[3] The school hosts 24 NCAA Division III men's and women's teams, known as the Bullets, and many club, intramural, and recreational sports programs.

Four days later, the students saw combat just north of town, skirmishing with advanced units of Confederate division commander Jubal A.

On November 19, 1863, college president Henry Louis Baugher gave the benediction at the ceremony opening the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg; speaking after Abraham Lincoln.

Classes were cancelled at the college and students and faculty walked with the parade to the cemetery to hear the now famous Gettysburg Address.

Due to its close relationship with this crucial battle, Gettysburg College hosts a number of activities and awards: Early in his military career, Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, lived in a house in Gettysburg that was across the street from the college (the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House until 1955 on N. Washington Street).

The college's main campus has over 90 buildings, many of which are historically relevant, and is roughly divided in half by Pennsylvania Hall (administration).

Additionally, the College Dining Center is known to students and faculty as "Servo," after the now defunct 1980s food service company, Servomation.

[13] In 1925, Henry Scharf built the Majestic Theater as an expansion to the historic Gettysburg Hotel, located in the center of town.

When he was spending the night in his Gettysburg residence, President Eisenhower used the theater's ballroom as an official White House Press Room for news conferences.

The theater was also the location for the world premiere of the civil war epic Gettysburg (1993 film), produced by Ted Turner.

[14] In November 2005, the theater underwent a $20 million renovation process, with the main room being restored to its former glory and the addition of two new nightly cinemas.

Choral assemblies usually perform in Christ Chapel, the campus' nondenominational structure that houses a variety of different ceremonies and seats 1,100 individuals.

An 85,000 sq ft (7,900 m2) building,[32] the science center was designed to have first-rate scientific equipment, facilities, and resources, and has been continually renovated to include the most up to date material.

[32] It is home to the Biology and Psychology departments, with the latest equipment including a vast deionized pure water system, infant research lab, space for cognitive neuroscience, and many animal facilities.

Some of the equipment available for student use and regularly used for professor's research includes: The building houses astronomy classes and uses the campus' observatory, which is located just past the quarry.

[40] The stage is home to many performances throughout the year, and is very often used by the theater department in addition to the student run theatre club, the Owl and Nightingale Society.

Another important donor, Robert Ortenzio, provided the largest single gift by a living person in the history of the college, by giving $2 million.

The college hosts one of only 19 chapters of Phi Beta Kappa in Pennsylvania, as well as 15 other academic honor societies in a variety of disciplines.

[56] The Princeton Review has called Gettysburg a Best Value College,[57] an award given to schools with exceptional financial aid systems and high rates of employment after graduation.

Wagnild would graduate from the Gettysburg Theological Seminary with a divinity degree in 1937, and would then be hired as an English professor by the college to continue directing the choir.

Sunderman bequeathed $14 million, a large library of scores and parts, and a collection of 18th and 19th century violins and bows to Gettysburg College.

The conservatory also offers a Bachelor of Music Education with students completing all requisite classes in seven semesters and teaching in their eighth.

[3] There are more than 120 clubs and organizations on campus, focusing on areas of interest such as community service, art and music, theater and media, academics, student government, career fields, LGBTQA[73] and outdoor adventure.

[74] On November 19, 1863, students marched through town to the National Cemetery to hear President Abraham Lincoln deliver his now famous Gettysburg Address.

In 2003, Peter Holloran, a Gettysburg graduate and marketing consultant to the college proposed recreating the walk to promote community among students and the town.

[75] The Orientation Chair at the time, Lindsay Morlock, saw the walk as an opportunity to encourage new students to step "off campus from day one" and "acknowledge the history of Gettysburg College".

[76] Since the first walk on August 28, 2003, first year students have marched along the same one-mile path to be welcomed into town and hear the same words spoken over a century ago.

[77] Faculty, students, and townspeople cheer the arriving first-years along their walk as the main streets of town shut down to participate.

[78] Upon completion of the first semester, first-year students walk from the college union building to Pennsylvania Hall along paths illuminated by upperclassmen holding candles.

In September, 2024 the school faced controversy as a black member of the men's swimming team had a racial slur forcibly carved into his chest by a teammate.