St. Lawrence vs. Fairfield University vs. Sewanee (University of the South) vs. Connecticut College

Would appreciate any thoughts on St. Lawrence University vs. Fairfield University vs. Sewanee (University of the South) vs. Connecticut College. Connecticut College would be a top choice as it is close to home and fits the small liberal arts college profile my daughter is looking for but the price will be about $15,000 per year more than the other three. We could probably take out a parent loan to make it work but I’m not sure if that is a smart idea.

I can only weigh in on SLU as DH and I both went there (of course it was almost 25 years ago!) We loved it so much if I could do it over I wouldn’t change a thing. The student body is small enough and the location is remote enough (understatement!) that you get very close with your friends because there really isn’t much stuff to do off campus. That may be a drawback to a lot of people but I loved it. We found things to do like visiting friends at UVM and Syracuse, going hiking,exploring a little bit of the north country, but a majority of the time is spent with your friends - very different than if you were in a city with kids spreading out all over on the weekends.

Like any school our academics were kind of what we made of it - we could pick an easy class (like Weather - that was the best!) or harder classes, up to you. I was not a stellar student but by the time I was a junior realized I wanted to do some research in my major - all it took was me asking my favorite professor and next thing you knew I was designing and running an experiment with him. I didn’t need to be top of the class to get the opportunity, at a small school like that all I had to do was ask.

The distribution requirements are so broad (even more now than when I went there) that it is easy to get them done without being “forced” to take one particular class. I know what I was there you had to take a language or a math - I liked that we had a bit of a choice. We took D19 up to visit this year and I know they have even more choices now.

One big problem with SLU is the distance from pretty much anything. If Conn College is close to home I am guessing SLU is about 6-6 1/2 hours drive for you. That sounds terrible but we all seemed to get over it pretty quickly and the 6 1/2 hour drive started to feel like nothing. We would go to MA and NYC a few times a year for things like Head of the Charles and NYC marathon. Plus you get to drive by Oscar’s Smokehouse on the way and buy the best counter cheese and meats you’ve ever had!

My kids loved the visit but now that we live in FL they just think it is too cold and too hard to get there (two planes then a 3 hour drive), if we lived up north I think they would all consider it for sure.

St. Lawrence is great for those who are into outdoor activities such as hiking & camping. SLU also promotes study abroad. But there is no escaping that the location is isolated & cold which leads to many beer drinking get togethers.

Beautiful campus.

Sewanee (never visited, full disclosure) and St L seem to have some overlap, in that both are fairly isolated locations, which leads to a strong sense of community. We loved St Lawrence, and if it were me, I wouldn’t pay an extra $15k a year for Conn Coll over St L. Things we loved about St L (in no particular order) – campus is lovely, with amazing athletic facilities, a great bookstore which serves as a boutique and coffee shop as well, great school spirit, passionate kids. There is a semester in DC and in NYC available, plus the Adirondacks semester, where students live in the woods, basically, doing environmental research. Not for my kid, but heaven for some. The village has what you need – movie theater, pizza, bagels and coffee, and the farmers’ market is great. Shuttle buses to NY and Boston for breaks, so a kid could take the bus to NY or Boston and then hop Amtrak to get to home in CT.

From what I have heard, Fairfield is a bit of a spa school. One of my nephews transferred after his freshman year.

SLU alum…I have nothing but good things to say about the school. I actually loved the remoteness-I spend most ofmy time on campus, with some fun road trips. We made it fun, there was always something going on on campus and if there wasn’t, we got cozy with movies and snacks and…the aforementioned beer. I am still very close with my friends many years later. I found my classmates to be some of the most creative, clever, entertaining people I’ve ever met. I notice in my 'burb now that it still seems to attract the socially adept kids-kids who are as comfortable talking to adults as their peers. Academically, it’s much better than in my day, but I was very happy with my education, my opportunities on campus to take leadership roles in my interests, and my professional outcome. Phenomenal alumni network, and that did help me get my first two jobs out of school. My friends all had good educational outcomes-ending up in grad school or well employed. The NYC semester they are offering now looks amazing. I’ve never been to Sewanee, but that school looks dreamy to me, too! Also remote, and I bet those kids are also finding ways to make it fun. Great choices for your daughter!

