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Germantown Academy

School rating 4 / 5 by

340 Morris Road Fort Washington PA 19034 United States
Day
PK to 12th
Gender
Coed

Academic

Germantown Academy review by .

Germantown Academy is strong in all suits. I think the English and History department are well developed, with teachers who have been there for twenty or more years, and teachers who have just started out in the past few years. I also feel that the sciences, especially the biology department, have truly extraordinary teachers. My junior year Biology teacher made me love it so much, that I went on to AP Biology the next year, and am currently a Biology Major at GWU. College writing courses have been a breeze for me because of my incredibly talented History and English teachers. I felt that while the courses that I took were challenging, they were building me up as a better writer. My History teacher, Mr. H would give impressive feedback on papers, and the exams that he built not only tested our historical knowledge but tested and challenged our writing style. One of my English teachers Ms. S, would also give very thoughtful and helpful notes on papers, and was always available to discuss how how we could improve our piece as well as our analytical writing overall. I took three AP courses my senior year which were helpful with preparing me for the AP exams, and the college courses that were soon to follow. The only weak spot that I found in my preparation for my college career was being put into basic chemistry after not being a very strong physics student the year prior. The course, while being taught by a good teacher, did not challenge me the way the other courses I was taking did. That was the only class that had me looking at the clock in my entire time at GA. Now that I am in a lot of lecture based classes, I really miss the teaching philosophy at GA. Their interactive style of teaching really did help to solidify the things I learned in classes, and helped to keep me and my peers active in the class. It was also a lot more fun than sitting watching a teacher lecture for an hour. Honestly, there was no cutthroat attitude. People might have shared grades, but it was not out of nasty competitiveness, it was mostly just curiosity. I never felt uncomfortable with my friends who worked to earn straight As, and could just as easily work with people who struggled with grades. At GA, the experience is whatever the student makes it out to be, although it would be hard to be competitive with anyone at GA because people mostly keep their grades to themselves.

College Counseling

My college counseling had nothing to do with what schools I got into. However, it....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

I entered GA in fifth grade, so I have very little memory of how I....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

My highschool years were when I found out who I really was. I found a niche in the performing arts group, The Belfry Club, my freshman year and never looked back. My friends in that group continue to be my friends, and we frequently reminisce about shows. I'm not sure about other parts of the school, but Belfry was a tight knit group. GA has a writing center, where students go to other trained students to help them work to improve their papers. I went there to improve some of my work, and the students that I worked with were....

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