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My son is a freshman at Sarah Lawrence, and I am happy to answer any questions about the admissions process, financial aid, etc. -- at least from my perspective as a parent.

By Dave Berry on Friday, September 28, 2001 - 07:24 pm: Edit

I'll get the ball rolling here, CaMom. Lots of colleges have gotten inaccurate monikers hung on them because no one takes the time to find out the truth. Over the years, some people have asked me about the "stangeness" of Sarah Lawrence, with its "Dons," free-floating curriculum, and other nontraditional aspects. One mystified parent even pointed to Yoko Ono and said, "Now THERE'S a typical Sarah Lawrence graduate!"

Could you help dispel some of these unfortunate stereotypes? What's the REAL scoop on S.L.? Thanks for the insider's (parent's) perspective.

By California Mom on Friday, September 28, 2001 - 10:21 pm: Edit

Actually, Yoko Ono is a Sarah Lawrence drop-out...
Think "Barbara Walters" for a graduate.

SLC is definitely not for everyone. It is a place for very creative, independent-minded learners. My son "discovered" it on his quest for the perfect school: he was looking for a place with small classes, where he would have the kind of relationship with his profs that would allow him to tailor his learning to his own interests and inclinations.

On this quest, he found a lot of colleges that are loosely structured, but most were too loose. Only Sarah Lawrence combined the academic freedom with the close involvement and feedback from faculty.

Although SLC offers a lot of freedom, it does have strong distribution requirements. There is no core curriculum, but students must spread their work across 3 of 4 disciplines (humanities; social sciences; creative and performing arts; natural sciences and mathematics).

It is also primarily a school for writers. The most important criteria for admission is writing ability, and extensive writing is required in all courses.

As a parent, I love the Don system, and the small classes (class size is limited to 15 for almost all classes). I know that even though there is a lot of freedom, there are also adults who will be very aware of who my son is and what he is doing -- this is not a college where students can party all night and skip class in the morning.

Students register for classes by interviewing their professors in advance - the students do the interviewing and make the choice, not the other way around. One nice benefit of this process is that in the first week of school, my son not only met his teachers, he also personally met many professors whose are NOT his teachers this semester.

Again, this is not a place for everyone. I do think that the information on the Sarah Lawrence website at http://www.slc.edu/ is very accurate in describing the academic program and admissions process.

I think you can also get an idea of the unique nature of the school's offerings by browsing the course catalog at http://www.slc.edu/undergrad/bachelor_arts/index.html

The course offerings do not generally follow the traditional pattern of requiring basic introductory or survey courses, or a progression or sequence of courses. Also, conference work puts an additional layer of exploration on each course, which is unique to each student.

By Dave Berry on Saturday, September 29, 2001 - 09:07 pm: Edit

Just curious, CaMom. What type of college experience did you and your husband have and how did that influence your son's college selection process? Did your son seek your input before he chose, or did he develop his own criteria and act independently? I'm always interested in what makes high schoolers pick their colleges.

By California Mom on Sunday, September 30, 2001 - 12:03 am: Edit

We're Cal graduates - I did my undergraduate work at UC Davis, and went to law school at UC Berkeley. My son's Dad went to UC Santa Cruz, and then to law school at UCLA. So there's 4 UC campuses between us - we both completed our schooling in the 1970's.

---

My son did apply to 3 Cal campuses, because his ability to attend a private college was dependent on his receiving adequate financial aid -- and of course we couldn't count on that. He applied to Berkeley, Davis, and Santa Cruz, and was accepted at all 3, but was probably mostly influenced by his classmates -- these are also the 3 geographically nearest campuses for us, so of course many of his high school friends also applied to these schools.

------
The main influence on my son was that he had a very positive experience at his high school, which is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, and emphasizes interdisciplinary and project-based learning. When he started looking for a college, he said he wanted to find a place like his high school, where he could work closely with his teachers in an atmosphere of give-and-take.

Basically, he decided that he wanted a small liberal arts college, and then made a list of probably about 50 "possible" schools, and basically narrowed it down from there.

By the way - I was very happy with my university education, but I am very impressed with the difference that the small liberal college offers. It's something that I didn't consider when I was young, and I can see that it offers a much more intense educational experience. There is a much closer relationship with college faculty and administrative staff and students -- actually, I'm sort of jealous and wish that I could go to Sarah Lawrence, too....

By Dave Berry on Sunday, September 30, 2001 - 06:11 pm: Edit

I hear you, CaMom. I graduated from Penn State, University Park where I felt like I was on a cattle drive (as one of the cows). I spent my freshman year at a small LAC in central Pennsylvania (Lycoming College). For me, there's no comparison. LACs beat big universities any day, IMO. However, I'm a touchy-feely kind of guy and I appreciate concerned faculty involvement.

My daughter enjoyed her LAC experience at Dickinson College in Pa., and my son split the difference between big research universities and quality faculty involvement at Princeton. They both got superior educations.

I should refer you to David Hawsey here. He might hire you to be a spokesperson for the small LAC experience. He's all for it, you know. :-)

By California Mom on Monday, October 01, 2001 - 01:48 am: Edit

I have to say that the LAC vs. University question really depends on the individual student, including personality, interests, goals, and their particular style and preference for learning.

I remember that as a student I often enjoyed the relative anonymity of a large lecture class - I could sit in the back and nothing was required of me during class but to pay attention and take notes. I also enjoyed the smaller classes I took, including seminars with only a handful of student, but the combination of classes was a good mix for me.

My son simply is a different person. I think that he wants his teachers to take notice of him and he views education as being a result of collaboration between teacher and students. In high school, his classmates voted him "teacher's pest" because he was always the one asking questions and challenging the teachers on their knowledge in every class. He needs to think actively and participate.

So I really don't think there's one best route -- it really depends on the student.

By David Hawsey on Tuesday, October 02, 2001 - 01:47 pm: Edit

I'm with you, Mom. I went to Drexel University in West Philadelphia, surrounded by cultural and economic diversity, perched alongside Penn (which I attended for one year as a grad student and still think I wasted my money). I hated almost every moment of Drexel. But they did teach me marketing, and then some. Their slogan: Go to Drexel, Get A Job."

Worked for this first-generation, blue-collar kid in a family of three boys.

However, I will say that the man who taught me to write (better) was the dean of the college or arts & sciences, now the provost at Providence College in Rhode Island. I had him for three classes, unusual for a university of 12,000 students. An LAC experience surrounded by engineers and finance majors.

I've worked for smaller LACs ever since, save for a one-year stint at Penn State raising $$$. Never got to interact with student, never met the president more than once, and saw too many young people drunk, hurt, expelled or worse: three died of alcohol-related incidents. All in one week, and that was a "better" year than most at Penn State.

I still feel I should have gone to a smaller LAC, but the fit was right for the price at the time.

By Survivor4 on Tuesday, October 09, 2001 - 03:43 pm: Edit

What's the male/female split at Sarah Lawrence, and what is the social environment like?

By California Mom (Calmom) on Tuesday, October 09, 2001 - 09:15 pm: Edit

75% female - 25% male.

My son seems to be having a good time and he's hardly ever in his dorm room when I call. He likes his roommate o.k., but neither one of them seems to come back to the room before midnight. I can only assume he's out socializing much of the time. I know that he likes to go to the bars on Thursday nights (he says they don't card then), and that he does it mostly to socialize with others (he also says the bars are too expensive for him to drink very much).

There seems to be a fascinating array of things to do on the SLC campus, from lectures to films to live performances.

By Dave Berry on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 07:26 am: Edit

I have to admit, CaMom, that the combination of your two opening phrases: "75% female - 25% male. My son seems to be having a good time and he's hardly ever in his dorm room when I call" makes me yearn for those good ol' college days and inspires wonderful fantasies of being outnumbered 3-to-1 by women on a small liberal campus. :-)!!

By Mrs. Berry on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 08:49 am: Edit

Dave, stop fantasizing this instant and get back to your chores!

By California Mom (Calmom) on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 03:05 pm: Edit

Yeah, my son doesn't seem to want to tell his mom very many details about his social life. Wonder why?

By anonomom on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 04:47 pm: Edit

Don't ask!

By California Mom (Calmom) on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 06:45 pm: Edit

I know, I've got enough problems keeping tabs on my 13 year old daughter....

By myoo on Wednesday, October 09, 2002 - 05:11 am: Edit

I am a pre-med science major thinking about transfering to Sarah Lawrance. Some people are telling me i should stay at my school, which is a research university, since there is more science classes and more science research going on. I need some advice... Is Sarah lawrance bad for a science major? (I want to learn neurobiology and physics indepth before i graduate)

By Calmom (Calmom) on Sunday, October 13, 2002 - 09:13 pm: Edit

I'd suggest that you go to the Sarah Lawrence website, find the names of the biology and physics profs, and email them about what opportunities you would have for your interests. You can pretty much write your own ticket at Sarah Lawrence, but course offerings are somewhat limited, as it is a small college. Right now I think they only have 3 physics profs, but one is visiting from Columbia and won't be there next year.

