I’m a freshman in high school, I’m extremely interested in Sarah Lawrence. So far it seems like a very diverse, liberal school but I would like to know the full experience of attending. What are the negatives about Sarah Lawrence?
I felt a little out of place at SLC because I came from a different economic background as most of the students. I suspect this would the case at most expensive liberal arts schools though.
Many students complained about feeling isolated and there not being anything to do at the school. I don’t share that sentiment but it may not be the place to go if you are an extrovert.
My only real complaint is that the students could get very depressed, especially in the Winter and lose motivation for all the interesting projects they were working on.
I had a really good experience there as someone who transferred from community college, though I suspect you would hear more negative remarks from someone who went their straight out of high school as they don’t have much to compare it to.
You should try to get some more opinions if you can as my experience there seems more positive than most. I also wouldn’t recommend worrying about college until a bit later. You will grow in ways you can’t imagine imagine. I went to Community College to study graphic design and ended up focusing on Cognitive Science at SLC.
I’m a current first year here at SLC and honestly the social scene is pretty rough. People make their group of friends during orientation and then tend to not branch out, making it, in my opinion, pretty hard to make new friends. The party scene is pretty dismal, aka non-existent. There is the phenomena around campus called “Sarah Lawrencing,” in which people who you recognize from classes or around school will go out of their way to avoid making eye contact or saying “Hello.”
The cost of the school is absolutely insane and honestly, in my opinion, not worth it. Also some of the dorms are just horrendous.
Sorry if this was extremely negative, but these are what I feel are the worst parts of this school.
As everyone else said, the social scene is difficult. So many people complain about feeling isolated. This feeling is only intensified if you are a person of color or don’t come from money.
Speaking of that there have been a few hate crimes on campus this year. The bureaucracy and administration have made it extremely difficult to deal with these situations. There have been town hall meetings and other attempts to combat the racism on campus but the administration ignores the problem and won’t even make attempts to help the community or color.
There is also a general sense of apathy on campus. Most people here are liberal and say they want change yet they do nothing to achieve change. Honestly, it’s a campus of social media activists who don’t show up to support any causes.
The school is extremely expensive so it attracts a certain kind of student i.e. the kind of people whose families can afford the tuition. As a result, there are so many obnoxious rich kids. The student populous really needs some self awareness and class consciousness. If you go here you will constantly have to hear about their many trips abroad and all of the privileges they have had over the course of their lives. It’s so annoying. They also spend money like its nothing. In addition, you will be “Sarah Lawrenced”. A lot.
However, I don’t want to leave you with just the negatives. The professors here are unmatched. I transferred from another institution and that school pales in comparison to Sarah Lawrence. Not all, but most of my professors truly care about their students education as well as their general well being. There is also so much opportunity here. So many successful and influential people come here to gives talks and lectures and they always stick around afterwards to mingle. You really get a chance to network with important people. The school also has a great alumni network. There are so many incredible internship opportunities available from companies some of which are explicitly looking for slc students. Also, there are some truly great people here. They’re just a little hard to find.
The student body here is overall pretty underwhelming but the education and opportunities outweigh the negative social scene.
Do the professors care about the students’ success?
I may be interested in arts management. What sort does Sarah Lawrence have in helping its students land internships with NYC cultural enterprises/institutions?
The social scene really isn’t that bad. I’m a junior and a combination of extroverted and introverted. When people say the parties suck, it’s because they expect Project X when that’s just simply not possible unless you go to a huge school like Ohio or Michigan. It just depends on your idea of a good time. For me, that’s a house party or hanging out with friends and running down Mead Way screaming about whatever-the-fvck at 2 am or going to the city or laying on a picnic blanket on a sunny day on the lawn. There are fantastic parties here with awesome people, and the small size of the school means QUALITY social life. You may not be anonymous all the time, like at a bigger “party” school, but people do respect each other’s privacy here, but also say hi to each other. The people who don’t are often just focused on going to class or are in deep thought (and that’s their business) or don’t have time to stop and chat. The people are brilliant here and there are lots of friendly people. The professors are UNREAL. Love them SO much. Smartest, most caring, funny people on Earth.
I’m pretty introverted, at least I think so. I go to a very small high school where people are either super cliquey and fake or obnoxious and uncaring. I don’t really interact with anyone because of that. Would the transition be tough? Are the people at Sarah Lawrence considered to be mature?
Can someone who has graduated from SLC talk about their experience?