Intellectual curiosity or special talent?

BigAl · 02-09-2008, 06:08 PM

I just found out about Deep Springs and I'm now very interested in applying.
However, it seems that such a small class size, to gain acceptance you'd have to have some unique talent (musical instrument, published writer, painter) or have done serious research. I ask this because from reading posts over in the Ivy League boards, I have gotten the impression that the top crust of Ivy League acceptances (and thus, I assume, Deep Springs) have some amazing talent or gift by senior year.

So anyway, is having great intellectual curiosity, being a well read person, etc. enough to be competitive for acceptance?

(sorry for the long-winded post.. and thank you for any responses)

St.Hudson · 02-10-2008, 07:50 PM

Hey, I'm in the same boat as you. I just found out about this godsend today, and without a doubt, it's at the top of my application list. I should mention I'm a junior right now and plan to apply next November.
On your question, I'm just as intimidated as you are, my friend. No instrument has touched my lips, no novel has been born from my pen, and no piece of art has come from my hands. It's my impression that the essays are what a candidate are judged on, as is wont of all of the Telluride Association's programs.
Hopefully, two well-meaning, intellectually-inclined chaps such as ourselves can pull through.
If you don't mind me asking, what attracted you to the college?

Big_Dig · 02-16-2008, 09:50 AM

I went to DS in the mid-1990s. To address both of your concerns, there's no particular emphasis placed on special or unique talents at DS. Ditto for grades and test scores, though both tend to be very high. Much more important are an applicant's essays and, if he makes it to the on-campus interview stage, his ability to mesh well with the DS community. The school is so small and so isolated that it's vital for everyone -- students, teachers, staff -- to be able to live peaecably, if not always frictionlessly, together.

St.Hudson · 02-16-2008, 01:39 PM

Thanks for the input, Big_Dig. I had no idea there was an interview stage on the campus; that's not at all intimidating.

Big_Dig · 02-19-2008, 02:07 PM

The application goes in two stages: Round 1 involves writing several essays and getting recommendations and test scores sent to DS. The Applications Committee -- about 10 students plus a faculty and a staff rep -- then selects the top 40 applicants for Round 2. This consists of more essays and a 3- or 4-day visit to the campus, in groups of 4 applicants, for mutual getting-to-know-you time and, one evening, an extended individual interview with the committee.

@Big_Dig: peaceable

Meugenio · 03-06-2008, 10:40 PM

I applied this year. If you have any questions about the process then feel free to ask me.

St.Hudson · 03-06-2008, 11:07 PM

If you're not too shy, I'd like to know what your stats are. Nothing like your mother's maiden name, just SAT scores, rank, all that jazz.

Meugenio · 03-07-2008, 04:17 AM

Um,
Nothing too spectacular:
3.4 Unweighted
Top 10% of class (I am exactly 90th percentile)
2140 (770M, 680CR, 690[11]W)

As has been stated prior though, grades and SATs are not what will get you in, but rather your essays/interview. My entire interview was about my essays/art; Not a word was said regarding my academics in high school.

My mother's maiden name is Mooney, for whatever that is worth.

Best of luck on your college search/application process. Hopefully you at least make it to the second round, as Deep Springs is one of the most fantastic places you will ever set foot on (and I am saying this after only 4 days exposure).

What other schools have interested you, and what has led you to put Deep Springs at the top of your list?

Any more questions?

St.Hudson · 03-07-2008, 08:25 PM

My college "search" hasn't really started, but with my junior year of summer coming up, I really need to get started.

So far, I only have two colleges in mind: Deep Springs and the University of Florida. Nothing in particular interests me in UF, but in my home state, Florida, we're given scholarships by the state that pay for our tuition to a university of our choice if we're at the top of our class, so my parents practically jumped at the offer. With two kids already in college, they can't send me outta state.

Deep Springs appeals to me for so many different reasons. It's everything I want my life to be: self-sustained, intellectual, and enveloped in the natural world. Thoreau has had a profound influence on my thinking, and I can't help but think that he would applaud Deep Springs and everything it stands for.

