Academics
The historic Sarah Lawrence campus is home to approximately 1,450 undergraduates, each of whom receives a rigorous, personalized liberal arts education composed of small seminars and bi-weekly, one-on-one student-faculty conferences. The college offers "an enriching experience in the classroom, around campus, and in the surrounding area," and strives to produce graduates with the analytical and practical skills needed to act independently. Classes "place a lot of emphasis on roundtable discussion rather than lecturing" so that "there's more of a chance to ask questions and engage with the material being presented." The open academics are built around direct faculty participation in students' learning, which means that rather than having majors, students "choose courses from a wide variety of disciplines" and work with a faculty adviser to plan their course curriculum. "We get to study exactly what we wish to and aren't forced to spend time...filling non-applicable general education requirements," says one.
Undergrads applaud the relative lack of "restrictions about what you're allowed to take," and note that this freedom is further enhanced by personalized study projects, which they get to design each semester, and "often give students the chance to be creative with their learning." One enrollee's example: "For a history class this year, I wrote a history play rather than a research paper." Work like this "definitely makes Sarah Lawrence unique," and the option to choose a project that incorporates "anything that interests you related to the class" is a huge plus. "Who else has the opportunities to go into depth about a topic they love with a professor before graduate school?" says a student.