Gettysburg College Top Questions

This school is very clique-y and elite. Students are close-minded and arrogant. The faculty tries to promote inclusion and diversity, but for the most part, it fails completely. Students are upper class white kids with wealthy families. Students are jocks/preppy kids, hipsters, foreign exchange students and everyone else. Most students are from the Northeast.

My classmates are young, immature, and would rather play games than truly learn something new about themselves, the world, or even about other people. They want to have fun. Some of my classmates see this, too, and want more out of their college experience, and I admire their strength amid such dreary, uninterested college kids.

Some are very smart. Some are very dumb. There's really no in-between.

My classmates at Gordon College, are very nice, respectful, and are fun to be around.

They were dedicated learners.

Typically classmates are friendly and engaging and tend to work and study together for assignments and projects.

my classmates are energentic and willing to learn from the teachers and peer through many different interactions both inside the classroom and outside in many activities

Drunk, preppy, and conservative

Most of my classmates are intelligent. Most of them are a lot wealthier than I am. And, most of them act like they are a lot wealthier than I am.

Work hard, play hard.

Most students are white, upper middle class, intelligent, career driven individuals who work hard and play hard.

Gettysburg students are intelligent, quick-witted, friendly and driven, although they believe they have a right to party and indulge during the weekends.

My classmates are motivated, driven students who know what they want and how to go about getting it.

Gettysburg classmates are practical, quick-thinking, energetic, and always engaged.

They are all friendly people, but many students come from similar backgrounds and have had similar life experiences.

On the same wave length yet still diverge from the norm

Most students look very pulled together for class. they wear preppy, expensive clothes. On the occasional day that I wear sweatpants, I feel very out of place. Students definately do not dress down for class.

Most Gettysburg students are white, priviledged students who come from nice families who live very comfortably. More than half went to private/boarding school. Most are from Maine to Virginia with a large chunk from New England. You may think you are hanging out with the kids on The O.C. sometimes, but you will meet people you never thought you'd like and do. People do dress nicely though, so if you want to go to a-sweats-everyday school, you may want to skip Gettysburg on your decision list. If your friends don't go to a school like Gettysburg though, you get bragging rights on your friends from school.

On campus, there are a wide variety of students. You will find students of different races, religions, socio-economic backgrounds, etc. I don't feel that many students of any kind would feel out of place at Gettysburg because there is a variety, and even if it is only a small variety, people are not closed to staying within a certain clique. Anyone can find a group of friends on campus. Students wear anything they want to classes. You can find in one classroom a student wearing sweats and another wearing a dress. I would say that you can probably find the majority of students wearing a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt because it does tend to get windy and cold at Gettysburg.

As much as a love Gettysburg, and while I'm sure it's doing it's best, it is not a super diverse school. Most students here are pretty financially well off, although interestingly, most of my friends were not super concerned with their immediate earnings after college. There is a lot of community service here. I wouldn't use the phrase "rich white kids" to describe it, but...you get the picture. I could count on one hand the number of people from other backgrounds that I knew in my four years. Also, continuing in that theme, this is not a school where people wear sweatpants to class. I don't know that I would say preppy, but...yeah.

I find that Gettysburg is not very racially diverse. The student body is primarily upper middle class white students from the east coast. although i have come in contact with many students who do not fit this description, I still wouldn't say that Gettysburg has reached it's goals in obtaining a diverse campus. However, despite this fact, the campus hosts a lot of events which foster diversity and understanding other cultures. Gettysburg is not insensitive to other races and cultures, it just doesn't offer much first hand experience with students of non-white backgrounds.