By C Reed on Friday, October 18, 2002 - 04:33 pm: Edit

Calmom, do you - or does anyone else - know anything about the theater arts opportunities at SLC? My daughter is seriously looking there but has been in an arts hs (think "Fame") for 4 years, and students from her school are most often disappointed with college classes in theater, as theirs are pretty advanced. On the other hand, she's looking at SLC in prospects of getting a good LA education. We plan a campus visit soon. Any inside tips about that?
Socalmom

By Calmom (Calmom) on Friday, October 18, 2002 - 07:02 pm: Edit

SLC is very strong on theatre and the overall program is very demanding, but also somewhat different in the Sarah-Lawrence sort of way. All classes require a lot of writing and individual work, so at SLC your daughter might very well find herself writing and producing her own plays. It is also a very easy train ride into Manhattan (with lots of cars going in on weekends -- my son doesn't have a car but almost always can get a ride with a friend who does). Many of the theatre students there also tried for Yale or NYU, so it really does draw some high-caliber students.

I think the best thing to do for your campus visit is to check out the "events" section on the website first or contact the student affairs office to get an idea of what's happening on campus the week that you are there. Make a point of attending a play or theatrical production and try to talk to some students.

My daughter is a dancer, also at a performing arts high. She used to feel that SLC was too small for her tastes, but now as she is getting more serious about studying dance in college she also says that SLC is looking better and better to her. Of course, she has more inside info than I do -- she is close to her brother and he confides in her more than he would with me.

By C Reed on Saturday, October 19, 2002 - 02:09 am: Edit

Thanks. Good idea about checking for events.

By Tatara on Friday, November 22, 2002 - 08:30 pm: Edit

Calmom,
My daughter is applying to SLC under the Early Decision 2 process. I am somewhat worried about this binding commitment to one of the most expensive schools in the country. Their financial aid director said at an open house last month that they meet 100% of need as defined by the Profile form. She also stated that the finaid award would not be affected in any way by early decision. But I have read that their endowment is tiny and that they are not very generous with aid. Any comments?

By Calmom (Calmom) on Friday, November 22, 2002 - 09:04 pm: Edit

SLC does not guarantee aid to all students - but there may be special rules about ED applicants, I don't know. In general the standard is "The College determines financial aid awards to incoming students on the basis of need, motivation for learning, and the potential for active participation in the campus community."

My son's financial aid award was very generous, and his experience is that students either have really good packages or really poor ones. ("Really poor" could mean students who get loans only- my son really doesn't have details. I do know that in one case where a friend had lousy financial aid the paperwork had been submitted late, so that might have been a factor). I think you should ask for clarification from the financial aid director as to whether your daughter can count on receiving need based aid if she qualifies.

My son's package from SLC was better than anywhere else he applied. There were packages that had us paying less out of pocket, but they were heavy on the loans. SLC does not require students to take more than the regular Stafford loan amount, and they limit the required loan amount to $3500 in the 3rd & 4th years, when the Stafford-authorized amount goes up to $5500 - so basically, that's at least $4000 LESS in loan burdens.

However, SLC has not been forthcoming at all with me in telling me the formula they use with the PROFILE. So I don't know how much they weigh home equity or other factors.

I'm happy with the situation and in general find it extremely easy to work with the financial aid office. They pretty much do all the work of setting up the loans, including parent loans, so once you are in it is fairly low stress.

If it makes any difference, if your daughter wants SLC because of the opportunity to work closely with the faculty, you definitely get what you pay for. My son says there is absolutely no way to compare SLC with another school because of the many hours of one-on-one time with faculty. This year he wanted to take chemistry but the chem lab conflicted with another class he also wanted - the chem prof offered to let him come 2 hours late to the lab with the prof staying and working one-on-one with him. So that's what he is doing; he has really hit it off with this prof, too. I can't imagine any other college where a prof would make such an arrangement for an undergrad taking an introductory level class.

I'm not trying to minimize the expense; I'm just saying if you are looking at SLC's $28K vs. some other college's $25K tuition, the difference is more than justified. SLC this year has the largest number of students on campus that they have ever had, and what they have done this year and last (when they also were overenrolled) is hire new profs and add new classes to keep class size down to 15. So they very definitely are committed to the notion of the small groups and individualized education.

They are in the midst of a huge fund raising drive - this won't affect the endowment - but basically there is no talk of budget cuts.

Good luck. (I have a 14 year old daughter and she is starting to think very seriously about following her brother to SLC, so I may end up paying a lot over the years).

By Tatara on Friday, November 22, 2002 - 10:19 pm: Edit

Thanks for the quick response. I was shocked when she said SLC meets the full need of admitted students because I haven't seen that in any of their literature or on the website. I even asked her if this "full-need" package included plus or parent loans and she said no. She also mentioned capping the Stafford loans for junior and senior years. I've checked a few sites and the indebtedness of students upon graduation is actually less than other schools she is considering.

Her other top choice is Mt. Holyoke (and I must admit I am a bit more comfortable with its structured core curriculum.) But she is really attracted by the idea of designing her own curriculum and intensely studying her passions (sociology/psychology/child development/creative writing/dance/art.)

How is the "bachelor of liberal arts" degree regarded by grad schools? We were told about the great med school admit rate, and that the students are basically doing grad level research in their courses. But I wonder if some grad schools consider the curriculum to be too non-traditional (no survey courses, no tests, etc.)

By Yellowduckie (Yellowduckie) on Saturday, November 23, 2002 - 06:19 pm: Edit

What is SLC looking for in terms of gpa? does being a miniority account for anything?

By Calmom (Calmom) on Sunday, November 24, 2002 - 08:42 pm: Edit

Tatara,

On the financial aid, I think you need clarification. SLC definitely DOES meet "full need" of those students to whom it provides with "gift" aid, but in the past they haven't guaranteed gift aid to all financially needy students. So you should just ask whether your daughter would be guaranteed to have her full need met if she is admitted ED.

Keep in mind that at SLC, as with any other private college, "full need" is what THEY calculate using the CSS Profile, not what you think you need. Because my son applied to many colleges, we were able to compare aid packages and get a good sense of what was objectively fair.

When I told my son's grandparents how much aid he had for the first year, they assumed that meant a full-ride scholarship. They were surprised to learn how much I still had to pay -- my son gets about 50% of his tuition + housing in grant aid.

As far as I know, SLC is very well respected by grad schools. One advantage the students have is that they will have worked closely with many profs, so they potentially have much stronger recommendation letters than most undergrads have. I think the lack of core curriculum would make very little difference, because the grad school will be looking at courses actually taken. Obviously, a student interested in graduate study in a particular area will want to take appropriate prerequisite courses.

Although SLC does not have any required courses, it does have strong distribution requirements, which effectively give structure to the program. Your daughter's interests fit in very well with what SLC offers -- SLC is particularly strong both in child development and creative writing.

Your daughter should know that SLC will not let her take more than one "creative" course each semester during her first year there. That is, she could not take both dance and creative writing at the same time. The requirements are somewhat more relaxed after the first year.


Yellowduckie: SLC is very selective and places a high importance on high school performance, but they do not have a formulaic approach to admissions. They also highly value diversity, but it is important to them in admissions to know that the person will function well in the SLC environment, which requires an ability to work independently and handle a heavy load of reading and writing requirements.

By Tatara (Tatara) on Friday, February 14, 2003 - 05:32 pm: Edit

Dear Calmom,

Thank you for your advice when we were going through the decision process. My daughter received her ED acceptance to SLC yesterday and I am still stunned by the generosity of the financial aid package, especially considering their small endowment. They appear to have met our full FAFSA need with grant aid, a stafford loan and work study. The bottom line will be very close to the cost of attending a SUNY school.

I still have many questions about the SLC educational philosophy, campus life and the Bronxville/NYC area. If possible, I'd like to pick your brain about "all things SLC" off the list.

Thanks,
Kathie

By Calmom (Calmom) on Monday, February 17, 2003 - 03:13 am: Edit

Congratulations to your daughter, Kathie! I too was stunned when we received my son's award - as was he. We truthfully had considered SLC to be totally out of reach financially, and like you, were delighted to realize that it would end up costing only slightly more than our state U. for him to attend - and actually in the long run he will have less of a loan burden than he would at the state university.

