Applying to St. John's this year?

<p>Hello everyone...</p>

<p>I'm glad to hear that y'all are interested in St. John's, and that you're applying. It's incredibly nerve-racking to pour your immortal soul into essays, and then wait interminably for the letter which determines one's educational future (not to mention the Financial Aid offer...heh) At any rate, I am a current student, so if you have any questions about the curriculum, campus life, administrative procedure, "food," or anything else at all, feel free to ask me. Best of luck.</p>

<p>hey!
well, i'm busting at the seams with questions but i'll try to keep it short.
- okay, so, why did you pick annapolis over santa fe?
- what do you like/enjoy most about about st. john's?
- if you could change one thing about st. john's, what would it be?
- do you ever find yourself being on campus and being really, really bored?
thanks!</p>

<p>I am also a student at Annapolis and can attempt to field questions.
For phishsticks
1: I prospied in Fe twice and then chose Annapolis sight unseen. While Fe was a beautiful place, the campus is isolated from the rest of the town. It is several miles up in the mountains and so it was difficult to get anywhere without walking down the mountain if you didn't have a car. It was also very quiet, peaceful, serene (I heard it described as a sanctuary/church on several occasions), and coming from a metropolitan area, I just needed more civilization. Being able to walk into town and get a bite to eat on weekends or being able to take a bus into DC, etc. were factors that were important to me because I didn't want to feel "trapped". Also, Fe is very big into outdoors activities, and me notsomuch.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I have so far enjoyed a lot of the close interactions between the tutors and the students. For instance, I am able to take my tutors to lunch or coffee and meet with them to discuss anything I want, be it problems I am having with the material or topics of interest. I meet with my tutors after every paper I write (a meeting after every paper isn't required) and so I am able to discuss with them my ideas thoroughly. The tutors are never condescending and are always eager to meet and help their students. I haven't seen or heard about that kind of care from faculties a other colleges.</p></li>
<li><p>I would change two things. First, the food. It isn't great. It isn't horrible. It feels monotonous a lot of the time. But, it is getting better. This year they have implemented a stir fry station and a sandwich bar, and they seem to be making an effort. Secondly, I would change the fact that I don't have enough time to do all the things I want to do. I know a lot of people who commit themselves to one extra-curricular and then struggle to pick up a second (although some people are incredibly successful with this). I wish I had more time for my study groups, pleasure reading, another activity or two, etc. But I think this is part of the nature of college: you just aren't going to be able to keep everything up that you did in high school.</p></li>
<li><p>Everywhere you go you're going to find yourself incredibly bored some of the time, it is inevitable. Fortunately, there is always some work to be done, so you aren't going to be going up a wall from the lack of work. There seems to be something going on all the time, whether its dance lessons or aikido practice or people getting together in the common rooms to watch movies. And there are almost always people on the quad standing around talking. So....I don't think boredom is too much of a factor, at least in my experience. </p></li>
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<p>Hope that helps.</p>

<p>Hi I'm a senior and was wondering if there are any lurking St John's students here that can answer my questions...</p>

<p>I have to admit I only considered St Johns when I was searching on collegeboard for colleges that have not passed the RD deadline yet and realised that this was the only decent school there- there might be others (suggestions?) but I did not see them.</p>

<p>I am applying from a British school so I cannot visit so I was wondering:
- why is the acceptance rate so high (80ish %)? is it just not a well known school or does this actually reflect the standard of education that they give?
- also, is there any sailing team/club? I searched the site and concluded no, but it IS annapolis so I was surprised!
- I heard that the learning approach was different- how would it differ from the schools that I have applied to (Bowdoin, Carleton, Dartmouth, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams)?</p>

<p>hoping to revive this thread...</p>

<p>i was recently waitlisted from uchicago (delayed response to golddustwoman's question - sorry!) so now i've got a new(er)found interest in st. john's. </p>

<p>more questions:
- is study abroad possible?
- what do you think motivates the faculty to stick with the Great Books Program?
- do you ever feel you're missing out on the "normal" college experience when you come back home and swap stories with your friends?</p>

