the LiveJournal alternative college community's Journal

A study
Greetings friends,

I am current Hampshire student who also attended Bennington for a year. In the application process I also looked at Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Eugene Lang, and Naropa.

I'm doing a little project about progressive schools. Its kind of a guide/research project. Would you like to help?

Some questions:

What is your favorite alternative college? Why?
If you have experience at one or more college... please describe it!
Do you have any opinions on the schools listed above? Is there another school that you feel should be added to this study (Antoich or Beloit...?) What is your experience with that school?
What are the stereotypes of these schools? What makes these schools so special?
What have you gained from this style of education vs. traditional university education?

Feel free to answer one or more of these questions and elaborate in any way you feel necessary. Your answers will be considered in my future independent study. By answering you are giving me permission to quote you in any draft/final papers/possible book!

Thank you kindly & my best wishes to you all.

Tina

will you negligent community members respond if i post this publicly? (this community may be dead, actually..)

Let me know if anyone has any feedback on Naropa and my chance of acceptance with a low low low GPA. Thanks, all.

Peace studies
Hi friends!

I am looking to focus on peace studies and visual arts. I am currently very drawn to Hampshire & Naropa for transfer schools. I like that they are small schools within a larger community. Any suggestions on other schools? Or comments on the above?

Apologies if this post is redudant.

Thanks!

Don't be scammed by these "tutors"
I have joined LJ in hopes of warning the many parents who only seek the best for their child and to help keep the online community from being scammed.

As a former employee of the companies owned by Robb Gott (badasstutors.com, supertutorsusa.com, and ratemytutor.com) I have witnessed the most disgusting and unethical practices imaginable for a "legitimate" tutoring company. Hence, why I refuse to work for them.

Mainly targeting K-12 children with his supertutorsusa.com website, Gott has convinced parents that his service should be used because he "Guarantees an A or B or free" and he offers "professional licensed tutors." The truth is, however, there are no background checks.

(http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=18633)

And the tutors aren't just teaching algebra and English to your kids- they're also teaching "BJ" classes and other oral sex and drug-related lessons.

Gott has been associated with spamming over 17000 UNLV students, vandalizing campuses to advertise, and refusing to pay his employees.

Check out this Live Journal Account to see more of our Journals- including written correspondence where Gott refused to pay his employee, as well as links to articles! Not a company I think children (or college students) should use as a legitimate tutoring service.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&Mytoken=0E5CC8BC-EE3A-4A0E-BD1D9C755306CEE42981469

http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article/2006/11/13/tutors-gone-badass/

http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article/2005/09/19/passion-party-canceled-at-the-last-minute-after-failing-to-meet-/

I currently go to an "alternative" college but I'm not entirely happy there and am thinking of transferring. I've been looking into Naropa, which for some reason I did not look at enough my first time around. I have a couple questions though:

1. What is the "party" scene like at Naropa? Is there much of one?
2. Should I be pretty sure about what I want to major in when I get there?
3. Are double majors common/doable?
4. How is their financial aid?
5. Anyone have experience transferring to Naropa? Did they take a lot of your credits?

I'd really appreciate any information you can give me, thanks so much.

Hi, I just had a quick question -- Does anyone here know much about The New School? Specifically, I'm interested in finishing my undergrad work there (The New School itself, not Eugene Lang) by doing the combined BA/MA in philosophy. If any of you have any experience with The New School, I'd really like to talk about it with you. Thanks!

Hi all! I'm a senior at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA), and I've just been accepted to Naropa University's MFA Writing and Poetics program, with a concentration in prose. I'm over the moon about it, though bit nervous at the prospect of moving halfway across the country!

I was hoping that there might be other Naropa students around this community that I could talk to. Just leave a comment or e-mail me at snarkgirl at gmail dot com

Thanks!

Ideas
Hi everyone,

I'm new here. I joined because I'm currently going to a run of the mill university in New Brunswick, Canada. I'm originally from Colorado and have been attracted to Canada for years, and I love it here, and I love my school, but academically, I am very unsatisfied here. I am looking for a school that has good creative writing, graphic design, and Japanese programs (if it's possible to find all 3 at all!). I would love to stay in Canada, but I am looking into US schools as well, and I like the idea of going to an "alternative" type college. I went to a Sudbury school, if anyone has heard of that, and I think I'm having a hard time being in the rigid structure of a typical university.

So, if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Many thanks in advance!

Current Mood: curious

i'm a second-semester junior currently attending a "prestigious" residential private liberal arts college. i'm majoring in Geography (which i'm less than thrilled about) and minoring in Philosophy (which i love). i've got a crap gpa (2.6) because i've hated my school so much, but i did stellar in high school.

i know that it's late in the game for me to still be considering a transfer and i feel kind of foolish about it. but i'm thinking about doing Goddard's low-residency BA, which seems like a good option for me.

but i'd like to know if there are any other low-residency BA options out there to consider?

also, do any of you have any other recommendations for a girl in my situation? i don't want to take more than an extra year to get my degree. i want to be in some kind of city (because i desperately need to be some place where i can be an active participant in the real world right now). i'm interested in studying Philosophy, environmental sustainability issues, and globalization & international development issues, but also love to study lots of other things, too. i prefer not having to take a ton of core requirements, since the school i'm at now hasn't required any and the classes i've taken wouldn't really fulfill another school's requirements. secluded, residential liberal arts colleges (e.g. Bard, Bennington, Sarah Lawrence) are not an option because that whole scene is driving me insane.

any recommendations are much appreciated. and thanks for taking the time to read this. :)

Does anyone know how long ACT scores and transcripts generally take to get from one college to another one which is being transferred to (if that sentence made sense)? I'm applying to Naropa, and I can't call my school to get things mailed until Jan. 2, when it reopens. What happens if the materials don't arrive there on time, but the rest of my application does? Will I still be counted inside the Jan. 15 deadline?