By Theasrhs (Theasrhs) on Saturday, March 08, 2003 - 10:29 pm: Edit

My daughter was just accepted to SLC as well, EDII, but, based on the noncustodial parent statement of income and assets, was offered significantly less financial aid that what we'd hoped. The NCP in this case may come up with the funds SL says he ought to provide, but with many, many conditions. My experience with the FA department was quite disasterous -- inflexible and seemingly, uncaring about individual circumstances.

Is there any chance this may change once she gets there? Should she chance taking out large loans to make it through her first year?

By Calmom (Calmom) on Saturday, March 08, 2003 - 11:39 pm: Edit

Just got a letter from SLC: tuition for 2003-2004 academic year is $30,120.00

Yes, you read that right. $30K+. For bare tuition. About $700 of additional fees tacked on to that, so make it $31K plus approx. $10K more for room & board, depending on your meal plan choice. This is a 4.7 percent increase over last year.

Son says SLC needs to keep up its rep as the most expensive college around.

To Tatara - the letter says that financial aid packages will be adjusted as needed, so you can probably expect the grant to be calculated upwards if your ED II financial aid award didn't reflect the higher costs.

Theasrhs: Don't count on getting more. Sounds like your ex (a) makes too much money, and (b) is a real jerk for holding out on you. I don't know what issues you may run into trying to get out of an EDII commitment for financial reasons -- that NCP issue is why we didn't use ED. Fortunately, my ex doesn't have a clue as to how to make money or hang on to what he does make, so I think his NCP statement probably doesn't affect the award very much. But the SLC financial aid people do seem to stick very much to whatever the numbers are in their calculations, and they really won't tell you how the NCP figures in.

You can appeal the financial aid award, but they are looking for changed circumstances. If you have a history of difficulty with your ex & money, you might be able to win them over with documentation (for example, if you have court orders for unpaid back support). Otherwise, I would say think twice.

SLC says that the tuition increase is needed in part because of their commitment to maintaining the small classes, the 6-to-1 student/faculty ratio, the donning system. I can vouch for the fact that there has been no diminishment in services at SLC while my son has been there, except for housing - which simply is overcrowded as there are more students on campus, and more continuing students staying on campus, than ever before. (Nonetheless, my son has a large single room this year; but many first year students are in triples).

But I honestly would not encourage you or anyone else to send your child to a college you can't afford, no matter how special the college program. You might want to re-evaluate what you CAN afford. Keep in mind that while your daughter is living away from home next year, you will have less expenses at home. (I never realized, in dollars, quite how much my son ate until I sent him away; and I saved a bundle by taking him off my car insurance). But if you can't swing it, then don't count on things changing in the future. This isn't something particular to SLC -- it would apply anywhere.

By Invisiblemarker (Invisiblemarker) on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 12:01 pm: Edit

Calmom,

I am currently a college student, (a senior to be exact), and I have applied to the Graduate Writing Program at SLC.

My question is: Approximately how many people apply to the SLC Graduate Writing program, and how many are accepted?

I would also like to know about the cost of living in and around Bronxville... Is it very expensive?

By Invisiblemarker (Invisiblemarker) on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 12:02 pm: Edit

One more thing... do you know what rank SLC holds in regards to the top 20 graduate writing progams?

By Kells (Kells) on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 12:39 pm: Edit

Thanks CalMom and others for so much useful information about SLC!
I was recently accepted to Sarah Lawrence, as well, (ED II) and I am thrilled because SLC is my dream school and I have wanted to go there ever since the day I first found out about it. I'm quite nervous, however, about the financial leap. (especially after that price increase!) I made a fatal error this year in spending more time trying to figure out how to get into college rather than trying to figure out how to pay for it and, as a result, I have filed my FAFSA over a month past the deadline (my Profile was on time) and my financial aid package has justifiably suffered. (I am receiving 4,425 in student loans and work study and so far nothing else) I take full responsibility for my error and, through personal savings and mutual funds, I will be able to cover the costs for the first year; however, I will not be able to do so my sophmore, junior, and senior years. Calmom, do you or your son know of anyone else in the same predicament and have they been able to work with the finaid department to get adequate financial aid for the remaining three years? I understand that fin aid is renewed and refiled each year, but I also remember reading that priority goes to applicants who are already receiving gift aid. Would it be more advisable to save the money I have accumulated so far, defer a year and make sure my financial aid application is on time next year? Thank you so much!
~Kelly from TX.

By Theasrhs (Theasrhs) on Sunday, March 16, 2003 - 04:56 pm: Edit

Thanks for that very good feedback, Calmom. I did appeal the financial aid decision, and offered to substantiate the problems with the NCP, but to no avail. The NCP has been out of the country, in an inaccessible part of the world, since October, and will not return until the end of March. He has not been able to speak with SLC directly, something they mentioned as a reason for denying my appeal.

I would not have encouraged my daughter to apply EDII except that I explicitly asked last November, when we attended prospective students day, about noncompliant NCP's. Apparently (I have now found out) the dean thought my question was limited to obtaining the NCP form, when what I had asked about was obtaining the *money*. The answer was unfortunate: SL has a designated person who pursues the NCP. What we found out after appealing the financial aid award was that SL only pursues getting the NCP forms. SL does not pursue getting the NCP contribution. After the acceptance and after the fact, we were quite firmly told it was our problem.

The FA dean did, however, disclose the formula used for calculating EFC: 15% of income and 6% of assets for parents; 70% of income and 35% of assets for students. Assets equal the value of your holdings less debt, and take the age of the parent into account.

Since we cannot even talk to my daughter's NCP until April, she can't really make the final choice about where she will be going to college. SL has my nonrefundable $400 check, but I'm willing to lose that if no other aid is forthcoming. I can't afford to take up the NCP slack, and my daughter can't afford to take on thousands of dollars of loans.

I did get an email from the FA dean, who confirmed that the award was substantially based on the NCP income, btw.

By Calmom (Calmom) on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - 04:02 am: Edit

To Invisiblemarker: I don't have a clue as to the SLC Graduate Writing program. My son's an undergraduate and there has never been any reason for us to learn about SLC graduate programs. Bronxville is EXTREMELY expensive, but SLC borders on Yonkers, and there is the Bronx to the south, so basically there probably is less expensive housing available if you are willing to live a few miles away. (But it is NY - less expensive is not going to be cheap).

To Kelly & Theasrhs: I don't know what to say. SLC is an excellent college, and there really is no college anywhere that quite compares, in terms of the personal involvement of students and faculty.

But NO college is worth it if you truly can't afford it. "Afford" is somewhat subjective - I am willing to take on debt, and my kid is willing to take on debt - but I have an idea in my mind as to what is manageable and what isn't.

One good thing about SLC is that when you do get aid, they keep the loan amounts low - so overall, the debt picture is not too bad for the student.

I know it's a tough decision; I've been through it myself. SLC is my son's SECOND choice - his first choice college, like SLC, does not guarantee financial aid, and gave him nothing. It was the only one of 8 colleges that admitted him that did not also offer some level of grant aid. He had to say no and move on.

Keep in mind that even though the SLC experience is very special, that many other colleges afford excellent educations, and ultimately the experience that each student has will be unique, and will depend on many different circumstances. My son is very lucky that the financial aid worked out well for him - but he did keep his head on straight and make his choice of colleges among those that gave comparable aid packages. And I am very grateful that we had a good array of packages to compare and choose from; I truly believe that the ED system puts unfair pressures on students and their families.

Kelly - I don't know if you can defer with an ED II application. If you are willing to do so, that could also give you time to work and earn some more money. On the other hand, since you have the money to pay for the first year, you might consider going ahead, and if you don't get sufficient financial aid for year #2 you might then take a year off to work, or at that point consider transferring to a less expensive college. While I think that the SLC experience is truly unique for all 4 years, I think that the differences are most marked during the first year -- you will be working one-on-one with profs, in classes of 15 or less, while most of your former high school classmates will be sitting in lecture halls with hundreds of students. However, in later years, it really is not such a big difference - I attended a large university and I had small classes and knew my profs on a first name basis during my last 2 years of college. It is very common for SLC students to take time off for various endeavors, and depending on your interests and intended major you might actually "outgrow" SLC after awhile.

By Calmom (Calmom) on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - 05:58 pm: Edit

To Theasrhs - I spoke to someone in the financial aids office at SLC today. The formulas you were given as to parental assets and income are based on a sliding scale, so they wouldn't be the same for everyone. It does sound like you are probably in a much higher "bracket" than I am, most likely because of your ex's income. You have my sympathies, but I do think this is probably a circumstance where your ex makes enough money (at least on paper) to be able to contribute more to his daughter's education than he is willing.

