<p>This is not a "Graduate School" question...</p>
<p>I'm considering Sarah Lawrence as one of my top choices for Graduate School, and I was just wondering what the general consensus is these days on it's reputation. About 10 years ago, when I was in college in Boston (undergrad) and I'd head about Sarah Lawrence, the general consensus was that it was a good small liberal arts college, on par with Vassar, Williams, Syracuse, Wellesley, Amherst, and the like. I don't see it on the list of "CC Liberal Arts Colleges" on this website, so I guess it's not that popular on here. So I was wondering, does it still have a decent reputation? I know it still has the feel of a women's college even though it isn't anymore, but other than that, what is it's reputation, academically? If you are applying to Sarah Lawrence, where else are you applying and what are your top choices? Is Sarah Lawrence your top choice, or is it a safety? I know that it is still 80% women, and that it is very liberal, but I am more concerned about it's reputation academically. I really love their MFA program, and I am looking to get my masters from a reputable school. I'm applying to 5 schools, but Sarah Lawrence has the program I like best, for many reasons. I have a ton of info about the program, and I've read things written by people who attended and loved it, but I'm more curious about the school's reputation in general. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>My Top Choices for Graduate School:</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence
NYU
Boston University
Emerson
Columbia</p>
<p>First off, I'm not a graduate student but a current freshman at Sarah Lawrence, so take my post with a grain of salt (Or a few?). Sarah Lawrence was one of my safeties when I applied a year ago.</p>
<p>In the academic and intellectual community, Sarah Lawrence is known to be up to the standards of other liberal arts colleges on the east coast, Vassar, Williams, etc. However, In terms of future non-academic employment (I'm guessing your reasons for asking about reputation as I go, as an employer would look to see where you got your MFA, but then again its just your MFA, not your Masters or PhD) I'd be more skeptical-- businesses are only relatively familiar with Sarah Lawrence. Academic employers would put it on the same level as Vassar/NYU/Wesleyan, especially if those employers are from schools that are at least up to that level.</p>
<p>I will be perfectly honest, though-- Sarah Lawrence is not well known outside the academic community, at least on a social level. I am always bothered when I have conversations about college with people who have not heard of Sarah Lawrence, or have heard of it briefly but know nothing of it. Inversely, people who HAVE heard of Sarah Lawrence are sometimes inclined to believe that it is "just another small liberal arts college", which is not entirely untrue. If I had to give it a standing in terms of other Top Colleges, I would have certainly put it up on College Confidential's 'Top Liberal Arts' section, but on the slight lower side-- its not as selective as most other liberal arts colleges, although the academics are just as demanding.</p>
<p>Actually, that leads me to ask you a question: What are you looking to get your MFA in? Some things depend... I know that for creative writing, it doesn't entirely matter what school you go to for writing, other than simply for reputation's sake; the ambition of the student is most important, no matter how good the teachers are (I can't say the same is true for the other subjects you could MFA in at SLC, apologies).</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, and sorry for the late reply- I somehow saw your post only today. I am applying to Sarah Lawrence to get my masters (Masters in Fine Arts or MFA) in Theater. I have looked at other schools and programs that offer the MA which is generally shorter, but the MA (Master of Arts) is not a terminal degree, whereas the MFA is. By this I mean that most MA programs lead to a PhD. MFA degrees end there. Most MA programs are 1 or 2 years and most MFA programs are 2 or 3 years. I got some advice from the admissions person at the drama dept. at USC and also some excellent advice from the head of the Musical Theater dept at James Madison University, and both said the PhD or MFA is preferred if I want to teach at the university level. I currently have my undergrad BFA from The Boston Conservatory.</p>
<p>I really LOVE the program at Sarah Lawrence so it is currently my top choice. It seems to have a strong reputation in the performing arts and in writing, and those fields just happen to be where my strongest skills lie. I'm glad you said everything you did because it was pretty much what I thought already but you just confirmed it. I was actually afraid that some people might consider it to be not as prestigious as some of the other schools you mentioned but I'm glad to hear it still has a sold reputation, at least among those who have heard of it! I'm from New Orleans and I currently live in Los Angeles, so I know what you mean about people not having heard of it very much. I was concerned too because it wasn't in the list of CC's top liberal arts colleges, which I think it should be.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your response, and I hope you like it there. I really like that the program I'm interested in offers a lot of flexibility for me to tailor my studies to my interests. It seems everything at Sarah Lawrence is like that. I want to permanently move to either the New York or Boston area, which is why I'm applying to schools exclusively in those areas, and I believe that Sarah Lawrence has a much better reputation in those areas simply because they are near the school. </p>
<p>I am going to be looking for academic employment when I graduate. Since I graduated with my bachelor's, I have performed a lot professionally, both as an actress and as a singer, and I've even taught at some music schools and performing arts schools, but I want to teach at the university level eventually, so that's why I'm doing this. I would even consider teaching at a top private high school with a strong performing arts program, but I would still need my masters for that. I've had some excellent employment and experiences thus far, but my teaching options have been limited by my not having a masters.</p>
<p>Again, thanks. Any more info from you or anyone else is appreciated!</p>
<p>Sorry for my own late reply!</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence definitely has an extensive theater program, and as far as I was aware, a wide variety of courses to choose from in that subject. In fact, the wide variety of courses is exactly what is perfect given how the rest of SLC works-- the school's strength is a spectacular flexibility, its weakness being that there are simply less classes to choose from in a given subject. But for something like theater, that's clearly less of a problem than for other subjects (presumably). So long as you've looked at the theater classes and know that there are a solid 8-9ish that you're interested in, you're good to go. And that doesn't even include conference work.</p>
<p>Actually, I wouldn't be surprised at all if SLC has a stronger reputation in terms of its performing arts department and the performing arts community than the school as a whole in terms of all academia... but that might just be speculation.</p>
<p>I'll see if I can talk to a theater grad student for you and ask them about SLC's theater department and reputation, or maybe (if I'm lucky) an alumni.</p>
<p>Thanks! But no worries if you can't get any more info from anyone there now. I'm not in any rush. I plan to apply in the fall of this year to start in 2010, so I have plenty of time! I'm only looking at 5 schools at this point. </p>
<p>Actually, I encourage you to see if you can get some students to post on here about anything, not just my thread. The Sarah Lawrence forum is pretty weak on here considering how many other liberal arts colleges are on here. Spread the word! :)</p>
<p>SARAH LAWRENCE IN 2010?
I am so pleased to see your postings about Sarah Lawrence. I’m also looking seriously at their MFA program. Like you, honeychurch, I want to get an MFA so that I can teach theater at the university or college level. I would teach high school in the right place. For years, I’ve been teaching English at universities and colleges, and I love to teach, but I want to teach theatre, and I want to be sure I go to a school with a strong reputation. Did you decide to go there? Can you tell me what it’s like: workload, friendliness; whether graduates are getting jobs? It would be great to hear from anyone else in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence. Thank you!</p>
<p>I dont know about Theatre, but in the other programs there is a lot more personal time with faculty going over your work than anyone I know has anywhere else. And there is a great community in writing.</p>