In my America 250 series, I learned the Rotunda I visited in August 2019 was built in 1826, the…read more50th anniversary of the US. I thought this was a cool building with a lot of great history, cool views, on a beautiful UVA campus. I highly recommend a visit to the Rotunda.

Repeater... the grounds on the UVA Campus are amazing…read more Walking around the grounds, I was impressed at how clean, how natural, and how tranquil the fields were. I was certainly thinking of hyping this campus to my freshman niece. While I was there for a course I took notice of how folks congregated on the lawn, and the various lawn chairs, but the grounds provided both open and covered areas for study and social gatherings. The Rotunda itself is a beautiful centerpiece surrounded by pillars and paths floored by brick. Gardens everywhere. There's a small statue dedicated to the first president of the United States. It is centrally located, with academic buildings on one side, and mix of commercial buildings (food, snacks, banks, bookstores, UVA gear... ), it's all there. If you're a student you have quick access to everything. It's very convenient. Very impressed.

A nice college in a small town, this is a great small school for your student. It's really close…read moreknit, and the student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, meaning there's lots of support and personal attention. The school is also really diverse, much more than expected in this region. It's worth a look!

The University of Virginia is a beautiful school at any time of year. The spring is wonderful with…read morethe cherry blossoms and the fall features the blue ridge mountains in all their colorful glory. The kids are happy and nice. The student led organizations make a lot of impact in the Charlottesville area.

Semester At Sea- Through the Institute for Shipboard Education was the best experience of my life…read more In the summer of 06' I decided I needed a little uprooting. I was severely unhappy in New York because the weather was just too cold for me and I don't think I was ready to head back to LA after only a year in college. So, after watching a video my friend's sister made of her trip around the world with Semester At Sea (SAS), I decided it had to be done. What can I say for it now? Well, with the exception of a few changes I would have made to my trip, I can not think of a more enriching, bubble-breaking, eye-opening experience. SAS is a 108 day program at sea, stopping briefly in 14 countries. Completely on your own, you're set in the middle of places you never knew existed or thought you would visit. From Burma to Egypt, Croatia to India, I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend 108 days of my life. I've kept a pretty extensive blog of my trip, although I do have to look thorugh some moving boxes to find the other, but if you'd like to read some of my anecdotes and memories, visit the travel section of my website at : http://miataylor.com/category/travel/

In 2009 I took a sabbatical/ leave of absence from my job in NYC to be a staff member on Semester…read moreat Sea. It was the most moving experience of my entire life. Here is what sums it up: We embarked in Miami, we boarded a ship We toasted to our journey and we each took a sip For three days we trained and learned all the ropes To ensure student safety and to meet all their hopes The mysteries of the world, they will all unravel As we embark on this journey of international travel On to the Bahamas, were students overwhelmed with emotions They boarded there, to begin our journey crossing three oceans My family flew down to the Bahamas to see me sail away Don't you fret Mom, Dad, Grandma, I'll see you in May My eyes welled up as we said goodbye, Don't worry my loves, this voyage will fly The seas were rocky as we crossed the Atlantic But the ship was stronger and faster than Titantic After 8 days, we docked in Spain and we kissed the ground Happy to be on land and see friendly faces all around We practiced our Spanish and watched Flamenco Dancers, In Global Studies class we learned, and our questions got answers We stopped at Gibralter for some fuel at the dock In a storm we waited between a hard place and a rock Now off to Morocco, where we drank mint tea And went to the Casbah with so much to see We sailed south for awhile and crossed the Equator Now we're all Shellbacks, a few days later Namibia's next, with its desserts and African charm Flamingoes, Dunes, and Germans who came there to farm Now on to Capetown, one of my favorite ports for sure We saw some zebras, some ostrich, and listened to a cheetah purr Was Mauritius even a port? We were only there for a day, that's too short! But Flic-en-Flac Beach was my own paradise, I'd go back in a heartbeat, don't ask me twice Then on to India which melted my heart With beautiful children, their village, their art They lived in the dirt and the heat, and they rarely have rain But I never once heard those beautiful children complain I met Nupur and we had lunch served on a banana leaf Mostly vegetarian, because they don't eat beef Onward we sailed, eastward to Thailand We use Baht here? I still have Rand I exchanged my money and met my best friend Who flew there to meet me, I didn't want it to end We rode an elephant and explored Bangkok We had so much fun and some culture shock Now on to Vietnam and the Mekong Delta Where it was so hot, I thought I might melta The War Remnants museum was somber and sad I wrote a blog about the war with some help from my Dad Hong Kong comes next, a big city, that's right Each night there's a show with a laser light And now on to Shanghai, a futuristic city, Only two days there, so short, such a pity Next is Japan with its pink blossoms of cherry We loved the baseball game, it was joyous and merry We ate Kobe beef and I saw my friend Mo, I needed more time here, I hated to go! Nine long days as we crossed the Pacific, A long time at sea, I can't be more specific Finally we saw land, Pearl Harbor, and Diamond Head We swam in the ocean and saw pretty flowers of red Two days was too short for our time in paradise Back to the ship to eat more pasta and rice In a few days the ship's alongside the dock once more And our eyes will tear up as we walk through the door Guatemala's rich land has ruins of the Mayan After we leave we'll each be cryin' Oh Beautiful for Spacious skies, we sing to the land from which we hail For it's almost May 6 and we've finished our sail We've learned about and we've seen so many nations, And now we head back to our homeland obligations To amber waves of grain we return, as we look over the rail We're almost there, to Fort Lauderdale I'll miss these waves that rock me to sleep Homeward bound, I cheer, yet I weep For Purple Mountain majesties, I will miss my new friends But at some point every Semester at Sea voyage ends Across the fruited plain, we belt out with joyage This is the end of our fantastic voyage.

