Selective Colleges of the West
Top Five Schools in the Western States Based on Selectivity
The term selectivity refers to the entrance difficulty to a college. This is based on the number of applicants versus the number of open actual spots for admission. If this number falls below 33%, then the college is considered selective. Sometimes families do not consider looking beyond the Ivy League type schools; however, there are several other colleges that have similar admission selectivity. The following are a list of selective colleges in the West.
Deep Springs College
Deep Springs College is located in Deep Springs Valley, California. It is literally located in the middle of the desert. With a selectivity rating of 7.6%, the school attracts hundreds of applicants to fill 13 spaces a year.
The school is based upon three concepts: academics, labor, and governance. Students design the curriculum to be taught and hire the professors to teach the classes. Together the students and professors design the course and goals. Outside of academics each student must assist in sustaining the college by working at 20 hours a week. Students are assigned jobs in four areas: ranch, garden, farm, and other. Together each job provides the college to be self-sufficient.
Students at Deep Springs receive free tuition, board, books, and food. In exchange they commit to learning, working and leading. Many graduates of this two year college transfer to Ivy League schools.
Stanford University
Known as the “West Coast Ivy League” Stanford prides itself in the ability to give students academics, athletics, and social life. While engineering and sciences are by far the most popular majors, students also attend Stanford for its humanities related studies.
The school has a feel of high school, but on a slightly larger scale. Students divide themselves into groups according to their majors, almost like a high school clique. Engineering students, as well as other majors, have incredible opportunities to conduct research during their time at Stanford. When students are not studying, they fully participate as players or spectators of the college teams or performing community and social services. Stanford’s selectivity rating is 9.4%.
Pomona College
With a selectivity rating of 15.5%, Pomona College offers students a personalized experience. Students boast of the close, professional relationships that they have with their professors, which allows students to gain more knowledge.
The college is rather small, roughly 1500 students. Students describe the campus as a “bubble” where students rarely venture outside of campus. This presents Pomona as an intimate institution, which then forces students to rely on one another for academic and social support.
California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology focuses on the sciences. Their academic offerings include biology, chemistry and chemical engineering, engineering and applied sciences, geological and planetary sciences, humanities and social sciences, physics, mathematics and astronomy, and interdisciplinary programs. The selectivity rating is 15.5%.
Gender-wise, the college is unbalanced. Men out number women three-to-one. Students attending this college are extremely focused on math and science. Cal Tech attracts problem-solvers who enjoy working with others to succeed. This focus carries into their students’ social life, which involves student gathering together for clubs and teams and not necessarily partying.
United States Air Force Academy
The Academy has one mission, which is to train individuals to become future leaders in the Air Force. Once admitted students receive full tuition and costs, which is estimated to be around $200,000 for four years.
Students, also known as cadets, undertake a rigorous experience at the Academy. In addition to the academics cadets must also participate in military training and physical conditioning. All students must pass periodic fitness tests and must participate in either an intramural or intercollegiate athletic program.
In 2007 the Academy received over 9000 applications for approximately 1500 student spaces. This gives the Academy an 18.2% selectivity rate.
Depending on the criteria that families are searching for in a college, many colleges offer quality education. Sixty-seven college institutions are considered selective, and they are located across the United States. The five colleges mentioned in this article represent the selective colleges of the West. For more information on selectivity, please refer to the article Defining Ivy League Schools: Understanding the Meaning of Selectivity.
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