Fifty years ago, a newspaper reporter dubbed College of the Ozarks "Hard Work U" — a nickname that not only stuck, but has since been trademarked.
The private Christian liberal arts college lives up to the nickname. Every full-time student works 15 hours a week, and two 40-hour weeks, during the school year. In exchange, students do not pay any tuition. Students are responsible for covering their own living expenses, but there are ways to cover the cost besides loans. The College of the Ozarks offers a summer-work program, there are some scholarship opportunities, and you can enter into a payment plan.
As a result, the college was among the cheapest in Money's analysis, and the median salary 10 years after enrollment was well above the national median.
The college boasts about its Fruitcake and Jelly Kitchen, an on-campus enterprise where student employees bake and sell between 20,000 and 30,000 fruitcakes a year. Other gigs include working on the campus dairy farm and grinding flour for Edwards Mill.
Potential students should note, however, that the college is a conservative, religious school with strict rules for both students and faculty. Students must follow a strict curfew and the school dress code (for example, tattoos must be covered while you're on campus, and unnatural hair colors are prohibited). The handbooks for students and employees prohibit any "homosexual conduct" or "gender expression inconsistent with sex assigned at birth."
