<p>Due to peer pressure (a friend is at Stanford right now for frosh orientation), I am seriously considering Stanford for the first time. Although I'm an English-major intimate-LAC type of girl, I'm attracted to the Symbolic Systems major (also interested in CS and linguistics), and SLE sounds particularly intriguing to make up for the lack of an LAC community. Does it live up to the hype? It sounds very TASP-ish, if that means anything to you. (I've also heard that SLEers are "nerdy"; so am I, that ought to be a good fit. Don't care a whit about social scene as long as I have my own friends.)</p>
<p>this is a very nice description:
[url=<a href=“http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2001/janfeb/departments/studentvoice.html]Stanford”>http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2001/janfeb/departments/studentvoice.html]Stanford</a> Magazine: January/February 2001: Student Voice<a href=“but%20Swarthmore%20might%20be%20a%20better%20place%20for%20you%20still%20;”>/url</a>)</p>
<p>SLE sucks!!!</p>
<p>^ Care to elaborate on why?</p>
<p>24 hours exam.
No time to take any other classes but SLE.
Waste of time.
No social life.</p>
<p>1) Interesting. Sounds hard, but isn’t college supposed to be hard?
2) Really? I thought everyone took 2 classes outside SLE? Obviously the workload will be difficult, but I can’t imagine any more difficult than 4 classes at Swarthmore or Reed or UChicago.
3) Why is it a waste of time? Elaborate? It sounds like a residential community of intellectuals; I’ve spent six weeks, some of the best weeks of my life, in just such a community.
4) Yes, I would fully expect to have an SLE social circle. Those would probably be the people I make friends with anyway, though. I’m pretty firm in my teetotaler conviction.</p>
<p>Well. Then it sounds like a perfect fit for you.</p>
<p>My question, however, is whether SLE really *is<a href=“similar%20to”>/i</a> a semi-monastic community of intellectuals.</p>
<p>if you want to live in a place where everyone is talking about either stuff they are doing for SLE or arguing points on philosophy/politics/etc (even say, over dinner) then do SLE. If that doesn’t sound appealing (which I don’t think it is for most people) then avoid it at all costs. There are some people that definitely love it though.</p>
<p>An example of why I could never live there: I was visiting one of my friends that was a staff member in one of the SLE dorms and we went to grab dinner. The SLE dorms were in the middle of having what was apparently a very big argument about the sustainability of the dining hall. There was a group of vegetarian/vegan students that was essentially insisting that the dining hall for the SLE dorms stop serving meat on certain days of the week for sustainability purposes. They also insisted that anyone who didn’t agree with them was dumb, because obviously Stanford students should be smart enough to realize they should give up meat for improved sustainability. </p>
<p>Anyway, we end up getting into an argument about this at the table and one of the vegetarian kids gets so upset he storms off to his dorm room ****ed. </p>
<p>But ya, there’s nothing wrong talking about philosophical/tough/controversial issues with Stanford students–that is part of while you’re there. My issue with SLE is that it just makes it hard to get away from since those conversations invade your living space.</p>
<p>^ Seems an apt characterization, thank you. I am amused by how arguing philosophy over dinner is unappealing to most people. This probably says something about me.</p>
<p>^You will probably be happier at a school where it is not considered unappealing.</p>
<p>deleted (double post)</p>