prospective students

I would like to offer you guys some advice to help you consider if Hampden Sydney is for you.

Let's start with an anecdote: a student in my freshman class chose HSC because "The Official Preppy Handbook," a book written long before he was born, suggested that Hampden Sydney was "the preppiest college in America." Period.

This guy had a miserable time here once reality set in: he had made one of the biggest decisions of his life based off of a book that was never intended to be taken that seriously. He tried way too hard to push this Total Frat Move brand of superficial gentility and no one was buying. He transferred soon after.

Choose your college based on timeless values, not clothing styles. If you asked a student "which frat is the waspiest" to his face or if you revealed to someone in person that you find preppiness to be the greatest quality a man could possess like some people have in questions on this site, he would probably be uncomfortable and or avoidant of future discussion.

Everyone is entitled to their interests. But make no mistake: just because something is in a book does not necessarily make it true. Be wise in choosing a school. Visit. Learn. But weigh the factors that you would be proud to tell your friends and family were what influenced you to attend.

For the love of all that is holy, don't have to tell your kids the story I told you. The Hampden Sydney man does not lie, so you would have to use your name. See how ridiculous it sounds now?