Sewanee . . . thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:oops Macalester.

Oops, you're overvaluing Midd and Macalester. Sewanee is in a real sweet spot for growth. The president/vice-chancellor, John McCardell, is really making a huge difference in the school's national perception. He did the same thing for Middlebury.

[Anonymous]

Oops, you're overvaluing Sewanee. At Middlebury 17.5 percent of applicants are accepted. At Sewanee the figure is over 60 percent. Middlebury is much more selective.

US News ranks Middlebury as No. 7 in the national liberal arts colleges category. Sewanee is 45th in the same ranking.

There may be good reasons to go to Sewanee, but by standard measures it is not as prestigious or well-regarded as Middlebury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our college counselor tried to suggest it for my AA son. I had a good chuckle and told her to move along.

Glad you had a chuckle, but you sound like the type of PITA who'd scream racism if the counselor only recommended HBCUs to your AA son. I bet she made a note to do as little as possible for your kid after that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oops, you're overvaluing Sewanee. At Middlebury 17.5 percent of applicants are accepted. At Sewanee the figure is over 60 percent. Middlebury is much more selective.

US News ranks Middlebury as No. 7 in the national liberal arts colleges category. Sewanee is 45th in the same ranking.

There may be good reasons to go to Sewanee, but by standard measures it is not as prestigious or well-regarded as Middlebury.

Wasn't the PP simply pointing out that both a small SLACs that offer similar opportunities to interested students? There just is not as much demand for small, expensive private schools in the South.

[Anonymous]

It's not as good as Middlebury. I have two relatives who went there and it is very Southern with kids whose families have connections together in a big fish in a small pond social group. That can be good if you're part of that scene but can seem insular, snobby and exclusive if you're not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not as good as Middlebury. I have two relatives who went there and it is very Southern with kids whose families have connections together in a big fish in a small pond social group. That can be good if you're part of that scene but can seem insular, snobby and exclusive if you're not.

Substitute "Northern" for "Southern" and you're probably describing Middlebury and plenty of other SLACs in New England. They may be slightly less insular because they attract more applicants, but many of those applicants are cut from essentially the same cloth.

[Anonymous]

Sewanee is undergoing big changes for the better. It is getting more selective because it has been discovered by the NE. The huge problem is location. About to go through a very significant capital campaign. McCardle is Using same tactics that he used at Middlebury. Targeting athletes from the best prep schools. Upgrading facilities. etc. lots of kids from Baltimore and more and more from dc.

Racial diversity is low and I get why a black kid would not want to go there at first glance. There is an AA frat But not enough black faces for sure. But it's at least worth a look because it is a much better school than folks realize. While it is more conservative than an average school north of the Potomac, it is not an elitist institution and is very welcoming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sewanee is undergoing big changes for the better. It is getting more selective because it has been discovered by the NE. The huge problem is location. About to go through a very significant capital campaign. McCardle is Using same tactics that he used at Middlebury. Targeting athletes from the best prep schools. Upgrading facilities. etc. lots of kids from Baltimore and more and more from dc.

Racial diversity is low and I get why a black kid would not want to go there at first glance. There is an AA frat But not enough black faces for sure. But it's at least worth a look because it is a much better school than folks realize. While it is more conservative than an average school north of the Potomac, it is not an elitist institution and is very welcoming.

Thanks for your post -- detailed, not conclusory and even-handed -- DCUM would be so much more helpful if we had more posts like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sewanee is undergoing big changes for the better. It is getting more selective because it has been discovered by the NE. The huge problem is location. About to go through a very significant capital campaign. McCardle is Using same tactics that he used at Middlebury. Targeting athletes from the best prep schools. Upgrading facilities. etc. lots of kids from Baltimore and more and more from dc.

Racial diversity is low and I get why a black kid would not want to go there at first glance. There is an AA frat But not enough black faces for sure. But it's at least worth a look because it is a much better school than folks realize. While it is more conservative than an average school north of the Potomac, it is not an elitist institution and is very welcoming.

Why does targeting athletes from prep schools help?

[Anonymous]

Bringing in athletes brings in buzz. Improving a weak athletic program is the low hanGing fruit of improving the image of a school. Places like Middlebury, Davidson and Washington & Lee improved their sports program as a step towards attracting stronger academic students. Athletic Success is part of the formula, not the end result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our college counselor tried to suggest it for my AA son. I had a good chuckle and told her to move along.

Glad you had a chuckle, but you sound like the type of PITA who'd scream racism if the counselor only recommended HBCUs to your AA son. I bet she made a note to do as little as possible for your kid after that.

+1. Does your son's opinion not matter? Or do you just prefer to pass along your own prejudices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bringing in athletes brings in buzz. Improving a weak athletic program is the low hanGing fruit of improving the image of a school. Places like Middlebury, Davidson and Washington & Lee improved their sports program as a step towards attracting stronger academic students. Athletic Success is part of the formula, not the end result.

Agreed. Any sense on how long it took for these schools to see the benefits of following this formula? A decade? A generation? More? Less?

[Anonymous]

Calling themselves "the University of the South" is a questionable branding decision. It suggests a rather insular and parochial mentality among the people who run the place. That's a shame because it's probably a very nice southern SLAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Calling themselves "the University of the South" is a questionable branding decision. It suggests a rather insular and parochial mentality among the people who run the place. That's a shame because it's probably a very nice southern SLAC.

Can we hazard a guess that the PP is not from the "South"? The name "The University of the South" goes back to the 1850s when the school was first established. Sewanee is becoming the more acknowledged name, but UOS is still there due to tradition. To the extent one wants to attach a negative connotation to the name "University of the South," I think that is more of an indication of regional prejudice than anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Calling themselves "the University of the South" is a questionable branding decision. It suggests a rather insular and parochial mentality among the people who run the place. That's a shame because it's probably a very nice southern SLAC.

Can we hazard a guess that the PP is not from the "South"? The name "The University of the South" goes back to the 1850s when the school was first established. Sewanee is becoming the more acknowledged name, but UOS is still there due to tradition. To the extent one wants to attach a negative connotation to the name "University of the South," I think that is more of an indication of regional prejudice than anything else.

+1. Twenty bucks PP is a self-identified elitist from New Jersey.