So, I was privileged enough to be named both a Stamps Scholar at USC, as well as a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar. I know the stamps scholarship is nationally accredited and there is a scholar community on USC’s campus, which leads to more opportunities. On the other hand, I’m not so sure about the scholar life of a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar. If any previous CV scholar has any insight, or if anyone has an advice as to where to pick that would be greatly helpful!
CVs need to chime in as I believe they do maintain a loose affiliation. I think it is very freeing to be a merit scholar at Vandy with no strings attached and no obligations as many students change their minds more than once about how to put it all together.
Our Vandy son was Chancellor’s, not CV. His application to the College Scholars program was accepted after he was there a semester or so. He greatly loved the small interdisciplinary seminar courses he took throughout the rest of his career at Vandy. Keep in mind that if you are pursuing other majors and minors, you might not want to be involved in College Scholars because you might want to plan your own adventure without this point system and commitment to small classroom settings. He deeply enjoyed the discussion and the writing required in College Scholars seminars. There was no differentiation between sophomores or seniors in the classes so he was thrown in with upperclassmen and often very good professors. For him it was a good fit for knocking back some requirements in a more intimate setting. It was like having a superb small liberal arts college class while enjoying all the benefits of a regional mid sized research campus. https://my.vanderbilt.edu/collegescholars/ He took maybe one a semester…
An important development at Vandy over the last decade IMHO is that there is a negligible (invisible! not really valid) contrast these days between the merit scholars and all Vanderbilt students. This is important to understand. Some merit scholars don’t have time or the inclination for the seminars offered by the College Scholars programs. Four years goes by quickly if you include foreign study, foreign language, research, pursuit of the arts, and pursuit of dual majors or extra minors. Therefore my point is that the College Scholars program is not the only way to distinguish oneself at Vandy. It is a program that exists for those whose temperament and learning style is a match. There are many many ways the faculty and Vandy are supporting special study opportunities for all Vandy students
All Vandy students can pursue avenues of nailing down an honors diploma. All Vandy students are honors students. Just because they didn’t apply for merit scholarships or they didn’t present on paper as convincingly as a "winner"when in high school is not predictive at all of outstanding college years. Our son did have a stipend for one proposed use and he was grateful to have it to create a summer project for himself once. But outside of that stipended summer, he interviewed successfully for a different great summer internship, and he was rejected for other opportunities he tried for. He had meals with other Chancellor Scholars throughout his time there and enjoyed that. hope that helps…but even what I share with you is now 5 years old and might be out of date
There aren’t many benefits of being a CV other than the obvious financial support - some CVs love the College Scholars program, as someone trying to balance multiple majors it’s difficult for me to fit them into my schedule. They’re trying to organize group activities and things like that, but you are very explicitly told that being CV makes you no better than any other student at Vanderbilt. I regret not choosing a scholarship at another school that gave me benefits compared to other students
We are heading to Vanderbilt this week to visit the school for my child who was awarded a CV. This thread is very helpful because the choice is currently (leaving aside Hail Mary Ivy Day results that could complicate things) between Vandy as CV and a merit full-ride (more or less) at a public school that definitely has a scholars community. My child was extremely attracted to that “instant community” factor since we are from far, far away from the SEC. I was hoping to find out on the Vanderbilt visit that there would be a similar honors scholars community or something there, so this information has been helpful. We will see how the visit goes! Thanks for any further insights from those who know about how helpful the school is to the CV scholars or if they are on their own for guidance!
There’s not a very distinct “scholar community” for CV people here, other than the aforementioned college scholars seminars. That’s mainly because everyone who attends, scholar or not, is at a similarly high level of achievement. This is why most ivies don’t offer merit scholarships; the only reason Vanderbilt does is because it’s trying to aggressively increase the reputation of the school by poaching super top students who would otherwise go to ivies.
I don’t see a real reason for it here either. It makes sense at big schools where top students with more intellectual interests might feel alienated from the general student body, but everyone here is a top student who would be in the honors program at their state school. It’s not necessary to build your community here based around feeling intellectually superior to your non-scholar peers; just do it the normal way (clubs/interests/activities).
