<p>So, I am a bit stuck in making the final decision. What makes Vanderbilt better than WashU in St. Louis, besides weather. I, personally, have many reasons but I want additional opinions that support Vandy so I know I'm not making these things up. </p>
<p>Please and thanks.</p>
<p>(You probably have already considered this issue)</p>
<p>I don’t know the area around WashU that well, but I think it is generally accepted as somewhat unsafe. I’ve never felt unsafe on or around Vanderbilt. </p>
<p>It’s hard to make a decision between two good things, as you must do. Hope you enjoy your time in college.</p>
<p>I certainly didn’t feel unsafe when I visited WashU several years ago. It’s a very nice school. Academically, I would give the edge to Vandy, but that’s through my personal lens. Others may disagree. I didn’t get the feeling that greek life was quite as big a deal at WashU, overall. Support for sports teams seems to be better at Vandy (although not exactly overwhelming). The surrounding area at WashU is more suburban feeling than the area around Vandy … and I don’t think I would venture into St. Louis. There is a great mall not too far from WashU, though.</p>
<p>It depends on what you are looking for. What are your concerns about Vandy compared to WashU?</p>
<p>The area around Vanderbilt has the edge, I think, on things to do in the immediate vicinity of the campus. There is one exception to that: Forest Park, close to the WashU campus, is wonderful, with a zoo, art museum, ice skating rink, and more, and walking, running and biking trails. However, there are coffee shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and some shopping just off the campus at Vanderbilt. These are available to Wash U students, too, but not as convenient.</p>
<p>I don’t think the area around Wash U is particularly dangerous, although there were a couple of assaults late at night a year or so ago. </p>
<p>Greek life is bigger at Vanderbilt, but there are fraternities and sororities at Wash U also.</p>
<p>Sports are a bigger deal at Vanderbilt, although some students manage to ignore them and still like the school a lot.</p>
<p>Wash U is a pretty enough campus, but Vanderbilt is nicer.</p>
<p>Both schools have very good medical colleges. Vanderbilt’s is right on campus, and that is a benefit for some students who want to job shadow or be involved in other activities that take place at the med school. At Wash U, the med school is a couple of miles away, although I’m pretty sure there is a way to get there fairly easily by shuttle.</p>
<p>I like both schools, and I think both offer superior educational opportunities. The location of Vanderbilt is better for undergraduates, in my opinion, though. There is a vibrancy about Nashville, both the area immediately contiguous to campus, and the downtown about a mile and a half away. St. Louis’s downtown has not been vibrant for a long time. There are some nice areas in the city, and students take advantage of Central West End, and the Loop, but there is far less interaction with the city than is the case with Vanderbilt students and Nashville.</p>
<p>As for weather: most winters, St. Louis’s weather is pretty mild. It seems to be stuck in a cold and icy cycle the last couple of years, and they had a fair amount of show this year. Nashville does have the advantage as far as weather goes, at least during the school year, but I don’t think the difference is all that significant.</p>
<p>Devil’s advocate here:</p>
<p>In case it wasn’t emphasized enough, the area around wash u isn’t the st. Louis you hear about on the news. It’s pretty much in the most affluent area of St. Louis. Having lived in STL and having cousins live right by campus, I can honestly say that it’s a safe area. I live out in the suburbs and my sleepy neighborhood has had more crime this year than my cousin’s.</p>
<p>As for Greek life, I have a cousin who’s VP at a frat and the frat is a large part of his life. So that life is there if you want it. I also have a cousin who is in a frat but only socially. On average, Greek life at wustl isn’t nearly as big and consuming as at vanderbilt.</p>
<p>I would also say that the intellectual atmosphere at wustl is better too. Unless you’re pre-med (sweeping generaliztion) your peers will be engaged inside and outside of the classroom. At vandy, that community seemed a little harder to find, although as their incoming classes become more competitive (did you see this years stats O.O) I’m sure that will change. Ultimately, this was a large determining factor is why i declined a CV scholarship (I still loooove vandy though).</p>
<p>Like it was said before, vandy’s campus is amazing, the weather is better (stl just had snowpocalypse this year), and the sports scene is better. Wash u is a little more intense. More work hard and less play hard, but still plenty of play. I hope this was useful.</p>
<p>Yeah I realize that my family has a lot of people there… there’s even a dorm in our name… (from the distant rich side of the family of course)</p>