Berry has this whole thing about first-year students living together, taking classes together, having mentors. They call it the "First-Year Experience."
It sounds nice. But private school tuition is already high. I'm trying to figure out if this is actual value or just marketing.
I asked a graduate on Reddit. She was honest.
She said the first year was the hardest but also the most important. They put her in a dorm with forty other first-years. Everyone was nervous. Everyone was away from home. And instead of ignoring each other, they kind of… bonded.
She said her first-year seminar professor—someone who teaches only first-years—became her advisor for all four years. When she struggled sophomore year, that professor was the one who noticed and helped her get back on track.
She also said something that surprised me: the first-year experience at Berry includes a camping trip. Like, actual camping. In the mountains. With people you just met.
She said it was miserable at the time. Rain. Bad food. No cell service.
But looking back, she said it was the thing that made her feel like she belonged. Like she'd survived something with these people, and now they were family.
So here's my question: does that kind of forced bonding actually create better outcomes? Or is it just a way to make freshmen feel like they can't leave because they're trapped in the mountains?
I'm intrigued. But also skeptical.
It sounds nice. But private school tuition is already high. I'm trying to figure out if this is actual value or just marketing.
I asked a graduate on Reddit. She was honest.
She said the first year was the hardest but also the most important. They put her in a dorm with forty other first-years. Everyone was nervous. Everyone was away from home. And instead of ignoring each other, they kind of… bonded.
She said her first-year seminar professor—someone who teaches only first-years—became her advisor for all four years. When she struggled sophomore year, that professor was the one who noticed and helped her get back on track.
She also said something that surprised me: the first-year experience at Berry includes a camping trip. Like, actual camping. In the mountains. With people you just met.
She said it was miserable at the time. Rain. Bad food. No cell service.
But looking back, she said it was the thing that made her feel like she belonged. Like she'd survived something with these people, and now they were family.
So here's my question: does that kind of forced bonding actually create better outcomes? Or is it just a way to make freshmen feel like they can't leave because they're trapped in the mountains?
I'm intrigued. But also skeptical.
