St Johns College Annapolis/Sante Fe

[Anonymous]

Any recent experience?

Kid is intrigued and I'd be happy with lower rack rate bcs we're full pay (and thinking my humanities kid might want to keep some powder dry for later)

[Anonymous]

DS just finished freshman year in Annapolis. Loved it. Loved the academics and also very involved in rec sports there. Had mostly very good tutors, though some of his friends had more subpar ones. He did far more work than in his private high school, but he said plenty of kids coasted (apparently their grades reflect this).
Santa Fe is apparently more “hippy”? Not sure if that’s right word. Kids don’t wear shoes to class. There is a huge amount of cigarette smoking and vaping and drugs, though you can avoid.
Housing was grim - 3 kids in a double. One roommate a disaster with lots of open food on floor leading to mice infestation
DS had very nice merit aid - we pay less than we did for high school.

[Anonymous]

I worked at a firm with a lot of Johnnies in it. Pretty smart and really interesting people. They all found their niche eventually, although some worked interesting low level gigs before finding their way professionally. Made for great stories.

As a humanities PhD my primary concern would be the language preparation, which is not strong in my observation. Although that may not matter to you.

I wouldn't send an average kid there unless they were planning to go to law school directly from undergrad, but everyone's risk profiles are different. Paradoxically, considering it is a school for deep reading, St. John's most successful alumni are not quiet bookworms. If your kid is confident and entrepreneurial it could be a good match.

[Anonymous]

My neighbors' daughter goes to St John's in Santa Fe. Our kids used to play soccer together back in elementary school, so it's so cool to see them grow and develop into young adults. She apparently interviewed for Oxford back in high school and didn't quite make it, but took that intellectual drive and passion to St John's. She did environmental science research in high school, so it was interesting to see her pursue a more humanities based college curriculum. She's extremely well read and spends a lot of time out west, even during breaks, so the parents tend to visit more than she does. Seems happy with it, merit aid was also a factor in their decision. Younger sibling is at Oberlin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS just finished freshman year in Annapolis. Loved it. Loved the academics and also very involved in rec sports there. Had mostly very good tutors, though some of his friends had more subpar ones. He did far more work than in his private high school, but he said plenty of kids coasted (apparently their grades reflect this).
Santa Fe is apparently more “hippy”? Not sure if that’s right word. Kids don’t wear shoes to class. There is a huge amount of cigarette smoking and vaping and drugs, though you can avoid.
Housing was grim - 3 kids in a double. One roommate a disaster with lots of open food on floor leading to mice infestation
DS had very nice merit aid - we pay less than we did for high school.

We toured a couple years ago - I thought they were renovating dorms and had some Academy kids using dorms while there’s were being renovated. Or something! Are more or better dorms coming on line?

It felt a little cash strapped. Which in this day and age is a concern. But I could be wrong. Annapolis is great as is sante fe

[Anonymous]

Really appreciate these comments! Hard to get good, recent intel on this school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS just finished freshman year in Annapolis. Loved it. Loved the academics and also very involved in rec sports there. Had mostly very good tutors, though some of his friends had more subpar ones. He did far more work than in his private high school, but he said plenty of kids coasted (apparently their grades reflect this).
Santa Fe is apparently more “hippy”? Not sure if that’s right word. Kids don’t wear shoes to class. There is a huge amount of cigarette smoking and vaping and drugs, though you can avoid.
Housing was grim - 3 kids in a double. One roommate a disaster with lots of open food on floor leading to mice infestation
DS had very nice merit aid - we pay less than we did for high school.

We toured a couple years ago - I thought they were renovating dorms and had some Academy kids using dorms while there’s were being renovated. Or something! Are more or better dorms coming on line?

It felt a little cash strapped. Which in this day and age is a concern. But I could be wrong. Annapolis is great as is sante fe

St Johns is definitely a bit cash strapped, but it's not as concerning, because they only really need money for tutors and FA. Other colleges have to worry about a bunch of different majors that cost a ton.

[Anonymous]

We toured Annapolis. The buildings need repair, repaint and removal of moss growth. It looks shabby in many places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We toured Annapolis. The buildings need repair, repaint and removal of moss growth. It looks shabby in many places.

Sad. One of the oldest colleges in America and rundown. The liberal arts colleges really are dying.

[Anonymous]

They’re doing a lot of renovation right now.

Tehy have their pick of faculty one would think w other colleges letting humanities teams go. Having two campuses would be a big draw for some faculty

[Anonymous]

My son was accepted there last year with 17K merit aid, but ultimately went elsewhere. I loved the vibe when we visited, but was disappointed with the demo class and wasn't feeling it generally. He's a bookworm, and has read plenty of classics, but he wanted courses that were more specific to his centers of interest and his major.

[Anonymous]

Sorry that should read DS was disappointed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any recent experience?

Kid is intrigued and I'd be happy with lower rack rate bcs we're full pay (and thinking my humanities kid might want to keep some powder dry for later)

A super smart, interesting guy who worked for me went to SantaFe. Wide -ranging intellect and Fulbright Scholar. And very sweet guy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son was accepted there last year with 17K merit aid, but ultimately went elsewhere. I loved the vibe when we visited, but was disappointed with the demo class and wasn't feeling it generally. He's a bookworm, and has read plenty of classics, but he wanted courses that were more specific to his centers of interest and his major.

I find that even at the elite universities, discussion-based courses have gotten notably worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS just finished freshman year in Annapolis. Loved it. Loved the academics and also very involved in rec sports there. Had mostly very good tutors, though some of his friends had more subpar ones. He did far more work than in his private high school, but he said plenty of kids coasted (apparently their grades reflect this).
Santa Fe is apparently more “hippy”? Not sure if that’s right word. Kids don’t wear shoes to class. There is a huge amount of cigarette smoking and vaping and drugs, though you can avoid.
Housing was grim - 3 kids in a double. One roommate a disaster with lots of open food on floor leading to mice infestation
DS had very nice merit aid - we pay less than we did for high school.

We toured a couple years ago - I thought they were renovating dorms and had some Academy kids using dorms while there’s were being renovated. Or something! Are more or better dorms coming on line?

It felt a little cash strapped. Which in this day and age is a concern. But I could be wrong. Annapolis is great as is sante fe

St Johns is definitely a bit cash strapped, but it's not as concerning, because they only really need money for tutors and FA. Other colleges have to worry about a bunch of different majors that cost a ton.

You are wrong; they have a very healthy endowment.