Deep Springs Discussion Thread for Applicants in Summer 2021 to be Accepted in Summer 2022
Heya people!
When are the questions usually released?
Should be released late September early October time
Heya! Why are you all interested in Deep Springs?
Hi Rayne,
There are a lot of reasons Iām personally interested in Deep Springs, however, if I had to choose just ten, then they would be the following.
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The Socratic or seminar-style of education. At Deep Springs I get the impression that there isnāt an educational hierarchy of sorts where you are a student and the professor at front is a lecturer. I imagine Deep Springs values education where everyone is both a teacher and student simultaneously where everyone has something of importance to bring to the table. It may not be like this, but from what Iāve heard, education at Deep Springs is a collective effort.
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Camaraderie. Iāll be honest, Iām not very good at making friends, or rather Iām terrible at making deep connections. Sure, I have a social circle with people with whom I enjoy spending time together, however, the relationships I have are all rather superficial and offer no depth, no spark. This reason for wanting to go to Deep Springs is then quite selfish but I wonāt lie about it. I want a place away from the distractions of modern society where I can get to know people for they are and create those meaningful bonds. In my current life, I feel that people are all too tied up in the rat race chasing their own goals to spare the time for real relationships. At Deep Springs I hope to be among like-minded people who share similar passions. Perhaps I sound weird for saying this, but Deep Springs sounds a bit like being trapped in a jar. By being trapped together, everyone will be forced to work alongside each other which will inevitably result in squabbles. Nonetheless, at Deep Springs on canāt just walk away from oneās problems as we can in modern life. At Deep Springs I imagine that you canāt just ignore someone indefinitely, you canāt just block someone. But because we canāt escape, we have to confront our problems head-on and once they are resolved, connections are made even stronger. I want this cameraderie.
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Isolation. To me, Deep Springs is a pilgrimage of sorts, a place without distraction where I can find myself. Itās a place where I envision that important stuff comes to mind. Currently, my head is always stuck in some petty problem that I canāt avoid due to the workings of current society. At Deep Springs I hope to flush out all that noise, forget about where the money is going to come from, forget about the cutthroat aspects of society, forget about the irrational nature of using each other when we could help one another. At Deep Springs I hope to gain a better understanding of myself and what community is meant to be.
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Scholarship. Frankly speaking, education is not cheap. Diplomas proving you ālearnedā something are ridiculously expensive and most of the time, the classes that you take are irrelevant, or at least that is what I feel. In my current university, although tuition is relatively low, I feel like Iām wasting my life getting lectured about things that are useless. Most of my actual learning is done in my free time which effectively means that half my time is being wasted and the other half isnāt really mine. Donāt get me wrong, the things I learn in my free time are enjoyable, however, wouldnāt it be better if I could learn enjoyable things whilst also having time to myself? I just donāt see the point of paying for something Iām not enjoying. All this for a diploma? Honestly, it doesnāt make sense, but I want it to. I want to go to Deep Springs because I believe that it will be a place where I can learn what I want without any additional costs.
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Self-governance. Self-governance is a very important part that I want to embrace at Deep Springs mainly because I want to go into politics when Iām older, not this fake game of ruining countries that is currently being played. Perhaps it sounds arrogant, but I do truly believe that I can make this world a better place. Having prior experience at Outer Coast, I have a basic understanding of what government should feel like and I want to build upon that at Deep Springs. Perhaps Iām idealistic or just stupid, but to me, governance is really easy. I donāt see why the world is the way it is. I want to go to Deep Springs to challenge myself in this regard, I want to see if governance is truly that difficult and Iām an arrogant fool, or if world leaders have really just being playing us the whole time. With Deep Springs being a pocket environment, I believe it will be the ideal setup for me to get a solid foundation.
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Self-sufficiency. From what I know, Deep Springs is almost completely self-sufficient. In day to day life I see myself as merely an insignificant number amongst the billions of people in our world. I donāt see my life really having an impact on anything, but at Deep Springs, I imagine that without you, the whole system falls apart. The whole ecosystem is interdependent with everyone playing a pivotal role to create near self-sufficiency. This gives me a sense of value, knowing that the work being done isnāt just to go with the flow of things but is essential. It also means that at Deep Springs, I will learn real life skills such as mechanics, cooking, farming etc. instead of the ālifeā skills of today such as knowing how to navigate social media, how to climb up the cooperate ladder.
