Hi. From what I’ve gathered both from my visit and from online research, Vandy seems like a really cool, yet still prestigious, place to go to school. Recently I’ve started to read things saying that Vandy students are preppy. Some of these were written a few years ago, so it’s possible that things have changed since then as the school has become less of a “southern school.”
The consensus that these threads seem to come to is that while there are many Vandy students who care a lot about being stylish, there are still plenty of kids who are more casual.
I’m a guy who has always been content with what you might call “athletic wear.” (T shirts, shorts, sweatshirts, etc.) At my high school, this is how most guys dress. To be clear, I don’t go to school looking like I just woke up. I just don’t really like the idea of wearing polos or button downs to class.
My question is: Is there pressure for kids to conform to the “preppy” way of dressing and acting? I got the impression that Vandy kids were friendly and cool, so it was disappointing for me to find out that a lot of them get all dressed up to go to class. Is this just a noticable minority? Are most kids totally fine with wearing casual clothing?
Not at all. For about the first week of class freshmen wear polos or button downs and boat shoes then they realize it’s not necessary, and everyone is in flops/gym shorts/t shirt for the rest of the year.
People don’t dress especially fashionably/aren’t aware of style here. The closest you’ll get is this “fratboy chic” look consisting of tennis shoes with white nike mid calf socks, khaki shorts, a vineyard vines longsleeve that is slightly too large, and a hat with certain approved brands like southern tide or patagonia. Which isn’t very fashionable, but people seem to think it is.
@fdgjfg@Senior2016M Thank you to both of you. That definitely made me feel a lot better. If anyone else has an opinion on this, please share. Thanks again.
Vandy has been considered a “preppy” school since the word preppy was invented. That said, while you may notice a trend that seems to be everywhere, there is also a lot of individuality. It’s a campus- casual clothes rule.
OP in post #1 said: so it was disappointing for me to find out that a lot of them get all dressed up to go to class.
I would say as follows:
Contrary to popular belief aka political correctness, Vanderbilt is not Exclusively for rich people school. I for one am the example of poor people with a kid graduated from Vanderbilt in Engineering and immediately has been hired after graduation and been working in Aerospace Company in Cali (with high paying job). Anyhow, who wants to dress shabby, scruffy and stinky in college? also who wants to dress up with jewelry, riding BMW, Lexus, Baby Benz, Lambo to school?. Have you checked and looked at the parking lots in Vanderbilt? do you see all brand name cars? if not then Vandy is not for rich kids. Also, If I were a rich parent, I certainly would pay my son’s school by my own money. However, Vandy has given lots of money for any students coming from all walks of life. Kindly, compare Vandy to other schools in term of giving school funds to kids. Well, Vandy is not school for rich kids.
Lastly, the question is do you want to go to college to get college degree and have better pay for entry level job or do you want to go to college to show-boat your jewelry, expensive car, etc? or perhaps you want to go to college with shabby, scruffy and stinky clothing to look cool?.
@undecided2000 I plan to apply to vandy and dont worry, I think the “preppy” stereotype is just a minor thing. Btw it is present in every college you go to.
Some kids dress preppy, a lot of freshmen start out that way but as of now everyone’s stopped. Girls will dress up for class once or twice a week and then bum the other days. Tbh most people’s style of dress is “this is whatever I have left that’s clean”.
Honestly, you’d be totally fine. I was worried about that too; I’m from the West Coast, where brands like Southern Tide and Vineyard Vines just aren’t all that popular. I got a couple shirts that I thought would help me fit in more, but I went right back to wearing the shit I wore at home after the first couple weeks went by. For every guy that’s wearing a polo and Sperry’s, you’ll have 20 guys wearing t shirts and shorts, sweats, etc. Don’t worry about it. People don’t care at all how you dress.