City: Austin, TX

Category: Education

Telephone: (512) 863-6511, (800) 252-3166

Address: 1001 East University Ave.

Description: “Chartered as the state’s first university in 1840, until the 1970s it was doing the conventional thing, providing the B.A. union card for its graduates’ first jobs. Then with the catalysts of the new president’s vision and the generosity of 3 Texas foundations, it was born again as a place to prepare for the 21st century.” So writes Loren Pope in the book, Colleges That Change Lives. This book, subtitled 40 Schools You Should Know About Even If You’re Not a Straight-A Student, is one of several guides to colleges and universities that have taken note of Southwestern University in recent years. Called one of the best sleepers in the nation and one of the buried treasures among the nation’s liberal arts colleges, Southwestern University may not remain one of Texas’s hidden assets much longer.Located 28 miles north of Austin in the seat of Williamson County government and even closer to our northern neighbors in Round Rock and Pflugerville, Southwestern University is a private Methodist 4-year institute of higher learning that reflects the conservative values of Georgetown itself. Enrollment hovers around 1,300, a figure the university considers ideal. Southwestern sits on a 100-acre campus filled with trees and dotted with beautiful Texas limestone buildings constructed in the stately Richardsonian Romanesque–style. The university also owns 525 more acres plus a 75-acre golf course. Southwestern has 26 academic departments offering 40 majors and more than 35 minors.