19 F: I have completed one year at Sarah Lawrence College. I really did not like the school atmosphere or people. It lacked the kind of structure and warmth of a community that I need. It was really isolating. I am looking for a student-centered school, ability to learn about my interests and discover my identity in a supportive environment full of excited and empowered individuals. I do best when taught in a style that actively engages the students, cares about how they connect to the material, and that passion is found in what is studied. I would like to be able to do my own thing, so move freely within a flexible, undemanding curriculum to find what I am interested in. Basically, I want a school that lets me do things my way, fly freely and express myself but nurtures and supports me as I evolve within my own potential. I donât do well when I just have a bunch of assignments, readings, essays to complete. Iâll get crushed by the pressure to perform and become disconnected. At Sarah Lawrence, it was hard because I was able to do anything I wanted, but I had no idea how to grow because I didnât receive helpful feedback on the ways I needed to improve, and there was so much freedom that there wasnât a real focus in any of my projects. With that said, I am not sure what I want to study. I need time to figure out what my strengths and interests are. I have a lot of energy and drive that I feel like I need to use creatively. I like the arts, music, and am interested in exploring those more. I do things at a slower pace, I think. I need to be able to take my time and not get overwhelmed with a huge workload. It is really important that the environment I am in has people who are supportive and work together. Basically, I am looking for an individualist learning community, an education for people with their own visions to help bring them to life. It can be a bigger school with bigger class sizes, as long as I am able to have a personal mentor relationship with my professors. My high school GPA is 3.98, I didnât take a bunch of APs, or the ACT but I donât believe I will need it as a transfer. My credits are hard to transfer from Sarah Lawrence, but if you can help me out I would really appreciate it. Preferably a stimulating environment, and if not, near a city or something so I can find stimulation. Good study abroad, hands-on opportunities, field work, more diverse than SLC, more community activities/organizations. I am interested in public arts schools, with humanities programs as well. Like California College of the Arts, Berklee College of Music, Lesley University, Smith College (not an arts school, but I like the community mission of empowerment and authenticity), perhaps Bard? I am not sure about any of these places, please let me know if you have any other suggestions.
Do you have any budget limit? Can you afford to be full pay at a private university (in some cases $80,000 per year or slightly more) without taking on any debt?
What is your major?
You mentioned Berklee College of Music. I know several people who have taken classes there. It is very good for music, but I do not think of it as a place to major in things that are not music related. Are you intending to study music (whether performance, composition, production, recording, history, or anything else related to music)?
Do you have a geographic preference?
Are you currently a student at Sarah Lawrence, or are you taking some time off?
The only place that I can think of that sounds more like what you are looking for than SLC is Bennington (except for the diversity part).
The problem with this is that, by your own description, you do not have a vision (yet) that you want to bring to life:
The process of discerning what path you want to walk is different than bringing a vision to life.
Part of the discernment process is learning enough about a path to know how interesting it is to you- and that will typically require some amount of schoolwork, aka assignments. As an example, one of the collegekids was interested in astronomy, and thought they might major in it in college. They did a lot of astronomy-related things in school, but when they took a college-level class they realized that her interest was as at the level of a hobby, not a field of study or a career.
There are colleges who have advisors specifically for âundecidedâ students, where they help you build a list of courses that will let you âtaste-testâ different subject areas, while still getting an core requirements met, but they will always give you the caveat that the first level courses are rarely the most interesting, as they have a specific remit to ensure that they student has an adequate familiarity with what academics consider to be essential in the subject (at that level).
Sorry if this sounds harsh but it feels like you are looking for Paradise not College. You go to college to earn a degreeâŠ. you have to work for it and sometimes itâs not always exciting. The way the American world (usually) works is after high school you go to college ( or not), then get a job to make money to live. Lucky people find a job they love and is purposeful but it doesnât mean itâs never stressful, mundane or difficult.
I hear that itâs overwhelming for you and you also need to take care of your mental health. Maybe take a few classes at community college, get a part time job and with maturity, you will find something you are passionate enough about to pursue a degree. Just understand that even in a commune, where people work together in harmony there are chores and responsibilities. I do wish you good fortune in finding your path to happiness in your life.
What was your GPA at Sarah Lawrence?
Any of these could work, but all, even music schools, will have assignments, readings, and essays. Smith can definitely be an academic grind. Seems like you first need to decide arts focused school or not.
Not sure if any of these schools take spring transfers, and if they do, you may have missed the deadline. Did you apply to any of these schools senior year of HS? Where else were you accepted senior year?
You might look at Hampshire College, New School, and Evergreen State, but need to know your budget.
I wonder how you see spending your time? Used to be, expect to spend three hours studying for every credit hour a week in class.
By stimulation, how much time do you expect to spend on extra curriculars vs on class assignments?
Did you seek out support for stress or study skills? It is common to have to learn some new study skills and time management skills.
Did you see transfer info at Lesley?
I thought the video on the stories page about the STEAM lab for teachers was interesting - I wonder if they offer college classes in a similar way?
âSue imagines a world where classrooms are inclusive and engaging for every student. At the STEAM Learning Lab, sheâs working to make that future a reality.â
OP- you are describing attending college part-time, taking one or two classes per semester, and working to figure out what youâre interested in and where you want to focus.
Nothing wrong with that- some of the most talented people take college âlow and slowâ.
