Bowdoin VS Emory VS Vanderbilt

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm planning on EDing to one of the 3 schools: Bowdoin, Emory, and Vanderbilt. I really don't know exactly where I want to go yet. For some reason these 3 schools really appeal to me in their own special ways, but I'm not sure at which school I would be happiest at. </p>

<p>I plan to go onto a top law school. For undergrad, I'm not exactly sure what I want to major in yet. Maybe economics or philosophy. I know Emory has a good Business school, but that's not the deciding factor for me.</p>

<p>I'm a Chinese girl from New York City, so fitting in at theses largely white schools, is something I wonder about. I mingle just fine with white people, but I would also love to have my Asians there too. </p>

<p>I plan to join Greek life, if they offer, which I know Bowdoin doesn't. </p>

<p>I also would like to join their cheerleading or dance team. I am on my high school cheerleading team, but we aren't competitive. We do stunts and dances. But we don't tumble. (I'm not sure if that was grammatically correct. LOL) Also I'm a dancer. But I dance hip hop. I'd love to hear more about the cheerleading squad and the dance teams and their reputations at the schools! </p>

<p>The big school vs small school: I'm not too sure which I would prefer. I went to middle school with 80 students in my graduating class, and it was around 85% white. I go to high school with 800 students, with 70% Asian. I kind of have the feel of both worlds, and I feel that I fit in fine. So I'm totally lost on which type of school I would prefer to be at. </p>

<p>I would like the campus to be a closed campus. Like, closed off to the people outside of the school. I also want a lot of greenery because living in New York City deprives you of that. </p>

<p>The weather is a minor factor as well. The schools are either down south, or up north. Not exactly in the middle. I'm afraid the winters might be too cold, and the summers might be too hot. The weather here in New York right now is disgusting. I hate having to walk in 90+ degree weather. I'd prefer the cold as opposed to hot, but I like fall the best. The cool season. This winter here in New York wasn't that bad, but I'm afraid the winters in Bowdoin might be a bit too much for me to handle. </p>

<p>I also wonder about the atmosphere at these places. I went to a middle school where it was competitive and hard, but people weren't always talking about grades and stressing out about it. I go to a competitive high school, where all people seem to talk about are grades. I don't want that for college. I would work hard and try my best to do well, but once I'm out of the classroom, I don't want to be bombarded with questions about grades and whatnot what would stress me out. </p>

<p>As you can see. I'm just lost as to which school I like more. So any insight would be greatly appreciated! (: Hopefully which ever college I choose to ED to, I get in? <em>fingers crossed</em> </p>

<p>-Just another stressed out rising senior. </p>

<p>P.S. This is my first thread, so I'm not sure if I'm following standard protocol of CollegeConfidential or anything. I'm sorry if I'm not!</p>

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<p>I don’t know whether this is a result of minorities not rushing or what, but it just seems like there aren’t a lot of minorities involved in Greek life at Vandy. And then those that are involved tend to be in one of the ‘lesser’ sororities. It just seems like Vandy is pretty white and the sororities are even whiter. </p>

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<p>Vandy is, for the most part, closed. On the weekends, you’ll see non-students walking around campus or going to the one of the churches on campus. In addition, Vandy is either a state or national arboretum. </p>

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<p>Outside of the pre-meds, who I’d imagine are grade conscious/competitive at every school, most Vandy kids are pretty relaxed about school and while school might get mentioned every once in a while, I wouldn’t say it’s the focal point or main topic of discussion for most students. Vandy’s a “work hard, play hard” school.</p>

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<p>May I ask why you wish to apply ED? </p>

<p>Just my two cents, but you sound very unsure of what type of college you would like to attend, as these are three very different schools. Which is absolutely fine, but in which case I would highly recommend not doing ED (especially if financial aid is an issue). If you’re a serious applicant at any of these schools–and these are all fantastic schools–then your chances of admission will not be hurt by applying regular decision. Wait and apply to all three, in which case you would have until May of 2011 to decide, giving you more time to evaluate and visit each of these schools. ED is for someone who is absolutely certain which school he/she wants to attend, not a way to game the admissions process.</p>

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<p>crs1909: Thanks for the info! Yeah I hope it’s just that minorities don’t really rush for Greek life, and not that they aren’t accepted into the “higher” sororities. </p>

