West Nottingham Academy - Review #8

Small classes helped me out tremendously. All teachers made sure you were involved. No hiding in the back like other schools. An all male freshmen dorm was very big towards gaining independence as a 14 year old who didn't know anybody. I wish they would bring that back.

My education grew tremendously. In my previous schools I was treated like a number, not a student. I had gained independence at a young age which was very important when entering college and the real world. I won a lot of awards because WNA brought the best out of me.

I wouldn't have done anything differently. I was very shy when I first entered WNA my freshman year. The growth and learning process I learned was an amazing experience. I suggest not going home on the weekends. It slows your independence and being with others on the weekends you'll meet kids from all ages and different backgrounds.

I liked the boarding experience. I loved being a tri athlete. I met life long friends and got into every college I wanted to thanks to the teachers and coaches pushing me to my fullest potential.

Enjoy the time there. It's a very special and rare experience that most of your future peers and colleagues never had. I still think that there should be freshmen dorms or maybe at least a level or wing of a dorm dedicated to just freshmen.

I like the student to teacher ratio. All teachers would help you outside of the classroom. Some were dorm parents, so they could even work with you in your dorm.

Our baseball team won the conference title all 4 of my years. My senior year we went the the MD state finals, but unfortunately lost. We also played at the Wilmington Blue Rocks stadium twice in my 4 years. It was an awesome experience. Our school packed the stands.

My first dorm parent was my Art teacher. He taught me a lot about art. We would listen to classical music when we painted or did other forms of art. Our school had many exceptional artists with all sorts of different backgrounds. It made the art universal.

I liked how the students and teachers were able to communicate on a different level then most high schools due to the small classes and small extra curricular groups.

You gain independence at a young age which is a huge advantage when entering dorm life at colleges. The bonds you make with roommates and dorm mates are very tight. I still talk to my roommate and I'm 40. He's still one of my best friends. You could order food for delivery. You could do your own laundry. On weekends you can go on trips or go just about anywhere on campus. The dorm selection is pretty nice. We used to do a pool to see who went to which dorm. If you became a resident advisor you got to have a refrigerator and TV.

We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Wide selections. Cereal if you didn't like the breakfast, a sandwich bar if you didn't like lunch or dinner. A salad bar and even an ice cream bar. On the weekends you could make your own Belgium waffles! Some nights were special. They had steak and shrimp some times which was always a nice treat.

Colora, Maryland was a very small town in the late 90's. Cecil County was nice and small. We would sometimes play local public schools in sports which was always fun. We would take trips to the grocery store and McDonald's, which were local.

The social life was fun. You could make a lot of friends with different backgrounds. Being a boarding student I got to meet people from Korea, Japan, China, Germany, France, and many other countries.