Seeing as you already applied, I guess you have gotten alot of looks whenever you tell people you essentially wanted to commit self-exile to an all-men's ranch in the middle of nowhere. My friends couldn't believe it when I told them about the school.

Meugenio · 03-10-2008, 09:19 PM

I tend to tell people that it is a junior-college in California (which it is). It makes things easier.

You are right, Deep Springs does seem to be derivative of the American Transcendental movement in nature, a modern Brook Farm if you will (sans females). Nunn was a really fantastic/interesting guy and had quite a neat outlook on things; I recommend looking into him.

How has Thoreau 'had a profound influence' on your thinking?

St.Hudson · 03-13-2008, 06:40 PM

I would chalk that up to bad phrasing on my part. What I really meant to say is that I agree with many of Thoreau's ideals. Simple living just seems to make sense; I can't really explain why I think so, i just do. Are you not a fan?

dntw8up · 03-13-2008, 06:54 PM

St.Hudson,

In another thread you said you are open to other college suggestions. New College of Florida sounds like a place that would be a fit for your interests: New College of Florida, The public liberal arts honors college for the state of Florida. It's has some similarities with Deep Springs, and the in state tuition advantages of UF.

acutezza · 03-16-2008, 05:10 PM

Didn't know if anyone would be interested, but a while ago I got my rejection letter from Deep Springs for round one. Unlike the vast majority of those rejected, though, I got a very... ehem... special rejection letter.

I'm a girl.

This was my first and thus far only rejection letter, but I have to say I enjoyed being rejected very immensely. I took the incentive to apply because they accidently sent me a booklet, and I had been interested in it when I saw it in the Princeton Review.

Apparently one of their students on the Applications Committee had made the mistake, and I got a personal phone call from him (he sounded very, very sorry), and he complimented me on my essays (yay). If anyone is interested in this, I can show them the rejection letter, but I just wanted to share my experience with everyone interested in the college out there.

Meugenio · 03-16-2008, 10:11 PM

Yeah, I know the kid who messed up (from having visited).

He was talking about the mistake and how they sent out apology e-mails. I am sorry that you cannot apply, however you might be interested to know that in the early 90s they reviewed co-education, however did not have proper funding to do so (some donors threatened to rescind their grants), however now they are in great financial standing, and according to the president will most likely seriously consider co-education come 2-4 years.

Can I read your essays by the way? I just am interested to see a different perspective.

If you are also really that interested in visiting, you might ask to visit during one of the breaks, just for a nice little vacation/ visit. It is my understanding that visitors are allowed during this time period (but only this time period [I saw an SB meeting in which they heavily debated their isolation policy]).

Mwanafunzi · 03-16-2008, 11:44 PM

Another interesting anecdote about co-education at DS...

I just got back from a weekend at UC Berkeley where I met up with three guys from DS 04' (two Cal students and one at Stanford). In sharp contrast to the opinions professed by current students during my applicant visit, these three said that the student body was very obstinate about maintaining the single-sex policy when they were there.

Yet, it was just this year that a vote of some 22 to 3 (don't quote me on figures) in favor of co-education took place. One second year even made a snide remark to me during labor about the 3 dissenters' arguments being laughably sexist.

Something also to consider... Most current Deep Springers seem to agree that the college is in a phase where academics are tending to dominate the labor program. It could be that that sort of spirit is steering the kids toward more liberal ideologies.

When I asked during my interview what the one thing they disliked most about the college was, the guys on ApCom responded in chorus, "no girls." I'll be very interested to see, and hopefully participate in (!!!), where the discussion goes. As Meugenio noted, lots of alumni donate under the specific condition that the college remain all-male and the trustees have consistently agreed. Maybe this will become a battle between the new and old guard. After all, Deep Springs is not a place where the student body can easily be ignored forever.

By the way, that's terrible to hear about your application, acutezza. Maybe a few years down the line you'll have your chance again.

What did you write your essays about? And what compelled you to apply to a college who's literature (both print and online) presents them as clearly having no women?