By Theasrhs (Theasrhs) on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - 10:17 pm: Edit

You've given us all some great information, Calmom. Thanks.

Interesting that the FA office has told you the formulas would not be the same for everyone since they are based on a sliding scale. This is part of the problem, I think: much of the aid process is obscured by conflicting information. The formulas I quoted were not given to me *personally*. The formulas I quoted were announced by the dean of FA during a financial aid presentation at prospective students' day last November. There was no indication the formula varied on any sort of sliding scale. Quite the opposite: it sounded as though it was almost INvariable.

Ah, well. It's not that my daugher's NCP makes much income. I think the problem is it looks like he has a lot of assets. Which he does!

By Calmom (Calmom) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 12:40 am: Edit

Theasrhs - the person I talked to today used the term "sliding scale", but I think what is more likely is that a certain amount of income and assets are exempt from consideration, and that affects the overall percentage. In any case, what specifically happened is that the person I talked to said that only 2% of my assets were considered, and I said that another SLC parent had been told it was 6% - and that's when the term was used. If you were told something in a group context, then it might have been an average, or the figure that is used after a certain minimum. I know that the FAFSA formula exempts a certain amount of income and assets from consideration, so that would affect the overall picture.

If your ex has a lot of assets, perhaps he is in better position to borrow than you are. I want to point something out to you, which might be an option you hadn't thought about. I decided when my son started college that I would borrow $10K per year with the Parent PLUS loan; I figured that the monthly payments were about 1% of the total amount, so that at the beginning I would be paying about $100/month, and after 4 years -- assuming I borrowed the same amount each year -- it would be about $400/month. My son's Dad told me that he could not afford to contribute to college, but he volunteered to continue paying the same amount of child support that he had in the past, even though his legal obligation ended when my son turned 18; that was about $300 a month. I was kind of griping to a friend about how I was carrying the burden of paying for college, and my friend pointed out to me that my son's Dad was essentially carrying the loan for the first 4 years by paying me the continued child support. I had never really thought about it that way -- true, in the long run I will have paid out more money -- but in the short run, those payments were making it a lot easier for me to handle all the expenses.

If you and your ex try to make things perfectly fair and even between you, you may be fighting a losing battle - especially if your ex isn't impressed with your daughter's desire to attend the most expensive college in the US. But if you look at it as being a mutual goal, and think, how can we structure financing this in the way that is most beneficial for each of us -- you may find that there are ways to increase your ability to meet the expenses by each party making a different type of contribution. If you have good credit, then there is no limit on the amount that you can take out with a PLUS loan.

It really depends on how well you can work with your ex - it doesn't sound like things have gone so well up to now, but if he's been out of the country, he may not even be aware of what you are up against.

I think that if there is any chance of things working out with your ex, and if your daughter really has her heart set on SLC, then you should go ahead and put down the deposit. Look at it this way: if you are able to pull things together, then you have to spend that $400 anyway. If in the end it doesn't work out, and your daughter needs to go to a less costly college, even though you will have spent $400 unnecessarily, you will still come out ahead because you won't have to pay for Sarah Lawrence.

By Theasrhs (Theasrhs) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 09:25 am: Edit

Ah, one of the limitations of this kind of forum: including all the relevant detail can be potentially tiresome, and thus, I haven't.

One admittedly tiresome detail, but unfortunately, a crucial one for my situation: I have my own outstanding school loans. A by-product of divorce, if you will. I also went to law school, so you may understand that the amount is not insignificant.

I already put down the deposit so that my daughter would have the time to figure things out with her father when he returns. I hope part of that "figuring out" includes making the phone call to SLC to find out exactly what his portion is of the EFC.

If you have a name of someone in the FA office with whom you have had good results and rapport, I'd love it if you would email me with that name privately: theag@sonic.net. It looks as though there are no more than 4 or 5 people in that office. I suppose I could go through each one of them individually, which I am tempted to do since our terrible experience(s) with one of the people in that office. Rude, even.

The PLUS loans are a great deal. I may be able to do a part of what is needed using that option, my daughter's dad may do an additional, more substantial part, and then my daughter may be able to make up the remainder with all of her scholarship money.

It would be great if SL FA would tell us exactly what their breakdown is of the EFC, though. Perhaps they will share that info with the NCP>

By Kelly_Johnson (Kelly_Johnson) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 11:05 pm: Edit

I am coming to this late, but maybe you will still check it and answer anyway. :-)

What is the campus like? Is it too small? Is it highly urban?

Also, I know 40% of applicants are accepted with RD, but do you know the rate of acceptances in ED?

By Upenn06 (Upenn06) on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 09:06 pm: Edit

okay can i help you people out a bit:

30 years ago, sarah lawrence was prestigious. it was actually a place that attracted around the same caliber of women that schools like radcliffe, pembroke, holyoke, etc. were able to attract.

but since the early 70's, it's gone downhill DRAMATICALLY. id say use it as safety IF YOU HAVE TO, but don't make it the school you shoot for.

By Calmom (Calmom) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 09:15 pm: Edit

Kelly, as a parent of a kid who turned down UC Berkeley for Sarah Lawrence, I have to say that I am utterly amazed at the quality of education my son has found at SLC. He is ALWAYS working, always reading. He entered the school a fairly adept writer, and has become a phenomenal writer. Because of the structure of the school, students have to attend class regularly and need to be prepared when they get there.

My son is on a first-name basis with professors who he describes as awesome and amazing, some of whom are very well-known and highly regarded outside the school.

Obviously, Upenn06 has no idea what SLC is about, because Upenn06's reference to attracting "women" evidences that s/he doesn't even know that SLC has been coed for the past 36 years.

Kelly, if you are self-directed and able to hold your own working directly, one-on-one with your profs, you can get an awesome and unparallelled education at Sarah Lawrence. The campus is very small and is in a very posh, suburban area (Bronxville), although it borders on Yonkers and is a 30 minute train ride from Grand Central station in NY. So basically, when you leave campus, it is an interesting mix depending on which direction you choose to walk or drive.

The most important criteria for acceptance are your essays and writing samples, teacher recs, & a strong academic record. Like many other small colleges which offer unique or unusual programs, you are probably competing against a self-selecting applicant pool, so the acceptance rate is somewhat deceiving.

By Kelly_Johnson (Kelly_Johnson) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 09:35 pm: Edit

Thank you, Calmom! :-)

I moved to Dallas from a small farm town in Florida last year, and I hate urban life. I am interested in schools like Colgate which are in very rural areas. I am interested in SLC and I am visiting this summer, but I do not think I will even do that if it is in a highly urban area.

Thanks again!

By Calmom (Calmom) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 09:48 pm: Edit

Well, SLC definitely does not have an urban feel to it, but basically as soon as you are off campus looking for something to do, you will end up going urban.

You might want to look at Vassar or Bard - both are similar in many ways to SLC, but are located in somewhat more remote areas.

I'm wondering why you are attracted to SLC, as I don't see it as having much in common with Colgate.

Most people who come to SLC are either attracted by the individualized approach to education, small classes, and tutorial/conference system, or else come for the theatre or writing programs.

If you are just interested in a strong liberal arts college in a rural or remote location, you should also consider Williams, Bates, or Bowdoin - or if you are willing to look beyond the east coast, look at Grinnell & Kenyon.

By Kelly_Johnson (Kelly_Johnson) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 10:26 pm: Edit

I am very interested in SLC because of the writing program and the individualized approach. I would like my writing skills to improve, and writing has always been a passion of mine. However, I would really like to work in international development someday. UCLA (too urban) and Clark (just all-around bad) are practically the only schools that offer it as a major. Schools like NCF and SLC would allow me to combine economics, international relations, languages, and other fields so that I could be better prepared for the kind of job I would like.

Colgate is not like SLC in that it is very structured, but it has small class sizes, a friendly environment, and a program in peace studies which I could tailor to my needs.

I visited Bard and hated it. The campus is spread out all over the place and consists of mostly old donated homes. The biggest turn off was the city, though. It is basically in this town called Rhinebeck, which is where people from NYC go when they are sick the city. The people are cold and rude, the town is disgustingly fake, and Bard's students did not seem friendly at all. Also, there were a lot of Rev. Moon's kids there, and they were beyond crazy. (We accidently stayed at a bed and breakfast with two of his followers)

Thanks of the suggestions and all the information! I really appreciate it. :-)

By Calmom (Calmom) on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 03:35 am: Edit

Kelly,
None of these schools are in rural locations, but if you are interested in a small LAC with a strong international studies focus, consider Macalester or Lewis & Clark. I think Mac is pretty much in downtown St. Paul, so it is pretty urban; L&C has a large, beautiful wooded campus and is an suburban area of Portland. My son visited L&C and said the campus was just beautiful and he was impressed with the number of foreign students he met, though not with much else, unfortunately.

