Reed VS St.John's College VS Sarah Lawrence

College Search & Selection
1

It’s a choice between weird college and weirder ones…

A bit about myself
I’m an international student from Asia. A 7/10 nerd. Undecided about majors but considering philosophy/physics/language/linguistics/creative writing. Probably will work before pursuing graduate studies.
I consider myself an introvert, could amuse myself quite well. I prefer an environment that values individuals and differences. Clearly all three schools fall in this category from what I have learned. But my biggest concern is people’s attitude to international students.

Pros and cons of each school
Reed
Great city, great weather for rain-lovers. Excellent academics, attractive student body, wonderful learning experience. I’m pretty strict to myself so the workload and drug use does not bother me. Reed fulfills everything I expect and I feel like a good fit. Humanity 110 kind of covers what I will experience at St. John’s. If I don’t like Reed, I may transfer elsewhere. The downside may be jobs and the cost? I’m not sure about working instantly after college, but I’ll certainly pursue further studies. Although my parents assure me not to worry about the cost, Reed would be the most expensive among the three.

St. John’s College
The curriculum may renew my understandings for areas of studies thus locate what I truly enjoy doing. Despite St. John’s adjacent to Johns Hopkins, learning sciences will surely be limited here. My financial aid package covers nearly half of the cost. The graduation rate is a bit worrying, and I don’t think transferring to other colleges will be easy. Future path is most probably academia.
Sarah Lawrence
Its location is appealing. Job opportunities abound. Very strong creative writing program and individualized learning. Excellent choice if I’m devoted to art and humanities. The sciences may as well be limited. Not sure about its reputation in grad schools. I got a merit-aid of 12k, which makes SLC more affordable than Reed.

P.S.-I have visited none of the schools and may not be able to before attending.
-Anyone know about the financial aid for current student at Reed?
-I have waitlists from Vassar and Kenyon, shall I try getting admitted by them?

Thank you for reading all of above and I’ll be glad to read your opinions!

2

We are very receptive to international students! But I must say that if you get a $12k discount from SLC, go to SLC. It is less traditional academically but still a great school. However, if you want to study science/math, come to Reed. But creative writing = SLC.

St John’s… I have nothing to say.

3

St. John’s College is one of those schools where you need to be convinced that the curriculum is right for you, and from your post, it doesn’t sound like this is the case. As you noted, transferring will be difficult so if you end up not liking the school, it may actually cost you more money than if you started at either Reed or Sarah Lawrence in the fall.

I would imagine that even if you are admitted off of Vassar and Kenyon’s waitlist, you will not get financial aid. If your parents can easily pay, great. If not, you might want to drop the schools.

4

Thx! Are you a current student? I can give up neither science nor humanities, so Reed will be awesome.

5

That’s rather fair. I actually applied to SJC with my infatuation in philosophy, but now I have to be honest and reasonable
The case for cost, it is not the most crucial factor. I only applied FA from schools that I consider I stand a chance. It turned out colleges are very stingy to intl students. I certainly don’t hope to use up my parents’ savings for my college, so I try to get need-based aid. I’m super glad that even so, they are willing to support me.
Personally I prefer Reed to Vassar, my parents want me to go to Vassar though, you know all the ranking stuff, especially among people who know little about US colleges. I’ll have to prove the worth of their investment.

Thanks for commenting!

6

If you want to go to Reed and need help convincing your parents, this might help: http://www.thecollegesolution.com/the-colleges-where-phds-get-their-start/

7

St. John’s College enrolls roughly 25% international students and the college is a member of United World Colleges. One advantage to starting at St. John’s is that all of your St. John’s credits will transfer to most other universities; if you start at a different college and want to transfer to St. John’s, none of the credits will transfer because St. John’s won’t accept credits from other schools.