<p>What are the best and worst aspects of Scripps? And what is the interaction between the other colleges like? Is it hard to meet people from the other schools?</p>
<p>I am a parent, not a student, but think that from my D’s point of view the only downside to Scripps that she has encountered is that there is alot of red tape if you want to anything outside of the prescribed path, especially in the area of study abroad. She has filled out more petitions than she ever imagined, but eventually she thinks that things will work out! That being said, she loves Scripps and has wonderful friends both on campus and with students at other schools. She finds the classes excellent and enjoys the small community. Scripps is a real gem.</p>
<p>Really? I find it surprising that there’d be so much red tape at such a small school… (I’m not arguing with you; I’m just genuinely surprised… oh well!)</p>
<p>I completely disagree with revbon50’s statement, sorry. But since recently transferring to a state university, it is the total opposite. The academic freedom is immense at Scripps.</p>
<p>gracieloos, you transferred!?!</p>
<p>So, I didn’t answer these questions immediately because I needed some time to think about it. I get the best things about Scripps question a lot, and I have a lot of answers. Everything from tea and cookies, to my academic freedom (seriously, I’m so deeply in love with my self-designed major and sooo excited for thesis!). I love the dorms, and my trip home for Thanksgiving has reminded me that I’m also in love with the weather here. As revbon50 mentioned, petitioning sucks. But it’s also amazing practice in persuasiveness. If I can’t convince the committee that my self-designed major is worthwhile and useful/or that going abroad on a certain program or for a full year is relevant to my academic study, then how will I convince a grad school or employer later on? It’s a pain in the butt process, but you can come out the better for it.</p>
<p>On the other hand, worst things about Scripps are difficult. On the trivial side of things, we over water the lawn, Southern California has pretty bad drainage to start with, and we’re not the most environmentally friendly of schools. Administration in general can be difficult to deal with it and student input on committees (trustee-run or otherwise) is not always regarded as valid unless it supports the general opinion of the committee. Students with dissenting opinions regarding school policy are viewed as “troublemakers” in many ways. This is from my own experience, and what I’ve heard from others who have suggested discussion or change on everything from transgender admissions policies to organic & local food in the dining hall. </p>
<p>Recently (yesterday in fact), a group of students launched a space (Whose Space is this Anyway? on Blogspot) where students can vent/discuss/listen/question matters of race, class, sexual orientation, marginalization, privilege, and institutional prejudice on Scripps’ campus. It highlights the fact that Scripps is not a welcoming place for all, and at the same time, is an example of the spirit of so many people who go here- people who rail against obstacles and silence and seek to form a better community through deconstruction, discussion and action.</p>
<p>And yes, there’s lots of interaction and it’s easy to meet people from other schools. Especially in student organizations and weekend events.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses! I have some more questions…
On the website it said that the Humanities major was for Scripps students only or something like that. Is that true or did I just read wrong?
What is Core like?
And this may sound petty/lame, but is it hard to meet guys while at Scripps?</p>
<p>Hmmm. I think you may have read it wrong? I don’t see why the Humanities major would be Scripps only (unless all the other colleges offer it, which I don’t think is the case). You may have been reading about the Humanities Institute, which is essentially a semester-long class that only Scripps students can enroll in (but, it’s based around lectures/movies/performances that anyone can attend).</p>
<p>Core is different now than when I took it, so I might be more pertinent for a current first year to chime in. For me, Core I was a class that I did not particularly enjoy at the time, but certainly see the value of now as I approach subjects from a number of disciplines in my upper-div courses.Core II was my favorite (Death, was the course title), and I had a prof who didn’t take any BS from anybody and pushed hard for students to do their best work.One of the frustrating things about Core is that even when you start choosing Core classes with topics (for semesters 2 &3), they don’t count towards major or GE requirements. </p>
<p>Meeting guys really depends on your personality, and whether you’re outgoing enough to go meet people at the other campuses. I’ve stayed pretty Scripps-centric, so the guys that I know here are all through classes or my friends’ boyfriends.</p>
<p>I’m a current first year and stalked this site a bit last year, so I thought I’d chime in. Core is… ok. Sometimes great, and it’s been getting better, but at the beginning of the semester a lot of people didn’t talk. This wasn’t true of all of the core sections, but in my class at least I was initially disappointed by the level of discussion. Lately though, things have been tying together more, and I find myself referencing core in my other classes (especially my writing class, which I love so very much. Hands down the best class I’ve ever taken.)</p>
<p>As for boys, like Eternal Icicle said, it depends on your personality/level of involvement on the other campuses. I haven’t found it too difficult to meet guys (I have a boyfriend at one of the other 5Cs), but I know that some of my friends have been slightly frustrated by the lack of male presence in their life. But Mudd is right across the street (literally, their dining hall is closer to the Scripps dorms than our dining hall), and there are a ton of 5C clubs. It’s also the first semester, so not many first years are taking classes off-campus, but that would certainly increase your chances of meeting guys. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Thank you all, those were helpful responses.
I was wondering if anybody knows how much colleges care about first semester grades for senior year. All my other years grades are good, but I think I may got a C or two on this coming report card (in my defense, the classes are pretty hard AP Calc AB and AP Macroecon) 
Will this completely kill my chances of getting in?</p>
<p>If you’ve demonstrated higher academic abilities in the previous 3 years, then it shouldn’t completely “kill” your chances. However, if you’re app could go either way, those mid term grades might be a red flag. If you do get a couple of C’s at the semester, and think they are anomalous, and not indicative of whether or not you will be able to succeed at Scripps, it might be worth calling your admissions rep. after you’ve received the grades. [if you don’t know who your rep for your area, is you can check on the admissions site]</p>
<p>More about Core! I realized after I posted my reply that I mostly talk about the discussions and not about the lectures (we usually have a lecture by a different professor every Tuesday with the entire freshman class and then discussion sections in smaller groups Wednesday and Thursday). So, lectures. Not all of them are great, but a number of them have been fantastic. It’s also a great way to learn about many of the Scripps professors-- I’m taking a class next semester in part because the professor gave an amazing Core lecture.</p>
<p>Also, it’s become a tradition for the professor giving the lecture to pick a moderately related piece of music to have playing as we walk into the auditorium. A few weeks ago we came in to the lecture on Foucault’s “History of Sexuality” to hear “Let’s Talk About Sex” by Salt-N-Pepa. Tuesday “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett was playing to correspond with the “The Yellow Wallpaper.” It’s kind of great.</p>
<p>Hey Guys,</p>
<p>So, I applied to Scripps for scholarship consideration. I was just wondering about the stats for those who got in. Sorry about the diversion btw.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Can someone list all of the GE requirements for Scripps? Also, how flexible are the GEs?</p>