@LigerMan Seclusion. Self-reliance.
Cornell, Georgia Tech, UW Seattle, Syracuse, etc.
I relate @RUHTRA999. I can think of so many benefits that the isolation and intensity of the experience could have… Im applying to a number of other places, but DS is the only place I want to go to
Guys, are the first round results coming out on Dec 21st?
@RUHTRA999 It was Dec 21st last year, so that seems probable.
I included like 25 books, idk is that even close to what they expect though. I too am already in college so not too anxious about the whole thing. I felt I could let my “insanity” free writing those essays, it was a fun and educating experience, compared to those other dull and repetitive motivation letters.
Hi guys, I’m very glad to have discovered this wonderful community. It delights my heart to find other students who share the same aspiration as me. Please, let’s try as much as possible to make this thread vibrant, I can observe that there are only a few posts here, and it’s been pretty long since someone left a message.
Having said that, it’s now mid-December. Has anyone received any message from Deep Springs yet? I hope we all get accepted, although that’s a much difficult prayer to get answered.
Also, is there a Facebook group for us? I think that’s a better forum for us to interact easily, and get to meet each other as we expect decisions from the valley.
Finally, how did you guys answer the Savio-Rosseau essay? What do you think democratic citizens owe to their communities? Do you think a single citizen can agree with these two great men?
Let the responses keep coming as we keep our fingers crossed in anticipation for success in our pursuit to become cowboys! 
I think we will get decision in the next 10 days.
I don’t know if there is a facebook group. First of all I think there is unlikely to be one based on the shared values we have. Second of all even if there is one, we should not join for the same reason. Deep Springs does not support social media during school season and I think even if their students kept their facebook accounts, they rarely use it.
I looked at last years forum and saw that a few heard back on the 16… Considering that that is also the last weekday before break, there’s probably a good chance we will start hearing back in the next few days-- but as some have pointed out, calls could go out over a week’s span.
My friends are celebrating acceptances, while I’ve never prayed harder to write three more essays!
I thought everyone received acceptance notifications on Dec 21 last year. It doesn’t really matter, It’ll probably be released within the next week or so as everyone has said.
I am not really expecting an acceptance 
@RUHTRA999 I feel ya. I’m past expectations and am now experiencing blind, desperate hope! I want a decision soon-- maybe I’ll consider EDII if I’m denied. Still, It’d be hard going somewhere else knowing that a place like this exists…
I think you are correct about the Facebook issue, but I basically asked because I realized on forums of past years that they discussed about Facebook forums. Also, I don’t know exactly how serious Deep Springs takes the Facebook rule, considering that the school herself has an official Facebook account regularly managed by her students. And in most of their Facebook posts, they tag their very students who go on to like the posts. Doesn’t this indicate that they actually use Facebook during school sessions, at least to some extent?
Anyway, let’s just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. I actually don’t expect to get in considering that my essays are very poor, and when I compare the level of intellectualism of potential students on past forums here with mine, I feel utterly unworthy of Deep Springs.
That said, why is no one interested in talking about their essays, especially the Savio/Rosseau part? Past forums here actually reveal that potential students shared intellectual discourses on their essays.
Whatever if case, if anyone gets a call/message from Deep Springs concerning round two, please do keep us posted.
My first paragraph in the above post is directed to @RUHTRA999
I believe in the past, there have been issues (more with the Telluride program) with people forming negative opinions about others online before meeting them in person. Regardless, there’s an appeal to the anonymity.
I’d love to discuss the essays, but in a private message. If I share what I did on here, I believe it would be easy to match with my real world self… while I doubt the students even have time to go on forums, not sure if I want that.
Hey guys, I have applied and yet to hear anything as well fingers crossed, happy to join the group!
I have wanted to apply for years and finally did this year. Below I have vague descriptions of what I wrote about. If someone wants to discuss the essays in private shoot me a message.
Essay Topics ::
1: The basics of my upbringing, and my symbiotic relationship between art and community. Concluding with what I think it means to be a human being.
2: S//R I wrote about how the hybridity of the quotes illustrates an ideal political system and citizen. Topics included: an expansive political entity that works to support the people, hope as the inspiration for political growth by inherently fighting corruption and attitudes of IDGF, and how self-governance is the only way to live in nonideal political structure as a means to a better future.
3: About how Deep Springs is more than a prestigious education/ valuable working experience that could be offered at really any school with a work study program; a way of life that provides an exciting school of thought that transcends academia.