Just to be clear, I didn’t mean (and never said) my child wants a community for the purpose of “feeling intellectually superior” (far from it). It is more about the anxiety of being a student who knows no one and is 2000 miles from home and not at all outgoing. My question certainly didn’t imply that we don’t understand the student body is all scholarly at a place like Vanderbilt; it was more that one wants to know going in that you have to “build your commmunity” as @fdgjfg says rather than having one sort of “ready-made” when you arrive. Having a “ready-made” home base might appeal to introverted/shy kids and not be a big deal for others who are more outgoing.
IMO, that is why CC is useful-- for getting information in a descriptive way rather than assuming (sometimes in the worst light) why someone would be interested in a given program or approach since what might fit one person could simultaneously not be a big deal to another person. Everyone (I would assume) is looking for a college that fits his or her personality and approach. More information about our choices just helps in making such a distinction without making assumptions about other people’s motives.
Thanks for all the helpful replies!
Have not posted here since last spring, probably right before S '20 made his final decision, due to a family emergency and all kinds of craziness. My apologies to Faline, who also gave us great advice and whose input was so important to that decision. As you probably figured out by now, S did end up at Vanderbilt and is loving it there. He just mentioned today that he just hosted a guy from the west who ended up choosing between two different scholarships, one of which was the CV. My S is also a scholarship student but did not apply for the CV.
I think Faline is right in that the scholar experience is different at Vanderbilt than at some other universities. I would say it is not overwhelmingly ‘defining’ in a good way. The students are free to make it a larger part of their experience but they also can identify with other groups and activities, as well as pursue independent relationships and interests.It is a good balance. Our S spends time weekly with his scholarship group and also hangs out on his own time with friends from that bunch. They are often running out to some cultural event they were given tickets to, or lunch with an advisor, or getting together to do something in the community. On the flip side he has made lots of friends in a couple of other groups as well.
Last semester he got gear with friends and went camping. He went on a retreat in the Asheville area, to Dollywood, to an event at the Country Music Hall of Fame as a guest, a presentation of The Sound of Music, and to concerts that I couldn’t begin to list. He plays tennis and walks all over. They catch cabs or carpool downtown or to events in the area. We caught him on tv a few times cheering for the basketball team. He made it over to Lipscomb and Belmont for a game and other events as well with new friends from those schools. That scratches the surface at least, but it’s not all fun and games. Vandy is a serious academic school! He is not in a fraternity but has friends who are…and he does not drink. That’s ok at Vanderbilt. He is from the west coast. Like I said, he loves Vanderbilt! Just today he commented he would rather be at Vanderbilt, even if he didn’t have a scholarship, than at Duke with a scholarship (which he did have and turned down, even after they footed the bill for a second visit, post-scholarship event with a parent in tow).
@hanuman123 - Go with your gut. Have you visited both places? No offense to Duke, but S could not wait to get out of there. I agreed it was a poor fit for him. S '17 has a close friend their on scholarship who loves the place, but maybe it didn’t hurt that his mom was an alum. His brother, S '17 had always dreamed of going to Duke if admitted, and then didn’t even attend the admitted students event (even with his friend there) because although Duke looked like a great match on paper, by then he was choosing between Stanford, Yale and MIT. So he ended up giving up a full ride at Chapel Hill and scholarships at top elites that award merit, but I can say, with graduation around the corner, he has truly lived the dream. So many opportunities! Our D ‘14 chose a very selective LAC over a scholarship at Vanderbilt, even though it was tough for her to let that experience go. She wanted to do both! It was the right decision for her. Worked in admissions all 4 yrs and couldn’t have been happier. (Thrilled her little brother is there though.) Her older sister went the state honors program/scholarship route. Lots of positives there too, but sometimes wonders after watching her siblings’ experiences if she made the right decision. You really need to check out the campus vibe, go through all of the pluses and minuses and figure out what works for you.
