This Week’s College: Sterling College, Craftsbury Common, VT
Sterling, like Deep Springs, is a very specialized kind of school. It’s small, (about 120 students) and it has only five majors, plus the one you can design on your own. It’s on the Common App, but that’s probably the only common thing about it, and you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. They don’t take any standardized test scores, because they are not a standardized school. In fact, even though they offer a four year bachelor’s degree, many of their students are continuing their education, coming part time, doing some extension work, or coming for a specific series of courses. So don’t let the 52% graduation rate fool you, the people who come here for a four year degree do stay, and they do graduate, because they want to be here and do this kind of experiential, hands on work.
Working Hands. Working Minds. This is the motto of Sterling College. Their mission: to help you become a deeply committed environmental steward in all areas of your life. To that end you can major in Ecology, Environmental Humanities, Outdoor Education, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems, or you can design a program of study for yourself that meets your own needs. They believe that in working in harmony with the environment, in fostering a community of scholars who work in tandem with their natural world, they can help to create a world in which environmental sustainabilty becomes a value of everyone.
Everyone at Sterling takes a Core Curriculum of eleven classes. These are not your everyday classes. While UChicago’s Core might have you reading Adam Smith and Nichomachean Ethics, this one has you using hiking boots and a compass. You being with a two week class called Sense of Place where you will be immersed in an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the world around you from the culture of Northeast Vermont, to the forest around Sterling itself. Other classes include ecology, writing and speaking, using tools, a practicum in environmental stewardship, and more. Seniors create a capstone project aligned with their interests as they have developed over time in the Core Curriculum and take classes to support it. The Core Curriculum culminates in the Senior Seminar in which seniors explore the ways they can carry their education with them into the world beyond Sterling.
Sterling College is one of only seven colleges nationally to be recognized as a “Work College” by the federal government. A Work College is one where service work, professional work, internships, and more are integrated into the curriculum. This means that graduates of Work Colleges graduate with serious skills in the industries they want to go into. They have had extensive hands on experiences, collaboration opportunities, chances to problem solve, multiple occasions where they have had to play leadership roles or made important decisions. This means that when they graduate, they have the experience of people senior to them, the skills they need to be successful, and the professionalism that is required in the workplace. Oh, and did I mention that graduates of work colleges have some of the lowest debt upon graduation of any college students nationally? Because there’s that too.
You’re paid for your work at Sterling. A minimum of $1650 goes towards your college costs for your work. But because the work you do goes towards your fees, the costs in general are much lower, about 20% lower than traditional private college costs because their overhead is much lower (get it? You work, they cost less, you benefit). As you pass through the ranks of the school, you get paid more, you gain more skills and leadership (you are benefitting financially and for your future) and it costs less. What’s not to love there?
The jobs are varied and interesting. Sterling College is home to the School of the New American Farmstead which means that some of the jobs available will be on the farm (this is another super cool part of Sterling. Cheesemaking? Beekeeping? Artisan bread making? Regenerative Agriculture?), but others are in the kitchens, the library, the trail crews, marketing, office of the president. The school runs on students and student work and you’re learning as you are working.
So what’s it like to live there? It’s kind of like your favorite summer camp. Every week all of the students gather for a weekly community meeting. Everyone is on a first name basis here. And that includes the professors and even the president. Because it’s small and safe and warm and supportive. Everyone has a voice here and everyone’s voice is heard and considered to be important.
When they say farm to table, they are not kidding here. They’ve got the farm. And what a farm! They have 390 acres and raise sheep, cows, hogs, steers, and laying hens. They are grass fed in the pastures. They also have five acres of fruit and veg as well, boasting 60+ different veg as well as perennial fruits and nuts. Using draft labor (you can minor in this here!) they produce a bit over 20% of all food eaten on campus. About 25% of the student body works on the farm at some point either as part of their work or in one of the academic fields they have.
About seventy-six percent of all the food eaten on campus is “real food” meaning not packaged or otherwise manipulated. The closest school to them came in at 34%. So they are eating seriously farm to table. And the students cook alongside the chefs. At Sterling, food is king. They are about food. Like super about food. It’s a part of their curriculum but it’s also necessary to life.
It sounds like all work and food right? Well don’t let that fool you. Sterling students have fun too. It’s Vermont and there isn’t a lot of farming in the winter. Skiing is huge here and they have teams. They have a serious Nordic ski team (cross country for you here in the South). There are four great Alpine (downhill) skiing places nearby including Sugarbush (which is a personal fave of mine!). They also have the very first Trail, Mountain, and Ultra Running (100 mile races people!) team. As for clubs there are plenty to choose from: dance, art, mountain climbing, improv, kickball (yes!), music, Capoeira, humans v. zombies, writing, adventuring.
Residence Halls are small (around 20 students) with a couple as small as 12 students. All houses are co-ed. Students may live off campus, but Craftsbury Common is pretty small. The dorms have Community Advisors (that’s a work position) whose job it is to be a mediator between students and faculty or admin. S/He is also responsible for being a role model in the dorms and for helping to advocate for his/her students.
Is Sterling for you? Do you want to work hard for your community in school and the future? Do you like the feel of an intense, small group working in harmony? Are you happy in a very liberal setting with people who want to change the world with you? Possibly this could be for you.