As excited as I am about possibly going to DSC. I have largely accepted that getting in is a lottery that even a top student would be anxious about. Praise the gods I’ll make the second cut. I’ll be attending community college if I don’t get in; most likely applying again along with other schools like RISD, or anywhere really with open source curriculum and a strong art program.
I’m interested in the tight-knit community at DSC that facilitates independent thought while maintaining a strong connection to your fellow man. Something that I think is lacking in the competitive world of capitalism and academia.
What attracted everyone else?? Does anyone have info on what the second round essays are like?
Here are essay prompts from two different years-- these are directly copied from the forums:
- two teacher recs
- transcripts and test scores
- term paper or essay for a class with teacher comments attached
- optional creative work that you'd like the admissions com to consider
- each essay may not exceed 1500 words A. choose a virtue that is popularly misunderstood. Explain the popular understanding. Offer and support a better understanding. B. Describe a problem in your high school or community. Propose plausible and concrete steps to address it. C. What is the purpose of a college education both for the student and for society? What is YOUR purpose in pursuing a college education? You may use the following excerpt as an example or as a platform for agreeing or disagreeing. D. What does it mean to be employed in the service of your fellow men? How can a blacksmith be so employed? An 1924 excerpt of L. L. Nunn is included.
- Two teacher recommendations.
- Updated transcripts and official standardized test score reports.
- A term paper or essay that you submitted for a class, with teacher comments attached. Please find something under seven pages.
- Any creative work of your own that would allow the committee to get a better idea of who you arein past years, applicants have submitted visual artwork, music CDs, writing samples, baked goods, and more. This is completely optional. Think carefully before submitting supplementary material, as there are cases in which mediocre submissions can work against a candidate. Many successful applicants submit only the items that we require.
- Thoughtful and concise responses to each of the following prompts. The total word count of your three essays combined should not exceed 2500 words. We ask that you respect this limit and let it guide you towards economy of expression.
A. Choose a virtue that is popularly misunderstood, describe this misunderstanding, and
argue on behalf of a better conception.
B. Respond to one of the following quotations, with particular attention to the notion
of service. Please consider only the text we have given you, without regard for
contextexcept in the case of #4, which refers to Genesis 22 in the Old Testament.
Were less concerned with your conclusion than with your ability to take a stance and
thoughtfully defend your argument.
- "Peace and even death are dearer to man than free choice in the knowledge of good and evil There is nothing more seductive for man than the freedom of his conscience, but there is nothing more tormenting either."
- "Anyone who involves himself with mankind and does not occasionally glisten in all the colors of distress, green and gray with disgust, satiety, sympathy, gloominess, and loneliness, is certainly not a man of elevated tastes; supposing, however, that he does not take all this burden and disgust upon himself voluntarily, that he persistently avoids it, and remains, as I said, quietly and proudly hidden in his citadel, one thing is certain: he was not made, he was not predestined for knowledge."
- "Do you suppose, then, that I would have survived so many years if I had been publicly active and had acted in a manner worthy of a good man, coming to the aid of the just things, and, as one ought, regarding this as most important? Far from it, nor would any other human being.
- Should we not reinterpret the entire story and say that actually Abraham failed the test, that an amazed and horrified God mercifully stopped him from carrying out the despicable act and then punished Abraham and all his descendants by laying on them the curse of Abrahams faith, under the yoke of which we have been sacrificing our parents, children, brothers, sisters, and comrades to the State, the Party, the True Religion, and other Higher Causes ever since?
- The ultimate purpose of every intelligent free moral agent is either loyalty to moral government under which he was born or rebellion against that government by supreme devotion to his own self-interests.
C. Examine an academic or creative discipline about which you are passionate. How
does it offer insight into the condition of man and the world?
Thanks man!
Thank you, @LigerMan. The essay prompts confirm how difficult it would be to get into DSC. I don’t even have any creative work in the line of their requirements. Am I the only one in this situation?
How were you guys able to confine your essays within the required word limit? The essay asking us to tell why we would like to attend Deep Springs was required not to be above 300 words. That was too small for me to express myself fully on why I’m interested in the school. Is there anyone here who wrote above the word limit?
And yes, if you’re interested in discussing the essays, you may send me a message too.
I think, in the next seven days, we all must have known our fates.
I have a few things I could submit, as far as the creative requirements go…
As far as the word limits: yeah, it was really difficult to stay within the parameters. I doubled the limits on a couple of them, forcing me to do A LOT of editing. I focused on one element (of the many) that appealed to me and developed that.
I hope we get decisions soon-- not knowing is nerve-racking! Will consider EDII if I don’t make second round…
Decisions should come in the next few days. If anyone gets in, let the rest of us know! Ill be sure to do the same if Im so lucky