Somehow Pitzer sticks in my mind as another LAC that may have a strong international studies program available, though I may be mistaken. Again -- suburban, but very close to a large urban center (L.A.).

You might also want to check out what sort of study abroad programs the various colleges have. SLC has some good options, but I don't think that study abroad or language study are a particular strong point of the college.

By Kelly_Johnson (Kelly_Johnson) on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 01:13 pm: Edit

Thanks again! I have been looking at Mac for quite a while, and today I checked out Lewis & Clark after reading this. Thank you for the information! It sounds like a really interesting school, but I just feel like there are too many requirements both within and outside of the major. At L&C, the IR program is 10 courses and 7 of which are picked by the school. However, I have been looking at liberal arts colleges, and Oberlin and William and Mary are sounding pretty good. :-) Thanks for all the information!

By Andymcgav (Andymcgav) on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 10:22 pm: Edit

Calmom,

Do you know if it would help me in admissions if my sister attended Sara Lawrence? Thanks.

By Bayislandmom (Bayislandmom) on Friday, May 23, 2003 - 09:29 pm: Edit

Calmom,
I'm trying to help my son find the right school: SL is showing up on our horizon. He's only a HS soph now, interested in creative writing, theatre, cartooning and doesn't have a clue yet what he wants to do, i.e. future career goal, "Slay dragons." He's not very organized and while works hard manages to drop the ball on one of his 5 solids at a time so we're looking at block/quarter/etc. schools, so the 3 classes at a time looks good.

A couple of slightly touchy questions:
Is it about accurate to assume that 75% female = 50% lesbian/straight & likewise with the males so that the breakdown for my (pantingly)hetero son is about 35%/13% straight females to straight males?
How rampant is the "depressed and in black" aura discussed in guidebooks? As Californians we have a little trouble fathoming bleak Easterners sometimes, so is a light-hearted blond boy going to feel he's fallen into the abyss of darkness? Thanks for any help.

By Calmom (Calmom) on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 04:42 am: Edit

Bayislandmom,
I honestly don't have a clue as to the gay/straight issue. My son was assigned to an apartment with 4 other guys his first year and they were all straight. There was no shortage of straight women. There were lots of gay people around, too.

If your son is thinking of SLC, then visit. But he should only go if HE is the one who feels intrigued or excited by it. Reading between the lines somewhat on your post, it sounds like maybe YOU are looking at SLC and he isn't really looking/thinking about colleges yet. SLC is NOT for anyone who is there because someone else suggested or urged it -- -- it really is a place with too much emphasis on individualism and independence for that.

My advice is to get a book like Donald Asher's "Cool Colleges for the Hyper-Intelligent, Self-Directed, Late Blooming, and Just Plain Different" and leave it lying around where your son will pick it up and leaf through it. My son didn't start seriously looking into colleges until September of his SENIOR year. I think sophomore year is too early with a kid who doesn't have a clue as to what he wants to do.

SLC is not an abyss of darkness by any means, but my California boy isn't all that happy with East Coast winters. That's probably not a big issue for choosing a college -- so many of them are, inconveniently enough, located on the East Coast -- but it is the white stuff piling up on the ground, not any abyss of darkness, that sometimes got to be a little overwhelming this past year.

Funny story, though: the first big snow my son trudged all the way across campus to get to class, only to find it cancelled. He had never heard of a "snow day" so he didn't know he should have checked first to see whether classes were being held before venturing out.

By Reeses (Reeses) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 06:17 pm: Edit

calmom,
I've seen SLC on lists for top writing colleges, and I am interested in checking it out since I'm an avid writer. I've already taken creative writing this year (junior year), and might be taking journalism next year. Do you think that's a good idea to take before college instead of taking my ap history class? (I can only take one of them, so if I chose journalism, I'd just take regular history instead) What are the average standardized test scores? And I have one major issue about this college: If I were a guy, I'd love to go to this school, but I am worried about meeting someone. The male/female ratio doesn't seem to be in my favor. Does your son have any friends that are girls? This is the only reason I might take SLC off my list.

By Calmom (Calmom) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 11:02 pm: Edit

Reeses,
My son has lots of friends who are girls, it would be very lonely at SLC if he didn't have girls for friends as well as boys.

Follow your heart in choosing your courses, but also consider the quality of the course - some high school journalism classes really aren't very challenging. You might do better to take AP History and then get journalism experiences via EC's or a part time job or internship with a local newspaper.

The average verbal SAT at SLC is very high -- you can get overall averages from other sources on the internet. SLC is a fantastic place to go if you want to write, but you need to have strong writing skills to get in and you will have to be ready to do a lot of writing. The male/female ratio obviously will make it harder for girls to meet guys on campus, so I wouldn't suggest SLC if the dating scene is a top priority for you. I think a bigger problem is simply that it is a small LAC, so you run out of new faces rather quickly. I think that would apply at any small LAC, and the gender ratio also tends to be mostly women at almost all LAC's. I mean, it really doesn't matter of it is 65% or 75% female - that looks different on paper, but the bottom line is that the women outnumber men significantly at just about every LAC in the country.

By Cdblizzard862 (Cdblizzard862) on Monday, August 18, 2003 - 12:11 am: Edit

I am going to be a senior in high school this fall. I am considering NYU, Boston U, Sarah Lawrence, Emerson College and Fordham U and will study theatre. I love big city life but I can be shy and sometimes have trouble meeting people as it is so can someone please tell me ANYTHING they know about the social life at any of these colleges! Thank you!!!

By Jaye123 (Jaye123) on Thursday, November 27, 2003 - 10:52 pm: Edit

I am currently a senior (male) in High School (New Jersey) and Sarah Lawrence College is my top school. Unfortunately, I cannot apply early decision due to the high cost of the institution; early decision is a binding agreement and if accepted, I would have to abide by the terms of payment ($44,000.00 per year).
My application is completed and mailed but I am still trying to find ways to enhance my application.

As a senior, I am taking fairly rigorous courses but had to drop science due to the required SENIOR QUAD as well as the departure from my high school's theater club to other theaters around New Jersey (want to experience what other organizations have to offer). I am looking to major in theater and english, and perhaps minor in psychology....if possible. I have been toying with the idea of taking a science course at my local community college for some credit (and to enhance my application).
Of course, I would be taking a science course that interests me but I have a few questions regarding this "move."

My science background is not strong. The subject doesn't really "come easy" for me, hence, the reason for my enrollment in basic science courses in all three years of my high school career. Would Sarah Lawrence be looking at my science background despite my interests in fields somewhat distant from the field itself (psychology, english, theater, writing etc. etc.)?? Would continuing science for the spring semester at a community college be "the right move" to take?

By W_Wemer (W_Wemer) on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 11:18 pm: Edit

Hola Cal Mom

Hey, thanks for this. I'm an aspiring film/journalism major who just started looking at Sarah Lawrence. I've read a lot about internships in NYC. Do students really pursue internships regularly, or is it more of a fluke thing? Also, is B. Walters really an alum?

By Calmom (Calmom) on Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 04:09 am: Edit

Barbara Walters really is an alum - in fact she donated $1 million to SLC about a year ago.

I have no clue about internships, sorry.

And to Jaye: I don't think you should take classes you are not interested in simply to enhance your school record. SLC is going to be more interested in seeing your record of involvement in the pursuits you care about and are strong in. Also, as a senior, it is pretty much too late to do much to enhance your application -- you are going to be evaluated on what you have done by the end of fall semester, not on what you plan to do in the spring. So take the course if you are interested in it, but don't do it simply to make yourself look better on paper - it's not going to fool anyone.

By Tle1026 (Tle1026) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 08:34 am: Edit

Hello:

I just received my SAT II scores today, and am so much worried because they are even not high enough to be mediocore.

I'd like to know if I have any shot at SLC, as I'm going to apply ED II.

Asian male

V: 600 M: 720, Writing 720, Math IIC 700 and Physics ... 300. :-(( TOEFL: 257. Ah yeah, I'm an int'l student. (Anyway, I have tried TOEFL and SAT I for the second time, but I doubt if there is any dramatic change in my scores. Frankly I hadn't prepared for SAT II at all, as I couldn't buy any test book here. Is it a good excuse for my low scores, although it's absolutely true?)

GPA: 8.9 out of 10, top 1% in the class, attended one of the most prestigious high school in my country. Great rec. Not so many extra curricular activities, but very strong leadership.