Pros:
Cons:
Sterling, like Deep Springs, is a very specialized kind of school. It’s small, (about 120 students) and it has only five majors, plus the one you can design on your own. It’s on the Common App, but that’s probably the only common thing about it, and you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. They don’t take any standardized test scores, because they are not a standardized school. In fact, even though they offer a four year bachelor’s degree, many of their students are continuing their education, coming part time, doing some extension work, or coming for a specific series of courses. So don’t let the 52% graduation rate fool you, the people who come here for a four year degree do stay, and they do graduate, because they want to be here and do this kind of experiential, hands on work.
Working Hands. Working Minds. This is the motto of Sterling College. Their mission: to help you become a deeply committed environmental steward in all areas of your life. To that end you can major in Ecology, Environmental Humanities, Outdoor Education, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems, or you can design a program of study for yourself that meets your own needs. They believe that in working in harmony with the environment, in fostering a community of scholars who work in tandem with their natural world, they can help to create a world in which environmental sustainabilty becomes a value of everyone.
Everyone at Sterling takes a Core Curriculum of eleven classes. These are not your everyday classes. While UChicago’s Core might have you reading Adam Smith and Nichomachean Ethics, this one has you using hiking boots and a compass. You being with a two week class called Sense of Place where you will be immersed in an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the world around you from the culture of Northeast Vermont, to the forest around Sterling itself. Other classes include ecology, writing and speaking, using tools, a practicum in environmental stewardship, and more. Seniors create a capstone project aligned with their interests as they have developed over time in the Core Curriculum and take classes to support it. The Core Curriculum culminates in the Senior Seminar in which seniors explore the ways they can carry their education with them into the world beyond Sterling.
Sterling College is one of only seven colleges nationally to be recognized as a “Work College” by the federal government. A Work College is one where service work, professional work, internships, and more are integrated into the curriculum. This means that graduates of Work Colleges graduate with serious skills in the industries they want to go into. They have had extensive hands on experiences, collaboration opportunities, chances to problem solve, multiple occasions where they have had to play leadership roles or made important decisions. This means that when they graduate, they have the experience of people senior to them, the skills they need to be successful, and the professionalism that is required in the workplace. Oh, and did I mention that graduates of work colleges have some of the lowest debt upon graduation of any college students nationally? Because there’s that too.
You’re paid for your work at Sterling. A minimum of $1650 goes towards your college costs for your work. But because the work you do goes towards your fees, the costs in general are much lower, about 20% lower than traditional private college costs because their overhead is much lower (get it? You work, they cost less, you benefit). As you pass through the ranks of the school, you get paid more, you gain more skills and leadership (you are benefitting financially and for your future) and it costs less. What’s not to love there?
The jobs are varied and interesting. Sterling College is home to the School of the New American Farmstead which means that some of the jobs available will be on the farm (this is another super cool part of Sterling. Cheesemaking? Beekeeping? Artisan bread making? Regenerative Agriculture?), but others are in the kitchens, the library, the trail crews, marketing, office of the president. The school runs on students and student work and you’re learning as you are working.
So what’s it like to live there? It’s kind of like your favorite summer camp. Every week all of the students gather for a weekly community meeting. Everyone is on a first name basis here. And that includes the professors and even the president. Because it’s small and safe and warm and supportive. Everyone has a voice here and everyone’s voice is heard and considered to be important.
When they say farm to table, they are not kidding here. They’ve got the farm. And what a farm! They have 390 acres and raise sheep, cows, hogs, steers, and laying hens. They are grass fed in the pastures. They also have five acres of fruit and veg as well, boasting 60+ different veg as well as perennial fruits and nuts. Using draft labor (you can minor in this here!) they produce a bit over 20% of all food eaten on campus. About 25% of the student body works on the farm at some point either as part of their work or in one of the academic fields they have.
About seventy-six percent of all the food eaten on campus is “real food” meaning not packaged or otherwise manipulated. The closest school to them came in at 34%. So they are eating seriously farm to table. And the students cook alongside the chefs. At Sterling, food is king. They are about food. Like super about food. It’s a part of their curriculum but it’s also necessary to life.
It sounds like all work and food right? Well don’t let that fool you. Sterling students have fun too. It’s Vermont and there isn’t a lot of farming in the winter. Skiing is huge here and they have teams. They have a serious Nordic ski team (cross country for you here in the South). There are four great Alpine (downhill) skiing places nearby including Sugarbush (which is a personal fave of mine!). They also have the very first Trail, Mountain, and Ultra Running (100 mile races people!) team. As for clubs there are plenty to choose from: dance, art, mountain climbing, improv, kickball (yes!), music, Capoeira, humans v. zombies, writing, adventuring.
Residence Halls are small (around 20 students) with a couple as small as 12 students. All houses are co-ed. Students may live off campus, but Craftsbury Common is pretty small. The dorms have Community Advisors (that’s a work position) whose job it is to be a mediator between students and faculty or admin. S/He is also responsible for being a role model in the dorms and for helping to advocate for his/her students.
Is Sterling for you? Do you want to work hard for your community in school and the future? Do you like the feel of an intense, small group working in harmony? Are you happy in a very liberal setting with people who want to change the world with you? Possibly this could be for you.
Pros:
- Small, intimate community
- Incredible job skills development
- 20% less than normal private school tuition
- Specialized curriculum for those who know what they want to do
Cons:
- It’s hard, physical work
- You have to know this is what you want to do
- It’s still a private college and it still costs $44,000/year (but not $64,000)
- It’s really small and it can feel especially so during a cold dark winter in Vermont