<p>I'm applying to Southwestern, and I'm pretty confident I'll get in and get a scholarship. The academics at Southwestern look like a great fit for me. I had a great talk with an admissions counselor at a Colleges That Change Lives fair. </p>
<p>I haven't visited so I don't really know what the social climate is like... any input about the feel of Southwestern?</p>
<p>We don't get very many current Southwestern students posting here - you may have better luck with Facebook.</p>
<p>My son toured there and also loved it. No. 2 on his list right now. Pretty campus. He feels like he'd get a lot of personal attention there. The dorm we saw was amazing, but I can't imagine they are all that nice.</p>
<p>The school is small, but it's so close to Austin that I imagine you can have any kind of social life you want. Georgetown is small and kind of sleepy/boring. If you like big parties and there aren't any there, head down to Austin.</p>
<p>Was the dorm you toured that was amazing a boy's dorm or a girl's? I heard that the girls get the best dorms and that of the two that boys live in, one has rooms like prison cells and the other is worse.</p>
<p>I wonder what's worse than a prison cell? :)</p>
<p>I don't remember whether it was a male or female or coed. It had a large common area for the two bedrooms that came off of it. Furnished by IKEA, which is just down the highway.</p>
<p>Youdon'tsay-- are you sure that dorm was at Southwestern? I thought the IKEA dorm was at Trinity. We visited both schools on the same day and I may be confusing them, though.<br>
I keep hearing rumors that Southwestern is a "party school." Does anyone know if there's any truth to that?</p>
<p>We haven't toured Trinity, so I'm sure it was Southwestern. But its pretty common. TCU also had a "show" room outfitted by IKEA. They all start to run together, huh?</p>
<p>I haven't picked up on a "party school" rep. I hope others will respond.</p>
<p>Southwestern wasn't a party school when I went there, and I doubt that's changed since. Southwest Texas (now Texas State) is a party school and we were always miffed whenever anyone confused us with them.</p>
<p>I got in! I already was accepted regular decision. AND they've offered me a lot of merit-based scholarship money. I'm definitely going to visit some time.</p>
<p>Congratulations! That's good to hear. =)</p>
<p>Congrats, jenny.</p>
<p>When I visited Southwestern a couple of days ago, I noticed that all of the student body wasn't very diverse. I don't mean diverse in a sense of race or intelligence, but moreso is personality. Can somebody comment on this and prove me wrong???</p>
<p>My son is a junior at Southwestern and he would disagree with you. He is an art major and has found a very interesting group of people to hang out with. They all have different majors and different backgrounds and different perspectives on life. They are probably considered somewhat "quirky" by other folks on campus, but they actually revel in being different. Remember that just because people "look" similar doesn't mean they really are. (That old adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover" really is true!)</p>
<p>My advice for all prospective students would be to visit campus and talk to students currently attending. Talk to your tour guide. Ask for the name of a student who doesn't work for Admissions that you can talk to. Make your mind up based on what you experience---and that is true of Southwestern or any other school.</p>
<p>I hope you are right and my initial perceptions are wrong. I'm definitely going to stay overnight at the campus soon so I can make a final decsions, because Southwestern is certainly a possible school I could be attending next year.</p>
<p>Here's to hoping you are wrong Jellybean.</p>
<p>Hello! I got accepted to Southwestern University in November of this year and decided to tour/visit the campus. </p>
<p>What I found was incredibly disturbing/unfortunate. I found a lot of underage drinking, ignorant politically incorrect students, and boring teachers. </p>
<p>Honestly, and I'm not sure if my visit can act as a touchstone for Southwestern as whole, I was very dissapointed. For months, this school had been my dream and, yet, upon visiting I found antiquated facilities, teachers, and morals.</p>
<p>DeferredVictim - Interesting post. Are you actually expecting to avoid underage drinking at UT-Austin or Macalaster? Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>No, but I am hoping to avoid college students who wish to pressure high school students into drinking and dabbling in other dangerous things with them.</p>
<p>For my part, I did not find it very impressive that my host thought it necessary to attempt to force alcohol down my throat.</p>
<p>Well then, your host is an idiot and should have been reported to the admissions office. Seriously...they'd want to know.</p>
<p>I have no connection with Southwestern, but I have a problem with broad strokes like "antiquated facilities, teachers, and morals." The school has many newer buildings, I doubt the average age of the faculty is all that high, and I have no idea what an "antiquated moral" is.</p>
<p>Well I don't think there is any reason to be rude in an online forum :]</p>
<p>I'm truly sorry if my post came across as rude. We must have different definitions. We must also have different definitions of what constitutes thoughtful and fair criticism of schools.</p>