cheap and delicious food that you could go get at night, on weekend afternoons, and stuff like that.

Woodberry's out in the country, so we spend a lot of time out at the river fishing, swimming, and just chilling out. We would go to Charlottesville (45 minutes away) when our parents were around.

Everyone's equal. Because we have no day students you live with your classmates. You don't know who's driving a fancy car or who isn't. You all go to the same classes, hang out in the same places, and that creates a really strong bond.