Lake Forest Academy - Review #2

Lake Forest Academy is a caring and nuturing place to learn. Each student is assigned to an advisor. Students meet in advisories. Advisors serve as mentors to students, monitor students' academic progress as well as overlook the general aspect of quality of life for each student. LFA is a place where community comes alive. Every other day, the school meets for Morning Meeting; the whole school comes together and the News of the Day is read by the prefects. Lake Forest Academy strives to develop character in each individual through athletics, academics, and the such. LFA is a small school, and as a result, the community that is formed is a caring and nurturing one. Classes are small; my French class had only 7 students sophomore year.

I felt as if I grew and matured socially and academically.

Boarding school is a very posititve and life changing experience. I would have been a little bit more social and I felt that the academic and athletic commitments burned students out. That being said, I would hope that the college placement rate to Harvard and Princeton, and the Ivies in general, increases as the implentation of the strategic plan takes place.

I like the diversity of the school and the fact that I could excel at the school. Excelling gave me the confidence to accomplish anything I want.

I would heavily recommend living in Atlass. I would also partake in the annual trips. For example, students went to South Africa and the Galapagos Islands one year.

Academics are first rate at LFA, especially classes in the humanities, such as English Literature. The books we read are amazing, and the faculty in the humanities department, especially Dr. Bird, are first rate. I like the emphasis on the seminar style of teaching, in which long tables are used for discussion. Discussion was a primary way of learning in the history and English departments.

If you wanted to play a particular sport, you could. It is this idea of the desire to play without extreme competition that set the school apart. Students could partake in whatever sports they desired.

In 2002, Lake Forest Academy opened the Fine & Performing Arts Center, later named the Cressey Center. Its program is first rate. The FPAC is a mini-museum, where students' artwork is on display. Multiples plays are produced, and you also have the oppportunity to direct your own play. There were a wide variety of performances and presentations that took place in the FPAC.

LFA offers a wide variety of extracurricular activities--from sports to publications, there is something for everyone.

I loved dorm life. Each dorm is seperated by gender. The best dorm in my opinion is Atlass Hall. I liked the small meetings that went on, the weekly dorm activities (intramural athletics,) as well as the weekly pizza nights. I met people from around the world and I learned so much from that type of diversity.

Students ate in Hutchinson Commons. I like the salad bar. The food was okay. Students were allowed to order from off campus restaurants and seniors had the privledge of going out for lunch.

Lake Forest is a posh suburb bordering Lake Michigan. I liked the scenary and the downtown shops and restaurants. Other than that, students really did not hang out in Lake Forest. Buses would take them to neighboring suburbs, where students could go to the mall or eat at restaurants. Chicago is also close by.

LFA is a relatively social school. There is a work hard, play hard mantra here. There were multiple formals and dances that went on, and I liked that everyone could attend prom.