<p>verdricity: For Emory and Bowdoin, I need to choose which one to put higher up, because I plan on doing Questbridge, and since I made it into the College Scholarship, I think I’ll be able to become a National Merit SemiFinalist as well. Hope I didn’t just jinx myself.
So I have to choose between Emory and Bowdoin against Vandy, since Vandy is not a partner college. I really love all 3 schools and can see myself fitting in at them, but I just don’t know which one I would be happiest at.
I guess I am “gaming” the admissions process? I feel that I might have a chance to get into these colleges if I ED, as opposed to if I do regular. I wouldn’t want to lose my chances of getting into these schools because I wasn’t sure of which of these 3 schools I would want to go to. I know I would be happy going to any of the 3 schools. I think my chances of admission would be hurt if I do regular.
Financial Aid isn’t really my concern. If I get matched for Questbridge, then I’m set! And I hear Vandy has pretty good FA. And from my background, I believe I would be getting a lot of FA. So not too worried about that, but again, I really hope I didn’t jinx myself. ;(</p>

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<p>Have you considered Northwestern? It sounds like a good fit for you. Students are academically intense but socially laidback. Multiple dance teams (cheerleading + Ladycats dance team but also groups like Fusion, Nayo, Refresh + like 10 others) and a diverse student body (including a lot of Asians).</p>

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<p>Also, unlike at most top colleges, where asians are overrepresented, asians are considered URMs at Vandy, so that’ll help your chances a tad.</p>

<p>As for the race relations, I read on somewhere, I think the Princeton Review site, that apparently Vandy is in the top 20 for schools with very little racial interaction. I have mixed feelings on that. On one hand, my personal experiences suggest otherwise. My best friend is asian and the girl I’m seeing is hispanic, who I met through my black friends, so I have a somewhat diverse collection of friends. But, at the same time, I’ve heard from others, both white and non-white, that they wish there was more racial intermingling. The few times the issue has been brought up, it was more in a “I wish Vandy was…” instead of a “The problem with Vandy is…” manner.</p>

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<p>Knowing that you are applying through Questbridge changes the ED situation; I’m not very familiar with that program, so I’m afraid I can’t help you there. In addition, I don’t know much about the particulars of the colleges you’re considering, so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt. However, I do stand by what I said before: while you may like all three of these schools, as long as you do not have a clear-cut favorite, you should be wary of ED. Think about it this way: yes, you would most likely thrive at each of these schools, but if you make a decision now, is there a chance that you will look back with regret and wish that you were somewhere else? If you feel even a hint of uncertainty, it may be a sign that applying ED is a little premature. </p>

<p>I know you’re very concerned about your admission prospects, and I certainly don’t blame you, as all three of these schools are highly competitive. Yet ED may not give you as much of a boost as you may think. If you feel sure that you will not be accepted in regular decision, there is little chance you will be accepted ED, taking into consideration that the ED applicant pool is usually more competitive, with more qualified, prepared, and polished applicants. That being said, have a little more faith in yourself. You are aiming high, and that means on a subconscious level, at the very least, you believe you have what it takes to succeed at any of these schools. You should have no fear of applying regular decision to all three of them. </p>

<p>On another note, if you’re having trouble deciding between these schools, I’d suggest taking a closer look at the difference between Bowdoin versus Vanderbilt and Emory. Bowdoin strikes me as very different from your other choices, since it is a liberal arts college in the Northeast. The differences between LACs and universities are critical, as each has distinct advantages and disadvantages. It is not simply a matter of size and number of students–the fundamental philosophies of these respective institutions tend to be different. LACs are completely focused on the undergraduate, while universities inevitably divide their attention between their undergraduate and graduate programs. This manifests itself in virtually every aspect of a school. If you are, as you say, “totally lost on which type of school [you] would prefer to be at,” a bit more research may be in order. (I’ve been yammering on for a while, but if you’d like to know more, feel free to ask me, as I recently had to choose between an LAC and a university, or search the CC forums, where this topic has been debated to death.)</p>

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<p>Your needs are in line with what Emory has. Emory is in Atlanta but it is in a suburban neighbourood surrounded by a forest-like environment. There are a lot of trees surrounding the campus so even though a huge city is near, the campus is more nature-like. Emory is not too big but it isn’t too small and , for the most part, it is a perfect combination. Another important thing is that Emory has a lot of asians… at least compared to the other schools. (30% ish asian probably… maybe a bit more). If you went to a high school with a lot of asians, you probably would be more comfortable at Emory. The other two are not known for their diversity to be honest. If you have more questions, PM me and let me know.</p>