2-iron

I have a friend in Tennessee and she wants me to come visit her and visit colleges in the area. I asked, "Other than Vanderbilt, what colleges are there worth looking at?" and she had no idea.

She said that the other top schools in Tennessee are UT, Rhodes, Sewanee, and Belmont. UT I know is a big public w/ a party school rep. When she mentioned the other three, she said none of them were really worth visiting because "they are WASPy"...her exact words. I really have no interest in visiting or attending any of these schools (except Vandy of course), but it's been bothering me that these schools seem to be exactly the same.

What are the differences between Belmont, Rhodes, and Sewanee?

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being "slightly conservative/WASPy/preppy and 10 being Bible school, where do they register. Which has the best reputation?

hope4freeride

I live in Nashville so I can tell you that Belmont used to be a Baptist based university but no longer is. Still very conservative. They do have some excellent fine arts programs and their school of music business management started by Mike Curb is very good.
David Lipscomb University is another school in Nashville and it is a Church of Christ school. It is the most conservative college of all.
Rhodes is in Memphis, and while the campus is beautiful, Memphis is a very violent city and I was so glad to move away partly due to the high crime rate in all parts of the city and suburbs. Rhodes is very good academically and I have not heard that it is a conservative school. Many students go there to do pre law and premed studies so the party atmosphere may not be high due to the academically serious students.
Sewanee or the University of the South has Episcopal ties and does have regular Chapel services. Don't know if this is mandatory, but it is an academically selective school. My sister went there for 21/2 years and the party scene was pretty bad due to its extreme geographical isoloation. There is absolutely nothing to do there for entertainment except drink to excess. My daughter is a junior and the only school in Tennessee that she will apply to is Vanderbilt,my personal favorite. I don't know if she will decide to go there since we live less than 15 minutes from the campus and I work for the medical center. I am trying to bribe her with promises of a car her freshman year and free laundry services at home. I will be happy to answer any other questions you may have. Nashville is a great fun town to live in and the students can easily walk to tons of restaurants,shops and music venues. It is also a very safe area

Commodore64

I like your idea, but I've heard that freshmen at Vandy aren't allowed to have cars on campus. I know she'll be coming from home but at Vandy, unless you have an abundance of cash to spend for remote parking spaces (I hear some hotel that rich freshmen use for parking space costs $600 a year to park) then I wouldn't advise getting the car for her.