I got a lot of freedom in choosing what classes I wanted to take towards senior year. The number of classes available to just 340 students was amazingly high. I remember there were electives that focused on just cancer or baseball or Shakespeare comedies. The rigorous classes rarely failed to challenge anyone, and when it didn't, students had the option of doing independent studies pending on an academic committee's decision. Classes aside, the teachers were very good as well. They are genuinely interested in the subjects that they teach and are very keen on having students drop by their office with questions. If you have conflicting academic commitments, teachers are usually very sympathetic as well and help you work around your schedule.

The competitive environment can make Groton a very high stress place. Students are constantly competing with themselves and one another, which makes classes less enjoyable.

Athletics was certainly a good way to help students at Groton learn the importance of teamwork. There is a tendency for Grotonians to want to outshine each other academically, and athletics help erase that individuality when you are in the game. Granted, our preference for individuality is probably why many of our teams haven't been doing as well compared to other schools, but there's been an upward trend lately and I think it has a lot to do with a change in student body's attitude towards teamwork and changes in the athletic program itself.

Athletes are put in the spotlight while other students are usually seen as being there "to fulfill requirements." Personally, I have been lucky enough to join the cross-country team, where everybody has fun together and slow runners are not considered any less of an athlete than fast runners.

The new art building is a really great place to work in. It has great facilities and allows students, especially those who are serious about art, to concentrate on their work. Although there are few art clubs on campus, all students try out art at some point in their Groton career, so I wouldn't say there's necessarily a lack of enthusiasm for art.

The only thing lacking in the art's program is a lack of diversity in the classes available, but it is truly a small school, and I would assume that the administrators are more focused on the diversity of academics than anything else.

There is a wide selection of activities to choose from, and even though some groups may have ceased to exist with graduating seniors, people interested in those groups are always able to bring it back to campus.

New activities often have a tough time finding their own place at Groton because it is a school of traditions and history that have not been tampered with for decades.

Dorms are a fun place to be in at Groton. There were such things called "feeds" where dormheads get pizza/donuts/cake, etc. for the dorms out of a school budget, and students have always lived on those when they got sick of dining hall food!

Dorm walls are kind of thin at Groton, so neighbors can easily hear you talk or the music that you are playing. That causes a lot of annoyances for people, but that is also about as bad as it gets in dorm life.

The food is fresh and they have a wide selection at the deli bar. Also, they leave out bread, peanut butter, and jelly all day long, so if you get sick of the food, there's always something to fall back on.

It gets to be repetitive.

The campus was open and welcoming to new students. Everyone from teacher advisors to dorm prefects to student advisors make sure you are settled in. I was constantly meeting new people and getting help from old students, to the point where I was almost overwhelmed! It certainly kept my mind off from home, and as an international student, I found that very helpful. In terms of fitting in, I had no problem finding friends at all. I arrived at Groton in 4th form (10th grade), and that is usually the form for accepting more students into a class. That said, there were a lot of new students looking for friends too, so fitting in was very easy.

The school was predominantly white, but there were students of color as well, which made integration almost a given. For my particular class, however, there was an unusually high number of minority and international students, so integration in my class was not as obvious as in other years. People preferred to hang out with others of the same color, and usually it was because of an inherent cultural barrier that prevented people of different races from becoming very good friends.

The average weekend would consist of sports or a couple of hours in Boston on Saturday afternoons, then a dance at the student center on Saturday night. People usually sleep in on Sundays and wake up in time for the chapel service, then head off for lunch and some studying. Occasionally, there are buses that would go to the movies/mall as well, so students had the option of going off campus if they wanted to.

Students did venture into town every now and then, but it is a 10-minute walk, so unless people were up for it or found a ride from faculty members, they usually just stayed on campus or took the weekly bus to Boston. Most of the time, students went there for groceries or restaurants (it was a small town).