Thoughts on St. John’s College in Annapolis?

[Anonymous]

Seems like a very unique place. Very different model. Anyone know much about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a very unique place. Very different model. Anyone know much about it?

It is a very unique place. I don’t know anyone who’s gone there but I’ve been to both campuses. I prefer the one in Annapolis.

[Anonymous]

I met a woman whose daughter went there and loved it. As you said, it is very unique and isn't for everyone but I think it is a great fit for some!

[Anonymous]

Super intellectual kids. Quirky and goofy. Google the croquet match they do with the Naval Academy. It's a "talking school" so they're evaluated on their seminar participation and on the MANY long papers they must write. Lots of traditions and fun stuff. The Santa Fe campus is routinely listed as among the most beautiful college campuses in the country. They have an amazing track record of sending students to law, med, and graduate programs. Ranked among the top in the nation for faculty-student interaction, happiness, hours spent studying, and overall academic rigor.

[Anonymous]

Visited Monday with DS. Tiny. Intense. You can sit in on classes when visiting- DS loved the math class. Dorms are grim. They offer weeklong summer camps. It’s strongly encouraged to take one of the week long summer camps to see if it’s a good fit.
Kids learn Greek and French. If they already know French, too bad. Everyone takes the same classes.
My DS loved it and they give great merit aid. Haverford is his first choice (so far) but this is a close 2nd.

[Anonymous]

Fabulous classics school.

[Anonymous]

My partner went there and loved it. He loved math, music theory and classics. Went on to law school, policy work on financial regulations and the to top law firm.

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard that it is a big party school - lots of smoking up. Anyone else hear this? I think it could be hard to be at a tiny school if you don’t want to be part of this scene and it’s prevalent. But I don’t know if that rumor is even true!

[Anonymous]

It is not very hard to get into and it costs a lot.

[Anonymous]

It sounds intriguing, but its graduation rate is 66%, which is a red flag.

[Anonymous]

So many of my foreign service colleagues went there. They loved it and they’re some of the wisest and friendliest colleagues we have.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is a Johnnie. It’s a very niche school for a very specific kind of learner. It’s true the dorms, especially for underclassmen, are pretty lacking and my kid and her friends complain a lot about the food. But the academics are exactly what she wanted, as is the whole approach to learning in general. In terms of partying, I’ve not heard about that but I’m mom, so who knows?

Admission rate is high but that’s because of who applies. Most people who choose to apply are the kinds of kids who really fit the profile of what they are looking for. I hosted a bunch of my daughter’s friends for Thanksgiving and I was amazed that all but one them ED, many without strong ideas of a second choice if they didn’t get in.

It is expensive but my kid gets a lot of merit aid on top of FA. They have a healthy endowment and they are generous. It’s still a stretch for us but it’s about what we’d pay in-state with no assistance.

My best advice is to believe them when they describe what the classes are and aren’t. My kid’s freshman roommate transferred after the fall semester because she didn’t like how much reading/writing/discussion was involved. There are no majors and really no grades (they do assessments but it’s very unlike anything else out there). So you need to be truly committed to a classic liberal arts education to be happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds intriguing, but its graduation rate is 66%, which is a red flag.

I'm the PP with the daughter at St. Johns and this was a red flag initially for me too. However, my understanding is it has to do with the number of students who leave after the first year, almost always because they found the things that make the school unique weren't a good fit for them. Almost everyone who makes it to sophomore year makes it to graduation. That's why I stressed that you really need to believe them when they tell you what classes are like, how small it is, how much reading is involved, etc. When my daughter's roommate transferred, she admitted that although she had heard all those things, she assumed it would be more like a "normal" college than it actually was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds intriguing, but its graduation rate is 66%, which is a red flag.

I'm the PP with the daughter at St. Johns and this was a red flag initially for me too. However, my understanding is it has to do with the number of students who leave after the first year, almost always because they found the things that make the school unique weren't a good fit for them. Almost everyone who makes it to sophomore year makes it to graduation. That's why I stressed that you really need to believe them when they tell you what classes are like, how small it is, how much reading is involved, etc. When my daughter's roommate transferred, she admitted that although she had heard all those things, she assumed it would be more like a "normal" college than it actually was.

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Fair enough. It rather reminds me of my DS’s HS, which is why I’m intrigued. It looks like 2 grads have been accepted there total in the last 3 cycles, and I don’t think any of them have gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not very hard to get into and it costs a lot.

+1 It's a good safety for full pay kids who're interested in liberal arts colleges.