Coming from a wealthy background, I do not personally feel that money is a huge issue on campus however when considering a student with less money, I can see how it may pertain to them. I have friends who are from different financial backgrounds than me, and participating in the same activities isn't very difficult. The student body is largely homogenious. It does not bother me, but being from New York City, one of the most liberal cities in the world, I am not one sided about anything. It bothers me a lot when the pro-life protestors come to campus. I am strongly, strongly pro-choice and I am a very open to others opinions. If the protestors came off in a different way it wouldn't concern me if they were on campus, however they scream, and as a woman on the campus I want to scream back. The beauty of freedom of speech. Four tables at Gettysburg: the football players. They are all the SAE, and ATO brothers- they stick together. It doesnt intimidate me at all, in fact I think its nice they are so close. As a team that is extremely important. The TKE brothers. I have never seen a TKE brother walking or sitting anywhere without ANOTHER TKE brother. They travel in packs. To class. To servo. To get their mail. I will be walking into an academic building and 10 TKE brothers will pass me all at once. They must all sign up for the same classes together. They all sit at the counter area on the upper level in servo. They don't face eachother, and sometimes don't even talk to eachother, they just sit and look out on the scene. I find it extremely amusing. ontop of the jocks, and the fraternity boys mentioned, there is a group of people that arent as social. I feel like they always sit together- they dress differently than the majority of people, they look different, they discuss different things...sometimes people wonder how they came about choosing Gettysburg. This next part is about to sound absolutely horrific. The last table is always African Americans. I feel like the non caucasian people at Gettysburg often times feel very inclined to do everything together. I think about it like this- if I went to a school that was 95{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} black, I am guessing that I would be friends with the 5{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} white people as well. It's 2008. We should be past this. But I guess a bit of 1960 is still within each of us. The majority of the student body is by NOOO means exclusive in that if a non white person were to sit at my table, I would not mind at all. I feel like THEY feel uncomfortable though.

There are definitely groups of similar people on campus, and they're not exactly cliques, but once people find their niches, they usually just stick with them. However, people make friends throughout campus, and there is a group of friends to hang with for everything that goes on. In my case, I was part of the Black Student Union fashion show (so what if i'm white?), I began exploring many Christian groups (who cares if I was agnostic before?), I hang out with all the jazz and marching band kids (and I sing opera), there were two guys in my women's studies class, and we had guys hanging out on our all-girls floor all the time. I think it's impossible not to fit in at Gettysburg. For example, my best friend's roommate wants to fight zombies for a living, and he wound up becoming the coordinator for one of the hip-hop dance groups on campus. Go figure. There are a lot of kids from New England at Gettysburg, like Jersey, NY, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as a whole lot from in-state. I'm from VA, and I know very few people who are from further south than I am, but then again, one of my best friends is from Utah. There is also a huge amount of international students and professors. Within my first week, I knew kids from Lithuania, the Philippines, Palestine, Botswana, the Czech republic, and Switzerland.

For the most part the student body is NOT diverse. I remember during my interview I asked what is one thing that you wish you could change about this campus, and my interviewer said "add more diversity". I have friends from several religions, ethnicities, I have gay friends (and profs), and I have noticed an increasing amount of foreign students (from Italy, Bulgaria, Germany, etc.) But it is still an area that Gettysburg needs to improve on. I think a student from a low socio-economic class would feel out of place because most students have money (but definitely not ALL). Sometimes I feel as though everyone dresses preppy and everyone is a carbon copy of one another, but one day I looked around one of my classes and noticed that most kids were just wearing sweats and T-shirts. I think the students form cliques just like in High School-there are the sorority girls, the frat boys, the theater kids, and the "normal" kids you can't quite classify.

A lot of Gettysburg's student body come from middle to upper class, white families. Come Spring, plaid shorts, sundresses, and pale popped-collar polos are annoyingly prevalent. That is not all there is to the school, however. There are many t-shirt and jeans-wearing kids as well. Pajamas or swears in class are fairly common, as well. Most Gettysburgians are from PA, NJ, and NY, but we get people from the Midwest, West Coast, and international students, as well.

The student body at Gettysburg is extremely active. Their are tons of clubs that are run by students that the majority of the student body joins.

Some students where clothing that can be slept in, other go full out with skirts, boots, and scarfs. There are definetely groups- the preppy sorority girls, the athletes, and academics, but people can belong in all three groups or generally feel accepted by them. A lot of students are upper middle and upper class. But Gettysburg College does a great with financial aid. I have never heard students talk about how they based their major on the amount of money they will earn one day. But then again, I am around science students who can't really look foward to being millionaires in the near future.

