I would love some advice on the atmosphere and social life at Vandy!
I am thinking of applying there ed but have not visited. I visited UNC Chapel hill and LOVED it, I want a medium or big school in or near a city (not in the middle of nowhere) with a good greek system and a lot of school spirit! I think these things will be my deciding factors so I need some help! Thanks!
I haven’t visited Vandy for the purpose of visiting Vandy, but I can tell you this:
-They’re big on outreach, especially for gifted youth.
-It’s in the best part of Nashville.
-The campus is BEAUTIFUL.
-It’s close to Mellow Mushroom. What more do you need? If you don’t know what Mellow Mushroom is, then look it up. You owe it to yourself.
-There are also a lot of other good restaurants nearby.
-Greek life is about 40%, but it’s prominent.
-Most people I know that went to Vandy (namely, some of my teachers, they’ve got a good education program there apparently) are very proud of it.
-Middle and East Tennessee are split into two warring factions when UTK and Vandy play.
I’ve been to Nashville a lot, so I’ve seen a lot of the campus.
If you like Vandy, take a look at College of Charleston as a less selective option. Emory might also fit the bill.
@N’s Mom : No! Emory is not like Vandy (Greek life is decently sized at Emory, but the similarities almost stop there as Greek life doesn’t even play as big a role at Emory and is currently under “distress”…I personally think that’s okay as I don’t think Emory should really be beyond like 15-20% Greek…but an even larger and more dominant Greek scene would no doubt give more of a similar feel as a Chapel Hill, UVa, or Vandy which the OP likes or will like). I am really sorry, but do not disappoint this child by suggesting Emory is like Vandy. They may be similar caliber overall, but Emory is much more like places like CMU, WashU, JHU, Tufts, and Chicago than places like Duke, Chapel Hill, and those sorts of schools. The student likely liked Chapel Hill because of the amount of traditional school pride and things like that. If I liked a place like Chapel Hill or Vanderbilt so much, I don’t think I would seriously consider Emory unless I had an undergraduate academic program in mind that is done really well (or at all) at Emory and maybe not as well at those schools…otherwise you’ll just find the child mainly worried about differences in social atmosphere between schools like Emory and Vandy (or Chapel Hill, Virginia, etc) ultimately complaining on several Saturdays about how football is happening at the other places. Again, if you love schools like Chapel Hill and Vandy, you should need a very compelling reason to take Emory (or any school like it) seriously as an option.
In lieu of what was posted above though…I suppose the only advantage Emory has if someone likes a Vandy like school and Mellow Mushroom is that Mellow Mushroom was established in Atlanta lol. In fact, Emory is kind of “around the corner” (you define an Atlanta around the corner…like 10 minute drive I guess) from the original Mellow Mushroom (It’s like a 10 minute walk from my place). But that is it…the two schools may be beautiful and awesome but the similarities stop there. One is laid back (not necessarily the academics but the students) and traditionally fun (Vandy) and the other is more “tense” and quirky and this difference is likely due to the incredible amount of “Big 3” pre-professionals across all majors at Emory. Vandy seems less oriented toward these “Big 3”.
I really wouldn’t worry about “the atmosphere” at Vandy or the quality of Greek life unless you are going to pay full private pay and you can select a university that matches all your “preferences.” Getting in is the real challenge. Choosing to put down a deposit and to matriculate is the challenge that takes place after you do Admitted Student
Day April visits to schools you have not physically visited before application deadlines.
Greek life is polarizing on many campuses, and more “fun” and more popular on some campuses than others (Dartmouth…very few GDIs–)…Never ever let Greek life stop you from attending your state flagship honors college so that you can put money back for graduate school. Get admitted to at least one financial safety school
Well Vandy gives really good financial aid if they fall into a certain bracket (and even outside of it) so applying there along with state flagships that have a similar feel may not be a bad idea at all. I would put Vandy, Chapel Hill, and Virginia in the upper-range (I am assuming OOS for CH and UVa) of schools for someone who has already visited and liked Chapel Hill. I would then find some others and consider their honors college like you said. At some less selective, but excellent quality state schools, even an OOS person strong enough to consider applying to Vanderbilt could potentially get a scholarship or into the honors college. UGA for example, claims that it doesn’t even consider residential status in admissions…and I know they basically do scholarship/fellows/honors status based upon stats and I think their honors college is excellent and regular academics are solid too (though those classes are still a bit large for my taste).