<p>I’ll field some questions. I am currently a junior in Annapolis.</p>
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<li><p>For me, I love that I don’t read secondary sources. One of the things I hated most about high school and lectures I had attended is teachers or speakers would explain things to me instead of letting me figure things out on my own. Case in point: I recently decided to listen to a book I did a close reading of in my preceptorial. The book was one of the hardest things I have ever had to read. I couldn’t figure out what was going on sometimes, and so I would have to go back and take the time to make it make sense. It ended up being one of the most rewarding reading experiences I’ve had. I then listened to the lecture thinking that it might bring some new insight (it was delivered by a professor at a big-name university) and it was essentially a summary of the book. He told the students it was a hard book and didn’t expect them to get all of it, and so he summarized it for them. That, to me, is unacceptable. I like to engage the texts on my own and work through hard things and come up with my own ideas. Not listen to someone else summarize or tell me what to think. This hasn’t just happened in my own reading of books, but it happens every day in class…be it working through Newton’s Principia or Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. I have found my ability to read and think has been enriched in a way I never thought possible, and in a way I don’t think is possible anywhere else. That said, it isn’t easy. </p></li>
<li><p>They need to shut up because they don’t know what they are talking about. Yes, the acceptance rate is high, but the attrition rate is low. You learn to work here. And you work all the time. If it was just a “book club” or a “fake college” then we wouldn’t have one of the highest percentage of students going on to graduate school or have government organizations actively recruit our students. Yes people love books and yes we don’t have the typical majors, but you still get an education. And its a really good one at that. </p></li>
<li><p>Not always. My social circle spends an inordinate amount of time talking about school-related things, but I hang out with a group of people ranging from freshmen to seniors and so we do end up helping people or giving advice or talking out paper ideas. That said, a lot of people have very active extra-curricular and social lives, and so those things always provide conversation material. People are always hanging out on the quad or in the coffeeshop talking about everything and anything. There’s never a shortage of conversation material.</p></li>
<li><p>There aren’t a lot of minorities. I’ll be the first to say that. But there has been a significant increase in minorities since my freshman year. There are several on-campus study groups to help increase awareness of minority writers throughout history (African-American Political Thought, Women Writers, Eastern Classics, etc.). So, it is something that is changing. I’ve never heard or seen any racial tension in my 2 1/2 years. </p></li>
<li><p>Food? It is pretty bad. I won’t lie. It is (mostly) edible. You get used to it. And its on par with things I’ve had at other dorms at different colleges. I don’t think the bad food is unique to St. John’s. </p></li>
<li><p>Annapolis is not the world’s most exciting town. There is a lot of typical stuff: mall, movie theater, etc. I don’t go off campus that frequently, but when I do, I’ll go downtown for dinner with friends or take a shuttle into DC and spend the day. I am from a big metropolitan area, so I do find Annapolis lacking, but not in a way that makes it unbearable. </p></li>
<li><p>No. There were some minor adjustments (for instance, how the hell do you write a math paper?) but other than for that, by a couple of weeks in, you’ll be fine. </p></li>
<li><p>All classes are set for you. As a freshman, you’d have Freshman Language(3/week), Math (3/week), Laboratory (2/week), Chorus (1/week), and Seminar (2/week). Language and Math are in 70 minute blocks, Lab in 140, Chorus varies, and Seminar 2 hours. Classes run between 9-11:30, 1-3:30, and 8-10 (seminar only). You receive your class schedule when you come to orientation. You don’t pick your classes or times. </p></li>
<li><p>Crime. There have been a couple of muggings in the blocks around campus, but nothing on campus that I can remember. Here’s the link to last year’s crime report: [St</a>. John’s College | Administration | Annapolis | Office of Public Safety](<a href=“http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/admin/AN/safety/act.shtml#annual]St”>http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/admin/AN/safety/act.shtml#annual) </p></li>
<li><p>grad school. On the Career Services webpage they link to a brochure called “What Do They Do?” ([St</a>. John’s College | Administration | Annapolis | Career Services](<a href=“http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/admin/AN/career.shtml]St”>http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/admin/AN/career.shtml)) its excellent and shows a lot. </p></li>
<li><p>Yes. I wanted to choose my own major. I was worried I would be too introspective and that I wouldn’t feel comfortable talking in classes. The major thing is just something you live with. The being too quiet thing was something that’s taken me a long time to get over. That’s mostly a personal thing, but its common. Now that I am here, I am happy and wouldn’t have it any other way.</p></li>
<li><p>If you’re looking for cheerleader-types then it isn’t the place for you aesthetically-speaking. I wouldn’t say that the campus is terribly one way or another. </p></li>
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<p>Hopefully that helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.</p>