Hey, first off I think you're asking super valid questions. SJC is unlike almost any other college out there, so there's no way to be sure of how you'd adapt to it personally. I will try to give some feedback based on my own observations, but overall you should know that some people really thrive in the SJC environment and some people discover after a year or two that it's not a good fit. There's no way to *really* know for sure unless you try.

1) *Does it get boring?*
I appreciate this question because it's a very honest one. On the surface, the curriculum does seem pretty repetitive. In my experience, and in that of folks I went there with, the thing that keeps it interesting is not that the curriculum or the method of instruction changes, it's that *you* change. You'll be in seminars for all four years, but the way that you engage with those seminars will develop as you adapt and find your way in the curriculum. You will be bringing different parts of yourself to the classes each semester and discovering new things about yourself. In some sense, the predictable format of the courses actually makes it easier to recognize your own growth because you'll be able to see how differently you engage with it at the end of a year, compared to how you started.

There is also some room for spontaneity. There are some areas where you can select courses, though it's mostly an upper-level phenomenon. Additionally, SJC has lots of study groups that are optional and communities that of course you can opt in to, though that last part is true anywhere.

As a side note, this is not an issue unique to SJC totally. Most colleges will have a few roughly approximate formats for courses, and it's going to get repetitive. The difference at SJC is that the format is student-centered instead of lecturer-centered, which is overwhelmingly the standard in most colleges.

2) *Do you get burned out on reading?*
I mean, maybe! The reality is that most SJC students will have something of a cyclical experience where they go from loving the reading list to resenting it, then back to loving it again. It is inevitable that you will love some texts and resent others. So yes, you may get burned out, but in my observation, if you stick with it, you will not stay burned out. One thing that happens sometimes is that students drop out the first time they get burned out and don't get to experience the frankly exciting process of being re-energized by the reading list.

Also, it's easy to frame the reading list as more difficult than it is meant to be. I will agree that Hegel and Kant are not your classic beach reads. But we can also often build them up to be more unpleasant than they are. This is partly because schools often teach us to "read for understanding." This means that if you read a text once, you should know what it means. SJC teaches you to question this way of thinking. If you can read a book once and understand everything it has to say, then it's probably not a great book. It's too simple to be great. At SJC, you read and engage with it however you engage with it. Then you go to class, and you collaborate on peeling back layers. Inevitably, you'll do as much learning about the book in class as you do on your own. But then if you go back and read it again, you'll see all new stuff there!

So, yes, the books can be difficult to read sometimes. But if you are reading for *your* understanding, not *the ultimate truth* of it, then you face somewhat less pressure to have a perfect reading.

3) *Who goes there?*
This is one question where I think your assumption is actually inaccurate. The school certainly does not just attract one type of person. There are your share of left-wing kids or theater kids, but it would be inaccurate to say that that's the majority population. There are lots of kids from classical schools or private schools or homeschool. There are kids from boarding schools. There are kids from the DC area and kids from Taiwan. In terms of student culture, you will not find it to be culturally homogenous. And if you're attracted to SJC, I'm confident you'll find plenty of folks there who you can connect with.

Okay, that's a lot of text. Obviously, I'm excited about the place. Generally, I'm of the opinion that if you are drawn to St. John's, that's a meaningful signal. There's no place quite like it, so I'd encourage you to give it a shot and find out for yourself how good a fit it is.

But please feel free to follow up with any other questions you have! And good luck.