A lot has happened since yesterday evening. I wish that I could have participated more but I work full-time and can only reply in the evenings. It is so pleasant to hear from all of you.
I’m also an international applicant. I live in Canada and have done so all of my life, so in some ways I am probably more similar to the domestic applicants than to the internationals. My safety school is the University of Toronto. It’s a great school that some of you may be interested in, and the tuition is lower and in a currency that will offer you a better exchange rate than the American colleges. Specifically, I am interested in the undergraduate program ‘mathematics and philosophy’; it is a specialist program that incorporates both majors. The school also has a first year program, which you can add to your regular curriculum, called the One Program. It is split into many different branches with interesting topics such as international relations, global health, creative writing, and quite a bit more. Admissions are also highly selective, class sizes are small (20 students), and they are seminar based. Anyways, just something you may be interested in.
The jobs at the college that interest me the most are Cook, Mechanic, or Gardener. I am vegan, and have been so for two years, so I don’t want anything to do with the slaughtering or harvesting of animals or their byproducts. I don’t mean to fulfill the trope of the guy who lets everyone know that he is vegan; I just think that it may lead to more discussion. I know that the college seems like the last place a vegan would want to be, but I wanted to go to DS before I made the change in my morals, and I also think that surrounding yourself with others that think differently is an opportunity for growth. I might consider the position of Cowboy as well, but I would have to learn more about what it entails.
To respond in kind to those who answered my initial question:
@dracollavenore
I have read about the current situation with the Telluride Trust. I had not, however, linked its threat to defund the college to the use of gender quotas; that is a good connection. I suppose that only time will tell whether DS will adopt blind admissions in the future. I am skeptical as it appears that DS has been shifting further and further to the left in recent years.
There is some good reading material on the DS website under this link https://www.deepsprings.edu/publications/
The spring 2018 and the fall 2018 alumni newsletters appear to talk more about coeducation than years past.
Why is that your family has moved around so much?
@Wildermind
I do not think that the admission process is as subjective as you do. If that really was the case, then why not just use a lottery system? You are correct that it is not necessary to submit SAT or ACT scores anymore, and there is no minimum GPA. This does not mean, however, that these things are not considered. In a previous thread I posted a link to an Economist article which stated that the average SAT score for students is in the top 2%. I would say that is probably not a coincidence. Even if none of these quantitative measurements are taken into consideration, some essays will be demonstrably better than others, otherwise why ask for them? (Did any of you notice how they added a sentence to the final prompt, asking students not just to reiterate the 3 pillars and 2 ground rules?) And, of course, there will be a hierarchy of which applicants show the greatest interest in the college and stand to give/gain the greatest benefit. All of these factors, and a few more, taken into consideration are what I mean when I say that one applicant may be “less qualified” than another.
You’re right when you point out that people will always be left out, even when it was only male applicants. What I am trying to convey is that I would be understanding if I was rejected because the other applicants were more qualified than me (perhaps competitive is a better word), subjective as that may be, but I would not be okay with being rejected because of my gender and despite being more competitive - in the hypothetical - than some of the applicants of the other gender.
I find your reference to the practical (what would my Mom think?) very amusing and all too true. I feel that a straight up meritocracy is the only way to have a fair system. That being said, you have gotten me to consider the more practical implications of that ideal. If one gender dominates the outcome, perhaps that is the way it is supposed to be? I mean trying to change the outcome seems like social engineering, no?
Thanks to both of you for such great responses. There has been so much else covered that I would love to dig into, but I can’t help but feel that I’m a little too late. In short, to cover some of the topics brought up, I think that the balance between the right and the left is more of litmus test than it is an actual state of existence, and therein lies part of what allows us to find meaning in our lives: correcting the course. I totally agree with Jordan Peterson, and @dracollavenore and @Wildermind, that our biological sex plays a strong role in our nature. I think that the science is pretty clear on that. To @nightvale42 I would say hello! And that no one is saying that we must base our societies on these facts, just that these facts may explain natural inequalities in the number of women/men in any given field. I have never read anything that suggested Jordan Peterson thinks women should only be mothers. I have read, however, that he thinks we should not guilt women for wanting to “just” be a stay at home mother. I love debate too but have never had the pleasure to actually debate someone. Hey @celtqueen ! I agree and I think that it is strange how we no longer consider house work to be real work. The raising of children and the bolstering of communities is so important. Can you imagine how nice it must be for the professors at DS? To have all these people for their children to socialize with.
Anyways, sorry for such a long post. I hope that none of my comments came across as rough or cynical. I’m really just happy to be having this shared experience with you all. I can’t believe that we will be discovering our fates in the next 24 hours.
Nonetheless, it was an interesting read and it was nice of you to actually go through everything said and answer everyone in turn… if it were me I would have just scanned for the main idea and plopped myself right in the middle of the current conversation, so the fact that you actually spent the time to read everything carefully beforehand actually means quite a lot.