I posted several visit reports earlier in this thread.
We also visited Denison, and I posted our impressions on the Denison forum under, cleverly, “Visit Reports”.
Very, very impressed. But not Southern, at all. 
Thanks@ColdinMinny! My D applied to Denison last minute. Definitely not Southern! I made her pick a few more Midwest LACs, so Grinnell, Denison, and Beloit (accepted with good merit). I didn’t really come clean about how bad the weather can be…(I lived in Chicago suburbs for a while, wouldn’t really wish that on my D, but great schools!)
@4kids4colleges Thanks for sharing the info about your D’s contact from Rhodes. Here I thought it was something having to do with admitted students!
@4kids4colleges Yes, Grinnell on the visit list too. We visited with my older one, who went big flagship instead, everyone else, besides him, really liked Grinnell! My junior – if he survives exams this week – will look at:
high reach: Bates, Grinnell
low reach: Kenyon
match: Dickinson, Connecticut, Skidmore, maybe F&M
safety/match: Denison
safety (I hope) St Lawrence, Centre …
We are flavoring this with test-optional schools, though I told him this week, no schools is “transcript optional” – since it is finals week, he didn’t really appreciate my snark. Junior year is the toughest by far at his school, and it is taking its toll. His preliminary list could shift significantly depending on semester grades, so St Lawrence and Centre could be matches and Bates and Grinnell could come off entirely.
@midwestmomofboys Interesting perceptions of remoteness and dress between Sewanee and Kenyon! We’ve visted Kenyon twice and Sewanee 3x (and Denison 2x). Found the dress between Kenyon, Denison and Sewanee students to be roughly the same.
Re remoteness, Kenyon is near Mt. Vernon (16,000 pop) and Sewanee is near Winchester (8,400 pop). We actually felt that Kenyon “seemed” more remote. Maybe this is because Sewanee is only 5 minutes off the Interstate, and Nashville is just an hour and a bit away. Whereas from Kenyon, it’s basically two lanes to anywhere. Both are amazing schools. Now St. Lawrence, that really is out there! We wanted to visit because a friend thoroughly enjoyed her time there, but never made it quite that far north and east.
I came across this book by John Pully, “Sweet Sixteen, Great Colleges of the South” which profiles 16 great Southern LACs. It was published 2 years ago, and perhaps a link has been provided elsewhere on CC, but this is the first I’ve encountered it. Thought y’all might find it interesting.
http://pulleygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Sweet16.pdf
@overtheedge Thank you for the link. Very informative.
^ Second on the thanks to @overtheedge.
Third thanks @Overtheedge . I saw this in the Sewanee admissions office , could not remember the title. A little like a CTCL guide for southern schools. Very interesting and informative.
If you aren’t opposed to the state of Texas, which you could argue is more western than southern, I would check out Trinity University. Its enrollment is around 2,000 and it has a huge endowment for a school its size. It has a lot of opportunities for such a small college. Also, I’ve read they meet something like 90% of financial need. The deadline is February 1st!!!
Trinity, as well as Southwestern, are at the top of my D’s list. Visiting in Feb. thanks @futuredoc96!
San Antonio (where Trinity is located) is supposed to be an awesome city, too!
San Antonio is a great city!!
S applied to both Rhodes and Trinity, as he was very attracted to the idea of a southern LAC in a big city. He got into both with similar merit aid. We never were able to visit Trinity, but the South was much more appealing to him that the West.
I came across this thread accidentally but feel compelled to join in.
S is a junior at Sewanee. Of the schools mentioned here, he applied and was accepted to Sewanee of course, and Centre. The deciding factor was the financial aid which was considerably more than Centre’s offer.
He’s done it all (almost) during his time at Sewanee. Study abroad, volunteered, Sewanee Symphony, Caving, Spelunking, Cycling, Work Study, even joined a frat (which he was adamant about not doing when he first went there).
He’s also been ‘gowned’ which is Sewanee’s version of the Honor Roll.
What might be interesting to some of you and I haven’t seen it mentioned here, is that Sewanee’s EMS and Fired Dept. are student run. Freshmen actually are trained and tryout in the first and second semester. If they pass and are accepted, they’re housed together with the other Volunteers. They walk around with pagers and are on call during their shifts. That is truly amazing experience. They not only serve the school, but the town of Sewanee as well. The EMT training is at Level IV or Advanced.
All in all, he’s had and is having a terrific experience. I’d definitely tell you all it’s worth a visit. Good luck to all who are applying!
AD2016 - From what I’ve gathered from friends (my D decided not to apply to Centre and is full pay at Sewanee), Sewanee gives better FA and Centre gives more merit aid. Sewanee is working away from the high tuition - big discount model and toward “meets full need” for all. They come pretty close.
Glad to hear your S loves Sewanee. Sounds like he has done well! My D also loves Sewanee. She is going through sorority rush. Today is Shake Day so I’m anxiously awaiting bid news. Have to say that it’s the most unconventional and relaxed rush I’ve ever seen.
The EMT thing at Sewanee is awesome.
@dadof1 - I saw that your D was accepted at Rhodes. Congratulations! I know it’s one of her top choices and a great school (shhh don’t tell D I said that - it was her second favorite, but now it’s “the enemy” - lol).
@Overtheedge. We definitely love the fact that Sewanee freeze’s tuition for all four years. What you pay freshman year is what you pay over the next four years.
YSR!
@AD2016 - The tuition/R&B freeze was a factor in our decision. Although D’s merit award was lower at Sewanee than at some of its peer schools, after I factored in historical cost increases at those schools, the net cost over 4 years came out pretty even.
@AD2016 Thank you for the post! D has applied to Sewanee EA, and is patiently (her, but not me!) awaiting a decision, which has been delayed for a few weeks due to a higher number of applicants this year. A bit frustrating, because Centre and Rhodes have both announced EA, and there is a lot of overlap between the three. It’s kind of like waiting for the subway, and everyone else’s train is coming except yours!
The unique sense of community is what really struck D about Sewanee- the EMS, shake day, gowning, etc. Although D is liberal in her outlook, she is very much comforted by tradition. Sewanee seemed to have the perfect mix of opportunities and tradition for her. Best wishes to your son. He’s having an amazing college experience.