St. John’s College is a place that’s either extraordinarily right for you or totally wrong for you, which is why we find it so interesting to talk about. With fewer than five hundred students on each of its two campuses, the college is known for attracting curious intellectuals who are ready to completely immerse themselves in the higher learning experience. Also, you have to love books. I mean, really love books. Let me explain.
The most unique and famous part of this college is its Great Books Curriculum. The college offers one major in liberal arts and the Great Books program is based completely on reading works of the past in areas of music, math, science, languages, literature, and philosophy. Meaning, your curriculum is reading, reading, and more reading. Classes challenge the students to learn about the world and themselves from studying what the views and perspectives are of the authors they read in class. Course literature ranges from Geoffrey Chaucer to Martin Luther to Virgil to Jane Austen, and everything else in between. So, if you’re looking to take a course in molecular biology or computer engineering, St. John’s isn’t the place for you.
The college has two campuses, the original in Annapolis, Maryland and the newer in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Class sizes are super small, with the largest being around twenty students and the average around twelve to sixteen – sometimes smaller. Because of this, one-on-one interaction between students and their instructors (referred to as tutors) is a fundamental part of the St. John’s education. Grades are based solely on class participation and papers. Despite using a traditional A-F grading system, grades are downplayed and only released to students at their request. That’s right, your grades are downplayed, which leaves you to focus your brain cells on Aristotle rather than A’s.
So, if you happen to be a student who thinks this school could be extraordinarily right for you, you better BOOK IT to St. John’s website and check it out for yourself: www.stjohnscollege.edu/academic/main.shtml
