Grier School - Review #1

I liked Grier very much when I attended it. Four years went by so fast, I did not even notice how I graduated so quickly. In the meantime, I saw myself change and become stronger, more independent. I've met many amazing people at Grier with whom I remain friends till this day. Classes at Grier helped me prepare myself for the university workload, and the mandatory schedule at Grier helped me to be more organized. A lot of people have troubles with that at the university in their freshman year, but I did not thank to Grier.

Grier has definitely made me grow a lot as a person. When I first arrived I was very shy and not very good at taking care of myself. Classes at Grier are arranged in a way that everyone gets to express their opinion and I feel like that helped me overcome my inner shy girl and grow up a bit in that sense. I also learned to be independent of my family and take good care of myself and help others.

My advice would be that generally, your first year at a boarding school is going to be tough. Not only is this a completely new environment, new people, and a new setting, but it is also tough to be away from your family. It feels almost as if starting life anew. But it is totally worth it and it is going to give you the skills you need for your future life. Just stay strong and make sure to have fun in your first year and surround yourself with awesome people and then everything is going to be okay:)

I am now a junior at college and I look back at the time I went to Grier with happiness. I am glad I chose Grier as a school to attend. I feel like it gave me the confidence I needed right after school at the university. I felt like I was ready for a new challenge and confident in my skills. Both social and academic. Grier also gave me a chance to be surrounded by many amazing, confident, and smart girls from all around the world. I would definitely recommend Grier.

Coffee barn on campus is a great place to relax after a tough school day and make sure to check out the horse barn:)

I liked the way school day was arranged, with little time in between classes and only one big break. The long break helps if you have something important in the evening when there is time dedicated to doing your homework. Then you could just leave the homework for extra help time. You could also ask teachers any questions during that time or finish a test. Teachers at Grier are very kind and always helpful. If you ever come across a problem, you could always come to talk to them and they will try to help as much as they can. I also enjoyed being able to choose what classes I wanted to take every year.

Sport is a big part of after-school activities and I definitely recommend doing one of the signature programs such as horseback riding or dance. Coaches and teachers at both are absolutely amazing. They give great instruction. Horseback riding is a very competitive program if you attend competitions. You have to spend a lot of time on private lessons and practicing.

I myself did not participate in the Music and Theatre program much, but I did take piano and violin lessons at school. Teachers were always kind and helpful and I even made some progress!

There are many clubs to join if you like a little challenge and many sports to attend. From sports, I remember horseback riding, dance, yoga, archery, basketball, tennis, soccer, stretching, Zumba, and many others.

Choosing the right dorm is a very important aspect of feeling comfortable at school, in my opinion. It is great if you are a junior or a senior, then you get the priority on dorms and you could choose to live in one of the cottages available. If you live in the main building it is a bit tougher, it feels like you are always at school. But then at the same time, there is a good side to it too - then you are in the epicenter of all the activities on campus. In cottages, you have your own kitchen so instead of going to the cafeteria, you could cook something on your own:)

The cafeteria was okay, in my opinion. There were always many options, including vegetarian. Lunches and dinners were always different, so it was not like there was the same to eat every day. There is a salad bar for lunch and dinner every day, desserts, and soups. So you can always choose something to eat. I never had any trouble with food there.

School is located in a suburban area of Pennsylvania. There is not much to do in towns nearby such as Altoona or Tyrone, but State College is only about 30 minutes away and there is everything you need there - CVS, shopping centers, shops, restaurants, Starbucks, theater and a park.

Social life at Grier is so much fun. No matter if you are a day student or a boarding student. On weekends there are lots of trips planned by the school, for example, Walmart shopping, State college trip, day in NYC, restaurant outings, movies, and other fun stuff so it is never boring. Also, there are lots of activities on campus such as music festivals, dance shows. Also, girls like to organize something themselves so you could always join in on something fun and exciting.