<p>i was looking through a recruitment thing they sent me last night, and it was one of the most interesting things i have gotten over the past two and a half years. i would be much more interested, but i have two qualms:</p>
<p>1) I'm not nerdy. I love to learn, but it seems like it might take a special kind of hardcore intellectual to succeed there. I have no doubt I could hang with the work, but wonder if I might sacrifice what could be the best years of my life doing so.</p>
<p>2) How practical is a degree from there? It seems like it might be easy to lose touch with reality amidst all of those old books...</p>
<p>However, it seems like the wealth of knowledge one could potentially gain there is unparalleled. anyone have any insight?</p>
<p>hmm which st. Johns u referring to. The one in NY?
if its the one in NY, then dont worry. to begin with it does not have an intellectual feel. if ur into that whole ivy league, intelelctual campus, then dont go to St. Johns (NY). </p>
<p>If ur talking bout St. Johns in England, thats different. it does have a real intellectual feel and all. lots of history and culture.</p>
<p>Hey iowejf, I think I have an idea which St. Johns you're talking about. There are basically three: St. Johns (Oxbridge, UK), St. Johns (NY), St. Johns (annappolis and new mexico).</p>
<p>I take it you're referring to the last one. It is really a gem of a school and provides perhaps one of the best undergraduate experiences for a motivated student. The curriculum, teaching methods and student body seemed brilliant and I guess once you're there, you won't be able to imagine yourself anywhere else. I was in the same dilemna a few months ago. </p>
<p>I applied to mainly liberal arts colleges. I learnt of St. Johns by chance (they don't really market themselves a lot). It goes without doubt that their style of teaching etc. are brilliant and unparalleled. It also goes without doubt that the atmosphere on the campus will be very intellectual. If you are game for these two aspects, then half the battle's one. </p>
<p>I was fine with these things and they were really what attracted me to the campus in the first place. I had however a couple of inhibitions regarding St. Johns:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The Ancient Greek requirement scared me a little to be honest. I guess they teach in a friendly and easy manner if so many people do it. Despite my relative fluency in spanish and french; greek seems to be one a completely different playing field.</p></li>
<li><p>The Great Books program was what attracted me and threw me off. While it sounds great to study everything from primary texts and would definately contribute to one's understanding, personality and intellect; I feared the process of learning to be rather slow. In addition, the challenging and demanding curriculum made slightly anxious of putting in effort that would eventually lead to a lesser respected curriculum..</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I was also concerned as you were about the opportunities after graduation. There is a video on their website which is directed to this anxiety. I hope you can find some useful information there and wish you well in your college admissions process.</p>
<p>My son visited St. John's in NM recently -- there were a few things that turned him off and he will be visiting the campus in MD to see how it is.</p>
<p>He noticed that a ton of the kids smoked -- like 70%+. I don't know if that is typical of college kids, but it was a real turn-off to him.</p>
<p>He was worried about the curriculum -- not that it was too difficult (and he loved the idea of the languages) but that the focus wouldn't allow him time to pursue other interests. I know they say they have clubs and stuff so that if you are interested in something, you can still do it -- but he was concerned that the curriculum would require so much time it wouldn't work out.</p>
<p>He was also concerned with the learning format -- every kids takes the same classes, which sounds great in theory -- but my son really enjoys a class where everyone is really interested in the subject. He said that he didn't see that at St. John's -- that there were several people in each class that really dominated and several kids who obviously were just there because the class is required. There is no skipping class -- the school is very small and if you don't show up for class, they will send someone out to look for you (this happened during a class my son attended).</p>
<p>Finally -- he didn't like the tutorial method as much as he thought he would -- he said that the tutor would pose a question and the kids mainly talked the rest of the time. He said that he wanted to be "taught" by an expert and not listen to a bunch of other students who really didn't know anymore than he did.</p>
<p>The visit was excellent and really helped him see St. John's -- he was 100% for attending before visiting -- now it is off the list unless he likes Annapolis better (the two campuses are very different, from what he hears.)</p>
<p>Santa Fe was nice -- small town, lots to do. Campus was nice -- especially if you are into hiking and backpacking.</p>
<p>Eh, I've never been too fond of St. John's. For law school, it's fine. For something like the sciences, it's not so great. The best combination, in my opinion, is a Core like Reed, Chicago, or Columbia along with the opportunity to specialize in a subject.</p>
<p>my son is very interested in Columbia -- not so much Reed (he has heard about drug problems) and the University of Chicago.</p>
<p>Another drawback to St. John's is that you can't study abroad. A big negative in his mind. He did ask about that -- and he was told that most students take a year off from school because of the intensity of the curriculum and that he could study abroad then. To me, it was a red flag that so many kids can't graduate in four years.</p>
<p>St. Johns is really buttered up in the brochures. It seems like a true intellectual university, however, I have heard from a friend who got in and visited- that it is a joke. The majority of the campus smokes. The teaching style made him feel uncomfortable simply because it was different from what the recruiter explained to him at first... Needless to say, St. Johns was crossed from his list immediately.</p>
<p>Go visit before making your decision, it could definetely help/hurt that school's chances at staying on your list.</p>
<p>I remember reading once that the focus at St. Johns is on Western Civilization and not global in perspective. I don't know if this is accurate, but it's something to look into. Is an overly Euro-centric view of education practical in this day and age? </p>
<p>I studied Classical Greek and love its history, but the relevance in my daily life is minimal.</p>
<p>Their teaching style is so cool and unique. It seems like it would be really engaging. I heard about it from a gifted/talented high school teacher who tutors me in math .. it sounds awesome.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, hsmomstef and others, I might reconsider St. Johns being towards the top of my list. I'll definately visit first.</p>
<p>I really love St. John's. I'm very passionate about it but I will not be attending in the fall, due to financial issues. I've had several months to get over it but I'm pretty much at peace and have moved on.</p>
<p>To be honest, St. John's is the kind of place that you have to go to with as few reservations as possible rofl. Well, that's how I perceive it, at least. Because if you go into it with a ton of hang ups, you're undoubtedly not going to have a great time because St. John's caters to a very specific type of student. It's not like if you go to a school you're kind of lukewarm about and you're able to find different clubs and stuff to occupy your time while you hate the school -- you really have to enjoy what St. John's has to offer since that's basically what it is. I hope that makes sense.</p>
<p>I really love St. John's. But it's definitely not for everyone.</p>
<p>And there are no guarantees with a St. John's degree, just like there are no guarantees with any other college, be it Harvard or Nowhere U. But in daily life, it is quite useful in that St. John's teaches its students to think. In a changing world, that trait is essential in order to adapt.</p>
<p>I've applied to Reed and have been accepted, actually. I won't be attending due to financial issues (arg, again with the finances!) but I, personally, think that the drug reputation is kind of overexaggerated now. Yeah, Reed is pretty lax in terms of its drug policy. Yeah, kids do drugs at Reed, but you'd find that anywhere. Sure, maybe at Reed you'd find more of it but it doesn't have to directly affect you if you don't want it to. If your child doesn't want to do drugs, they don't need to be in a 100% drug free environment to do so. They'd not do it no matter what. And I'm sure there are plenty of students who do not engage in the aforementioned activities.</p>
<p>thanks -- interesting link. sometimes it is scary to see the statistics up close like that. I know that drugs and alcohol are a part of any college campus (except maybe liberty college) but I prefer to ignore it. </p>
<p>My son is friends with kids in college and has been around pot and alcohol before, his biggest concern is that he will be the only one in a group that doesn't use it and will not fit in. He wants a school where the majority of the kids are more like him.</p>