<p>I'm wondering how Sarah Lawrence compares with Bennington and Hampshire in terms of how difficult it is to get into? And how do the three compare academically and socially?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Fall 2012 Statistics-
SLC: 45% of applicants admitted
Bennington: 62% of applicants admitted
Hampshire: 51% of applicant admitted</p>
<p>Those statistics are ever-changing. I know just a couple of years ago, SLC was at like 58% acceptance. But anywho, statistics like that don’t really do justice to SLC’s selection process. It’s highly individualized - based moe on your essay, gpa, and extra curriculars than tests or numbers. So, if you’re interested, don’t let low admissions rates deter you.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Hampshire at all… But Bennington and Sarah Lawrence are comparable. SLC is a small school at about 1300 undergrads, and Bennington is half the size of that. Academically they are very similar - self-designed academic curricula, small class sizes. Sarah Lawrence is unique in their conference structure - one on one meetings with professors and independent and class-oriented work. Bennington, on the other hand, allows you to design your own major, wheras at Sarah Lawrence, you graduate with a degree in Liberal Arts.</p>
<p>Socially, they’re similar as far as I know - liberal, hippie, artsy schools 
</p>
<p>Environmentally, SLC is in a small suburban setting close to NYC whereas Bennington is a more rural setting. </p>
<p>They are very similar overall and the differences are best ascertained by visits to both. </p>
<p>Best of luck with college applications!</p>
<p>Thank you so much. Do you think someone with a 3.4 GPA but high test scores and great extra-curriculars is in the running at Sarah Lawrence?</p>
<p>Absolutely. Just make sure to really work on your admissions essay - SLC is a writing-intensive school so we put more stock into it than any other aspect of your application. And it would also help your chances to schedule an interview - it’s optional, but it shows your interest and SLC, like any school, really wants students who would be happy to be there. Finally, if you get a chance to visit all your schools and wind up choosing SLC as your first choice before the due date, applying Early Decision greatly improves your chances of acceptance. But even if you decide against ED, if you follow the other stuff, you’ll have a good chance. :)</p>