As single-sex education has fallen out of popularity, Sweet Briar has had a hard time luring top students. At her fallback, she has found a nurturing but rigorous environment, marked by close and regular interaction with faculty. If I missed a class, she would ask me why. Students talk of small classes led by professors who give prompt feedback and demand they revise papers until their arguments are perfectly honed. Faculty come to their sports events and invite them to dinner.
Career counselors insist on vetting their resumes before they are mailed out.
Literary luminaries like Maya Angelou and Ha Jin are frequent speakers, as they are on many college campuses. There are so many people looking out for you. Sweet Briar's modest scale offers students some unique opportunities, faculty said. One senior is working as a research assistant on a project to develop diagnostic tools for attention-deficit disorder. At a large research university, these jobs would be offered only to grad students.