We are American citizens living abroad and can’t do campus visits. Son has been offered full ride at Berea College but is worried about negative reviews seen online about being much too busy with school/workload. Sewanee will be approx $20,000/yr after scholarships and financial aid (including work study). It is a stretch financially for us, but doable with a small loan. Our EFC is around $12,000. Ohio Wesleyan will be $10,000/yr, however it is bottom of the list for some reason. Son is outdoorsy and very chill. He gets involved, but doesn’t like to be TOO involved as he needs alone time as well. He doesn’t know yet if he wants to get a Masters. We have to take into consideration international flights. The main question is if Sewanee is that much more worth attending? We know it’s beautiful, but is it worth stretching ourselves financially to attend? Thanks!
Berea and Sewanee are very different schools.
As you know, Berea is a liberal arts work college. All students are on need based scholarships and all work at the school or in one of the school’s enterprises. It has very good academics, and all students have financial need. Berea is known for turning out students who are socially conscious and contribute to society. We have friends, a lawyer and a hospital administrator, who graduated from Berea years ago. Their children were unable to attend due to their parents’ income being too high.
Sewanee is similar to other well-endowed liberal arts schools in that much of the student population comes from upper middle class or wealthy backgrounds. Sewanee provides generous merit-based aid and provides an alternative for families that might not qualify for need based aid at more selective schools. They also meet 100% of demonstrated need, so your son got one of their top awards. Sewanee has its share of socially aware students and is also known as a feeder to law and medical school. Students also place well in business, especially in the Southeast. It has a work hard, play hard culture and also its share of the outdoor Birkenstock crowd given its 13,000-acre campus.
Berea will have much social diversity and little economic diversity and Sewanee will be somewhat the opposite.
I don’t know anything about Ohio Wesleyan.
Congrats on three great acceptances and good luck on your decision.
Sewanee is outdoorsy but if you can’t afford it and it’s b4 international flights and keeping up with the joneses - you will have that - how can you consider ?
At Berea, great school, but yes you have to work for your place but the trade off is a top flight education.
If the student doesn’t like Ohio Wesleyan, then it’s an issue but it’s small and well regarded. It won’t have the outdoorsness of Sewanee but I also don’t think the wealth - or keeping up with the joneses.
My suggestion - get off line and ask to speak with a student ambassador or two at berea. Hear from a real student.
Getting into and graduating Berea shows commitment.
Ditto for OWU too. Gotta love who you can afford.
Best of luck.
Following, we have a student deciding between Sewanee and Warren Wilson, also a work college. Two very different schools that both have incredible opportunities for her. Financially for us, Sewanee is about double Warren Wilson.
OWU was on our long list but she didn’t apply.
I wish I could offer any insight that may help but we are in a similar boat and having to make a decision soon as well.
Best of luck to you and your son!
Sorry about the financial aspects. Not sure if Sewanee is affordable.
I don’t think I’ve seen @Sweetgum for a while but their student was at Warren Wilson. They might have some relevant feedback.
Best of luck.
Thanks, we are now checking for “fit”, and considering the money if they are both a “fit”. Warren Wilson was her number one all through junior year. She has searched high and low over the course of senior year to pretty much be back to Warren Wilson lol… or Sewanee or Eckerd. She’s definitely learned a lot about what she’s looking for.
tsbna44 could you comment on this:
We visited a few times and didn’t get a “keeping up” vibe but if you have personal experience we would like to know.
TU!
For kids in Nashville, it’s seen as a wealthy kids school.
If you look at CDS, 55% got need aid so that’s a nice chunk.
I mean, most every private school will have kids with money so…
I can’t ascertain where/when this data comes from. In the end, if it’s the right fit, go for it !! My comment was simply and it’s likely the same everywhere - when you don’t have extra spending money and your friends do, sometimes it can be hard.
If you love it, if it fits - do it !!
Thank you, these are very helpful statistics and I see what you say. I’m going to bookmark that NYT article. Still love it, and she will probably go there, but it’s important to do so with eyes wide open because economic diversity lends itself to a larger variety of opinions in the classroom, which in turn enriches learning. Very good info!
Fit and finances are also the highest on our list as he makes a decision. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to visit Berea as we are international and the timing didn’t work out. He visited Sewanee almost by accident a couple of years ago and loved it. Best of luck to your family!
All the best to your family, too!
A friend’s daughter had a very negative experience at OWU and transferred out.
Happy to answer any Warren Wilson questions. It’s very small, very beautiful, good scholarships, was cut off during Hurricane Helene flooding and I would imagine a lot of students have some PTSD from that, but no one at the school was injured although I think they lost some livestock animals. I’ve got to run now, but I will read through this thread more thoroughly when I return and in the meantime if you have any questions post them I’ll take a stab at them when I come back.