<p>I will be applying ED to Vanderbilt this year, but of course need to be preparing other applications for RD. I feel that I have a fighting chance at Vanderbilt but of course, with today's acceptance rates it is impossible to quantify an individual.</p>
<p>With that being said, I am looking for other options besides Vanderbilt. I visited Emory and Duke, and will most likely apply to those for regular decision. Are there any other schools that are similar to these that I could consider? Are there any similar schools that aren't quite as impossibly hard to get into? :D</p>
<p>Also - I’m looking for a safety school recommendations. My current ones are Westminster in Utah and U of Puget Sound in Washington. Are there any other schools you could recommend as a safety school? </p>
<p>What do you want to study and in what state do you live? Notre Dame, UNC, UVA (these three all travel with Emory and feel that they are similiar - although they are larger than Emory)</p>
<p>I live in Utah. I am not sure of what I want to study, but I’m probably looking somewhere towards business. There really is no particular region I am looking at, as I really don’t have much of a preference. (with some exceptions)</p>
<p>And I’d say I’m looking at a school no bigger than 15,000…I come from a school with about 1,000 kids K-12.</p>
<p>What about Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina? It shares many cross-applicants with Vanderbilt and has a number of similarities. I believe that it is a little bit easier to gain admission, though I doubt it would be a safety.</p>
<p>Still selective but comparable: Georgetown in Washington DC, especially if you are not doing political science or international relations (where the competition for admission is very much tougher than the general stats would imply). Rice doesn’t have the frats but is also a possibility. Wake Forest perhaps?</p>
<p>If you would consider a LAC, Davidson would be a good option. And Rhodes which is less selective but still has a vibe you might like.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt copied UVA’s lawn and so no more similar school than that. Others include Duke, Wake Forest, and Washington University (St. Louis). All are strong academic schools in medium sized cities.</p>
<p>SMU is a good suggestion. Many of the kids in Texas who hope to get into Vanderbilt have SMU as a back-up plan. SMU would be an easier admit than Wake Forest and may or may not be a safety depending on your stats.</p>
<p>Thank you for the suggestions! Wake, UDenver, Marquette and Villanova have been added to my watch list as alternates to Vandy. Much appreciated! I neede some school like this. </p>
<p>Question about SMU - what is the overall atmosphere on campus? How much of campus life is religion? And is it a relatively diverse school in terms of how many kids from Texas vs other states? My mom went to a school in Texas and transferred out because she felt thr there were just too many kids from Texas an the culture was overbearing.</p>
<p>^^^ SMU is about 50/50 from Texas/out of state. Religion is a non-factor there. SMU is significantly less rigorous than Vanderbilt, as MOWC implied, though it does have a big frat scene like Vanderbilt, is in the nicer part of a large southern city, and has a large number of students from wealthy families. You indicated that you were interested in safeties with some similarities to Vanderbilt, and I seconded SMU in line with that, though of course whether SMU would be a safety for you would be dependent on your stats.</p>
<p>If you’re willing to travel outside of the south, schools that are typically compared to Vanderbilt include USC and Northwestern. (Although the former has a much larger student population than you said you’d be comfortable with.)</p>
<p>It sounds like you need a safety (a school you know you will get into and can afford) as well as a few other options.</p>
<p>As I posted earlier - TCU is another option and would probably qualify as a safety. It is in Texas, but Ft. Worth is nice and doesn’t quite have the “wealthy” student vibe like SMU. </p>
<p>Another really good school albeit smaller, is the University of Tulsa. Still has the greek system and D1 sports.</p>
<p>Again- it depends what it is about Vanderbilt that the OP likes. Tulane is quite different in many respects- athletics being a main one. For anyone not familiar with the SEC sports conference- it is truly a defining factor. I agree that Northwestern probably comes closest.</p>
<p>I agree with most of the replies, but IMO schools similar to Vandy:</p>
<p>Tulane, Northwestern, USC, Washington University in St. Louis, Fordham, Furman, Clemson, University of North Carolina, University of Virginia, Wake Forest, Sewanee, Duke, and in general, schools that have a GOOD balance of academics and social life which I assume is what you want (It’s definitely what I want haha!). Hope this helps! Good luck in your college search!</p>