I have a very small group of close friends that I've been close with since my freshman year. It was very hard for me to feel like I fit in when I first got to Gettysburg because a lot of people are very rich an preppy and that's not really my socioeconomic status or the way I choose to present myself. There are other kinds of groups at Gettysburg but you kind of have to look. Most of the campus is very right wing politically I'd say. I don't really interact too much with people outside of my circle of friends but I think that's how it would be at any college really.

The college community is somewhat open but at times they can be very culturally insensitive to certain backgrounds. People are welcoming and happy to help out.

I had friend who went to the University of Maryland College Park comment to me when she visited campus how shocked she was at how nice everyone dressed. It was a rainy, gloomy day and most people I saw were in sweatshirts! I told her she should come on a sunny Spring day, then the Lilly and labels are in full flair. It really is a great place to be stylish!

Here is the section where steretypical Gettysburg comes into play. The students are mostly all middle or upper-class caucasians, so minority students, whether it be racial, socio-economic, or some other group, often feel out of place on campus even though they might form friendships with typical Gettysburg students. There are groups for almost every type of minority represented on campus, but I think that these groups further exclude them from the main social atmosphere. There is not really any prejudice exhibited between students, however, and the lack of acceptance is more subtle than outright. Students are not really politically active or into any specific causes because campus life seems to take precedence over the outside world.

Alot of activites go on trying to encourage diversity and unique personalities but to be honest there are very few colored students and they often choose to stick with people of their own color. If a student wants to integrate it's easy but it's often their own choice not to.

Gettysburg is not a very diverse school as compared to its urban counterparts. Because of the cost of the school, the student body mosty comes from an upper middle class economic background. The campus has small but active political orgainizations with the majority of the student body being more conservative versus the professors who are more liberal.

For someone who came from a very diverse community and grew up with a very diverse class, the lack of racial and ethnic diversity at Gettysburg was a bit frustrating. There was a joke on our floor freshman year that the only two black kids were actually African (and they really were -- both foreign students from Kenya). The racial minoirities also generally kept to themselves, which I can't say is something I'd ever experienced growing up. All of the cliques in my high school were still cliques -- but race wasn't a factor. There were white, black, Asian, Hispanic kids in each of them. At Gettysburg, however, the cliques were clearly drawn along racial lines. I don't think it's as frustrating for some people who didn't come from the same social climate that I did, but I certainly noticed a frustrating difference in race relations on campus. Like I said, the stereotype that most Gettysburg students look as if they just walked out of a J.Crew catalog is true. But I don't think that has anything to do with diversity of thought on campus. Yes, the student body leans heavily to the right politically, but they are still an active group of students who speak up for many different causes (not just political ones). Most Gettysburg students hail from PA, NJ, and Long Island/Westchester. I knew one kid from Chicago and another from Colorado. The two international students I knew were both from Kenya. But the overwhelming majority are from the tri-state (PA/NJ/NY). Most have money and obviously haven't had to work very hard to earn it for themselves. (How else can you look like you've walked out of a J.Crew catalog?)

Mainly wasps. Few minorities are represented loudly despite their small numbers. Something for everyone.

Gettysburg has a good group of kids, from local kids, national kids, and exchange students. People interested in deeper things should find their group, because the average group is snobby and preppy. That being said, there are plenty of cool people around, just seek out organizations you'd think like minded individuals would join (theatre, service, etc)

gburg is white. there's no way around that. the campus is utterly undiverse and there have been some outright racist events in the last couple of years, at least one of which resulted in an expulsion. there's a struggle between the groups advocating diversity and the --well--white people, because the white people claim that there's nothing wrong with teh campus and the minorities feel underrepresented and sometimes poorly treated. also, most of the campus comes from money, quite a lot of it. personally I come from an urban/suburban area, and the J. Crew sameness of everyone wears on me after a while. however, that isn't to say that everyone is the same, because they're not, and i found it easy to find friends. still, it's something to consider, particularly if you're a minority. great school for its academics but not for its diversity. also, a lot of students don't need scholarships or financial aid to afford gburg's ridiculous tuition prices (went up a lot in recent years), so they don't care as much for their academics because as long as they don't get kicked out of school, they don't have to worry. this is frustrating to people who need reams of financial aid and scholarships and consider themselves incredibly lucky just to be there--people who want their classmates to put in the same effort as them (particularly in a writing class where group workshops are so crucial).

