University of Redlands Admission
University of Redlands Undergraduate Program
University of Redlands Application

The Facts

University of Redlands is a liberal arts school in Redlands, California that is home to one of the greatest educational experiments of all time: the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies. The program was founded in the 60s, and had students design their own educational experience through a process called “contracting” in which students define their educational goals and a stategy for meeting those goals.

In a sense, students “negotiate” their education by designing courses that center around a “Graduation contract.” Not all students at Redlands participate in the program, however, Johnston courses are open to all university students. More traditional students can enroll in the univesity’s College of Arts and Sciences where some of the most popular majors include business administration and management, liberal arts and sciences (i.e. general studies), sociology, communicative disorders and psychology. The university also has a much lauded conservatory program at the School of Music which is often overshadowed by the larger and more popular College of Arts and Sciences.

University of Redlands is a fairly small school, with a total enrollment around 2,000. The student to faculty ration is around 12:1, making classes quite small and intimate. Teachers are extremely accessible, and students take advantage of their long office hours. The administration is also very easy to access and deal with, a characteristic unique in the world of higher education.

The Class of 2004 had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1060 to 1240 and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 22 to 27. Over 66% of the students were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average GPA around 3.52.

The Social Scene

The campus is situated inland about 100 miles east of San Diego on 140 gorgeous acres surrounded by the San Bernardino Mountains. All freshmen are required to live on campus and have a meal plan, however upperclassmen still must petition to live off-campus. As a result, over 80% of students choose to remain on campus for their entire stay at U Redlands. The town of Redlands is quite sleepy and doesn’t offer much in they way of social life, however, the school is less than an hour from Los Angeles, and many students choose to drive there on the weekends.

Students say the atmosphere at Redlands is very friendly and open. It can be cliquey, but mostly just as a result of the diminuitive size of the school. Fraternities and sororities tend to dominate the social scene and drinking is most definitely a popular activity. Students say there really isn’t much else to do on campus, and they do admit that it can take away from their focus on academics.

Guys and girls come in every shape and size, so don’t worry about being lonely.

What's Good

“The size of the school makes it a real community. Everyone looks out for eachother.”

“There is literally not an inch of red tape to cut through. Everyone in the administration and faculty is really open and easygoing.”

“People here are great; just laid back and not too high strung.”

What's Bad

“There is a lot of partying here. A lot of kids show up to Monday classes severly hung over to the point of distraction.”

“The town is really boring and there are areas that are not safe and you literally can hear occasional gunshots.”

“People are really segregated into cliques and don’t socialize with anyone outside their group.”

Let the Penn Group help you apply to college.

• View our services
• Send a request now
• Read articles about applying to college