My D transferred in Fall 2021. Vandy has a large transfer class and a very well run transfer orientation week, giving students ample opportunity to meet and make friends, discover clubs and the city. Vandy also guarantees transfers live on campus which enhances their ability to integrate into the student body as a whole.
My D did join a sorority (after much back and forth about the merits) but she tells me that her clubs are a larger part of her social life than her sorority. I think the importance of sororities, particularly for women, has diminished somewhat on Vandyâs campus. As far as female appearance, my daughter does not wear much if any make up, she dresses as she likes and hasnât felt any pressure to âdress upâ. She said if thereâs any of that it tends to concentrate with the freshman women when during rush. Overall, sheâs found the students very friendly and welcoming.
My D has found the students very welcoming and collaborative. It was one of the first things she commented on when we visited. She hasnât spoken much about any pre-professionalism. There are plenty of kids pursuing IB and consulting but Vandy doesnât have an undergrad business school so those students may seem more dispersed.
I canât speak to Georgetownâs core curriculum, but my daughter received very generous transfer credits from her prior school. And she has not found it difficult to fulfill the AXLE requirements. Also, be aware that Vanderbilt has an additional graduation requirement called Vanderbilt Immersion. There are diverse activities which qualify to fulfill it, but it is more geared towards experiences, such as travel or internships.
My D was also interested in Vanderbilt maymester, which provides students with the opportunity to go on international trips with a Vanderbilt professor, for about five or six weeks at the end of each academic year. She traveled at the end of her sophomore year to Israel with her Greek professor to work at an archaeological dig site at Herodâs palace and tour various regions of an Israel. She had a fantastic experience.
Sheâs also enjoying living in Nashville. The weather is a plus of course. We are from the mid Atlantic region and she was excited to experience a different part of the US.
If you have any other specific questions, feel free to PM me. Your daughter has wonderful choices, sheâll have an amazing experience at any one of them.
Have you had a chance to visit the schools sheâs considering? Georgetown and Vandy have very different vibes and she might find one fits or feels better to her?
We live in the DMV area, so we are much more familiar with Georgetown. I think she is ok with the vibe though finds it kinda pre-professional and maybe kinda Type A. Some of this is based on opinions from friends she knows at GU who specifically mentioned business school and SFS students as being arrogant / elitist, and club culture being needlessly competitive. General impression is that a lot of people are networking / building their resumes. Thatâs not necessarily bad but might not be the college experience sheâs looking for. To be fair, sheâs learned a lot of great things about the school as well.
She is going to try to visit Vanderbilt before she must commit. Unfortunately, I donât think she will get as good a sense of Vandyâs vibe in early June compared to the academic year.
Georgetown is NOT lowering its LSAT range to take a kid from their undergrad. That wonât happen. The below- the- range admits are kids with a compelling life story related to the legal/criminal justice system- a kid who grew up visiting an incarcerated parent. A kid from the foster system. Not an under-performing kid from their own university!!!
So Iâd take that out of the equation. If the OPâs stats are solid, OP would get into Georgetown anywayâŠ
Georgetown does have an Early Assurance program for its undergrads who apply to GULC as juniors (I believe). My understanding is that LSAT is very deemphasized for such applicants and only required to meet ABA accreditation, or something to that effect.
Does Northwestern have a chapter of her sorority? That could counterbalance the perception of transfer-integration challenges (although I personally donât know whether they are worse than the other two on that front).
I donât think you can go wrong with any of these three, although if sheâs doing well enough at her current school to score all three of these transfer acceptances, Iâm pretty sure sheâd do just fine with law school admissions from there as well!