Like Faline said, Vanderbilt is full of top-flight people, academically and otherwise. It is the only college four of our kids applied to and we are honored that our youngest gets to be a part of that wonderful community. We have visited everywhere, and USC is lovely but a very different vibe from Vanderbilt. So, like Faline said, Stamps is great, and certainly an honor but what else do you want to do? I mean that is just one part of college. Study abroad, music, sports (SEC or PAC 12?), alternative spring break, (great at Vandy btw!) religious group, political group, clubs? Also, speaking from experience, SEC and PAC 12 are very different overall experiences. Are you from California or the west coast? Nashville and LA are polar opposites as well but S’20 did not want to be in California.
Above, stvea who “regrets not choosing a scholarship at another school that gave me benefits compared to other students.” Good point. Do you want to be a big fish? Our nephew chose a scholarship at Tulsa for that very reason. S '17 has had Olympic athletes, actresses, and all kinds of other phenomenal beyond accomplished peers as dorm and classmates. The parents, staff etc are a who’s who list. Mostly they keep a low profile and he finds out from someone else who they are. As he says, “if you are the biggest fish in the pond, you’re swimming in the wrong pond.” What’s your preference? It is hard on some students to go from being top-dog at their school to a place like Vanderbilt where everyone was a top-dog. Others thrive in that environment.
@sursumcorda - Enjoy your visit. Vanderbilt is beautiful this time of year! Like I said, we are far from SEC country as well. S '20 did not end up applying to the deep south. But he also spent the summer after his junior year at MIT and even though the program director was upset with him for refusing to apply to MIT and Harvard where he was supposedly a “lock” (hmm…)he would not apply to anything north of Duke. And then he said Duke still felt like the NE! S '17 is on the quiet side but good at finding his people-somehow managed to lead everything, recruit everyone and get everything done in high school. He lit up on the Vanderbilt tour, yakking away with the tour guide most of the time. Looks like he is running true to form in college, which seems to always be the case. Where do you think your daughter would click? I think it is really telling to watch them and their interactions closely on the visits and then ask questions and add observations of your own right after the fact.
Our younger 3 applied to all of the top merit scholarship schools and need based colleges with success. They also each had very big scholarships at top state schools like WM and Mary, UNC Chapel Hill and the University of Washington with the perks you mentioned. In the end they were not satisfied with the dichotomy of what they felt was the two-tiered system. They wanted the diverse, uniformly strong student body for a peer group. How many courses will actually be with honors peers or are there contracts within regular classes? It varies greatly as to honors benefits. We researched/visited widely. Some programs are more substantial than others by a large margin.
Some students may not feel a match with that private school environment. It is not always easy to move across the country to a very different culture. There are bumps in the road but also many rewards. Our oldest was a year younger than her peers already and decided 6 hours away and an honors college was as much of a stretch as she could manage at the time. I think she was right. To be fair, I will add that she did somewhat outgrow that model by her upper class years and is the one that had the most regrets, even though overall she had a good experience and got a fine education. Our oldest son also said there in the end that he did not want to be the ‘poster child’ or top student on display (you see them at the scholarship weekends with the sales pitch) at a school either, and eliminated the scholarships/programs where that was a possibility. There is no right or wrong decision here-just different ones. I always tell my kids to do their homework, make their choice and then make it the right decision.Good luck!
Community is an important concept for all students. My suggestion is to embrace with great love and appreciation your shortlist of open doors in the next two weeks. Love each college. Get to know the history of the school and those who safeguard and guide the school. Picture yourself as an alum…does that offer you anything special? Is this a college you want to support annually as an adult? Keep in mind that our two sons had graduate programs that could have cost up to 300-400 grand easily combined and that one of their graduate programs required parental FAFSAs. Take the long view and be really smart about money.
Regarding the idea of a “community of scholars”, CV scholars have enviable perks but rarely talent that is any more unique than non-merit scholars. Did a merit scholarship help our Vandy son get a very generous tuition discount in graduate school? Probably helped-- Yes. Did it help him apply for jobs. Yes. But all students with high graduate school entry exam scores will also likely locate discounted grad school tuition if they are willing to make realistic choices.
