r/sarahlawrence

hi, i’m alice.
i’ll be attending sarah lawrence this fall, and as delighted as i am, i’m also trying to get a clearer sense of what life is like there from people who’ve experienced it firsthand, positive or negative.

one of the main worries is the social environment. i’m an extremely shy and reserved person, and have always struggled somewhat socially. i’ve been told numerous times that i can come across as intimidating or unapproachable at first, even though it isn’t my intention at all… because of that, i’d appreciate hearing from current or former students about the atmosphere and whether it feels possible to find genuine community there over time.

academically, i’m still somewhat unsure of the exact field i want to pursue. i’m very interested in forensic science, though since slc doesn’t offer it directly, i’ve been considering studying chemistry or biology as a foundation. at the same time, i love the arts, philosophy, and writing, and the reason why i was drawn here was the possibility of exploring these alongside science rather than feeling forced to choose only one path.

were there any classes, professors, or areas of study that especially shaped your experience, particularly if you entered still figuring things out?please recommend first-year courses that felt most intellectually rewarding!

i’m also curious about jobs, both on campus and nearby. what kinds of work tend to fit well with student life and workload?

i’ve only just begun putting my feet in the water, but if there’s anyone who still attends slc or is an upcoming student like me that’d be interested in talking, let me know ^^

Hi,

I’ve been offered admission to Sarah Lawrence as a transfer student, and as I’m trying to decide whether to accept, I’ve got a few questions that I haven’t seen answered here directly or would like more information on:

• How are the math and physics departments? I know that Sarah Lawrence is more arts/humanities focused than STEM focused and I’m getting the sense that that’s reflected somewhat in the relative quality of the classes. This is fine in some ways as that is also where I plan to focus, but I do want to take some STEM classes and would like to get a lot out of them when I do.
• On a somewhat related note, do Sarah Lawrence students ever have the option to take classes through another college or university? There are a couple classes I’d be interested in taking (for instance, some sort of astronomy or astrophysics course) that it doesn’t look like Sarah Lawrence offers, so I’m curious if I’d be able to arrange to take a class or two somewhere else.
• Have you found that taking fewer classes in a semester makes it hard to cover all the topics you want or need to, or do the conference projects help to make up for that? I’d be especially curious to hear the experience any other transfer students have had with this, as transferring is heightening my concern: I only have two years left, and I’m worried that 12 classes wouldn’t feel like enough.
• Not quite sure how to word this one, but in what ways would you say that the school culturally shows the influence of being so close to New York City? When I visited, I got hints of a vibe that I (a person who has only ever driven through NYC so take this with a grain of salt) would associate with NYC. (I don’t quite know how to explain it — a lot of people with a strong fashion sense is what I want to say is a big part of it, maybe an avant-garde sensibility is the terminology I’m looking for?) That isn’t a bad thing, of course, I actually find it interesting (and would like to give NYC, including the fashionable and avant-garde parts, a proper visit sometime) but it’s also something I suspect I’d feel very out of place with. (I’d like to hear about this for the school as a whole but also the arts departments in particular, especially theater).
• And finally, I’ve come across a comment or two on here about scholarship students being bullied in the past — has anyone experienced that being a prevalent issue recently?

Thanks!

hi everyone, im an upcoming SLC fiction MFA student and was wondering if theres a groupchat, listserv, etc for admits. would love to get to know everyone and potentially find roommates/housing with peers. if there isnt one yet, i could make it?