Describing the student body is pretty much done through the stereotype of a prep school. Financially, people are well off. People tend to come from the backgrounds of high-paid chief executives. Typically the students that feel out of place are the international students and that’s mainly because their thrown into a completely different culture. However, because the college is predominately white, racial diversity is not very strong. The campus itself is very liberal and the student body has a pretty balanced mix of Democrats and Republicans. Although the racial background of the campus is shallow, the student body is as diverse as can be and because of this you’ll have the opportunity to interact with a wide range of people.

Though Gettysburg has a mostly white, middle to upper class student body, we still have a lot of diversity. We have representation from many countries and states. Because we are so small, it's very easy to get to know a lot of people and find the group you fit in with. We are a relatively conservative campus compared to many other colleges, but there is still definitely political awareness from both sides.

Here's the thing, this school is predominantly white. I'm talking like 85-90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} white. For me, that isn't a big deal, I'm white. But it still took me by surprise, and still does from time to time, how white-sided, (oops) one-sided this campus is. Coming from Philadelphia public school, where the word "minority" was hard to apply to any group, it was almost a culture shock coming to this mostly white, mostly right-winged school. All my liberal friends in Philly made fun of me for going here, because I'm a liberal, and Gettysburg has a rep for being pretty conservative. It's true, for the most part it is. I'd say 65{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the school is relatively conservative. But you won't find many radicals from either side of the political isle here. Everyone is pretty chill when it comes to those things. Probably half of my friends are conservative, but we get along just fine. There is more to life and friendship than politics. But that's not to say it isn't important and prominent throughout the campus. Many students here are both politically aware and active. But a lot aren't. As for the distribution of income, this place can be pretty one-sided in that area too. There is a lot of money on this campus. There are A LOT of students from well-to-do families from places like New England, New York and New Jersey here, and it shows. Prep schools seem to be a common denominator between many of the students here. But there is also a healthy mix of middle class as well, (people like me!). For some students, its obvious that they're well off, and for others, its obvious that they're struggling to even pay the tuition to come here. There are a lot of hard workers here on campus, and a lot of slackers too. But I would definitely say that the former far surpasses the latter, and that shows too. After all, this is life, and there are always going to be both.

The student body is overall pretty attractive and most of the girls wear the same thing. In the winter uggs and in the spring lilly dresses. There aren't as many pastels as there used to be guys are generally dressing more plain. There are still pockets of very preppy students. The school is becoming more diverse and a lot smarter. I have no idea what type of student would feel out of place at Gettysburg because mostly everyone assimilates to the norm when they get there. Most the students at Gettysburg are from the Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland area. The students are predominantly conservative but more liberal students are coming to the school. There are not that many students that are active in spreading their political thoughts. Most of the students are from a middle class to upper class income level but the school has been offering financial aid to a lot more students and therefore opening to the school to people of different financial backgrounds.

You would think that a liberal arts college might lean toward the liberal side but I was encouraged to see a pretty even balance when it came to political support. I especially admire the encouragement to pursue a greater understanding of the political process on a personal level. Profs like Shirley Ann Warshaw help students to get fired up about politics and she has this way of getting students to look within themselves and challenge their own ideas; not with the purpose of changing them, but to better understand how ideas are formed and how the political process is shaped by the individual.

Gettysburg has a pretty self-selective student population. People who want to go here tend to fit a certain mold and know it, and I think that might be one of the reasons that it's been hard to diversify the school. A lot of kids are friendly to people of other races, sexualities or socio-economic standings, but most people avoid letting such students into their closest circles of friends. International students seem left out of most groups of 'typical' Gettysburg students--white, Christian, straight and at least well-off. When spring finally arrives, expect to see the Gettysburg 'uniform' in full swing: Lily Pullitzer dresses, cardigans, Jack Rodgers and pastels for the boys. Although much of the student body identifies themselves as conservative, most of these students back down from actual political discussion...a LOT of kids simply regurgitate their parents' political views and in reality care little about much that goes on outside of Gettysburg.

