Diversity at Vandy

<p>When i visited Vanderbilt I got the vibe that diversity was lacking, since I am asian, how would the current students feel about that? What about Nashville?</p>

<p>Are you serious? There are so many Chinese people at Vandy, enough to have their own Chinese newspaper. I work at a lab in Vandy and trust me...there are tons of asian people.</p>

<p>I've seen the "numbers" (sorry, can't remember where to find them), and in fact Vanderbilt's undergraduate enrollment of self-identified Asians is relatively low, around 6%. What that means is Vanderbilt might be very interested in you, because the administration is committed to increasing the campus's diversity.</p>

<p>Something to keep in mind is that Vanderbilt has several different undergraduate schools, and the 6% is for the overall undergraduate student body. The number may be higher in A & S and the engineering school. More important than current numbers, as you are aware, is whether or not a student feels welcomed. My son is a freshman, and he is not Asian, but many, many of his high school friends are (we live in a big college town). I have asked him if the relative lack of Asian students is a down side of Vanderbilt, and he says there are fewer than he expected, but he hears no complaints from those who are there.</p>

<p>There are many Asians on campus, as graduate students and students in the professional schools. If you look at the faculty profiles, you will note that many Asians are on the faculty. </p>

<p>As for Nashville, it is quite a cosmopolitan community now, and I don't think you would feel out of place. </p>

<p>Vanderbilt is very different than it was a couple of decades ago, by design.</p>