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"I'm so glad that my passion finally led me to Sterling. Here, I feel like I can really connect to the community in different ways, which is unique in the college world." -- Gina Basiliere, ‘17

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Hooray!

We are delighted that you have decided to apply for admission to Sterling College. Your application will be reviewed with great personal care, and you are encouraged to contact us throughout the process to discuss your application and your interest in ecological thinking and action.

Sterling College is a proud member of The Common Application.
We also accept an online application exclusive to Sterling College found below.

The Admission Committee treats both types of applications equally. There is no advantage to using one application over the other.

After you submit your application, an admission counselor will contact you to schedule an interview. We encourage you to connect with us at every stage of the application process. Please feel free to reach out by phone or e-mail if you have questions, want more information, or simply want to share what advancing ecological thinking and action means to you.

Information about Safety and Security at Sterling College (Clery Act).

Sterling College Online Application

Apply Now for Fall 2020

Apply Now for Spring 2021 & Fall 2021 with Common App

Place-Based-Ecology

Students heading into class in the Cedar Swamp as part of our place-based Ecology curriculum.

Moxie Mehegan

Dean of Admission & Financial Aid
Jimmy Clark

Admission Counselor
Barb Stuart

Director of Financial Aid
Amalia Harris

Director of Admission Services

Sterling's own Philip Ackerman-Leist and his book

Sterling's own Philip Ackerman-Leist and his book -- A Precautionary Tale: How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved Its Food Heritage, and Inspired a Movement -- was recently selected as 1 of 8 books that inspire social change by Chelsea Green Publishing. Philip is the Dean of Professional Education and the School of the New American Farmstead.

Our classroom is roofed by the sky. Our knowledge

Our classroom is roofed by the sky. Our knowledge is built by experience. In summer's final hours, our learning took the shape of roasting sunchokes over a fire.

This photo captures the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Pod partaking in cooking and tasting demos after exploring the biocultural histories of specific food items, in this case, Jerusalem artichokes.

Welcome Katahdin, our new ram lamb at the Wendell

Welcome Katahdin, our new ram lamb at the Wendell Berry Farming Program in Kentucky! Katahdin's father (third image) is one of the major reasons for selecting this ram. We currently have young ewe-lambs that have never given birth before. Giving birth, or lambing, is new to them. We want to give them a favorable experience and avoid any injuring during the lambing process. A way to do this is ensure they are old enough, have enough size, and are in good health. In addition, we will select a ram, the father, whose genetics are known to produce small lambs; a highly heritable trait that makes the lambing process easier on our young ewes. In addition, we want moderate growth until weaning. This means the our young lambs do not have to sustain the high energy requirements for lactation needed to support fast growing lambs. We want them these young ewes to take care of themselves.

When our ewes are fully mature, and more experienced, they can give birth to larger lambs and support lambs with better growth potential. By holding back the first year the lifetime productivity of the ewe is greater. She produces more lambs with better growth potential during her lifetime. We also increase the productivity of the flock and we loose fewer sheep due to lambing difficulties. This is why just any ram isn’t good enough. We want a ram that fits our ewes. Understanding the heritable traits of the ram saves lives, provides for healthier ewes, and is more profitable with less effort. ⁣
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#ramlamb #farmlife #ewe #ewelamb #ramlambs #sheep

I’ve (Ira Powsner '12 Ecology) been volunteering

I’ve (Ira Powsner '12 Ecology) been volunteering with Vermont Fish & Wildlife for three seasons on the Softshell Nest Monitoring Program in Swanton and North Hero, VT. Farley Brown, Sterling faculty, helped me to make a connection with the biologist who started the program. The program is there to help the threatened species spiny softshell turtle, but other species like map, painted, and snapping turtles get a hand too. Lakeshore development limits the available shale nesting beaches. The rise of populations of subsidized predators, like raccoons and skunks, cause more turtles to nest on increasingly fragmented sections of shoreline where there is an overabundance of small mammals that like to eat turtle eggs. As a volunteer, I check a few beaches that have been protected from predators, once a week, from late August through September during the fall emergence of hatchlings. When I find nests I carefully dig them up and take data on the number of empty eggshells in the nest, as well as counting any live hatchlings and releasing them into the lake. Last year, some nests were found on the beaches that had smaller clutches. Good news, this means young females are coming up to lay eggs. Hopefully the program sees more of this kind of data going forward!

Some of the hatchlings get to overwinter at ECHO where I work in Animal Care, so I get to bridge my volunteer work with my job. I think the Headstart Program at ECHO really makes a difference in the conservation of this species, because after being cared for and fed over the winter, they are released in the spring a little larger and more equipped to deal with life in the lake.

If it weren't for my education at Sterling that was so immersed in the ecology of Vermont, I wouldn't have these opportunities which allow me to integrate my knowledge of ecology with hands on conservation work. I'm very lucky, and I can only thank my larger community for it.

On a warm late summer day, Gray Hunter (Community

On a warm late summer day, Gray Hunter (Community Advisor of The Permaculture & Whole Farm Planning pod) shows fellow student Ian Whipp how CSA shares work, while exhibiting delicious looking 🍅 , bok choy, 🥕 , daikon radish, green beans, bulls horn pepper, bulb fennel, and 🍉 ! 📷: @ck.zoo

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#supportyourlocalfarmer #organic #locallygrown #localfood #csaproduce #farming #veggies #csa #supportlocal #eatlocal #buylocal #farm #smallfarm #communitysupportedagriculture #organicfarming #knowyourfarmer #smallscalefarming #csashare #farmtotable #csafarm #vermontcsa

Rex, Sterling's longtime teacher and partner in wo

Rex, Sterling's longtime teacher and partner in work, left this earthly world as a horse last week from his retirement home. May his body nourish the soil and his spirit live on in all who knew him. Thank you to @teaching_teamster , faculty in Sustainable Agriculture for the Wendell Berry Farming Program, for putting words to this loss.

For those of us who know horses, or that one horse, losing a partner is so personal; to feel like I can speak for everyone who knew Rex is especially difficult. When we left Vermont for the Wendell Berry Farming Program, I had tears in my eyes knowing I probably would never see him again. My goodbye with him was woefully inadequate. I am grateful for every minute I spent with him and I believe I can step out onto our Kentucky farm and hear, blowing in the warm south wind, a chorus of Sterling College teamsters echoing that sentiment.

I’ve taken pause the past few days wondering how to live a life without him in it, somehow I always expected him to be walking to the barn and stepping into his stall to eat his breakfast forever. I know though that he would want us to continue working so hard every day to achieve our dreams of farming behind a good pair of horses. Rex was such a peaceful and loving horse, he cared deeply for all who he came into contact with; he guided many of you to connect with a part of yourself you didn’t know how to explain. I am grateful for all who took care of him too, chiseling snotty icicles from his nose, busting open his water on a cold January morning, grooming him, keeping his complicated feet well-cared, nursing him to health when he was sick, and showing such dignity and care in your horse work. I know that tomorrow when I take up the lines, I’ll thank Rex for all the lessons he taught me, the mistakes he allowed me to make, and the compassion he showed me as I learned the teamster’s craft. If I had words bigger than “thank you” I’d use them here, maybe “I love you” will do.

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