Scripps College

Photo: Scripps College. Retrieved from: www.scrippscollege.edu

Scripps College is an institution with strong programs for interdisciplinary humanistic studies. This institution is a well-known progressive liberal arts college for women. It is one of the members of the Claremont Colleges consortium. Along with Barnard College, Mount Holyoke College and Bryn Mawr College, Scripps has been on the top of the rankings for best women’s colleges in the country.

The general requirements for graduation include a senior thesis, as well as courses in fine arts, letters, natural sciences, social sciences, foreign language, women’s studies or gender studies and ethnic studies. A writing course is also required for new students. Scripps offers academic programs in conjunction with other members of the Claremont Consortium, most notably the joint science and music departments.

Scripps’ Core curriculum involves taking a sequence of three classes geared toward encouraging the critical thinking skills of students. The three levels of the core program explain major ideas that shaped the world as we know it (Core I), and the specific ideas of the world in general (Core II). The last leg of the core seminar involves discussion among students under a professor’s tutelage and supervision. The Core curriculum wraps up after each individual completes a project related with the subjects covered.

School History

Scripps history is largely linked with the history of its founder. Ellen Browning Scripps, who was ninety years of age at the time of the school’s founding in 1926. She envisioned a school for women that would nurture each individual student’s clarity of thought, independent spirit and confidence. The school’s motto ‘here begins new life’or ‘incipit vita nova’ was based on Dante’s New Life. Ellen Browning Scripps was an educator, publisher, and philanthropist who supported the college with her wealth and influence even after she died in 1932.

Campus Life

It’s difficult to suppress a good mood in Scripps, with the abundant beauty and hopeful spirit all around the campus. The school is located in a small town, but it is close enough to major urban areas to provide everything that a student needs to feel at home.

The historic 30-acre campus was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style that the pioneering architect, Gordon Kaufmann, was known for. The landscape around campus is also conceptualized by known designers, particularly Edward Huntsman-Trout. There are plenty of natural elements in the campus, including the rose garden, a plethora of fruit trees lining the paths along the residence halls, and berry bushes.

The majority of the student body resides in nine dormitories, all of which have courtyards and fountains. The population in each residence hall comprises a mixture of first years, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Some of the stately residence halls, like Dorsey, Browning and GJW Halls, are more popular among upperclassmen.

Athletics is as big in Scripps as it is in the other schools involved in the CMS Athletics programs, which has led to better socialization among the students of these schools. The school’s participation in the Claremont Colleges consortium also benefits the student directly because they have access to a larger library collection, more laboratories, more subjects to take and a better social life.

Financial Aid

Scripps comes up with a financial aid package for each qualifying applicant. Each financial aid package comprises grants, merit-based scholarships, work options and student loans. Generally, a student is offered scholarships or grants, and will be offered employment opportunities and loans when the first part of the financial aid package fails to cover all financial needs. Compared to colleges that offer only loans, Scripps students are able to graduate with a lower amount of debt.