Evergreen State College

Date: Aug 14 2011
Major: Political Science (This Major's Salary over time)
So I came from out-of-state mostly because I had read a lot about Evergreen's philosophy programs and was excited about doing philosophy as a freshman. These were unrealistic expectations, since the program I took as a freshman combined so many things other than philosophy and since the other freshmen in my program were all across the board as far as abilities. That said, by my sophomore year I had faculty who recognized what I needed and pushed me in the right direction. As for the really low-achieving freshmen who thought college was another version of high school, they dropped out. In fact, a lot of freshmen drop out. It's my belief that this is because most 18-year-olds simply aren't prepared to do what Evergreen requires: be independent and think for yourself.

Something a lot of people don't know about college (and "real life") in general and Evergreen specifically is that you have to take responsibility for yourself. I've heard a lot of people complain about Evergreen and I have to admit I sort of feel bad for them. The extent to which you are challenged is the extent to which you challenge yourself. Faculty think of students as co-learners at Evergreen, which means that if you don't "bring it," you're going to miss out. The structure of the curriculum allows for laziness; it also allows for uninhibited learning.

Another aspect that people may not be aware of is how many adults over the age of 21 go to this school. I was really shocked by how many people (mostly locals from the area) go to this school because it's the closest to their home and they can take their kids to the daycare on campus. It's sometimes really annoying, because these types of people aren't always the brightest or most-prepared for college-level learning, but another aspect of their being in class with you is that you have to confront issues like access and classism in higher education. If you can think of a 35-year-old single mother as a your colleague, you'll do fine. If you judge her for getting

there, their, they're

mixed up, you should probably stick to a prestigious, selective and private liberal arts college where all your classes will be 19-year-old white rich kids.

There are also a lot of major hurdles to people fitting in here, which is odd for such a free-spirited population. The first thing is that you have to learn what "queer" means and get used to that term being thrown around by both faculty and students, as well as terms like "post-modern" and "post-structuralist," often used before you get the chance to actually do that learning. If you can put your dumb ego aside and learn the definitions of these things, you'll be well-prepared for the type of discussions in seminar that turn a lot of people off. If you're uncomfortable with issues like queerness and feminism and Marxism, again: choose a more traditional college. There is often the type of discrimination against "ignorant" people who don't understand otherness or colonialism that politically-correct students and professors are actually trying to critique. It's exhausting. It's also very important to talk about.

The most important thing I can say about the curriculum is that it is wildly inconsistent. If I hadn't had a particular faculty member my freshman year I would have easily walked away from Evergreen with a terrible taste in my mouth. But because she was so engaging and convinced me to take a great program the next year, I had my life and mind changed completely by this school. I know that a lot of people get the shaft, and the only thing I can tell you is to do your research about the faculty before you commit to a year-long program. If you can, email with them beforehand to get an idea of who they are and what they think.