So many myths here. Go visit.
Wonderful school that builds men. Emphasis on character and while it is southern it also very diverse.

Isn't it a feeder school to Hampden-Sydney?

Beautiful campus but I agree that it is, for better or worse, very southern and very white. Its college placements are also very underwhelming when compared to all of the excellent private schools in the DMV or any of the more reputable boarding schools. On the flip side, the school seems to take boys with a wide variety of academic abilities which makes it less of a pressure cooker.

I graduated from there 25 years ago. It was distinctly whiter and even more good-ol’-boy Southern than it is now. Excellent academic school, but I also left with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth (I came from out west, and didn’t fit in culturally). At least they no longer allow students to display the Confederate flag - my first roommate did that, and was 100% a “the South actually won” kind of guy.

Anonymous wrote:Southern. They arrive with their hunting rifles in monogrammed cases.

This is completely inaccurate. They don’t bring hunting rifles in monogrammed cases, they bring shotguns in monogrammed cases to use on the campus skeet-shooting range

As a late 80s alum, I have a lot of mixed feelings. The wealth, of both the school and its students, can be overwhelming. And if you don’t end up going on to attend college/live in the South, then you forgo massive amounts of social capital that attendance would otherwise provide you

But they truly see to be pursuing a non-toxic masculinity where everyone is appreciated and supported for their unique interests and abilities. Don’t know how true or successful that aim is but it at least marks a significant departure from my day when all that mattered was your athletic ability

Ironically, the guys from my era that have gone on to do anything noteworthy - win Oscars for editing, build one of the biggest quantitative hedge funds in the US, run for President - were distinctly non-jocks and somewhat outcast in school

It seems like a nice school. Go visit and check it out for yourself

They also have a lot of international students now.

The nicest guy I ever met in college went there. That was a long time ago, but it has stuck with me!

A friend’s child goes there. He’s not southern and is AA. Loves it. From everything I’ve heard it’s great. My kids want to go based on his experience!

Anonymous wrote:Southern. They arrive with their hunting rifles in monogrammed cases.

Not poor redneck southern, it’s more old plantation southern.

Southern. They arrive with their hunting rifles in monogrammed cases.

What’s wrong with southern?

I know several family friends’ sons who attended/attend and they are lovely. From a college prospect view- one went to Duke and the other Notre Dame.

The campus is lovely

There are several past threads on WF. Please try search to find them.

My son's best friend's brother attends Woodberry and he wants to apply there for high school. Does anyone have experience with it. I know it has a reputation for being very southern. Is this true? How is the academic rigor?