New College of Florida
New College of Florida, Sarasota, FL
Small unorthodox public college where students direct their own education
Students don’t earn grades or accumulate credit hours - instead they earn satisfactory, incomplete, or unsatisfactory along with written evaluations of their work.
Small classes with very accessible professors - 79% of classes have fewer than 20 students
Classes are rigorous but students are not competitive
Students work closely with advisors on ‘contracts’ which reflect short and long term learning goals. They must earn 7 contracts to graduate.
Students must also complete 3 Independent Study Projects each during their 4-week January term.
Seniors must produce a senior thesis that they defend orally - all students and the public are invited to these presentations
If a student can’t find a course to satisfy a goal, they can propose a tutorial self-designed course to work on with a professor. The tutorials are modeled after Oxford’s New College.
80% of students go on to graduate school
Very big on student-directed research
The environmental studies and marine biology programs are very popular
One of the top producers of Fulbright Scholars per capita of any undergraduate school in the country besting Harvard, Yale, Stanford and other brand-name schools
Leans liberal and students consider themselves nerds and hippies
Meets 94% of demonstrated financial need
One of the students favorite hangouts is a converted elephant barn
No greek life
No varsity sports but they do have one nationally ranked co-ed team
Themed dance parties every Friday night are very popular
Lots of clubs and activities to choose from including the Cloud Watching Club