When you have choices, I do think community fit is something to “shop” for but be careful and stay open to changes in the wind. Vandy son would like to have enjoyed Rice’s unique no-Greek residential colleges where you reside 3 years in one building with upperclassmen. He got in --but got zip merit money.
He liked the ethos of the three liberal arts colleges that he seriously pursued, but unbeknownst to us, he had grown up in something of a fishbowl neighborhood/town and as he got closer to decision month, he pivoted and decided he wanted a bigger pond with the opportunity to be “one of many.” He was somewhat relieved to not have so many adults know him well!! I do think that at mid to larger colleges, your true “teachers” are your peers. Perhaps you have zip overlap with each other academically but their work habits, their goals, their backbone, their imagination is in the air.
Allow prejudices to be challenged in your final visits. Our Vandy son was a bit turned off by stereotypes and worried about Greek life being prominent… but on his first visit to Vandy he saw how seamlessly Vandy blends into Nashville and he looked around and realized this was his town for four years. (He had told us Vandy was on the “bottom” of his list when we got on the plane.) Vandy has many signature little subcultures–make sure you dig a little. Independent students do just fine. Foreign study is one way to make liberal arts schools a more expansive experience but Vandy is expansive at its core right on campus. Nevertheless, keep in mind that you probably won’t be living on campus all semesters. Students get busy with foreign studies.
There is a lot to be truly grateful for in their first-year life and on that stunning first year campus. He did call on the upperclassmen who were assigned to him as freshman for advice. He did ask his advisor to look into things for him once in awhile. His House Faculty resident person in Stambaugh wrote him letters of reference for positions he applied for several times! even when he was an upperclassman. He chose to live in one of those houses for 10 students with two baths and all single rooms sophomore year. That house was coed and four of the students were bicultural/bilingual. He chose to live in McGill two years which has its own community. There are many ways to build sets of friends here and there on campus. He did Alternative Spring Break three years and kept friends from each outing. So, the student that I envisioned at smaller schools, not doing Greek life, turned out to have the mettle for the larger campus. Vandy is small enough that if you want to participate in most things–you are likely to be able to pick it up and find a niche. For him, Nashville was also a playground much enjoyed. Good luck sorting things out.
These posts are really helpful! We leave tomorrow- unfortunately it snowed last night so now 8+ hours drive to the airport to fly out instead of 6+ 
but we are still excited and my child has had some communication with professors and has some classes to attend in addition to the campus tour. Thank you to everyone who posted such detailed and helpful insights!
Our CV ds is visiting for the 2nd time 4/17-4/18 - all these comments are so helpful. He has several other schollies and now is just looking for the best fit. @sursumcorda let us know how your experience goes please.
I recommend letting darkness fall and having your son or daughter enter the major libraries including the one on the freshman campus. and just sit with their laptops observing. Ditto coffee shops on campus. Be an eavesdropper and an observer. Although it is awkward with parents… the dining halls. Honestly from what I can tell most men study in the libraries…my son used to study in empty classrooms on occasion as well. When the whole student body had As as HS graduates and top test scores, instead of focusing only on the impact of Greek life, sports, the gym etc, take a gander at how academic the student body has to be in order to maintain A or B grades at Vandy and elsewhere. It takes a lot of focus to maintain at Vandy but most students arrive with very very good work habits.
One thing you may not realize is that Vandy has a few mini-communities around it on foot. https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2011/11/know-your-city-historic-east-nashville/ Give them a gander. There are reasons Nashville is an oasis in the USA. Elliston Place, West End, The Parthenon (site of many weekend festivals), Hillsboro Village, and more more nearbycommunities. It is very easy to get off campus briefly. We took a one mile walk around beautiful Radnor Lake to talk over the final two colleges our son considered by mid April. It was hard to release the option of the intimacies of one of his offers with $ at a fine liberal arts college but in the end he preferred the wider world of Vandy, and he did spend a lot of time in Nashville itself.