Well, I graduated high school in 2002, then was admitted into two universities. Education here is rather strange, as you, except for the very excellent students, can apply to only one university. During my first semester at university, I took Marketing, an advanced course in English offered only for seniors. However, again I was an exception. Then I scored the highest in the final exam and had a highly appreciated research. Right after finishing the course, I deffered from my university to be a media executive at a leading PR company in my country.

I love my current job and would like to work on the field of Marketing, PR or journalism in the future. Hence, I am gonna apply to SLC's ED II, because I am interested in its loose academic structure, writing program, its campus, location and so on.

By the way, would anyone be so kind to tell me if I have any chance at Vassar, Hampshire, Whitman. And what should I do to be admitted into my dream school?

Many thanx in advance.

T.

By Tle1026 (Tle1026) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 08:38 am: Edit

Ah, I need financial aids also, as you see, SLC's tutition fees is among the highest in the States. Is the school stingy with aids by the way?

T.

By Calmom (Calmom) on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 04:58 am: Edit

T, I think you are very likely to get into SLC. Being male will give you a boost, and SLC also needs to build a more diverse student body -- so they are likely to look favorably on an international applicant. BUT..... I don't know whether they will give you financial aid, at all. SLC has limited fund for financial aid, & does not guarantee aid to all admittees -- I don't know what their policies are for international students. You really should contact the financial aid office to find out.

I think you would do better to apply to SLC regular admissions, as well as other schools, so that you will be in a position to compare financial aid offers. I really would caution against ED when finances are an issue.

By Chicago1983 (Chicago1983) on Monday, December 22, 2003 - 04:39 pm: Edit

Hi,

I am trying to transfer to Sarah Lawrence College for the fall 2004 and was wondering if I have any chance of getting admitted with a GPA a little over 3.2(from Calvin College) with about 46 credits currently. Does anybody know what I need to do to increase my chances of gaining acceptance to this school? Does Sarah Lawrence put much weight on the high school performance because I did very poor my first 2 years of high school and ended up with an overall bad GPA. Also, does doing outside research in my major/along with cross cultural engagement and writing a paper on a WW2 veteran(went to his house,video taped him, asked questions etc,) that is in the Library of Congress help?

Jim

By Citybound06 (Citybound06) on Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 02:49 am: Edit

Sarah Lawrence is really appealing to me because of its faculty, focus in writing, and liberal community, but I’m really looking to be right in NYC. I wouldn’t mind living at Sarah Lawrence for the first year but after that would I be able to live in NYC, if so could I commute easily? Is it

By Kristeenamarie (Kristeenamarie) on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 07:53 pm: Edit

Citybound06, I visted the campus this summer, and found that it is literally a half an hour train ride plus maybe 10 minutesa on the bus. It's not an ideal situation but if you really want city life it isn't bad at all.

By Kristeenamarie (Kristeenamarie) on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 03:47 pm: Edit

Does anyone know where I can get information on the dorms? (pictures, reviews etc.) I was accepted to SLC early decision and will be visiting next month but I'd like to know more about the dorms.

By Calmom (Calmom) on Tuesday, December 30, 2003 - 03:40 am: Edit

Kristeenamarie,
They don't allow you to request specific dorms at SLC, so there is not much point in getting advance information. When you visit, try to arrange an overnight -- your student host can answer questions you have about specific living areas.

By Kristeenamarie (Kristeenamarie) on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - 12:01 am: Edit

Well, regarding the dorms, I was interested in staying in one of the vegetarian/vegan oriented ones, and just wondered about how they worked and what everything looked like in general.

By The_Slc_Bug (The_Slc_Bug) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 02:26 am: Edit

Chicago: you should be a good candidate for transfer to SLC. It seems that they usually have a good amount of transfer space, at least for such a small school. They will probably place little (if any) emphasis on HS performance and look mainly at college GPA and the ESSAY. It is the most important part of your application here--not the personal statement, but the analytical paper sample. If your paper is published in the LOC, that will definitely help you get accepted. I would expect you to get in.

Citybound, going to the city is not hard, but it does cost money. Remember that the train ride as a round trip is probably around 10 dollars (it used to be 8, but I *think* they raised the price). Be prepared. It's a half hour by train, but the car ride is only 10 minutes, depending on where you are in NYC of course (so if you're a city parker, it might be better).

Kristee, you don't get a choice as a freshman but the dorms are all relatively nice. However, you might get placed in Hill House where I lived for my freshman and sophomore years--NOT by choice. It is an apartment building and it's basically isolated. It sucks, and we even told the housing director that they should not be putting freshmen in this dorm. I doubt it helped though, because they are low on housing as it is. Anyway, this is very brief and does not include all the dorms: http://raptor.slc.edu/%7Ecockroach/

You can live in a "house," which are all cozy (on the smaller side) and on the adjacent street, when you petition with a group or get a good enough lottery number to just reserve your spot in one.

By Marinakitchen (Marinakitchen) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 04:41 am: Edit

slc, I was wondering if you could comment on some recent stuff I've heard about Sarah Lawrence. I just submitted by regular decision app, but I have honestly not heard of one student who highly recommends Sarah Lawrence. I just talked to a graduate who says that the social scene is extremely stifling, and the students are cold. She also says that a lot of people end up transfering because its so depressing there. Based on your personal experience, is this true?

By The_Slc_Bug (The_Slc_Bug) on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 11:34 am: Edit

I'm transferring to Cornell in January. I would have to agree about the social scene. I made good friends, but the people are generally not very friendly. I'm not sure if "cold" is the right word; the people are just extremely weird. For me, it made for an uncomfortable atmosphere. It's a place for the social misfits of the world which makes it a bizarre place to go to school--there is NOTHING "normal" about SLC. The events are largely based on sex (Sleaze Week, Coming Out Dance, Rocky Horror Picture Show) and I found myself lonely often. I would highly recommend Sarah Lawrence to the weirdest of the weird kids in a high school, theatre students (the program is good enough to stay and I've never heard one of them complain about the school), and to the GLBT community. HOWEVER, I have met many people who dislike it socially but "stick it out" for the unique academic system. If you're in love with the academic ideal, then I would recommend SLC as long as you're prepared for the social life.

If you want to tell me all the things you have heard from others, I can tell you my opinion on them.

By Gummylick (Gummylick) on Monday, January 05, 2004 - 12:07 am: Edit

I graduated from SLC a couple of years ago and the social scene is definately not what you expect from a normal college, because as Bug said, nothing at SLC is "normal." There are no frats, no sororities, and people generally avoid any type of "clubs." Why? Most people are misfits, late bloomers, who never felt part of anything, anyway. The social scene revolves around a student and their small group of friends colliding with other small groups in various dorm rooms. The alternative is a train ride to the city. It may seem stifling to some, but two years later the friends I had at SLC are still my best friends. I went to the funeral of an SLC friend who recently passed away from an illness. Five of her friends from SLC drove, bussed or flew more than 5 hours across the country, with only one day's notice, to say a last goodbye. It was a testament to the longlasting friendships we formed at our college.

As a freshman, forget about dorms. You will likely get put in the new dorms unless you ask for a "quiet" dorm (I don't recommend it). I think the quiet dorms now are Gilbert and MacCracken (the old "crackhouse" in my time - that is until we had that little incident my first semester and they made it "quiet" thereafter). It could have changed, though.

The academics more than met my standards. Everyone went thru a standard year of trying to find out what they wanted to do, but when that issue was resolved, most of us really embraced the one on one relationships with our professors. I read more than I ever imagined and my writing improved by leaps and bounds. The constant creative inspiration around you pushes you to entirely new levels.

As a minority from a gang riddled public school, the SLC philosophy was hard for me to embrace at first, and I was embarrassed to explain how my college didn't have majors or tests, but in the end I faired best. I have a total understanding of what I want to do and a grasp of everything I studied at SLC. I feel no class there was wasted.

By Prima_Donna (Prima_Donna) on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 04:35 pm: Edit

I've been interested in Sarah Lawrence since I discovered it had a good musical theatre program. Does any one have info on this? However, I'm a bit leary at discovering it has no majors. Do future employers look down on this? Sarah Lawrence seems to fit my profile. My academic gifts are geared towards writing. I do well in English and writing classes. I enjoy writing. I have always done well in school. I'm in the top 5% of my class. I've yet to take the Sat, but I did very well on the verbal on the PSAT (69), but less well in the math part. (58) I guess I am a bit of a misfit, but I don't know if I'd do well in a "weird environment". I don't have many friends at school, not in the popular group. I do feel out of place at my very conservative catholic hs. I'm still not sure whether I'd have to have structure or not. I do get along well with theatre kids, I have many friends from my community theatre, so I'm hoping SL attracts lots of theatre kids. I'm a little nervous about the expense. I don't know how one pays for it all! However, the financial aid packages sound generous. And I like that SL is near NYC. Thanx for all your info. BTW, I'm a junior and I'm hoping to apply to SL next year. However, I'm nervous about the talk of it being a place for "misifits". Also, I'm not really sure about the musical theatre program. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

By Kristeenamarie (Kristeenamarie) on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 06:32 pm: Edit

Prima Donna--SLC provides a liberal arts degree, which is definitely not something employers would look down on due to its well-rounded nature.