Beautiful campus. Small in comparison with UVA but just the right size to forge an intimate…read moregraduate school community. Lovely spots in and outdoors to enjoy the architecture that is Jeffersonian. Benches and well maintained lawns make for a great spot to catch up on readings and just pass the day.

My high schooler had a very positive experience working twice a week for 1 hour sessions with…read moreMillie online. Despite a few computer and connectivity glitches on both our ends, Millie was pleasant and flexible while giving my daughter the help she needed to help get her some much needed improvement in memory and learning skills. She worked about 1 year with Millie and felt that Millie really connected with her. I could not find any centers in my area that could offer this type of service, so it was wonderful to be able to do it all online. This system helped my daughter. My only regret was not finding them sooner, though I don't think we all used online learning as much as we had to in the pandemic. I'm sure there are other kiddos who have the need for the service they provide.

I love LearningRx. I did the program the summer after my senior year of high school. I used to not…read morebe able to focus for even a short amount of time. I was not very good with directions. I would get lost driving all the time, even if I knew the place. I couldn't picture images in my head very well. Over the course of the class, I found myself being able to focus on something for longer periods of time, which is especially noticeable when doing homework in college now. I currently have a better sense of direction because I am able to picture where I am going and where I have been more easily. I am also more aware of how I can get distracted and can refocus because of that. It is really encouraging knowing that I can improve my mental abilities, which affect a great number of things.

Law School Building is beautiful and the library is a great place to study! Just gotta ignore all…read morethe kids with their heads down in law books on the way.

Academics were rough. Students collectively pushed back on doing work, and few teachers were…read morewilling or able to fail 70% of the class, so standards slipped across the board -- a student can graduate with a great-looking transcript and still be underprepared for math, science, etc. down the line. I remember an instance where a teacher assigned homework, and past the due date, 3/26 students had got it in. She can't tank everyone's grade, so her only choice is to either weigh homework lower or extend/devalue the deadline, neither of which actually serve the students as they move into higher education and careers. I watched one classmate who'd been absent three months and failing everything still walk at graduation, which stung given how hard most of us worked. These things really do devalue an FMS diploma. Security is another concern: a cadet installed a hacking device on a teacher's computer mid-year and changed his friends' grades. He was expelled, but as far as I know the systems were never hardened afterward. Socially, there's real camaraderie, but it can get cliquey, and cadet rank creates uneven enforcement -- some students effectively don't have to follow the rules. I was bullied a fair amount, mostly for taking my cadet leadership duties seriously. Post-graduation, the school isn't on Parchment or similar systems, so transcripts are a hassle. Mine arrived SIGNED and incorrectly listed all my courses as standard-level instead of Honors/AP, tanking my GPA on paper -- which is how Valedictorian ended up going to the highest ranking cadet instead of me, despite my actual record being better. That one felt like a real injustice. None of this is to discount the good people there. Christianna Herrera (Middle School Administrator) is a godsend -- goes above and beyond daily. Robert Loveland is excellent too. SGT Glass cares deeply and shows up despite chronic pain. Phillip Lacey made a real personal impact on me. JROTC staff, disagreements aside, genuinely want the best for cadets. Food service is better than most colleges', and admissions (Mike Payne) is solid. Bottom line: as an alternative to public high school, it's compelling -- but if you're comparing schools nationally, I'd hold off until there's real infrastructure investment, including expanding the TAC office budget to hire more staff experienced in childcare and boarding school environments. Ultimately, I had a good experience, but as a product review, it needs work.

I went here in 2016-2017 (I uploaded my transcript as proof below). The schools overall academics…read moreare solid, but the bullying, physical attacks, rampant drug use, disciplinary process and loss of self-identity is something your child may suffer from. I was hazed (beat up by a group) of 10 kids from my floor (each floor is owned by a group in the barracks) while the lights were off in the chapel because I often was provokative and didn't do as I was told by the leaders of my group. The school as a result of the investigation punished nobody, but did offer me to a new floor (the floor were most of band/music kids were) and room as a result of the incident. I was also almost hazed (beat up by a group) the first month of arriving at the school, but thankfully some bystanders saw what was going on and stopped it from happening. This however was a constant problem at the school and a lot of kids were being hazed. The rampant drug use is apparent here. Kids in the bathrooms openly smoke cigarettes (Marlboro reds). They often offer these cigarettes to new kids to try, and sometimes even peer pressure. I also was taken advantage of numerous times, and bullied by many of older kids (higher classman) as a result and still am suffering from emotional damage this school has caused. One time I was grabbed and almost thrown into toilet by another kid because I wasn't listening to his orders. Even after getting beat up, the emotional bullying didn't stop. Colonel Gunn is the most solid leader, and is very good influence on the kids. I feel Fishburne Military School is a good choice for your kids if they conform easily. If they have a unique personality, and do not like to conform and have a strong sense of their own identity and opinions, I would highly avoid Fishburne Military School.