Deep Springs College

Deep Springs College, Big Pine, CA

· 26 - 30 students total

· Acceptance rate: Very low. Receive 200 applications a year and only take a few students.

· Total cost/year: Free but students do pay for incidentals. Average is: $3,500 a year. They do offer need-based financial aid to pay for these.

· Most elite two-year for-profit college in America located on a working cattle ranch in rural CA near the White Mountains.

· The three pillars of the school are taxing practical work, rigorous academics, and genuine self-government.

· Students transfer to highly selective four-year colleges after two years at Deep Springs.

· Historically was all male but went co-ed in the Fall, 2018. Their goal is to have 50/50 split by 2020.

· Students work hard and are rewarded with demanding individualized highly academic lessons.

· Set on a barren plain 28 miles from the closest town.

· Many students have turned down Ivy League schools to attend Deep Springs.

· The college has 130 acres of fields (mostly alfalfa) and some farm animals.

· Their solar array is the most efficient in America. Solar produces all the energy they need except when the irrigation is running for the alfalfa.

· Students are required to work 20 hours a week. Jobs include harvesting alfalfa/hay, branding cattle, cooking dinner, laying irrigation pipe, cleaning guest rooms, and cleaning toilets. Students can take on leadership roles as well.

· The labor program allows students to contemplate their role in the community, to practice working hard, and foster a broad sense of ownership and responsibility.

· Applicants must be committed to self-government, being reflective, and frugality.

· Very intense admissions process spanning several months involving several essays, letters of recommendation, and an on-campus interview.

· Most applicants are in the top 3% of their class and have perfect test scores.

· Applicants must be able to demonstrate a serious interest in ‘pursuing a life in service to humanity’.

· There are four student body committees that align with the pillars: Admissions Committee, Curriculum Committee, Review and Reinvention Committee, and the Communications Committee.

· Committee code bans all drugs, alcohol, and bans students from leaving campus while school is in session except for medical visits and college business.

· No phones or Internet in the dorms rooms. There is limited wifi in the public buildings.

· Most rules are set and enforced by students.

· Unorthodox academic schedule. Two seven-week summer terms. Spring and fall have fourteen-week terms. Seven to ten classes offered each term.

· There are only two required classes: public speaking and composition.

· Faculty consists of three permanent professors who sign up for two years but can stay for six. They also have a dean, president, and visiting professors.

· Classes are small – 2 – 14 student. Students really get to know their professors. Classes often continue over a meal.

· Very diverse population.

· Most students transfer to a highly selective college after graduation. 70% go on to earn their PPh.D

· Social life can be a challenge. Can be a lonely place. Fun campus traditions do exist though. On full moon nights, the students all play on the nearby sand dunes.