@Faline2 : Aren’t USC and Vanderbilt pretty similar in “feel” (at least in some aspects) with the main difference I guess being the size. Depending upon what you want to study, this size gap can make quite the difference (like maybe if they are non-STEM, they will have more access to smaller courses earlier on Vanderbilt than USC. If STEM, then I must say, from what I have seen, they are very similar at the undergraduate level, especially in life sciences). As far as I am concerned, they are both elite privates. The OP better feel out some social and academic differences (maybe ignore the Scholarship since they have one at both), and make the choice that way. Both schools are great as far as I am concerned. They are quite blessed to have both options.
@stvea349 : I think they told you that because Vanderbilt and similar medium-sized schools are so solid academically and oppurtunity wise all around that you will naturally not have huge benefits over everyone else. You will get a more close-knit intellectual community if you desire (and you do indeed likely get strings pulled/easier special opp access if not opps specific to Scholars) that (as in you will come in as a part of a cohort within a decent size sea of students and that eases the transition). I never cared for the sentiment that honors students or those with a scholarship should be isolated or have some huge leg up (other than financially) over others, especially at an elite public or private school where others are paying more than a pretty penny to have reasonable access to the same resources. I think you should just really be happy to be at this type of school and to not be paying much or anything for that matter.
@fdgjfg : We all know that “high academic achievement” is relative. While hard to predict success in certain career paths of a student entering as a freshman, I notice that Scholars Programs at elite privates tend to target more “pointed” applicants achievement wise. I have no idea if this is the case at Vanderbilt, but the schools I see who offer it (including mines) tend to be attempting to snatch up those who not only have high stats but show insane aptitude beyond what a transcript or score, or even basic resume/basic EC profile can display. Those are the types that some Ivies (again, I do not throw Ivy around loosely. Let us be real, some Ivies really are hardly different at the UG level than any of the privates in the 15-25 crew of schools), specifically very top ones usually yield because the top Ivies/elites are more likely have a curriculum that can “handle” or cater to those students in their field of aptitude (most elite schools have some pathway, but there is no doubt that some have much clearer pathways that they are immediately recommended to and pulled into upon enrolling and these pathways have big reputations at said schools whereas at others without that type of tiering, you may kind of stumble upon the more advanced options for first years or have to get very special exemptions and red-tape cleared).
For students who truly want to advance in their niche area even more than they already have, you need money or something to draw them away from more “obvious” opportunities. Others are very high achieving at these places, but do not necessarily demand or prefer very specific academic/curricular strengths and options. For example, there is very much a difference between like a math genius or prodigy and someone who scored well on the SAT and AP AB/BC exams (at elites, those are a dime a dozen). To pull those students away from the usual suspects takes some effort.
A huge huge thank you to everyone who posted in this thread. All of your opinions were so insightful, and to other people reading this thread, this is what college confidential should truly be like.
Thanks again to everyone who gave advice. We finished our visit. Sorry this is so long, but several people asked for a summary after our trip. In all, my child met with three professors in the major, the dean of honors scholars, a CV student, the tour guide, and the recent-grad admissions officer. I met with the financial aid officer (who was AWESOME- my favorite person at Vandy) and we both met with a representative of our religious tradition on campus. (Other favorite person there!) We spent two days walking a total of about 11 miles around campus and to the streets at the edges of campus. I think we got a really solid feel about all of it.
I wanted my child to love Vandy, especially after I met with the financial aid officer and found that with the merit and aid, it would be a full-ride the first year at least, and close to that several years after most likely since my husband is still unemployed. I refrained from giving my impressions except positive ones until we sat in Waffle House (to us an exciting event- we have none in our state that I know of) discussing the decision at the end. We loved the religious center. If we could pick it up and move it to one of several other options currently on the table, it would cause those to be a top choice, even if they cost more. It will be hard to turn that center down.
