Sarah Lawrence College | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

J

Class:
Major: Architecture
Gender: F

High School: Piedmont High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

The overall stand-out characteristic of Sarah Lawrence is its academics and class-room environment. My whole way of thinking changed after the first year I spent there because of the professors and the other people that I met. This is a school for people who like to think a lot, and to deeply understand what they are working on in school. Though the lack of requirements makes the education less broad for some people, intellectual progress is a constant source of variation there. Social life: Though its a little on the small side, students are hip and into partying so it is fun to stay on the campus. Parties are usually small there are a lot of dance and theme parties. SLC and NYC: New York City is near-by and that is great for hanging out, it is great to be able to get internships there and get to know the city. For anyone who thinks that they might one day want to live in New York City, this school is a great way to familiarize yourself with it and build connections. There is a really good alum network in New York, and across the country actually, but I would say that about 60% of my graduating class moved to Williamsburg right after school. The uniqueness of the school's academic system and the kind of kids who choose to go there leads to an odd sense of school spirit. Students know that Sarah Lawrence is different than anywhere else and so they identify strongly with each other, and share a sense of pride and respect for each other's intellect and world views. I am making it sound like some weird kind of utopia but it kind of is.

Academic Life

Most professors know all of their student's names and students know their professors very well, often as well as they know each other. Professors and students alike formulate the sense of community on campus, and the administration plays a part, though it is a bit smaller. The combination of intellectual freedom and the level of engagement in classes makes conversations about the most mundane things become intellectual, not to mention politics, identity and pop culture, which are some of the most common conversation topics at parties. The individualized nature of the courses makes the place less competitive because people are more focused on achieving their personal best and there is little to make comparison by since there are no grades.

Student Body

A lot of students come to Sarah Lawrence from small or private high schools and if there is one problem area, in terms of lack of diversity it is class. Most students are so financially secure that they don't talk about what they will earn in the future. Some one who does not have a lot of money would probably feel out of place at Sarah Lawrence. Most students are so financially secure that they don't talk about what they will earn in the future. Students at Sarah Lawrence are very stylish. They wear vintage looking clothes styled with an eye toward high fashion or street fashion. The student body's clothing more closely resembles an art school than an Ivy League school and is more creative than it is preppy. However, even though everyone seems to have a unique sense of style, they also end up looking the same as each other. The school isn't really very cliquey, and there isn't much of a social hierarchy either. Though most people have a small group of close friends, they also still hangout with people outside those groups, and everyone parties together.