The roughly 450 students of St. John's believe very much in dialogue, an unusual kind of dialogue. Their classroom discussions are often about great works of literature by authors who lived thousands of years ago. Another unusual feature is there are no class lectures; instead, the students meet together with faculty members to explore the books being read.

Michael Dink is dean of St. John's College. "We're interested in understanding and pursuing the truth, and no single individual, no single book, has those answers. So we need to talk to one another, we need to learn from one another."

Many St. John's students cited this unique approach as their main reason for coming to the College. But none seemed to agree on their favorite great book - not surprising, given there are about 100 of them on the St. John's list.

Dylan Knight Rogers, St. John's student from Chicago, Illinois: "I don't think there's anywhere else that you can more fully live the life of the mind. And here my favorite program book so far has been the Iliad, because I think you get the full spectrum of human experience."

Geral Newman, St. John's student: "I came here because I felt like there was nowhere else I could ask the questions that I wanted to ask. My favorite program book so far is the Odyssey, because I think it explores the human more fully than any other book I've ever read."

Keileigh Rhodes from Boston, Massachusetts: "My favorite book so far has been Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. And I came here for the small, close-knit community devoted to learning."

St. John's does not allow cameras into students' seminars. But to give a taste of what one might be like, we assembled a few students for a seminar-style discussion.

Rachael Boyce, St. John's student from Baltimore, Maryland: "Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior year, you know exactly what anyone is going through at any point in time during the year. And the fact that you can just go up and engage in a conversation about what they're reading, that really reinforces the community."

Martin Greenwald from Bethesda, Maryland: "The ideas present, I think, apply to everyone in the world. Or they can apply to everyone in the world, regardless of where you're from. I think that's part of the value of these books, that they're universal in character."

At most American colleges, undergraduate students choose one area of study, like English or biology, and focus on it for all four years of their education. But since the St. John's curriculum aims to span almost all of Western culture, students study every branch of the liberal arts - including music. Here a group of sophomores warms up for music class.

Barbara McClay, a student from Annapolis, Maryland: "I think that if you take a St. John's education seriously, then it has to change your life. Maybe not everyone takes it that seriously. But reading what we read here, and engaging in honest conversation about it, has to change you."

Dean Dink says a St. John's education can help make students more thoughtful citizens. "They should have thought about what democracy is, what good government is, what justice is. The kind of fundamental reflection we do here is important for citizens in a democracy."