<p>Sorry I didn't reply to the last two sets of questions sooner, but I've been buried with work. I'll try to address both ctownes' and verbivorous' questions in one reply.
1. Acceptance rates.
We consider ourselves a self-selecting school in a lot of ways, and that is one reason why our admissions rates are so high. Really, not every student who is looking at other big, public schools is going to be interested at St. John's. We tend to attract specific types of students or people looking for particular things, and when people realize that they aren't the right "fit" they often do not apply. This means that we have a much smaller applicant pool than other colleges and the people who apply really want to come here, they aren't just applying for the hell of it. The numbers do not reflect on the level of education that is received here, and in fact, many lists have consistently named us as one of the most intellectual colleges in the country, our students are accepted to top-level graduate schools, etc.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Sailing. Annapolis has both a crew and a sailing club. I know the crew team is fairly successful at local competitions, but honestly I don't know much about the sailing team. </p></li>
<li><p>Learning approach. The learning approach is different insofar as we read the Great Books of Western Civilization. We study them in seminar-style classes and use only original texts (sometimes in original languages as well). The only secondary sources used are manuals for some of the classes (music, for instance), or the language textbooks, but even then, there is a strong emphasis on the Great Books.
We have tutors who pose opening questions, often will guide conversations, etc. but they consider themselves as learning alongside the students. This translates to a community where we all are here to learn for the sake of learning.
There are "technical" grades, but you can only see them when you request them. This means that students aren't that competitive with one another and are instead constantly striving to do their own personal best. The community, tutors, fellow students, etc. are all really dedicated to helping each person grow and mature intellectually, and I think that that is really one of my favorite components of the college.
These things make the school differ from the other colleges you listed in a lot of ways, there is no hierarchy of professors or emphasis placed on research for professors. There are no lectures, all people must engage in conversations, there is a lot of self-teaching but the class is always there to help and support you. Its really quite different from the other places I applied to which included Chicago, Carleton, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>Study abroad. We do not offer study abroad because the curriculum is so unique and set, but there are two locations: Annapolis and Santa Fe. Students have the ability to transfer in between campuses at the end of each school year if they would like, and if they are in good academic standing. Because the campuses are so radically different, this breaks up some of the monotony. </p></li>
<li><p>Tutor motivation. Honestly, they love it. I've had tutors who have taught at big name universities throughout the world, had successful careers in other fields (we have a very successful neurologist on staff, for instance). What I've seen though, is a true dedication to the program, to learning, to developing their own knowledge. The tutors have a real, genuine passion for this place that rivals (or sometimes exceeds the students'), they have a love for the students and the community. I've known a couple of tutors who have taken year-long sabbaticals, but you always see them at lecture on Fridays and sometimes they'll still teach a preceptorial (junior/senior elective class) in the fall or lead a study group. A lot of our tutors have been here for ages, one just celebrated her 50th anniversary, and many more have been here since the 60s, 70s, and 80s, so really, they do love this place.</p></li>
<li><p>Normal experience. Yeah. It sucks sometimes. My friends are going through midterms or finals and I can stretch back and say I don't have those. Or I can tell them about my annual essay or don rag or oral and stress but they don't get it. I don't get to fret about picking a major, but they do. It sucks a little bit, but really, I wouldn't change it. I know that I am much happier here, and I know other people have said the same thing. I've never known anyone to be really, genuinely upset or depressed or want to leave because people back home can't relate. We still have a lot of the normal things, we have parties and traditions and crappy dining hall food, so in a lot of ways the college "experience" is similar, even if life in the classroom is a bit different. I don't know if that helps, but that is about as best as I could describe it.</p></li>
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<p>response to eamon...... great job descibing the details of student life at St. John's!
From my personal knowledge and after spending several days at the Annapolis campus, your descriptions are brutally accurate.
St. John's has an incredible response time of about 5-7 days to applications, financial aid letters, and formal inquiries sent to them. The advantage of it's small size is quick responsivity.</p>

<p>I'm visiting tomorrow (so excited). Anything I should know before I go. I also heard that you get the title of the reading beforehand, but when I called I wasn't told anything.</p>

<p>Tell us how your visit goes! I really wish I could visit, but I can't really afford it .... :(</p>

<p>If you are visiting Monday, the reading will probably be The Bacchae, if Thursday The Poetics. I say probably only because I am assuming you will be in on a freshman seminar (which is where most prospies go). Other than that, I can't think of anything else you should know. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it here!</p>

<p>What percentage of the college were accepted as juniors in high school?</p>