St. Andrew's-Sewanee School

When my son (14) left Spain for SAS, the plan was 1 term abroad, from Aug-Dec. What I didn’t expect was that after returning home, saying goodbye, and even having a farewell party, he would ask to go back and finish the entire school year. I think that says everything about SAS. What made SAS special was not only the academics or beautiful campus, but the sense of belonging he found there. From the beginning, the school felt like a family. The connection with staff and house parents was genuine and supportive, which gave us tremendous peace of mind sending him abroad for the first time. Boarding life has exceeded every expectation. He has formed friendships across all grades, felt included, and truly found his place. The experience has helped him grow in independence, responsibility, and confidence while still feeling supported and cared for. Most importantly, SAS has given him memories, friendships, and personal growth that will stay with him forever. FIVE STARS. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

I am a class of 2015 alum from China who found a second home in Sewanee, and kept visiting this gorgeous and peaceful mountain top town over the past decade. SAS offers an extensive spectrum of classes for students to explore their interests in fields of Art and STEM. The student-to-teacher ratio is elite, with 10-20 students per class. A handful of teachers live on campus, who are very accessible and care about the academic & well-being of students. The school resides near the prestigious University of the South, offering course-sharing programs for those who want to challenge themselves academically.
For international students, SAS has great ESL & college counseling programs, with the majority of the international students achieving a high TOEFL score and receiving offers from targeted universities. There are also various immersion/volunteering programs, such as trips to Jamaica, to broaden a student's scope/worldview and add additional color to the college application.

As a Vietnamese student studied at SAS for two years, this school create for me so many memorable activities for me to get connect with other international students .They held so many things for international students like me to share about our culture identity in country presentation, flag ceremony, and they also show their willingness to learn about my culture even as I was learning about them. Moreover, we also take advantages to have class at The University of the South to earn more credits and takes that opportunity for us to grow more in the future. SAS also improved my english skills a lot by pairing me with another American friend to be roomate so that we can get connection and learn more about each other country. They also have a chance for us to have religion studies in our senior years, this opportunities contribute to change me a lot in point of view, my knowledges about different kinds of world religion.

This school is located in Sewanee, Tennessee, boasting a super-large 550-acre campus. Established in 1868, it is an old institution with over 150 years of history, connected to the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee. It is a 90-minute drive from Nashville, the capital of Tennessee, and also serves as a test center for SAT and ACT.

School Features:
1) Dual Enrollment Program: Outstanding 11th and 12th-grade students can be taught by University of the South faculty and earn free college credits.
2) Outdoor Adventures: The school's location offers numerous places for hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, kayaking, and bouldering. The region's caves provide a unique opportunity for caving. A large boulder cave on campus (with hundreds of small caves) offers avid climbers a chance to practice their rock climbing skills indoors.
3) SAS Farm: Students learn basic gardening operations and acquire skills in creating food systems without using chemical pesticides, among other things.
4) SAS Gallery: Located in the heart of Simmonds Hall, it hosts a series of exhibitions, workshops, and special programs annually from August to June of the following year.
5) Recent University Placements for Chinese Students: University of Washington - Seattle, UCB (UC Berkeley), Purdue University, UCD (UC Davis), Northeastern University, Penn State University, Rhode Island School of Design, Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, etc.

As a graduate of this institution, I certainly don't wish to tarnish my alma mater. However, I hope parents considering sending their children here will take note of these objectively observed facts.
Academically, the curriculum is quite rich. As long as one puts in personal effort, achieving a satisfactory GPA is not a major issue.
Dining and geographical conditions are relatively poor. The cafeteria standards are average, and there's only one American Chinese restaurant nearby, with no major cities in the vicinity.
Regarding discrimination, a Black student reported a white student using a racial slur (the n-word), and the white student was immediately suspended. The same thing happened to a Chinese student: an exchange student made a squinting gesture towards a Chinese person. Even with testimonies from American students, the school chose to ignore it.
Regarding the loss of good teachers, the quality of teachers recruited in the past two years is indeed not as good as before. Current teachers have also expressed dissatisfaction with the new school management.
Regarding the expelled Chinese student, the reason was expressing dissatisfaction with certain teachers by name on this website. The school expelled them on the grounds of disrespecting teachers and tarnishing the school's reputation. This is why, as a student, I could only point out these issues after graduation. Similarly, an American female student repeatedly used drugs but returned to school after one semester because her family members were on the school board.
I hope this provides useful information to parents. Regarding the sudden surge of positive reviews in a short period, I trust you understand why their reference value is questionable. This school is not without its merits, but its attitude towards Chinese people is indeed disheartening.

