My time at Hogwarts!

A School Review from a professional review writer!

During our last project, our team was tasked with writing articles in favor of some client colleges. Wherein, I was tasked with writing positive reviews for colleges as a part of Online Reputation Management. I used to look for the reviews posted online about colleges or contact the alumni of the college to get an idea and give it a touch of positivity.

While working on that project, and imitating other students (I know it’s pathetic, but it pays) I thought of writing a review about my time at Hogwarts. But I didn’t know where to submit it. My company’s website needs a specific address of the school or college in order to list them. I mean, I know it’s located somewhere in the Scottish Highlands. But it’s hard to pinpoint on a map.

Hence, here I am posting the review that I wrote about Hogwarts, anonymously — because of some stupid confidentiality issues between wizards and Muggles.

Note: The format and tone might seem unlively, but the idea is to do justice to my tedious and mundane job.

My School Review

Hogwarts | (Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus)

Admission Process

Admission is on an invite-only basis. The school will send you an owl if they deem you worthy of their 7-year resident program. On your first day, the sorting hat sorts students on the basis of their capabilities — a reflection of the unbiased practices adopted by the School.

Though, I don’t align with this methodology. I mean, I was sent to the Slytherin despite having a submissive and kind personality. The exact selection criteria to join the college is still a mystery for everyone, much like Google or YouTube’s algorithm.

Fee Structure

One year fee would cost you around USD 43K, but they only accept Gold or silver coins here. I got my muggle currency converted to gold coins at the Gringotts Bank. They also accept online payments. They just wave their wands and money was deducted from my American Express account. My parents paid until I was in the 5th year. After that, I did summer jobs to support my schooling.

Course Structure

The curriculum is carefully crafted and approved by the Ministry of Magic. Our syllabus consists of core and elective subjects. We had 7 core subjects at the beginning, most of which we have to study till the fifth year. Practical classes for subjects like Potions and herbology were fun. Though most of the teaching, during the first few years, was pretty much theoretical.

At the end of the second year, I chose Arithmancy (which I liked even as a muggle) and Care of Magical Creatures (simply to have a class in the open air). I already know enough about the muggles and don’t wanna know about magical animals as such.

Exam Structure

Every professor grade students on the basis of their class performance and submission of assignments. This grading system acts as a qualifying criterion for some of the classes and subjects in later years. The most important exam is the Ordinary Wizard Level (O. W. L.) exam which every student has to attempt at the end of the fifth year under the supervision of external invigilators.

Scores in the exam will decide your fate for the future and will also help you to be eligible for subjects in higher classes. I mostly scored A (Acceptable) & E (Exceeds Expectations).

Faculty

The faculty was pretty qualified and experienced. All of them had an ample amount of practical experience, around which they base their teaching. Overall, the teaching methodology was mostly practical oriented. Although, some teachers like to give a tedious amount of assignment work, while others only pay attention to enticing genuine curiosity in the students.

Professor’s Sprouts’ practical classes were fun where we got to learn about weird plants, Defence against the Dark Arts in the fifth year was the most informative class, but it was more theoretical.

Accommodation

Studying at Hogwarts is like a residential program and all the students are expected to stay there in the castle. Students share rooms with three to four other batchmates. Rooms are spacious and have all the basic amenities, except wi-fi connectivity.

In this rapid-paced life, Hogwarts is still sticking to the old school habits of conventional ways of dissemination of information. I made a lot of friends, most of whom were from outside of Slytherin. Maintenance work is taken care of by the House-elves, which are also responsible for the delicious food you get in the Great Hall.

Campus Life

Many festivals are celebrated annually in the college, especially Halloween is celebrated with utmost enthusiasm. The infrastructure is the best not only for educational institutions but all of the castles in Europe. The castle is full of hidden passages and secret doors. Perfect’s bathroom is an example of the architectural marvel which are hidden in the castle (I sneaked there once when Perfect of my house helped me with the password.)

After we became adults, we were allowed to visit the Hogsmead village on weekends. It was fun to wander around the village and share some ButterBeer with friends. But some of my time also went being bullied by other Slytherin students for hanging out with the students of other houses.

I was comfortable with many students from other houses as well, which were also my classmates. I had a lot of fun. We were also awarded special house points on the basis of different moral values like discipline, courage, punctuality, and academics, contribution to the school, etc. I scored something almost every year, except for the Sixth year. (I got committed that year.)

Extracurricular Activities

We were constantly motivated to take part in different extracurricular activities like Sports, Volunteer work, Festive celebrations, etc. Quidditch tournament was the most important sporting event, which would stretch throughout the year. The winner brings home special glory, along with the winning trophy and additional house points.

I did commentary many times for the Quidditch house tournament, while my girlfriend was in the Frog Choir.

Remarks

I was sent to the Slytherin house by the sorting hat and I wondered throughout my stay at Hogwarts, why I am worthy of Slytherin and not other houses. I valued intelligence and wondered Ravenclaw, though I wasn’t sure. Hence, I left it to the sorting hat to shape my life. My journey with Slytherin was partly a learning experience and partly a nightmare.

Now after all these years, I am somewhat pleased to be a member of Slytherin, simply because those hardships brought the best out of me. It made an inquisitive kid capable of using the acquired knowledge and not to be afraid of humans — Muggles or Wizards.

If anyone of you is wondering, what the hell am I doing, writing reviews and articles after studying at Hogwarts? Well, it has something to with “love”. Let me know if you wanna hear about that boring story.