It is unrealistic to think you can take a full academic load and not feel time pressure to complete assignments, or have the luxury of doing things at your own pace. Again- nothing wrong with your personal learning style, but you need to understand how an academic calendar operates- semester starts, semester ends, and a lot of learning gets stuffed into those bookends.
Why not finish off the semester, take a leave, get a job, and then find a college where you can take classes at a more leisurely pace which is also affordable?
And understand- the core/foundational classes in ANY discipline are going to be focused on the basics. Could you play a Beethoven Sonata without having spent years doing scales and practicing to develop your finger strength? Thatâs what college is like. The first year or two you are doing scales in order to get to the complicated stuff down the road!
Thereâs no such school. And life in the working world doesnât work that way. In literally every college environment, there is a curriculum to follow in order to get your degree, and there are assignments, reading, research papers, etc. Itâs dull and stressful, but rewarding. Thatâs how marketable job skills are earned. If it was easy, then it wouldnât be worth a higher salary.
If youâre not sure what you want to do, keep exploring. But bear in mind, sooner or later, youâll need to complete THAT curriculum to earn your degree. Also, when exploring majors, youâll want to make sure you come out with some marketable skills. A lot of students fall into the trap of studying what they LOVE, but wind-up hating their life afterwards because that field of study is not marketable. If nothing else, you can get a teaching certificateâŠsomething that you can support yourself with.
Iâd advise looking into:
Bennington
Hampshire
Evergreen
NYU Gallatin
You can reach out to each schoolâs transfer advisor to learn the ins and outs of transferring in your particular situation. Good luck!
If OP canât forge a close relationship with professors at Sarah Lawrence, I donât know that any of these options are going to be better. (particularly Gallatin).
OP may have the same issue at these schools, but just curious why particularly at Gallatin? My understanding is that the Gallatin class sizes are very small â capped at 22 students, but the average size is 18 students â which would facilitate getting to know the professors. I am curious if there is something else about Gallatin?
" It lacked the kind of structure and warmth of a community that I need. It was really isolating. I am looking for a student-centered school, ability to learn about my interests and discover my identity in a supportive environment full of excited and empowered individuals. "
This is not Gallatin. Yes, small classes. But suitable for a student who is highly self-directed and motivated and can navigate their own studies without a lot of hand-holding. I would not describe anything about NYU as a âsupportive environmentâ vs. Sarah Lawrence (which is a MUCH easier environment to navigate than NYU). If the OP is finding Sarah Lawrence without warmth, welcome to NYC.
âAt Sarah Lawrence, it was hard because I was able to do anything I wanted, but I had no idea how to grow because I didnât receive helpful feedback on the ways I needed to improve, and there was so much freedom that there wasnât a real focus in any of my projects.â
This doesnât sound like Gallatin is the solution. Sounds more of the same, but in a huge university.
I get that. Still, we may be focusing on different portions of the original post b/c there is a lot in there that lines up with what Gallatin has to offer. In particular, academic freedom WITH guided mentorship by an academic advisor within the studentâs chosen area of study.
D21 is currently a student at NYU with friends at Gallatin who love it. Is it right for OP â who knows? But, may be worth a look.
Well said. I canât imagine any school emphasizes more one-on-one student/prof contact than Sarah Lawrence. If youâre not clicking with your don, try to establish more of a relationship with another prof. It doesnât sound like youâd be satisfied at any school, sadly, as your list of asks is pretty unrealistic.
AmeriCorp?
[quote=âalldonealldone, post:13, topic:3621939â]
In particular, academic freedom WITH guided mentorship by an academic advisor within the studentâs chosen area of study.
This could describe 50 colleges. The problem is that OP DOES NOT HAVE a chosen area of study. So getting the guided mentorship- whether at Sarah Lawrence, Gallatin, or anywhere else- isnât really of value. Hence my point. If Sarah Lawrence isnât working, transferring to Gallatin is likely more of the same.
Even at schools with sub-par advising, it is not hard for a motivated student to get excellent mentorship from a professor. But that requires exactly the things the OP doesnât want- focus, figuring out what the interests are, slogging through prerequisites in order to get to the higher level more interesting classes, etc.
Gallatin is fantastic for the right student. But Sarah Lawrence is a fantastic choice for a student who wants one-on-one relationships with faculty- and if thatâs not working for the OPâŠ
Please move on from debating the merits of NYU Gallatin. Further debate (which is not allowed) will result in posts being deleted.
Thank you!
(Edited for the right school- sorry!)
Im guessing you failed most if not all your courses at Sarah Lawrence.
If your parents are willing to throw big money while you âfigure yourself out,â other suggestions may beâŠ
College of Idaho. They have the PEAK program which requires 1 major, 3 minors.
Cornell College. 1 class at a time. Even if you hate the class, it lasts basically 3 weeks.
Colorado College. Block scheduling. Classes in the morning. Hands on work in the afternoon.
Kalamazoo College. Their K Plan could be perfect for you.
budget; $50-70k/year
major; music, creative writing, life sciences, anthro
geo; east coast or mideast/west
taking time off from slc
thank you
A few folks further up-thread have suggested Bennington, and I wanted to call your attention to it. I think their description of âThe Planâ (and âThe Plan: term-by-termâ) might mesh with what youâve said youâre looking for. Considering how they set up their program, you might need to apply without it being a âtransferâ, and instead see it as starting over from the beginning (if theyâd let you do that).
That being said, I want to reiterate the other advice up-thread encouraging you to think about taking time to work, to go to a community college, and to figure out what you want your goals to actually be before diving into figuring out which school is ârightâ for you.