Taking courses at Southern University, as some claim, is not an advantage at all. Many universities don't even recognize Southern University's courses, as they are notoriously subpar. The teachers responsible for course registration won't try their best to help you; instead, they'll create various obstacles to prevent you from getting into the courses you want. Almost all the good teachers have left, leaving only those who have just graduated from university. Moreover, all the teachers are graduates from unknown schools. The cafeteria food is terrible, far below the standard of other schools. The students are of very poor quality; they even admit individuals who have been to juvenile detention centers, and several at a time.

School Art Program:
Courses: Clay, Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, Photography, Architecture, Design, and Textiles
We have 9 artists on our campus:
Rachel Malde (2-D, Photography & Tech) Rachel Malde (2-D & 3-D Design) Osei Hill (Clay) Julie Jones (Landscape Painting) ... Our art teachers welcome students of all levels to their classes.

We don't know if it's because of our outstanding faculty, the emphasis on creativity, or the inspiration from the surrounding environment, but SAS seems to inspire many students to pursue careers in art. Recent graduates have attended some of the most prestigious art schools in the country, including:
• Alfred University
• ArtCenter College of Design
• Atlanta College of Art
• Boston College of Art
• Corcoran College of Art and Design
• International Academy of Design & Technology
• Kansas City Art Institute
• Otis College of Art and Design
• Parsons School of Design
• Pratt Institute
• Rhode Island School of Design
• Savannah College of Art and Design
• School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• The School of the Museum of Fine Arts
• School of Visual Arts

Not very good.

School Main Facilities
Academic and Arts Facilities
• Bishop Bratton Hall
• McCroy Hall Performing Arts Center
• Reishman-Chamberlain Wing
• Simmonds Hall
• Theater
• Wade Hall Technology Building
Sports and Recreation Facilities
• Baseball Field
• Indoor Climbing/Mountain Bike Shed
• Lake Gunn
• The “Res”
• Tennis Courts
• Track and Field
• Wood-Alligood Gymnasium
Student Life Facilities
• Owen Student Center
• Robbinson Dining Hall
• SAS Farm
• St. Andrew's Chapel
• Tucker Dining Hall
5 Student Dormitory Buildings
5 Faculty and Staff Dormitory Buildings

School ELL Program
ELL Intermediate
Students learn more advanced grammatical structures and complex vocabulary. Vocabulary development and reading from various sources help students understand increasingly difficult texts. Recordings of various conversations and reports are analyzed to aid in understanding listening materials. The focus is on developing critical thinking skills and utilizing these skills to provide strong oral or written responses to questions about students' own perspectives or academic articles, using appropriate vocabulary, word usage, and sentence structures.
ELL Advanced
Students continue to develop skills to prepare them for academic work encountered in high school and college courses, as well as the TOEFL. Students practice summarizing, paraphrasing, note-taking, and categorization skills. Classroom discussions and homework focus on integrating various skills to produce clear, well-organized, and coherent essays or oral responses, demonstrating control over advanced vocabulary, word choice, and sentence structure.

I am a professor at Southern University, located near this school, and the father of two alumni of this school. Several SAS students have attended my university classes. They are all very diligent, especially compared to typical university students. After graduating from SAS, my two daughters pursued their undergraduate degrees at prestigious liberal arts colleges (Wellesley and Davidson Colleges). Both daughters also received scholarships from the universities. It is very important that they had a very smooth transition when entering the liberal arts colleges, having already become accustomed to the university workload, difficulty, and so on.