And a note on the rumors of "cold" interaction...I just visited the school 2 weeks ago and found that actually everyone seemed noticibly very friendly with each other. The only cold part about SLC seems to be the winter snow.

By Smann311 (Smann311) on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 06:02 pm: Edit

i think sarah lawrence is just the deffinition of liberal... for those who have a great interest in the fine/performing arts sarah lawrence has a great program, so if a conservatory isn't for you, but you want the closest thing to it from a liberal arts view consider this school...

By Prima_Donna (Prima_Donna) on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 04:56 pm: Edit

Thank you everyone for your help. It seems this message board has slowed down again, let's try to keep it going. There's so much I'd like to know about Sarah Lawrence. I want to go, but I'm a little worried about the cost. Thanx.

By Sanguinairius (Sanguinairius) on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 01:56 am: Edit

I'm extremely worried..I'm planning to apply early admission to Sarah Lawrence as a homeschooled student. I've been receiving the bulk of my curriculum through Keystone National High School and will be receiving a diploma soon.

My plans are to do pre-med with the liberal arts focus and then go on to med school at St. George's University. However I am deeply concerned about the rigor of the courses (though I'm used to independently studying anything) and how indebt I will be. :\ Especially with med school! Have the financial aid packages improved?

Thanks,
Helena

By Offbeat_Ophelia (Offbeat_Ophelia) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 06:10 pm: Edit

I'm officially IN at SLC with a big scholarship. Anyone else get news?

By Sfbbgurl (Sfbbgurl) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 01:05 am: Edit

My best friend got into Sarah Lawrence. I am so happy for her. I just wish it wasnt so far away. We live in San Francisco so its pretty far, and I am staying in California. Anyways, best of luck to everyone!

By Gilraenelendil (Gilraenelendil) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 04:42 am: Edit

Congrats to Offbeat Ophelia! Same here im officially in SLC too with a hefty gift aid. Yay to us. Are you planing on sending your intent to enroll soon?

By Offbeat_Ophelia (Offbeat_Ophelia) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 12:13 pm: Edit

I don't know yet. I'm definitely going to the admitted students weekend and I'm going to consider it.

I'm in at 2 other schools so far, one with a free ride, and waiting on a few others. I won't be able to make my final decision until I go to a few accepted student programs.

I REALLY like the tutorial system but I don't know if I'd actually be happy at SLC since I have heard much of the student body slacks off. And I don't know about a degree in "liberal arts" rather than French or Comp Lit.

... But we'll see!

There's so much great stuff about SLC academically if you take advantage of it, plus the amazing theater program ... and they're giving me 40,000 this year if I go. And I imagine it's a great place to go for law schools or the Yale school of drama literary/criticism program (both of which I'm considering as possible future plans). So I'm definitely considering it! What about you, Gilrae? Where are you from? What are you interested in? Definitely going to SLC? If so, I'd love to hear why you're committed to it. I'd love to hear more positive things about the school!

By Gilraenelendil (Gilraenelendil) on Wednesday, March 31, 2004 - 12:38 am: Edit

offbeat ophelia,

I definitely do want to attend SLC except even with the financial aid package, it will be difficult to attend considering my financial disadvantage. If you have the time email me at diana__abigail@hotmail.com. Im limited in time right now so i cant adequately respond. I look forward to hearing from you.

BTW im from Los Angeles, CA and the alias is my elven name

By Kristeenamarie (Kristeenamarie) on Wednesday, March 31, 2004 - 10:24 pm: Edit

For those of you with 'hefty gift aid', mind being more specific?

I was given a financial aid estimate when I was accepted early decision in December and I was just wondering if perhaps I'll have better luck once they contact me again with more official numbers.

(Parents aren't too happy with the $$ situation)

By Gilraenelendil (Gilraenelendil) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 01:46 am: Edit

Kristeenarmarie... Im taking it that you are a LOTR fan. GOOD FOR YOU! If you e-mail me at diana__abigail@hotmail.com I will share more about my financial aid award. I look forward to hearing from you.

-D

And also, where are you from?

By Offbeat_Ophelia (Offbeat_Ophelia) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 12:36 pm: Edit

Yeah, I am probably not going to go to Sarah Lawrence. Though I will visit. I got 40,000 in gift aid this year but aid is not guaranteed for the next four years, and I don't know if I'd be happy with the campus life, and I don't like the idea of a "liberal arts" degree rather than French or Comp Lit. Plus NYC is half an hour away. I really need to be in or very close to a city.

By Offbeat_Ophelia (Offbeat_Ophelia) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 12:38 pm: Edit

Oh and Kristeenamarie, "gift aid" refers to grants. I.E. I got a "Trustees Scholarship" which is a grant of 40k, and then 2,000 in loans, and work study. But it's just for this year. Not so hot.

Part of the problem is I got better aid guaranteed for all four years at a better school (for me at least), so I think I'm not going to go to SLC. Though my parents want me to go there. Blah.

By Kristeenamarie (Kristeenamarie) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 12:11 am: Edit

Ophelia-

Sorry, I can't stand LOTR :oP

Also, I know what gift aid is. I was only offered $5,000 a semester....which is hugely insufficient. I'm hoping SLC will be more generous with my official offer because I'm desperate.

By Skyebluemd (Skyebluemd) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 08:43 pm: Edit

Hi, I've been accepted to SLC and just found this site on my search for more information. From reading so far, it seems like the academics and student-to-professor relationship is great. Can anyone tell me more about the atmosphere of the college/college students and how feasible is a trip into the city? Thanks so much for the info in previous posts

By Picklegirl (Picklegirl) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 05:34 am: Edit

I visited awhile back, so I can help a bit. When I went there, the school was pretty empty and quiet, but it was a chilly winter day and students were just coming back from their breaks. Everyone I spoke to was really friendly and willing to talk to me about their school. I didn't stay for very long, but students there seemed very chill and laid-back. There were plenty of artsy types, but my tour guide was a very plainly dressed blonde girl who studied economics and seemed to have lots of friends.

I live in NYC and it was very easy to travel to and from SLC. You simply take a few trains and can walk to the school from the Bronxville station. The only problem I think, is that it would tend to get rather expensive. Round trip for was about $13 total. I think there might be a slight discount if you're a student or you go during off-peak hours, but it's around there. I've heard that there are students who go into the city every day. If you have a car, I think it would be easier, but I don't know about parking costs.

By Prima_Donna (Prima_Donna) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 05:55 pm: Edit

I read in a college book that average financial aid per undergraduate is 26000. How accurate is that and what does that aid include? Any ideas? Also, those who were accepted would u mind detailing your high school record so I could see my chances? I would really appreciate it, thanx everyone. This board is so helpful.

By Calmom (Calmom) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 08:28 pm: Edit

On financial aid at SLC - they have a policy of not requiring loans beyond a certain amount. The max. subsidized loan for first year is $2625, then $3500 in subsequent years. Generally a work study grant is about $1500. The balance is in gift aid - so out of a $26K package, approx. $21-22K is grant money. The calculation is based on need.

By Skyebluemd (Skyebluemd) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 09:55 pm: Edit

Thanks Picklegirl!

By Kristeenamarie (Kristeenamarie) on Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 01:58 am: Edit

I only received an $11,000 offer with my early decision acceptance. I emailed financial aid and asked when the official package would be sent and they said in the coming weeks.

I'm nervous because my family really can't afford $40,000 a year, regardless of what the documents say we still have a house, taxes, 3 kids, and 2 cars to pay for.

Here's hoping.

By Prima_Donna (Prima_Donna) on Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 09:23 pm: Edit

Thanx Calmom, but wut do u mean by not requiring loans over a certain amount? Does that mean the student shouldn't need to take out more than that, or the school doesn't? Sorry, I'm very new to this.

By Gilraenelendil (Gilraenelendil) on Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 10:57 pm: Edit

Hallo! Are there any SLC west coast admitted students that will be attending the LA Reception on April 18? Let me know. I will be there and im looking for locals that will possibly attending next year. I already sent in my intent to enroll as well as my deposit. For those that had inquiries about financial aid awards, mine came out to about 36,000. I hope that info helps. If you have specific questions about loans and everything feel free to email me... im pretty much done with the loans right now. Merry Meet

By Kristeenamarie (Kristeenamarie) on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 08:31 pm: Edit

$36,000!!!! so lucky Gilraenelendil! I'm really feeling shabby with only $11,000 here. Crap.