The campus is, although it would be nice to pretend it isn't, is noticeably primarily white. Four tables in the dining hall is impossible, because mostly guys from different frats do not interact or girl from different sororities when they're sitting together. Setting aside frats, four tables would be jocks, including girls, black kids, freshman, and weird kids.

I which there was a little more diversity at Gettysburg. It is hard to discuss race relations in a class made up of entirely white students. The college is doing a better job at recruiting minority and foriegn students to Gettysburg. I saw a difference in the make up over my four years there. What students wear to class can range from sweaty tee-shirts after an early morning team practice to a sundress and pearls. There is a wide range with everything inbetween. Most students are from the east coast. The majority are from PA and NJ, within about a 3 hour driving distance. Many students come from New England and VA. I had friends from as far as Oregon and California, but they are few and far between. Gettysburg draws from a wide area considering they are a small, relativley rural school. Politically students range from very active to completely unaware. It deprends on the individual interests. Students are very involved. At last count there were over 140 student groups and organizations on campus. The average student is in 3 extracurricular activities. So get involved, or get outta here.

Gettysburg is a very conservative campus compared to most other universities. Most of the students there are quite wealthy, and definitely dress the part. Girls wear Lily Pulitzer dresses and Jack Rogers sandals to class sometimes. This is definitely not the 'roll out of bed and go to class in your pajamas' kind of school. At lacrosse games, we joke that we're at the Kentucky Derby because girls come dressed like they're going to a fashion show, huge sunhats and all. The students are pretty polarized between those that drink and those that dont, and they dont really interact. Its hard to meet anyone after freshman year unless you enjoy meeting people when you're wasted at a frat party and you barely remember them the next day anyway. Most students plan to be rich when they're adults, especially because they've already got jobs lined up with their wealthy relatives once they graduate. Luckily, there's enough normal people who actually earn their own money and buy their own clothes that someone who shops at American Eagle can still fit in.

Gettysburg College is not very diverse but it is getting better. There is still a long way to go. However students of color on this campus are not any different from others in their involvement in campus clubs and organizations. Students definitely dress to go to class at Gettysburg. Walking past the mail room during lunch hour you'll see lots of people with packages under their arms (J.Crew, Sephora, Vineyard Vines, etc.). Gettysburg is a national school and because of the success of the lacrosse programs it draws students from all over. Mostly from the northeast but as far west as California and as far south as Florida. Here it is trendy to be conservative but most people don't really know what that means. There are probably just as many liberals on campus. I think most students just hope to perpetuate the lifestyle they have enjoyed as a result of their parents success and think conservative politics will get them there.

As much as Gettysburg tries to pretend, there's really not that much diversity. There's the sorority/fraterntiy group, which is stereotypically seen overly tanned and wearing polos, puppy shorts, and Greek t's, and then there are the rest of us. Actually, there's a group for international students that I just discovered my senior year. It seems that the students who are considered "diverse" group together, which makes it more difficult for the WASPs that make up the rest of campus to interact. Even though people may have their specific idea of the typical Gettysburg student, there ARE others on campus who are nothing like that. I can't really say what kind of student would feel out of place at Gettysburg because I know so many different kinds of people who have found a home there. Really, the only qualification is that you enjoy yourself and are able to appreciate the opportunities Gettysburg provides for you. If you're pessimistic and hate learning, you won't enjoy yourself here.

Gettysburg's student body is not very diverse. Most students are white and middle class. Some people dress quite preppy for class, others choose to roll out of bed and come to class in their sweatpants...anything goes. If you walked into the dining hall for dinner you might see a sports team sitting together, a group of freshman from the same hall at one table, and a bunch of girls from the same sorority at another. A lot of student live within a few hours of the school but there are others from all over the country.

I dont think that you only find carbon copies of sorority girls and that sort of thing at Gettysburg- like one might think. Everyone is different- and every one brings something new to the table. However, if you are looking for a very diverse school- Gettysburg is probably not the place to go. It is a private school in southern PA- It just is bound to be what it is. I love that its becoming more diverse- but I don't think it will ever rival the diversity of a big university...