SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE – BRONXVILLE, NEW YORK – USA

  • Private coeducational liberal arts and science college
  • Founded 1926
  • 1,370 undergraduate students, 300 postgraduates
  • 14% international students from 53 countries
  • 9:1 student-faculty ratio
  • Good fit = independent, curious, willing to self-advocate, open to trying new things, diverse student body so many different types of student find a home at SLC, lots of faculty support is available

Location

  • Historic campus – 44 wooded acres in Bronxville
  • Suburban
  • Classic college town but close proximity to New York
  • 40 minute train ride to Grand Central
  • 30-40 minutes to major airports

Academic

  • Unique academic program – incredibly individualised
  • All students graduate with a BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • Completely open curriculum and students take a very active role in designing their own curriculum. All students decide their own course 1-1 with a faculty member
  • No majors – instead ‘concentrations’. Students can choose to be very specialised, or very broad
  • No common educational class requirements – though some distribution requirements. Must take two classes from three out of the four areas.
  • 50 disciplines on offer
  • Four key areas of study: Creative and Performing Arts, History and the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  • Students traditionally take three classes at a time – can divide one class into three mini classes to allow for specialisation and diversity
  • Most popular concentrations: Biology, Political Science, Creative Writing, Theatre, Film, Environmental Science
  • Small seminar classes and 1-on-1 biweekly student-faculty conferences
  • 90% of classes are in small, roundtable seminars – classes capped at 15 students
  • Lectures only 10% of classes and capped at 45 students
  • All classes are taught by professors – no teaching assistants or graduate students.
  • Conference projects – students design their own for each class creating a very individualised approach to coursework – engage with learning materials on their own terms
  • Established study abroad programmes with China, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Tanzania, South Africa and Zimbabwe
  • Year long study abroad programme with Oxford University
  • A number of 5 year programmes offer students a chance to earn two degrees: The Art of Teaching, Child Development, Dance/Movement Therapy, and a 3+2 engineering programme with Columbia University (double degree)
  • Domestic exchanges with Pitzer College and Spelman College
  • Pre-professional advising is available for Pre-Law, Pre-Health, Pre-Education and Pre-Journalism – students can begin planning their path to graduate school from their 1st year.
  • Brand new film centre – film is becoming increasingly popular. Very big film alumni – eg. Barbara Walters.
  • 70% of students go on to graduate school within 5 years

Admissions

  • Holistic admissions
  • Accept Common App only
  • Has been test optional for over a decade
  • Optional writing supplement – recommended to complete it
  • Early Decision 1 and Early Action – 1st November
  • Early Decision II – 2 January
  • Regular Decision – 15 January
  • Sizable portion are admitted through EA/ED – go this route if you know what you want
  • Record number of students applying each year
  • Accept up to 10 unique submissions with an application so students can decide how they wish to present themselves
  • Average GPA of admitted students = 3.5 unweighted
  • Do track demonstrated interested but not heavily weighted in the admissions decision
  • Virtual interviews – optional but recommended. Book early

Finances

  • Merit and need based aid is available
  • Not need blind
  • Try to meet 100% of need – will top up with merit aid
  • $34 million in scholarships each year
  • Average award is $34K
  • More than 70% receive financial assistance – SLC works to be accessible
  • No extra application for merit aid
  • CSS not required
  • Tuition around $56,000
  • No application fee
  • International aid – a number of different scholarships so families are advised to reach out to find out what is available for their country

Accommodation

  • 80%+ live on campus for all four years
  • Wide range of different types of accommodation is available
  • Specialised houses – eg. quiet house, women only, substance free
  • Living co-ops for students with similar interests – eg. social justice, sustainability
  • About 8% are commuter students

Activities

  • 150+ students run organisations
  • Most popular are students identity groups
  • Tea House – student run cafe. Profits go to a student-student scholarship fund.
  • 5 major stage productions each year – everyone can audition
  • Campus life is very active at the weekends despite close proximity to NY: always live music, campus traditions, lots of dances, film screenings, food trucks
  • Weekly shuttle to the MET

Visit the Sarah Lawrence College website

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