Anyway, I'm going to to the LA West Coast Reception. I RSVPed for my parents and myself. Exciting!

By Calmom (Calmom) on Friday, April 09, 2004 - 03:02 am: Edit

PrimaDonna,
SLC give aid consisting of Stafford loan, work study, and grant - the total adds up to whatever they deem the EFC to be. (It is a CSS EFC, not the same as a FAFSA EFC). For the first year, the loan is $2625. After work study is subtracted out, the rest is grant.

For years 2-4, the loan is $3500 - so EFC-$3500-work study = grant.

The Stafford program allows students to borrow up to $5500 during years 3/4, but SLC calculates the aid based only on $3500.

The best way to compare financial aid awards from various colleges, IMHO, is to look only a GRANTS, and to treat the loan/work study as money you are paying, not getting. SLC is fairly generous in the way they calculate the grants.

They are also the most expensive LAC in the country, and they've raised tuition again for next year. So even with a generous grant, it can be pricey. Their aid is calculated on need, but they may let students keep some outside scholarships without reducing the basic award.

By Kristeenamarie (Kristeenamarie) on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 01:11 am: Edit

For those of you who enjoy Livejournal, there's an awsome community dedicated to incoming freshmen class of 2008

http://www.livejournal.com/community/slc2008/

By Prima_Donna (Prima_Donna) on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 09:53 am: Edit

Thanx for all the info Calmom.

By Prima_Donna (Prima_Donna) on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 09:53 am: Edit

Thanx for all the info Calmom.

By Sushisensation (Sushisensation) on Monday, April 19, 2004 - 03:10 am: Edit

Nifty webboard! It would have been interesting to find it sooner. {smiles} I'm currently a first-year graduate student in fiction at Sarah Lawrence. Coming from a leviathin state university in the southwest, Sarah Lawrence was a bit of a shock to me. So small. So personable! It's not easy to fade into the woodwork when you can walk the length of the campus in about ten minutes.

I've been looking at previous postings...and I guess I'd be considered one of those abnormal late-blooming social misfits. {smiles} I enjoy the small-group effect in Sarah Lawrence's social scene. Once you find a niche, heck, you can really set yourself in there with glue. The people you meet and connect with here, like other posters have stated, are people worth keeping in your life after graduation.

As for the graduate writing program...In this rare case, what holds true for a large university is also true for a small LAC: your education is what you make it. Even Sarah Lawrence has slackers. Rich slackers, I guess! If you exert yourself academically, you'll get a great education. The graduate student body is only a fraction of the school's population, and all of the first-year students are already a little sick of each other. The quality of the writing is extraordinary compared to the average state university. However. There is an interesting conflict between writers of mediocre talent and those with oodles and oodles. The small size of the community can make such conflicts very awkward in workshop.

The grad student housing webboard was instrumental in finding affordable off-campus housing. My roommate situation worked out great, even though none of us (there are four more in the house) had met before we moved in together. Bronxville may be ultra-conservative and stiflingly suburban, but it's also extremely safe and clean and quiet. If you want to concentrate on all those reading assignments, this is a good place to be.

As for any gay/straight questions - to be quite honest, the undergraduate women seem to be mostly bisexual-in-theory-but-not-application, with a generous helping of lesbians, transgendered folk, and gay boys. The graduate students this year are mostly straight with a smattering of gayness. The number of straight men is minimal.

Weirdness in general: The undergraduates have their amusements, like Sleaze Week and the Coming Out Dance, but the graduate students are completely bizarre. I think weirdness (in a good way) may even be a requisite in being accepted to this college. This is absolutely, positively not a school spitting out cookie-cutter people! As a few posters stated before, in a rather disparaging fashion, this is a school of geeks and freaks. Clean-cut is in the minority here, but high intelligence seems to be nearly universal.

By Stardustie87 (Stardustie87) on Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 12:33 am: Edit

Hello, my name is Samantha and I am currently a junior. I attend a Ukrainian catholic female preparatory academy in Phila, PA.

I take the toughest classes offered at my highly competitive school except for algebra 2/trig this year, (I am in first track which is solely a scheduling conflict). My school only offers one AP this year, US History, which I am taking. I am also giving up my lunch three days a week to make room for my creative writing class.

I really want to major in creative writing/journalism or even go into something with Irish History/poetry/literature. I am also extremely passionate about Animal rights! I am a big Maeve Binchy, Anne Rice, and V.C. Andrews reader.

I was thinking Sarah Lawrence; however, not so sure I would be accepted. I would prefer to be near a major city since I love going to many concerts and museums. Also, I would love the school to have a study abroad program-preferably Dublin.

My GPA is a 3.4(something) but I am planning on moving that up to a 3.8 this year. Sorry about the low GPA but I have a hard time in math which pulls the rest of my grades down.

I took an intensive creative writing class over the summer at Chestnut Hill College and earned 3 college credits and an A in the class. The summer before that I participated in a creative writing class at Holy Family University.

I have not taken the SATs yet, I am an extremely nervous test taken and expect a good verbal score and an awesome writing score. However, the math section will most likely be average.

I was accepted onto the yearbook committee sophomore year (this will be my second year). I am taking journalism and hope to hold some title next year. I am on our school's selective Laureate Staff which is responsible for our school's Laureate or creative writing publication. I am 99percent sure I am editor for next year!!

ECs:
(This list could go on forever, so I will only list the ones I feel I am most involved with)

Student Council Secretary: 10th & 11th....extrmely involved.
Environmental Club: 9th, 10th, 11th
CSC: 9th, Senator 10th, 11th
SADD: 10th, 11tH
volunteer at my local library: I helped out with the summer reading program during the summer and now I will continue through the school year with regular duties and helping younger kids after school.
Volunteer at the Philadelphia Food Bank
volunteered with the special education ccd program for altistic childen frosh year. I am no longer involved unfortunately because the teacher who ran the program left and the new administrator did not want high school students for a few reasons.
Member of the Red Cross Saturday Leaders of tomorrow
Spanish club
Honor Student
I am a member of the Peta Street team (I only hand out stickers and such because I have only been a member for a couple years but I love the program!!)

I am also attempting to start a zine for my school with another girl.
------
Science fair:
Frosh year:
1st place environmental- st. basil academy fair
(second place overall)
3rd place- Montgomery County fair
3rd place- PJAS fair

Soph year:
2nd place behavioral- st. basil academy fair
(honorable mention overall)
1st palce- Montgomery County fair (zoology)
1st place- Delaware Valley fair (zoology)
1st place- PJAS fair
1st place- (state finals) PJAS fair

I have attended half a dozen different leadership conferences and workshops also.

Where do you think would be a good place for me to go? Is Sarah Lawrence a possibility or no?

Thank you so much for taking the time to look at this and good luck in your own college search!

Samantha <3

By Wmgan (Wmgan) on Saturday, September 25, 2004 - 02:52 am: Edit

Hi, I'm a Chinese Malaysian male studying in Singapore, hoping to go to a college in the US next Fall (refer to my post "Dreaming of Yale but seeking safeties" in the "Chances" forum).

I'm still searching for colleges (it's funny how you can be so sure of your choices, only to realize suddenly that those may not be the right ones after all!) and currently Sarah Lawrence is high on my list, from what I've read in Fiske and other guidebooks. I have a few questions that I hope some of you can answer:

(1) Any idea how generous SLC's financial aid for international students is? I read on their website that they try to meet full need of as many students as they can, and that sounds very ambiguous. There aren't any figures for SLC's international aid at the CIS financial aid spreadsheet (http://highered.cois.org/Download/FinancilAid/2003_04_FinancialAid_US_Only.xls). Financial aid is very important to me in choosing a college; I can only expect my family to contribute about USD10-12K a year.

(2) I'm still undecided on my major but I'm leaning towards mathematics and computer science. Any idea how these programs are at SLC? I have a strong interest in writing and the perfoming arts too, which is why I'm considering SLC. How is the theater and music scenes in SLC? As a pianist, would I have opportunities to perform?

(3) I read in one college guide - I think it was either the Princeton Review or Petersons - that SLC suffers in diversity. Is this true? I would appreciate information on the admission rate of international students, specifically that of Asians.

(4) I was somewhat alarmed by what Sushisensation said, that "the number of straight men is minimal" and that the "undergraduate women are mostly bisexual-in-theory". Is the undergraduate student body overwhelmingly gay? Not that I have any prejudice against homo- or bisexuality, but I might feel uncomfortable if all my male friends were homosexual and my female friends... well, out-of-bounds.

Thanks and hope to get some answers soon! =)