I visited St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland on a rainy day, but I did not dampen my enthusiasm for this amazing institution. If I could go back to college to learn just for the love of learning, this is where I would go. St. John's was founded in 1636 but instituted its unique curriculum in 1937. All students receive the same degree: a bachelor's in liberal arts. And they all follow the same great books curriculum: studying the development of western civilization by reading 200 books over 4 years. They start in ancient Greece and work their way into the modern world. Authors cross every discipline including math, natural sciences, music, economics, psychology, political science, law, literature, history, and classics. There are no textbooks, only original sources. They read Euclid's writing to learn math, Einstein's papers to learn physics. They study Bach cantatas and then Mozart operas to learn music theory. They read US Supreme Court cases; they read Abraham Lincoln's writings alongside Frederick Douglass. Every class is a discussion with a maximum of 21 students around a conference table. There's a mandatory attendance policy, and grading is based on essays and discussions. They are looking for shared ideas to bring together different perspectives. The goal is very diverse political and social thought.

Saint John's tends to draw high performers in high school, but they look for fit. We were told that they're not afraid of a student who got C's in high school; perhaps that student wasn't able to succeed in the high school environment, but may succeed at St. John's.

It's impossible to get lost here. Some students come because they love books; some come because they love ideas. Students emerge with a skill set that is rare: the ability to engage in conversation, in discourse. There are no phones, computers, or technology of any kind allowed in classrooms. And here's what I love: half of all St. John's sudents use social media. That means half don't. Process that.

If you're concerned about outcomes, St. John's is a #1 producer of PhD's in humanities and political science and a top producer of students accepted at top 15 law schools. The founders of Atlantic and Electra Records went to St. John's, and a student we spoke with had an internship at Deloitte.

They're a half hour from DC and literally next door to the Naval Academy. They don't draw the greatest athletes, but they're national champions at croquet. There's a large LGBTQ population here, and a thriving arts community supported by the curriculum as well as extracurricularly, with a ceramics studio, a darkroom, a thriving theater community, and more.

Lastly, they also have a campus in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The student population is deliberately small: 500 in Annapolis and 400 in Santa Fe. Students can switch back and forth between campuses as they wish.
St. John's is amazing place for the right student. That just might be me. Who's in?