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Prestige. While this isnāt a prime motivator, it is a nice bonus. Those who graduate from Deep Springs have opportunities presented to them such as offers from top universities which will kickstart their careers. As aforementioned, I wish to go into politics and change this world for the better, and having the prestige of Deep Springs behind me and the possibility of going to a top tier university (hopefully with a scholarship) will boost my social credibility making things easier for me later.
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Community. Not everyone is attracted to Deep Springs. I mean, itās a cowboy college in the middle of the desert where you have to do manual labour for two years of your life that you will never get back. For many, this is a major turnoff, but for the quirky minority (myself included), it is sort of a safe haven or at least thatās what I think. From the impression I get, you have to be a little bit weird to even want to go to Deep Springs, but its that weirdness that is attractive. In modern life, youāre surrounded by a mixture of people, but at Deep Springs I believe almost everyone at least as something in common - a desire to make this world a better place. I hope to go to Deep Springs to be inspired by other peopleās passions, their lust for life. To me, Deep Springs isnāt a place for people who just want a comfortable life, for people who pursue money, for people who pursue fame or other worldly desire. To me, Deep Springs is a collective of those who understand what matters and I want to grow alongside those people.
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Opportunity. Letās face it, Deep Springs is a tiny window in life that is only open for a short period of time - they donāt accept those who have already completed a Bachelorās Degree or equivalent at another institution, or are over the age of 23 at the application deadline. Iām not going to be younger than 23 my whole life and why miss the chance to apply when there is everything to gain and nothing to lose. Deep Springs is an experience that you wonāt find anywhere else (although there are alternatives) so why waste the opportunity when itās right in front of you? Deep Springs is an adventure to another country, another lifestyle, another culture and a place to meet amazing individuals who will shape the future, why would I possibly give up this chance?
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A life of service. I understand that doing something small is always better than doing nothing at all, but why do something small when you can do something big. Perhaps it sounds strange but I have a sort of itch in me, telling me to make this world a better place, however, not by helping one person at a time but by helping everyone at once. I know itās counterintuitive, but even when I volunteer and see the impact of my work, I feel frustrated and feel that Iām wasting my time when I could be helping more people. Itās as if Iām trying to collect sand with a chopstick. What I really want to do is get to the top as quickly as possible and open the eyes of all the Sheeple out there and address the source of the problems instead of trying to clean up the after spill. I have this itch to help the world and I feel that Deep Springs will give me the tools to help scratch it. Through public speaking, discourse within the classroom, shared goals in labour and the overall comprehensive nature of Deep Springs, I feel that I will be prepared for a life our service. Right now, however, I feel like a restless ball of gas without any form. I wish to go to Deep Springs so that I may isolate and redirect my passion in the right direction.
Itās important to note that Deep Springs isnāt the only place that offers these qualities. Outer Coast, The Arete Project, Thoreau College amongst a plethora of other institutes all offer a similar experience in parts. I mean, there are many places one could go to in preparation for a life of service, there are many communities that are self-sufficient, there are many places that camaraderie can be formed. However, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. What makes Deep Springs attractive isnāt these individual attributes, but rather that they are all combined together. Peanut butter is good on its own, so is jelly, but together they make something more.
I hope my answer makes sense. I had to rewrite it a couple of times and still I feel that my message is a little bit fuzzy. I hope you understand the gist of it though and if youāre willing to share, Iām interested in your own reasons as well.
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Applications have started. Good luck everyone!
With over 1k views, this thread is pretty silent, huh? 
Not to worry! Iām sure all of you will become more active when youāre feeling more confident - or maybe not, itās really up to you.
Anyway, just wanted to share this link: Deep Springs College brings rigorous academics to a ranch in the high California desert - 60 Minutes - CBS News
Thereās not much information about DS out there, and although sharing this might change peopleās minds who are on the fence about applying and subsequently increase the competitiveness of this yearās application pool, that doesnāt mean anyone is less likely to be accepted.
If you are a good fit for Deep Springs, then it doesnāt matter if 300 people apply or 600, you will still be a good fit! I hope that fear of rejection doesnāt stop anybody from applying or sharing relevant information. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats - we donāt just do this for ourselves, we do it for each other. Ubuntu.
thank you for all your encouragement.
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Thank you for your courage in participating!
Hey guys! I canāt believe this post already has 1.6k views - it looks like Apcom has their work cut out for them this year.
Anyway, itās that time already. One week left. I hope everyone is doing well in their applications. For those of you who have already submitted - well done; for those of you who are still working on your essays - keep going!
