With the admissions season having drawn to a close, newly admitted students came to Groton for Revisit Day. As Mr. Gracey said, it’s a way to help students get a “feel for the culture of the school.”

But just how legitimate is Revisit Day?

Revisit Day is a way to increase the yield of admitted students, and to do that, Groton needs to put on a show. Students force a smile and pretend none of their troubles exist and make their revisits feel comfortable at the school. Admissions Prefect Gisselle Salgado ’17 said Revisit Day “has a closer focus on Groton’s more attractive qualities  Groton showcases its best, with performances by the Choir dining hall favorites, while glossing over less glamorous facets of life here. This disguise has caused 48% of current students to feel that Revisit Day was not an authentic representation of Groton, according to an online survey I recently conducted (the survey recieved nearly 150 responses). “They made Groton seem too much like a summer camp,” said Doug Altshuler ’20.

Students arrived on campus and convened in the CPAC. There they were smothered with familiar clichés such as “you belong here” and “the right school is Groton” in speeches by Mr. Maqubela and Mr. Gracey, and listened to a fifth and sixth form “game show” panel consisting of prepared questions. They watched Lincoln’s rendition of High School Musical, then went to Parlor to socialize with other potential formmates. At the end of the night, they were reunited with their parents in the Forum. The next day, breakfast was served in the Forum with coffee and doughnuts (the latter being a rare treat for students), and attended relaxed classes with their hosts for the first four periods and ate a finer-than-usual lunch prepared by the Dining Hall staff.

While students are split almost half-and-half on the authenticity of Revisit day, 79% of students believe changes should be made. Ani Gogineni ’20 said, “This year’s revisit day portrayed Groton as too fun-loving and spirited. We have spirit, it’s true, just not all time.” Revisit Day doesn’t need to be so manufactured and choreographed. A few simple changes, like serving normal Dining Hall meals, is enough to make it more realistic. Cut the lip sync performance and conference contest. Instead, show students how classes really are and serve the families the already-amazing food from the Dining Hall. Mr. Gracey said it himself: Groton is enrolling at a higher rate than usual. Do we really need to sell our school so hard to enroll more?