Sewanee (University of the South) vs. a big in-state school like Alabama or Auburn?

To preface, I was a pretty good high school student that has great test scores and a terrible junior year. I have a 33 on my ACT and I would have had well above a 4.0 GPA had I not gotten a terrible F (in band of all classes!). I've applied to semi targets such as Tulane, UVA, and WashU, but the chances are greatly in favor of me not being admitted to any of them. That leaves me with two possible options: I can go to a large state school like Alabama which has a very large alumni base, or I can go to a smaller liberal arts school like Sewanee that has a very affluent student base and great possibilities for networking. I am wondering which would be better for me to attend if I am hoping to break into IB in some way. I have large scholarships to both, so money should not be an issue.

P.S.

I'm aware that my best bet is probably transferring after maintaining a high GPA, this is purely in the case that I chose not to for whatever reason.

10 Comments
 

Probably instate school because it'll be a lot chiller, I don't really see any benefit in going to Sewanee. If you want to break in it would be best to transfer anyway.

 

I agree on the chiller front, and Alabama has a huge Greek life presence which intrigues me. Sewanee, though, does rank top 10 for internships and top 20 for alumni networks as per the Princeton Review. I think I would enjoy the culture there too. I probably shouldn't put much stock in those rankings though, I just thought that those aforementioned alumni networks could be helpful.

 

> does rank top 10 for internships and top 20 for alumni networks as per the Princeton Review

It says its based off student opinions and honestly most of the schools on the list are total jokes so I wouldn't take it seriously at all. I feel like networking is really more of a numbers game and you need to network with people where you want to be for it to work. 

 
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Fascinating. So Sewanee would probably be better, but only if I network like crazy and make use of all of the connections the school offers (as I should do at any school). I'll throw another question at you: I've also applied to Rensselaer and it's likely I get in due to a family member's donations, do you think that their Lally School of Management would also be a good option due to it's location in New York (state)? It seems to be rising in rankings and is starting to make a name for itself, at least from what I've seen online.

 
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Great points all around. I went to Sewanee and now work at a well known middle market valuation shop after a 1.5 year stint elsewhere. So not IB but kind of close. Alumni are great but I wouldn’t oversimplify this choice, Sewanee is a small school in the middle of nowhere. I loved it but it’s very different from Tuscaloosa so I would look into that too. Also what do you want your major to be? Sewanee doesn’t have a direct business degree so something to also consider. Just my thoughts.

Feel free to dm me if you want, happy to talk more about it more.

 
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