What a friend would tell you
What Sarah Lawrence is looking for
Sarah Lawrence puts your writing at the center of admissions and weighs grades and test scores lightly. Show independent thinking, intellectual risk-taking, and comfort with ambiguity. Your transcript matters less than evidence that you've pursued deep interests on your own terms. The 'don system' (each student has a faculty advisor called a don) is central; show you want mentorship, not just instruction.
What students wish they'd known
The no-grades, no-tests model means graduate schools and employers sometimes don't know what to make of your transcript. At 1,650 students, social life is limited, and the campus can feel insular. Bronxville is wealthy and quiet with nothing for college students. Tuition is very high, and financial aid does not always close the gap. Students seeking structure, clear benchmarks, or pre-professional pipelines will struggle here.
Sarah Lawrence might be a fit if...
- You learn best through one-on-one mentorship and narrative evaluation rather than grades, exams, and rankings
- You're a creative or intellectual nonconformist who wants to design your own curriculum from scratch
- You want NYC access for internships and culture without attending school in the city
Sarah Lawrence Admissions Strategy
1.3x
Early Decision Advantage
Early Decision admits at 1.3x the RD rate. The trade: ED is binding. Apply only if you'd say yes on the spot.
Early Decision: the numbers
Sarah Lawrence's Early Decision acceptance rate is 75% vs 58% RD. ED is binding. If you are admitted, you are committing to enroll. This signals strong commitment and gives a meaningful admissions advantage.
Deadlines: ED November 1 · EA November 1 · RD January 15
Deadlines: ED November 1 · EA November 1 · RD January 15
Test Policy
Test-optional
You choose whether to send scores. A strong score helps your case; a weak one is better left off.
Demonstrated Interest
Not Tracked
Not tracked. Skip the info-session circuit and put those hours into the application itself.
Interview
Optional on campus or virtual
Yield Rate
38%
Only 38% of admits choose to enroll. The waitlist moves more than you'd think; if you land on it, make your interest loud.
Want the strongest possible application to Sarah Lawrence, plus better odds and merit offers everywhere else you apply?
Join the free one-hour workshop from two Harvard grads who have helped 3,000+ students get in. Parents welcome.
Cost & Financial Aid at Sarah Lawrence
$86,000
Sticker Price
$4,000
Avg Merit Aid
Need-blind admissions. Meets 100% of demonstrated need. 83% receive financial aid.
What you get for it: Sarah Lawrence spends about $59,000 per student per year on instruction and student resources, roughly 4x the $15K national average. You see it in class sizes, faculty access, and research budgets.
What Sarah Lawrence Graduates Get
$45,000
Avg Starting Salary
85%
Employed or in Grad School
59%
Graduate in 4 Years
The 4-year number is the on-time rate; the 6-year rate (71%) is the one schools usually advertise. A wide gap means many students pay for extra semesters.
Sarah Lawrence Campus & Culture
The Campus
Sarah Lawrence's 44-acre campus in Bronxville, New York is a hilly, wooded estate dotted with Tudor-style stone buildings, former mansions, and converted carriage houses. The Performing Arts Center is a modern glass addition. Westlands, the original estate house, serves as an administrative building. The campus feels intimate and hidden, tucked into one of Westchester County's wealthiest villages. Manhattan is a 30-minute Metro-North ride from the Bronxville station.
The Social Scene
Arts-focused, creative culture, NYC access, unconventional
Sarah Lawrence Traditions & Trivia
Conference and Don
Every SLC seminar pairs with a one-on-one conference meeting where you design your own independent project, and your Don, a full faculty adviser, knows your academic life better than any registrar ever could.
Sleaze Ball
A campus dance party known for its uninhibited atmosphere, glow sticks, and a dress code best described as competitive, held each semester as the social event students plan outfits around for weeks.
Academics at Sarah Lawrence
What Sarah Lawrence is known for
Creative community, arts emphasis, no grades or tests
Most popular majors at Sarah Lawrence
Standout programs
Creative writing, performing arts, visual arts
How the curriculum works
Narrative evaluations instead of grades; open curriculum with writing-focused seminars
Recommended high school courses
Strong writing and critical thinking skills valued; formal requirements minimal
Notable Sarah Lawrence Alumni
J.J. Abrams
Director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and creator of Lost, class of 1988
Alice Walker
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, attended Sarah Lawrence
Yoko Ono
Artist and activist, attended in the late 1950s
Rahm Emanuel
Mayor of Chicago and White House Chief of Staff, class of 1981
Vera Wang
Fashion designer, attended Sarah Lawrence before transferring
If you like Sarah Lawrence, also consider
Bennington College
similar experimental ethos in rural Vermont with Plan Process curriculum
Hampshire College
self-designed majors in the Five College Consortium
Reed College
equally iconoclastic academics in Portland, Oregon
Bard College
arts-forward alternative in the Hudson Valley
Vassar College
nearby Westchester LAC with more structure and stronger brand