This Week’s College: New College of Florida Sarasota, Florida (A College That Changes Lives)
New College is a secret public school. Sometimes referred to as a “public ivy,” New College is a very small school of about 800 students literally on the water in Sarasota, Florida. Founded in 1960, New College’s mission is to be something, well, entirely “new.” It is an Honors College, meaning that the whole purpose is for it to be a place where the highest quality liberal arts education is provided to students in a setting where they can achieve at the highest levels and discover new knowledge with faculty of the highest caliber.
New College prides itself on its four Core Values: an intellectually rigorous curriculum, an innovative academic program, a collaborative learning environment, and a place to chart one’s own course. At New College, classes are small, students design their programs of study, and critical thinking skills are emphasized. It’s not unusual for students to do research with professors, assist in fieldwork, or study one on one with them. New College does not have grades. Instead they provide narratives to assess learning and learning both in the classroom, lab, and outside world in the realm of internships are encouraged. Top programming is in marine science and biology and many students take advantage of the access to the beach to do their research there.
Independent Learning contracts are a main focus here at New College and students create them with a professor at least three times over their time in school. These are major projects of significant work involving research, experience, and guidance by a faculty member. They are done in addition to the small seminar classes, and they are done on your own, so you need to be a real self-starter. If you’re in college because it just seemed like the next thing to do, New College probably isn’t for you. To complete your senior year, you’ll be doing a full year thesis with a defense in front of a panel of faculty members. When you are finished, your thesis will join the rest in the library to be referred to by future scholars.
Given its small size you’d think there wouldn’t be much going on, but it’s surprising how much they have to offer. There isn’t the regular sports college field, but the beach is right there so it’s not a big surprise that sailing is huge, and there’s also scuba. Women’s soccer is available, but there isn’t a football team. There are plenty of clubs (many of them devoted to activism, languages, and arts) yelling anyone? And volunteering is big. They also have a large section devoted to Mind/Body, which is a great way to balance your school and life!
Most people live on campus and hey, who doesn’t want to live on the water in Sarasota? Wellness housing is available as is co-ed housing. Unlike most schools, Freshmen are allowed to have a car on campus, and the dorms have dining halls in them. There are multiple student centers (one designed by IM Pei). Bayfront is the preferred sunset watching spot (there’s a club for that actually).
Pros:
New College is a secret public school. Sometimes referred to as a “public ivy,” New College is a very small school of about 800 students literally on the water in Sarasota, Florida. Founded in 1960, New College’s mission is to be something, well, entirely “new.” It is an Honors College, meaning that the whole purpose is for it to be a place where the highest quality liberal arts education is provided to students in a setting where they can achieve at the highest levels and discover new knowledge with faculty of the highest caliber.
New College prides itself on its four Core Values: an intellectually rigorous curriculum, an innovative academic program, a collaborative learning environment, and a place to chart one’s own course. At New College, classes are small, students design their programs of study, and critical thinking skills are emphasized. It’s not unusual for students to do research with professors, assist in fieldwork, or study one on one with them. New College does not have grades. Instead they provide narratives to assess learning and learning both in the classroom, lab, and outside world in the realm of internships are encouraged. Top programming is in marine science and biology and many students take advantage of the access to the beach to do their research there.
Independent Learning contracts are a main focus here at New College and students create them with a professor at least three times over their time in school. These are major projects of significant work involving research, experience, and guidance by a faculty member. They are done in addition to the small seminar classes, and they are done on your own, so you need to be a real self-starter. If you’re in college because it just seemed like the next thing to do, New College probably isn’t for you. To complete your senior year, you’ll be doing a full year thesis with a defense in front of a panel of faculty members. When you are finished, your thesis will join the rest in the library to be referred to by future scholars.
Given its small size you’d think there wouldn’t be much going on, but it’s surprising how much they have to offer. There isn’t the regular sports college field, but the beach is right there so it’s not a big surprise that sailing is huge, and there’s also scuba. Women’s soccer is available, but there isn’t a football team. There are plenty of clubs (many of them devoted to activism, languages, and arts) yelling anyone? And volunteering is big. They also have a large section devoted to Mind/Body, which is a great way to balance your school and life!
Most people live on campus and hey, who doesn’t want to live on the water in Sarasota? Wellness housing is available as is co-ed housing. Unlike most schools, Freshmen are allowed to have a car on campus, and the dorms have dining halls in them. There are multiple student centers (one designed by IM Pei). Bayfront is the preferred sunset watching spot (there’s a club for that actually).
Pros:
- Emphasis on individual learning and charting of own course
- Student and faculty collaboration is important
- Narrative grades means meaningful feedback
- Chance to challenge yourself academically
- On the beach!
- Public school for instate (KB!) but private school level of tuition out of state
- You need to be serious about your own education, can be isolating
- No Greek Life
- Few sports, very little competition
- On the beach!