<p>My daughter is also a non drinker/ partier. She isn’t an athlete but she does enjoy the outdoors and looks forward to taking part in all of the opportunities available on campus. The head of college admissions at my daughters school is an alumni of Sewanee and we’ve visited quite a few times. We’ve noticed that while the dress code is very casual outside of class, they do really hold strong to the tradition of showing respect for the institution of education by dressing for class. It’s not a required dress code, but I’ve heard from some current students that certain professors do take issue with it if a student disregards the “suggestion.” At first my daughter balked at it also after wearing a private school uniform for so many years but she warmed to it quickly the more she fell in love with the school. I also love that you don’t see every kid walking around campus with their noses stuck in a cellphone. Reception isn’t all that great on the Mountain, and I’m sure that helps, but it’s refreshing to say the least that it’s frowned upon to be disconnected from what’s going on around you. D is actually going up this Thursday night with another friend and staying for the weekend with a couple of girls who graduated from her school last year. This is her first non sanctioned school visit so I’m interested to see what she has to say when she comes back on Monday.</p>
<p>CC… please post back and let us know how the visit went… wow… a whole weekend… she should get an good feel for it I’m sure… at least the social feel of it… I will be anxious to find out about the “supposed” drinking culture and about the greek life on the weekends. I have heard that it is open to all.</p>
<p>I’m not a huge fan of Greek Life, but the frats and sororities at Sewanee seem to be local instead of national and they seem much friendlier and more inclusive than they are at other schools. I hope I’m right. CC do report back about your D’s visit.</p>
<p>These boards are usually pretty quiet so it’s nice to see so much recent interest in Sewanee. My son went there so I’ll add my two cents worth.</p>
<p>In terms of dress, think of it as a “dress tradition”. There is no dress code. My son was used to wearing a tie every day in high school so he took a boatload of oxford shirts and ties. But he usually opted for khakis and a polo shirt for class. I’m pretty certain he never wore a blazer to class, but doing so would not be out of place. Outside of class he was mostly in jeans and sweats. There are a few occasions that require a dress or coat/tie such as the signing of the honor code.</p>
<p>He was a Sewanee athlete and was also a member of a fraternity. The vast majority of students join a Greek organization - somewhere around 85-90% if I remember correctly. The fraternities are national organizations and most of the sororities are local. Social life revolves around these organizations but it is very inclusive. I’d classify Sewanee as a work hard/party hard kind of school. The academics are strong so there is no coasting. But the party/drinking atmosphere on weekends is robust. It’s not hard to understand why this is because there is pretty much no where to go and nothing to do outside the Domain. </p>
<p>Going for a weekend visit is a wonderful idea. Sewanee is a very good school on an incredibly beautiful campus, but it is very unique in terms of its isolation and traditions so it’s important to see if the fit is right.</p>
<p>Thanks Grit for this useful insights on dress traditions, the social aspects, etc. I have to admit that after reading about the shocking hazing scandals at some “other” Greek centric campuses, I am hoping that no such things go on (or have ever gone on) at Sewanee. I have to believe the honor code prevents this type of misbehavior. I am also encouraged by all the parents of non-drinkers/partiers writing in. My D is very socially confident and outgoing and doesn’t need alcohol to have a great time. She’s obviously in the minority! But more power to her (and others like her) who feel that way. My one worry about Sewanee is that it is rather isolated, but as one of her best friends goes to Vanderbilt, I can only assume she’ll be visiting Nashville fairly frequently. I wonder if there’s a bus service she can take as she definitely won’t have a car. Enjoying this thread, btw!!</p>
<p>Ski2KC: There is a shuttle service that will pick you up at the Best Western Smokehouse. It travels between Chattanooga airport and Nashville airport. The Smokehouse is about midway. The Smokehouse itself might be a 5 minute drive from the University. I’m not sure, but I think it’s about 45.00 one way.</p>
<p>Calm: Yes, I hope that you’ll post about your daughter’s visit!</p>
<p>I’ll be more than happy to update. I’m anxious about it myself!</p>
