Enrollment: 26
Average SAT: 720
Most Popular Majors: Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities, Other,
Regular Application Deadline: 11/15
Student Faculty Ratio: 4:1

Undergraduate Receiving Need-Based Financial Aid: 1
Average Freshman Total Need-Based Gift Aid: $0.00

Students Say - Academics
The "three pillars" of a Deep Springs education-"labor, academics, and self-governance"-combine to produce "unparalleled challenges" that run the gamut "from fixing a hay baler in the middle of the night to puzzling over a particularly difficult passage of Hegel." That's what the 26 men who attend Deep Springs tell us. These unique undergraduates basically run their own school, work the ranch where it is located, and complete a rigorous curriculum, an itinerary that "creates an environment of intense growth and responsibility." Class work occurs in a seminar format in which "the distinction between teacher and student becomes fuzzy [because] everyone is equally invested, thoughtful, and engaged." Composition and public speaking are the only required courses; all others are chosen by the student body and taught by a faculty of three long-term professors (one each in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences) and three visiting scholars or artists. The system relies on a commitment to self-determination, which means "the smoothness with which many programs run depends largely on the kind of responsibility students take. Sometimes students do a good job taking care of administrative tasks, sometimes a worse job. It's all part of the educational experience." While the size of the school inevitably means that "lab and library facilities are not what they might be," students tell us that the overall Deep Springs experience compensates for any shortcomings. As one student explains, "through intense academics and running the college administratively and practically, we receive an unprecedented education in citizenship of a conscious human being."

Students Say - Campus Life
Deep Springs is totally unlike other colleges in terms of the everyday life of a student," because "no one drinks, everyone helps run the ranch in some way, and no one can be totally self-absorbed (unless he's out hiking in the desert)." Instead, students immerse themselves in the Deep Springs way. As one student explains, "The Deep Springs program is our whole life. The intellectual questions we're asking and the labor we're doing is all bound up with our identity." Students spend their free time "thinking about intellectual things: moral issues, politics, and the community. 'Fun' is hard to come by, and one has to learn how to enjoy people, work, and engagement." Students do occasionally take a break, however; "On weekends in the rumpus room of the dorm, you can find a group of motley adventurers engaged in a Dungeons & Dragon's quest or a pack of students watching 'Gossip Girl.' You'll find even more people scoffing at such pedantry and watching arty French movies," and "communal soccer is excellent...we even play in the snow." Also, occasionally "We have dance parties called 'boojies,'" and "We do some other strange things for fun, like sledding naked down 800-foot-tall sand dunes in neighboring Eureka Valley." Undergrads concede that Deep Springs "life can be intense. Students usually are utterly exhausted. But most of the time we know that something good is coming out of this," and that keeps undergrads energized and motivated.

Students Say - Student Body
"Having only 26 students makes it even harder to characterize the 'typical' Deep Springer," students understandably warn, but they add that "we're all very able and driven, but in our own ways, not in the way that most Ivy League students are. Deep Springs isn't a stepping stone to the world of white-collar work but an end in itself that we all pursue with all our hearts. So I guess the typical student has a healthy disgust for the pedagogy of most other universities." Undergrads are also predictably "intelligent, motivated, and responsible," as they "must demonstrate depth of thought to be accepted" to the school. As one student puts it, "The typical student at Deep Springs is committed to the life of the intellect and committed to finding education in our labor program. Most of the students here believe that a life of service, informed by discourse and labor, is a necessary notion to understand in today's world."

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