Iāve just finished writing a draft for every essay prompt yesterday; some prompts have more drafts than others, but Iāve got at least one draft for each essay now. That doesnāt mean Iām done yet though 
Iāve still got to edit and rewrite.
Just remember that applying to DS is a gruelling process and in no way is it easy! If youāve made it this far, feel proud of yourself. If anyone feels that theyāre beyond schedule, donāt worry - youāve got this! If youāre having doubts, thatās a good thing because it means you care. Also if you donāt quite know how to put your thoughts onto paper, hereās an amazing book Iāve found online: https://www.ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā /uploads/1/0/9/5/109505679/hack_the_college_essay_2017.pdf
Donāt give up. Itās the last stretch now. Seven days and counting!
And the countdown continues - six days!
Today Iāve been working on a rewrite for the fifth essay. I find the hardest part about this essay is balancing the summary of the book and how it has changed the way I think; the words just never seem to be enough! Anyway, the book Iāve chosen is Sartreās La Nausea. I really like how Roquentin echoes my own existential thoughts and the meaninglessness of our constructed reality. Itās hard though to pinpoint exactly how reading La Nausea has changed the way I think, because Iām not too sure if I had these thoughts before and Sartre helped me realise them, or whether these thoughts are all completely new. I think that Iāve always had them although the ideas were never fully formed - sort of like trying to see underwater. I think La Nausea changed the way I think by sort of refining the way I think if that makes sense. Sort of like giving me a metaphysical pair of glasses to get my thinking straight.
Anyway, thatās my progress update. Iām going to try to finish the rewrite by tonight because I want to work on my democracy rewrite tomorrow.
To the 1.7k viewers out there who are feeling a lilā lost right now - just know weāre in the same boat. Even if youāre not feeling confident in yourself, Iāll root for you until you get the confidence you need. And again, for those who have already submitted - amazing job!
good luck everyone! canāt wait to hear back about my application!
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Congrats on submitting! Good luck to you too
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Five days left, and now with 1.8k views 
Iām still working on my fifth essay - not much progress on this one yet. But on a positive note, I did manage to finish the democracy essay instead! Midterms have also just started so itās going to be a struggle to balance my work the next few days but hopefully, Iāll find inspiration in some unlikely place.
Well, thatās my progress report for today. I hope sharing my journey might inspire others to reach out too. On that note, Iād like to thank @_bospad for having the courage to participate in this thread. The application process can be daunting but itās a lot easier when you know others are going through the same things you are.
Remember to have confidence in the last few days! The clock is ticking but I know you will all do awesome!
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thanks for keeping this thread alive! itās nice to know at least one other person who i may be spending the next two years in the desert with 
Four days left, and now with a bump of 200 views to 2.0k
Today wasnāt a very good day for me - very unproductive and, honestly, thatās stressing me out a lot. But I have to have confidence in myself! Iāve got a midterm tomorrow as well soā¦ 
Anyway, congratulations for all of you who have submitted recently (so jealous right now 
), and for those of you in the same boat as me - weāve got this!
2.1k views now
I guess that means thereās around 100 people checking in regularly everydayā¦ 100 other people out there in the same situation as me. Well, hopefully, my progress checks give some of you motivation to carry on. I mean, at least it keeps me on track 
Speaking of progressā¦ Iām just finishing up my supplemental document now. Today Iāve also forced myself to actually finish a rewrite of the fifth essay. The quality may not be good, but a piece of advice I like to follow is to always write the worst essay imaginable first - after that everything is an improvement. Iāve set the bar pretty low this time (or at least I feel like I have / it might actually not be that bad after all, got to see what my friends think of it) but at least this means Iāve got room for improvement.
Oh, btw! I did pretty well on my midterm today so thatās a plus.
And thatās it for today.
Three days left - alright!
And thatās another 100 reads today
Today was a good day! A really good day! I felt that Iāve made so much progress since yesterday - Iāve retouched upon my Why DS essay and finished writing my supplemental document. I just need to get feedback from my friends now and then I should be all ready to go
For those of you who are still struggling - donāt worry! Thereās still time. Donāt give up now when the end is so close! And for those who are finished - well done! Youāve completed the first half and now all you have to do is hope for the best - and perhaps read a few more books while youāre at it 
Two days until the deadline. No time to stop now. Hustle, hustle, hustle 
Does anyone know the exact time when the application is due? They donāt have a time on their site besides November 7th so I donāt know if itās due 12am or 11:59pm.