<p>Yes, let us know how it goes, Calmly! And thank you, mom0809, for the great info on the shuttle. I’m hoping my D doesn’t visit Vandy more than once a month, though. She’ll probably be too busy anyway. Oh, kind of fun, a friend whose D goes to a fancy boarding school in New England and who got into a well known liberal arts college ED (I won’t name) is now regretting that she didn’t apply to Sewanee instead. It seems that Sewanee U is now the “hot” school to go to/apply to amongst her classmates. Her mother told us she is “kicking herself” for not having Sewanee on their radar. And she was so impressed that my D applied and got accepted. :-)</p>
<p>So my D came back this evening from her visit to Sewanee. She is more in love than ever before. They didn’t do anything particularly special on her trip. It was just D and her best friend staying in the dorms with a friend who graduated last year and her roommate. Friday night they just hung out in the dorms and played Apples to Apples with several friends and then visited a couple of Frats that were having parties. I laughed when she said this because it’s so typically my D (the apples to apples part.) She’s just not much of a partier/shopper type. According to her there were tons of kids on campus and they met quite a few of them just hanging out. Saturday, she and her friend occupied themselves exploring campus while the two roommates finished a project they were working on. D’s friend didn’t apply to Sewanee and she’s kicking herself for it now. There was snow on the ground and it was COLD but that’s just the way my D likes things. They did go to a party, well they party hopped would be the more appropriate thing to say, on Saturday night. She said she never felt at all uncomfortable being a non drinker and no one seemed to really notice or care who was drinking/not drinking. There was the normal polite offer of a drink when they first arrived, she said no thank you and that was that according to her. She laughed about a couple of guys hitting on her, but nothing overly aggressive or uncomfortable. She also ran into the professor for her major during her visit and he remembered her. I was very happy about that, especially since she hasn’t had the chance to talk to him since last Spring. He even offered to write a letter on her behalf if the financial aid package doesn’t come in where we need it to be. That’s really all they did according to D and she came in happy as a lark. She just absolutely loves Sewanee more than ever.</p>
<p>CC… THANKS!! I loved hearing about your D’s visit. I have booked a flight for my S for an overnite before his merit awards day. I am hoping a visit will hep him with his decision Sewanee is on of the few schools he didn’t visit. Got a call yesterday from an alum who lives in our same town. She called my cell by mistake and I talked to her for a bit and she answered some of my questions… she will be calling my S back tonight as he was gone yesterday. She had nothing but wonderful things to say about her 4 years at Sewanee and thinks my S would really love it there. I really liked what your D said about the frat parties and that it was no big deal about not drinking… if you read some of the Sewanne reviews they make it seem as though people are just binge drinking everywhere all the time… I really didn’t think that was true.</p>
<p>CC: Thanks for taking the time to share your D’s experience. I’m impatiently waiting to see what our Finaid package will look like. We can’t even begin to get excited until we start getting those letters.
With any luck we’ll bump into each other knowlingly/unknowingly on moving-in day!</p>
<p>mom0809… when do you think those FA letters will come? I was thinking along the same lines as you.</p>
<p>We’re in the same situation. My D has her heart set on Sewanee but it’s all going to come down to that aid package. I am so ready to get the notification from them. There are other schools but none she loves as much. The school did tell me that aid is processed as they come in and they would start reviewing them mid February.</p>
<p>CC and 5boys: Well, today is mid-February (almost). Today is Valentine’s Day. Maybe Sewanee will be sending us some love soon :-).</p>
<p>[2012</a> Best Value Colleges from The Princeton Review - USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/best-value-colleges]2012”>http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/best-value-colleges)</p>
<p>Sewanee is one of the colleges.</p>
<p>I do not doubt that it is Best Value, but is a darned expensive one nonetheless. 
I do like the tuition hold for four years, the sticker price is lower than many comparable LACs, and there merit aid is pretty generous, so I am not complaining- or at least not much.</p>
<p>Speaking of Value, has anyone gotten a package from Financial Aid yet?</p>
<p>Not we…</p>
<p>Hey, senior at the University here. </p>
<p>I was just skimming over some of this, but it seems like a lot of questions have been answered. If anyone has any questions about Sewanee please feel free to ask them. I’d rather talk about Sewanee than do classwork at Sewanee!</p>
<p>5Boys, I’m assuming your son has made it to campus now. Have you talked to him to get any feedback? Then again, are you there with him and what do you think?</p>