Current Mood: worried

sauve scholars and other similar programs
Thanks for the notes on my exchange-college question :)

Here's another one: do you know of any other uni-level programs similar to Sauve Scholars? It's a one-year program where graduates from all over live in Canada, work with others, learn about social issues, and work on a project related to social change.

Any other programs like those? Doesn't have to be "social change" per se - more like programs uni students can participate in that aren't your typical go-to-class deal.

thinking of an exchange...
Hi all,

I`m currently studying in Australia and I`m thinking of going on exchange early 2008. My uni has partnerships with quite a number of other colleges, and these are the ones in the US that I`m eligible for (many others were faculty-specific):

Arizona State University
California State University (I could choose a campus)
Central Washington University
New Jersey State Colleges (Montclair, Rowan, Richard Stockton, College of New Jersey, William Paterson)
Oswego State University, NY
Purdue University
San Jose State University
University of Alabama
University of Florida
University of Texas, San Antonio

(quite honestly I would rather go on something like Semester at Sea for that semester, but I don't know if my uni would accept credit for it!)

I'm currently doing an undergrad in Creative Industries (specializing in Writing & Management). However, this exchange would be to fulfill electives so I could pretty much choose whatever - I'd like to do something related to creativity, social work, or education.

How are those universities? Are any of them particularly "outside-the-lines"-ey? Any recommendations?

Thank you! :)

edit: oops, didn't realize they meant NJ in the plural. have edited for clarity.

Naropa Admissions Essay
Hello, fellow outsidethelines'ers! I have written one of my admissions essays for Naropa University and would appreciate if you could take a gander at it. The instructions were that you should explain why you want to go to Naropa University. You should read this because 1) Maybe you will enjoy it and 2) I want to go to Naropa more than I've ever wanted anything in my life and appreciate all the feedback I can get. So feel free to be brutal with your criticism. It will only help me.
( Here it is )

This is why I have not posted any art lately. I've been busy working on another aspect of art.

The following link is an example of the type of interviews I do.

Chet Zar. Artist for Tool. He did special effects for Hellboy, Planet of the Apes, and The Ring:

http://www.myartspace.com/blog/2006/11/art-space-talk-chet-zar.html

I would like to interview more artists, so send me a message if you are interested. I'm very interested in interviewing current art students... both college and high school level.

Thanks,

Brian Sherwin

Read the blog: http://myartspace.com/blog/
Create a free online gallery: http://myartspace.com/
Discuss art education: http://www.myartspace.com/schools/
Enter competitions http://www.myartspace.com/contests/index.html

Contemplative Psychology
I posted here before about wanting to major in contemplative psychology or Buddhist psychology or that type of thing. Naropa is still my first choice but I am a little freaked out at the thought that I won't get into Naropa and will be left with absolutely no other choices since I cannot find any other schools where I can study Buddhist psychology. So I beg you, does ANYONE know of any school, anywhere in the U.S., where I could major in such a thing or in a similar thing??? Pleaseee heeelp!

Current Mood: desperate

alright alright
So I've been following this community for more than a year now but now it's finally my turn to start applying for colleges and whatnot. On my list right now is

-Bennington
-Sarah Lawrence (though I'm rethinking this one based on so many negative opinions about the student body I've read)
-Eugene Lang
-Bryn Mawr (only because it's closest to home)
-New College of Florida
-College of New Mexico

My passion is music. I studied serious piano for 10 or so years before realizing that the pressure I felt from working in the direction of being a conservatory student was (literally) making me crazy, so I dropped it and realized that my true love is for writing. I am, however, very much not interested in any sort of "traditional" music program. Also, I really cannot do a rigorous audition. I do however need to be somewhere where I can take classes in my other beloved subjects.

My first choice is Bennington but it's so expensive that I may have to pick something else.

I'm really interested in The New College of Florida (it's cheap as heck!) Does anyone have any information on its music program? I really love everything else I've read/heard/seen about the school, but the music program is the most important thing. Anyone, anyone?

Any schools I may have overlooked? (Again, not looking for anything "traditional" so no Oberlin or anything)

Current Mood: energetic
Current Music: Ani Difranco

Any art students here?
http://www.myartspace.com/blog/

Would love to read your views on this topic.

HELP

my name is Dan, Im looking for a small to mid sized school that has a strong theatre department. Im not to sure about this make-your-own-major. Id like to learn more about it. I live in LA, and i dont mind moving anywhere. so far ive reaserched The New School, Lang, Sarah Lawrence, Evergreen, Bennington, Hampshire and a few more. I like liberal schools with activism and club organizations life as strengths.
will you guys direct my inquiry?

Questions regarding Eugene Lang College.
Hello everyone! My name is Louisa, I'm a senior in high school, and college applications are rearing their ugly heads at me. I'm a liberal and a feminist stuck in RightWingLand ( Southeastern PA has been taken over :( ), and I'm trying to look at schools that would fit my personality. I'm an intelligent, passionate individual who enjoys challenges but not academic pressure, and I'd LOVE to be able to design my own major. I am really enthusiastic about written evaluations instead of just letter grades, which is why I've decided to apply to Eugene Lang. I just have one question, though: what's the pretentiousness factor there? I really can't stand hipster liberals and their constant posturing and irony-I want to be able to attend a school where people are friendly, bright activists with a sense of purpose.

These are the other schools I'm applying to:

Ursinus College (PA)
Clark University (MA)
Arcadia University (PA)
Pitt (Safety, whoo!)

PS: What's the psychology department at Eugene Lang like? Psych's my passion, and I really want to go to a school that has a good program.

Current Mood: blah

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