Questions about Student Life/Campus/The Like

Colleges and Universities A-Z St. John's College - Maryland
1

<p>So I got accepted into St. John's, which has been a dream; however, before I choose to go there, I have major questions. </p>

<p>1) I've always been the kind of person who has felt dumber than the curve. Never really sure if I actually was, or if it was just intensely low self-esteem, but what kind of students should I expect at St. John's? Do I have to be insanely well-read (or even well-read) to succeed and thrive? (At first, I mean. I figure 4 years of hardcore reading /will/ change that, but for the first year.)
2) Is it advisable to switch campuses between the four years? Or did any of you just stay at one campus all four years? Pros/cons?
3) Everyone always worries about grad school. I was wondering (for those of you who pursued medical school or law school undergrad), what kind of work did you have to do during undergrad?
4) What kind of extracurriculars are there?
5) What is the social scene like?
6) How casual/formal are classes? </p>

<p>All and any help on any matter is extremely appreciated ( : Thank you so much! </p>

2

<p>Hey, it’s awesome that you’re considering St. John’s! I’m a former student, and transferred out due to financial reasons.</p>

<ol>
<li>You get the entire range at St. John’s, at both campuses. There are geniuses who spend every waking hour reading Program material, and there are people who barely do their work at all—and they still manage to get through some how. The large majority of the campuses are in the middle—in my opinion, Annapolis students care more about their work. You don’t have to be insanely well-read to do well at St. John’s: you should have a strong desire to be well-read. </li>
<li>Transferring is really easy, as the admission material claims. You really just have to fill out a form, and the administration takes care of the whole process. Personally, I do not recommend transferring, because forming a niche is a really crucial part of the experience at St. John’s. Having friends with whom you can ■■■■■■■■ about Aristotle is something that you should cherish very deeply. </li>
<li>I don’t really have much of an answer for this question. I know people commonly do internships and off-campus work in order to pursue their graduate aspirations. Admissions would gladly put you into contact with a Johnnie with experience in the matter. </li>
<li>I was mostly concerned with doing my work, so I didn’t really participate in extracurricular stuff, aside from extra seminars, which are always enjoyable. </li>
<li>The social scene at Annapolis is enjoyably quirky. As I said, you get a range of people, and tight social groups tend to form. Given the common educational pursuit, however, these groups are very often not exclusive, and in general, students are happy to have conversations with anybody. Alcohol is the community drug of choice, and impromptu parties are common on weekends. Weed is also commonly available, but that’s more of a private affair in Annapolis. Also, the traditions at Annapolis are outrageously fun. Senior Prank, in which seniors bust in to disrupt your seminar and escort you to a campus party, and Reality Weekend, a three-day, all-campus party, are typical highlights. And there are many others, which I miss dearly! </li>
<li>Classes start out stilted, but relax as they go on. By the middle of the year, almost everyone is comfortable enough to crack the occasional joke. The “Mr./Ms.” designations seem strange, at first, but they become very comfortable social tools, especially when meeting new people. Some people dress up for seminar, but in my experience, it was for irony’s sake more than anything. But, I’ll stress, the laxity does not entail an easiness regarding the questions classes discuss. It’s important to talk about what justice is, but it’s also important to have fun and feel comfortable while doing so. </li>
</ol>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

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<p>Thank you so much! This definitely helps me get a better image of what to expect ( : </p>

4

<p>Hi, I’m a current student on the Annapolis campus, and I was perusing the site, so I thought I’d answer your questions. I’d say that most of the info in the previous post is accurate, but I’d like to add a few things.</p>

<p>1) There is no reason for you to ever feel less intelligent in a St. John’s classroom, but it’s hard to recognize this initially. There might be some people that have a larger vocabulary or are more able to follow Euclidean geometry than you are, but the point of the education is for each student to help the others grow. If you struggle with something in class and you ask to work through it, you will help every student in the room know that concept thoroughly. Conversely, if you excel in something, you can be a leader during that discussion. All opinions and questions are both valid and important. There’s a reason we’re still studying these texts (some of which are almost 3,000 years old e.g. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey), and that reason is because there are still multitudes of unanswered, and perhaps unanswerable, questions within them that are extremely relevant to the human experience. The St. John’s program is new to most every student who starts here, so you should feel on even ground if you come here in the Fall.</p>

<p>2) There is always a chunk of students who transfer between the campuses every year. I am a junior now, and I never did (and won’t for my senior year), but I do wish I had been able to. For me, SF was too far from home to be affordable (travel to/from home wouldn’t really work out for more than summer break). Some people start two years on one campus, and then spend the last two on the other, some only do one year, and some switch for the middle two years and go back to graduate with their original class. It really is up to you, but if you think you’d like one or the other campus, I definitely encourage you to reach out to the Admissions Offices so you can be connected to someone who has transferred.</p>

<p>3) Well, as you know, I’m still here working on my undergrad, but I can say that Johnnies go into every career imaginable. If you wanted to go to law/med school, or some other program that will require a lot of pre-requisite work, we have scholarships available to students so they can take these courses during the summer. We also have student/alumni groups devoted to ushering Johnnies through these processes.</p>

<p>4) Everything you could ever imagine… well, except sororities/fraternities. There are art classes in pottery, oil/acrylic/watercolor painting, figure drawing, rock sculpture, among others. We have many different musical groups including a school-wide chorus, orchestra, acapella group, etc. The intramural sports program is really important to many students on campus, especially as it gives people a chance to be athletic even if they don’t have any previous experience. We have a theater group called the King William Players, a dance/waltz committee, various study groups (German poetry and James Joyce’s Ulysses are some examples), and so many other things. If there is possible something we don’t have, it really isn’t hard to start a group. You pretty much just have to send out an email inviting people to attend your club event.</p>

<p>5) The social scene is very unique. The personalities on campus are so diverse that it really allows for a fulfilling and exciting social dynamic. Personally, I’ve met the best friends I’ve ever had on this campus. I think the fact that we are all undergoing the same curriculum at the same time really helps to cement friendships and create a communal feeling of solidarity. Parties happen in dorms pretty much every weekend, but they aren’t going to be giant binge drinking parties like in frats. If you’re wondering, drinking does happen on campus, it is a college after all, but there is absolutely no peer pressure here. Come to parties as much as you want, drink or don’t drink. There isn’t really a presence of other drugs on the Annapolis campus.</p>

<p>6) This depends somewhat on the tutor. Some tutors are more strict than others and conduct a more formal class, but others are super chill. Seminar is generally more formal than tutorials, given the reverence that the college has for it, but you’ll find as you move up in years that tutors are more “chummy” with students (probably an age thing). I wouldn’t worry too much about this, you and all your freshman friends will be going through it at the same time, and you’ll fall into a rhythm. You’ll see pretty quickly what is expected of you in class.</p>

<p>Last thought: DO YOUR READING. It is true that some students get by for awhile by doing minimal work, but it usually always catches up to them and they either get terrible grades or are asked to leave. But really, the real consequence is that you are drastically taking away from your classmates when you do that. Our classes are small so that the conversation is manageable, but if you don’t do your reading we lose your voice in class. It really is imperative to participate.</p>

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