Other than that, it was a bad fit for my child. I saw it, and child saw it. It was so very urban: sirens, honking, helicopters every hour. We were expecting something like Wash U which is in a city but very peaceful. It was not like that. The hospital changes that feel a lot. This is something that many students obviously love about Vanderbilt- they want that energetic, urban vibe. My child likes a peaceful, closed-off, college-centered feel. Additionally, the tour guide was the worst, by far, I have ever had. Not impressive as a student or guide. Child agreed. The admissions recent-grad was also not impressive. I was very surprised by both of those students/alums. It could be we had a bad day and got unlucky, but that is how a lot of these decisions work. It was cold, rainy, windy and the bad experiences with admissions- whether they should or not, they influence a choice in the same way good weather or an especially good admissions experience does. I personally know other awesome Vanderbilt grads, so I can balance my impressions. My child does not have any other relationship to Vanderbilt but this, so cannot. Luckily, the CV scholar meeting went better, and child was very impressed by her. Child also liked several of the professors and the Dean, who was very helpful.
As to the people who might be like the OP deciding about a specialized Honors Program and scholar status at a State Flagship or a CV at Vandy, our impression is that the experiences would be very different. Child and I both individually came to the impression that 2/3 of the professors and to some extent even the Dean didn’t really care if child accepted the offer there or not. This is nothing like the top merit/honors offers at state schools where it was clear the faculty and staff were invested in the success of their award winners. There was just a lack of interest in my child overall that was radically different from our other experiences. Concerns and questions child asked about different issues, from the food to finding internships to the extremely high Greek-life rate, were kind of dismissed or passed over by multiple people. It was a strange experience compared to all the others we have had. It wasn’t that anyone was rude or anything like that, but a questions about Greek life or freshman dorms or whatever would not find a response that asked what child’s specific concerns were, but more of an awkward silence and then an impression that the question was out-of-line or inappropriate or trivial or something. Kind of like child should be thankful to have an opportunity to go to Vanderbilt at all. That attitude did not sit well with us. Again, I suspect we just had some bad experiences and another weekend would have been different, but you can only judge by the experiences you do have. My child is very young (will turn 17 the same month as high school graduation) and would prefer a more directly-supported experience for undergraduate like those on offer in the top-merit honors/college scholarships at some state schools.
In sum, it wasn’t a good fit for multiple reasons. Breaks my heart to leave a low-cost, high value degree on the table, but in the end, we all want a place where our children can thrive and be happy, and this was a good lesson for our family that you often can’t tell until those visits. I certainly did get the impression and know from other alums that for many students, Vanderbilt is a perfect fit and would be awesome. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t true for my child but would be great for other kids . Best of luck to everyone in this process. It is almost over now!
@sursumcorda : I know you made your decision and had your impression, but I just want to know if you ever got to meet faculty/were received by specific departments and their faculty. It does not see unusual for Scholars programs to recruit this way to show the students some of the academic opportunities and heavy hitters who they can do research with and the like. Basically ways to say, “hey, we can take your already talented child and develop them more”. Like I alluded to above, maybe if your child was interested in math, you would be introduced to top math faculty and students (who may or may not be Scholars, one would hope that Scholars keep good company of both) and also a pathway that would accelerate and advance them through a curriculum quickly. I really hope they did not contain you to admissions folks and faculty conducting interviews.
Outside of this you got very unlucky. Don’t know about the thing about avoiding or deflecting certain questions. Perhaps these are areas of concern. They know those things attract many students, but certain attributes (like high Greeklife) may not do much to attract certain students recruited via CV. Again, often these merit winners, even if they have a similar achievement level on paper to the rest of the students (and like another poster said all folks would be in state honors programs, primarily because those are often decided purely by statistical cut-offs), often these merit programs are attempting to bring in some students with a different perspective from the traditional vibe of the school. Like if a school is work-hard play hard, they may want to bring in more “try hards”, “nerds” or creative types. Again it ain’t easy.
As for the urban feel, interesting: Think it depends on the part of the campus. The interior of Vanderbilt seems to be a very nice oasis with tons of trees and everything. The portions closer to the hospital may be quite the transition but the rest is really nice IMHO.