D applied to SLU even though when we visited we heard about the party culture from folks who actually worked at the school. After she was accepted we did more research and the partying (not just drinking but hard core drugs) kept coming up over and over. Apparently there is just not a lot going on so that’s what the default activity is. That was enough for my d to remove it from consideration. She just had too many other good options. I’d do some research into that if it is a concern for you.

Conn isn’t worth that much more, but it would’ve been my choice if all things were equal.

Not familiar enough with Fairfield or Sewanee to weigh in, beyond the fact that I live in CT and my daughter’s GC heavily pushes it in her high school.

We need more info. What are your daughter’s areas of academic interest and extracurricular interest?

DD is considering biology and possibly pre med but also likes history. She plays tennis and is interested in theater and voice. She has been involved in student government and would like to be involved in college as well. She is pretty studious and definitely not into partying. She would love the opportunity to travel abroad in college. I would say she is fairly conservative and a bit preppy. She loves the outdoors.

Conservative & preppy describes all four schools.

My daughter left St. Lawrence after one semester due to the social culture. If you need more details PM me.

Is weather a consideration? It’s a LOT different at those northern schools than Sewanee.

Sewanee was my DD second choice to attend. She loved the campus, Outing club and the classes that she attended will visiting the school. Sewanee is one of the nicest campuses that I have seen. She went with Rhodes instead because she decided in the end she wanted more of a city vibe. With my current high school student we will be looking at Sewanee because she loves the rural areas. We did not look at your other 3 schools you mentioned.

We are used to New England weather and she loves skiing but a warmer climate does hold some appeal.

Travelfamily. I would love to hear more about your daughter’s experience at St. Lawrence but I’m not sure how to PM you on this site. I am concerned about the party reputation there as my daughter is not into partying at all. It seems like every school we look at has somewhat of a party reputation depending on who you talk to.

@rimom go to the top of the page by your username. Next to the notifications icon there is an inbox icon. Click that and you can type a message to a user. I think you need to use the @ before the name in the inbox so that it is directed correctly.

Among your options, Connecticut College & Fairfield should be given the most consideration, in my opinion. Then Sewanee—University of the South if you want a change. Apparently, the party culture at SLU is a bit much. So if one is not an outdoors camping & hiking person or a multi-sport athlete, St. Lawrence might not be the best place for idle hands.

Pretty much all colleges will have some party culture – the question for kids who are not interested in that, is what else is there to do. Some people suggest that, in rural, more isolated schools, there is a bigger party culture because there is just not that much going on. Others look to role of greek life or athletics on campus as an indicator of whether there is a dominant party culture. Consider reading, and posting on the individual school boards here. Sewanee and St Lawrence are an outdoors-person’s dream, but each is pretty isolated (Sewanee is on top of a mountain) and both have greek life. Conn Coll has no history of greek life, but I’ve never heard suggested that there aren’t plenty of parties there either. Look at the school websites to see the events calendar, see what is happening on the weekend officially, are there movies, music, theater, dance performances etc. going on.

Also, and I say this having watched my kid go to college after never having drunk alcohol or smoked pot in high school and who was harshly judgmental of people who did – things can change. He is not a big partier, but will play beer pong etc. and has learned his limits.

My daughter is a Magis scholar at Fairfield, graduating this year at the top of her business class. Although she has enjoyed her time there, and feels she has received a good education, Fairfield has done nothing to help her find internships or job opportunities. She found her internships on her own, and is now searching for employment, also on her own as she is getting little or no help from the University. A great education is not particularly helpful if you can’t actually use it. It leads me to question whether a Fairfield degree is regarded highly in business world…

Not sure if you follow St Lawrence on Facebook, but as an alum-I do! And a video just came up about an upcoming graduates job search and how she used the SLU network to land her first job as an analyst at Morgan Stanley. I thought of your daughter. I understand the partying concern, but if the school is still in play I’d encourage you to watch the video. It’s about Jacquelline Sovie '18, her name is in the title.