A Day in the Life at Sarah Lawrence College

A Day in the Life at Sarah Lawrence College Joseph earned his bachelors degree in liberal arts from Sarah Lawrence College. He specializes in elementary math tutoring, English tutoring, and a number of other subjects. Below he shares his experience at Sarah Lawrence College: Describe the campus setting and transportation options. Joseph: The campus of Sarah Lawrence is very suburban; its only about a mile from one end to the other. The small town of Bronxville is a short walk and is very quaint, with lots of family-owned shops. You can even hop on a train and be at Grand Central Station in the heart of New York City within an hour. How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Joseph:Teachers and advisers are very available. Most professors have an open-door policy; if theyre in their office, unless theyre with another student, youll be able to talk to them. Most also give out their cell phone numbers if you need to reach them. No teaching assistants were present at SLC, so the professors were very attentive to students. How would you describe the dorm liferooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Joseph:The dorms range from mediocre to fantastic; it all depends on your number in the dorm lottery. Most freshmen get stuck in a lackluster building, but some get lucky. The dining options are very limited, with only one main cafeteria and a pub that served burgers and sandwiches. The cafeteria, while tasty, was far too repetitive in its menu. Socialization was fantastic; I always felt free to be myself. Which majors/programs are best represented and supported? Joseph:The arts are the most prominent majors featured at Sarah Lawrence. Theater is the biggest department, but there are also a lot of film students and a handful of visual artists. I studied film and comedy. SLC did a great job of supporting my interests. How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Joseph:It was very easy to meet people. I met a lot of people at freshman orientation, and settled into my core group of friends about three or four weeks into the school year. There was no Greek Life at SLC. How helpful arethe Career Centerand other student support services? Joseph:Most of the student services were great, but the Career Center wasnt as supportive as I would have liked. How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Joseph:The campus had very few study areas, which was troublesome at times. The library was great, but the student union area was often closed and unavailable for study space. There was only one dorm lounge, and it was often crowded. Describe the surrounding town. Joseph:There are a lot of small shops and a handful of restaurants nearby. Students often either went into New York City or stayed on campus. How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Joseph:The student body is only about 1,500 students. Classes were kept small, which was amazing. Seminars (which made up about 90 percent of my classes) were capped at 16 students and lectures were capped at 35. My freshman year, a friend of mine took a class where he was the only student who signed up, and they still held it; it was just him and the professor. I loved the small class sizes that the school offered. Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Joseph:Sophomore year I took a web series class, where we worked with another class to write and produce a web series. I was in the writing and production class, and there was an acting class that worked with us. One day, we were filming a scene in a tiny basementit was just the two actors, a few film students, and the film professor. It was a great hands-on learning experience and further enhanced how great the learning opportunities were in smaller groups. Check out Josephs tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.