Student Body- Homeschooled?

Colleges and Universities A-Z St. John's College - Maryland
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<p>So I was recently accepted to St. John's College and am really excited about the school and was planning on enrolling to the Annapolis campus for this coming Fall. I've done plenty of homework on schools and came to the realization that based on my interests there really is no other school quite like St. John's. That said, I do still have some major reservations and was hoping someone could help me out.
I've been a public school student for the past decade and one of the statistics that jumps out to me is the amount of undergrads who are homeschooled. That doesn't matter to me except recently when I was talking to a teacher, whose opinion I value tremdously, referred to it as a school "to get homeschooled kids to socialize." To what degree, if at all, is this true? Obviously thats not the school's stated purpose, and no one goes there for that reason, but is there an overbearing presence of students who aren't very good at socializing? I don't mean to sterotype homeschoolers, I have many friends who have been homeschooled with mixed results. But what she said, and what I've read make me slightly uncomfortable. I spent the night there in the fall, and while all the students seemed friendly it was fairly obvious even in just that 24- hour period that there were some kids who could speak to other people and others who simply could not. If I go to St. John's will I feel trapped socially? Also, slightly unrelated but do the staff and faculty ever have a tendency act like parents rather than teachers or "tutors" and babysit students rather than treat them like adults? Just something I read and wanted to know if there was any truth to it...</p>

<p>Sorry for the long post, but thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out!</p>

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<p>So there’s a lot to your post, hopefully I touch on all your questions.
Firstly, concerning the amount of homeschooled students, I don’t know the data, but as a sophomore I really only know for sure two students in my class were homeschooled. One of them I don’t know very well, as he tends to hang out with different people, though he himself is friendly and intelligent, if slightly awkward. The other is one of my best friends, who did learn a bit socially, especially earlier on in the year, freshman year, but he was by no means an outcast, or perceived differently, and one wouldn’t notice him as any different from another, non-homeschooled Johnnie.
The social atmosphere is definitely not felt as that of a socially awkward group, and so by no means is it “overbearing.” That being said, there are social groups of the quieter types, who themselves, regardless of being homeschooled or not, are a bit shy. In addition, there is a minority of students who, because of either intense dedication to work, or simply having a more-introverted personality, tend to spend a lot of time in their rooms. There is even a moniker for such students, “room Johnnies.” But even these people tend to be brought out of their shells over time by their similarly quiet friends.
I myself had a similar concern, when looking to St. John’s as a high school senior. I came from a school with a rich Theater program, so I myself, being largely extroverted, was worried about the social life. I can say that, in addition to the many other defects of the website (hard to navigate, doesn’t give a full impression of discussion-style class experience, etc.), one aspect of St. John’s that isn’t well captured is the social life. I was pleasantly surprised coming to school, and don’t feel at all “trapped socially.”
As for tutors, never have I felt babied by a tutor, and never do they feel like parents. They often feel more like colleagues, in that you can approach them whenever, take them out to lunch, be invited to have class parties at their house, etc.
But, as it goes for many questions about St. John’s, it’s better to take your own impressions from visits to campus. If you feel at all worried, or uneasy, or that someone on the internet might have deceived you (:P), I’d definitely recommend another campus visit, if possible, and if so, then preferably an overnight.</p>