Choosing Sewanee: A dash, a march, or something in between
Greetings from Sewanee!
For many high school seniors, the month of April is either a mad dash (enrolling at the college they know to be right for them) or a slow, steady march (working toward a decision one step at a time).
Most of the students in the University of the South’s Class of 2022 will be marchers, but they may not be as slow to decide as in years past. The secret is out, and students are starting to catch on to Sewanee’s ability to put its graduates in positions to succeed. Those students not only enjoy a top-flight liberal education while on the Domain, but also lasting connections with faculty, staff, and peers far into their lives beyond the gates.
And this year we’re hoping to put a little extra pep in their step, as we’ve introduced some exciting new announcements to this admission cycle.
We recently announced a new component of the Sewanee experience: The Sewanee Pledge. The Pledge is a promise to each and every one of our incoming students that they will receive funding for a summer internship or research assistantship, a semester-long study abroad experience at no additional tuition cost, and that they will graduate in four years.
This Pledge combines so much of what Sewanee has to offer and has offered generations of graduates. Most of all, it ensures that each student can take full advantage of the Sewanee experience.
If you have students who would gladly dash into Sewanee’s Class of 2022 but have been placed on the waitlist, please encourage them to fill out their waitlist form through their Applicant Status Page, to communicate with their admission counselor, and, of course, to send in an enrollment deposit to a school where they have been offered admission. Students may begin to be pulled off that waitlist as early as mid-April.
After all the dashing and marching is through, I will be able to rest knowing that members of Sewanee’s Class of 2022 made the right choice, and I hope you’ll be able to as well.
Sincerely yours,
Lee Ann Backlund
Dean of Admission and Financial Aid
Vice President for Enrollment Planning
Video feature: Meet Your Sewanee Tour Guide and schedule a visit!
With a 13,000-acre campus, there’s a lot to see. That’s why we always encourage families to take a summer day to bike, hike, climb, or just relax while they are visiting us on the Mountain. Stop by our office for some recommendations if you’ve got a spare hour!
Enrollment forms for future Sewanee students are now available
Please encourage your students who have decided to attend Sewanee to start working on the enrollment forms now available on their Applicant Status Pages. The first form deadline is May 12. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a member of our office if any of your students are experiencing difficulty working through these forms.
Make sure your future Sewanee students know about these pre-orientation programs
Finding Your Place (FYP)
FYP brings together some of Sewanee’s most renowned faculty members to provide students the opportunity to explore their place at Sewanee by closely engaging with its biology and geology, its community and history, through field trips, service, readings, writing, and small-group discussions. With the guidance of professors and students leaders, first years in FYP will find their own place in Sewanee.
Pre-orientation (PRE)
PRE offers outdoor recreational opportunities for first-year students in order to form deep relationships with one another and with Sewanee Outing Program leaders. Activities include hiking, swimming, rock climbing, canoeing, caving, and much more.
Gap years are important to us
While many families consider the ability for their student to participate in a gap year a separate consideration entirely from that of their college search, Sewanee doesn’t quite see it that way. The qualities of a Sewanee student fall neatly in line with the idea of a year of directed discovery. Our students are self-motivated and driven to explore. They are unafraid to follow their passions even if they may lead them down a path less travelled. We believe gap years are important to the growth of some students. Please read more on deferring enrollment and letting your students know of the opportunities of taking a gap year.
Upcoming events for prospective students
April 28, 2018
Flowers blooming. Birds chirping. We’ve dreamed up the perfect spring visit itinerary for your students; it’s called Spring Preview. It’s the best of the weekday visit options (campus tour, residential halls tour, student panel) combined with two faculty engagement sessions. Students follow their academic interests to the appropriate sessions (English, history, psychology, environmental studies, 20+ more) and faculty members will meet them there.
June 22, 2018 & July 13, 2018
Your students can take their first class in college admission with us. The Admission 101 syllabus goes something like this: finding the right colleges; applying like an expert; making the right decision. Our sessions and workshops will show your students how to get the most out of their campus visits, how to write a compelling essay and give a killer interview, and how to see their applications through the eyes of an admission counselor. While what we have to offer will be helpful to your students even if they don’t plan on applying to Sewanee, we’re pretty sure they’ll want to after spending the day on our spectacular 13,000-acre mountaintop campus.
Visiting Sewanee yourself
Twice a year we host domestic high school counselors for our bi-annual A View from the Top counselor tour. These visits are a great way for you to connect with our office, tour campus, meet the vice-chancellor and so much more. Read more and add yourself to our interest list here. Of course these programs are limited so we highly encourage you to schedule a personalized visit.
Pre-college summer program deadlines are approaching
The Choral Institute at the University of the South
June 27–July, 1, 2018 Apply for the Choral Institute
Sewanee BRIDGE Program in Biomedical Sciences (for rising seniors)
June 10–June 26, 2018 Apply for the Bridge Program
Sewanee Summer Music Festival
June 23–July 22, 2018 Apply for SSMF
Sewanee Environmental Institute: Field Studies Experience
June 24–July 7, 2018 Apply for SEI
SUMMA Student Theological Debate Society
July 17–July 25, 2018 Apply for SUMMA
Sewanee Features
Capital Gains
Sewanee’s student investment club notches big returns for the University’s endowment — and for members’ postgraduate employment prospects.
A New Prescription for Pain
At a Nashville startup, a Sewanee physics graduate and neuroscientist uses big data to find new ways to fight the country’s opioid epidemic.
The Shape of Water
Students and professors in a variety of disciplines take advantage of Sewanee’s local ecology to engage in water and water-systems research that is as deep as it is wide.
