Emory vs. Vanderbilt

College Search & Selection
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<p>I typed up this post for an NYU transfer who was trying to debate between Vanderbilt and Emory. I am a current student at Vandy, and my expierences may help others trying to decide between the two schools. </p>

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<p>Politically – Vanderbilt is a moderate school. Every year the Hustler (the student newspaper) does a survey and the student body is always split evenly. I’ve seen some surveys that show that the student body is more left and some more right, but overall its split nearly exactly 50/50. People are respectful of each others ideas, but you will be surrounded by a mix of ideological beliefs. In regards to Emory, I think the political atmosphere of the school would be considerably more liberal. Since you are coming from NYU, a predominately liberal school, Emory may likely have more like minded individuals. Also – if you are into the emo/hipster scene at NYU, there will likely be more kids like that at Emory.</p>

<p>The “Typical Student” – First off, before I compare the schools it is important to
emphasize that I think at either school you will find your niche. Both schools draw many types of students and from all walks of life and it is your job to investigate whether you believe the following stereotypes are true. Essentially, both Emory and Vanderbilt have a reputation for having wealthy students. An outsider would think that this would make the schools similar, but the students have sharp differences in style of dress. Emory students – in particular the girls – are stereotyped as wearing more “flashy” type clothing. Clothing brands such as Juicy Couture, Gucci, and Triple Five Soul are relatively common. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt has more an athletic/preppy style of dress. Brands such as Patagonia, Polo, and J. Crew. At Vanderbilt there is a neater, “prep school” type of look. Don’t be concerned by this – at both schools the majority of students wear just “regular clothes”. When compared to NYU however, there will be considerably less kids at Vanderbilt with dyed hair, excessive tattoos and piercings, gothic-style clothing. Despite the stereotypes, most kids at Vandy are laid-back and you will be fine by just wearing t-shirts with jeans/mesh shorts. The students are extremely friendly and the hospitality is contagious.</p>

<p>Athletics – By going to Emory, there will be opportunities to see sports teams such as the Braves (MLB) or the Falcons (NFL). In terms of collegiate sports, Emory is D-III and competes in the UAA. Attendance is rumored to be low and students generally turn to intramurals for involvement. Sports at Vanderbilt are extremely exciting. Historically, our football team struggles but win or lose the tailgates are always lots of fun. One tradition at Vanderbilt that may seem unusual at first is that guys will often bring dates to games. Guys will generally wear a shirt and tie with khakis and girls will wear sundresses (btw, Vandy girls are absolutely gorgeous). Although their may be a lot of drunken hook-ups on weekends, there is a good dating scene at Vandy to counter-balance it (I’m not sure of the Emory Dating Scene). Unlike regular dates, asking someone to a football game isn't a big deal and is basically a guaranteed "yes". After the game, many kids will go hang with a group of their friends to a nice restaurant before getting ready for the parties later on in the night. If this isn’t your scene, not to worry. There are also a large group of kids on campus that are part of “Dudley’s Defenders”. These kids will dress informally (wear t-shirts to the games) and some of the guys will paint themselves in black and gold paint, wildly cheering for good old Vandy. School spirit is very high on campus. In terms of basketball, we generally have a solid team. Two years ago we defeated NC State to make it to the Sweet 16. Our best basketball players are rising juniors, and we will likely make the tournament this year. Memorial Gym is really loud (kids in the student section are referred to as “Memorial Maniacs”) and the place is generally packed. One word of wisdom, for big teams such as UFlorida or Kentucky make sure you get to the gym early. Personally, I’m more of a football/basketball fan but we also have a really good baseball team. We made Super-Regionals last year (one game away from going to College World Series) and Baseball America ranked our freshmen recruits #1 in America. In Nashville, there are also Titans games (NFL) and Predators (NHL) about two miles from campus.</p>

<p>Diversity – When comparing schools, Emory has the higher overall diversity of students of color. But it largely depends on the group. At Vanderbilt the numbers are as follows: African Americans (8.3%), Asian (7%), Hispanic (6.3%), with students of color making up 22.7% (not including International Students). I have been pleased with the diversity but I think old perceptions die hard. At Emory, the numbers are as follows African-American (9%), Asian (16%), and Hispanic (3%). The diversity numbers are similar but I think the major difference is that Emory has a much larger Asian population. Historically, when looking at Southern schools, Emory- WashU – and Tulane also generally attracted relatively larger Jewish populations. While Duke – Vanderbilt – Wake Forest were predominately more protestant/catholic. But I think that these distinctions have largely diminished over the years. For instance, Vanderbilt’s Jewish population has improved over 400% in the last couple of years (It’s around 10-12% now). One area where Vanderbilt is not diverse is that there isn’t a big gay/lesbian population. If you are gay, Emory being in Atlanta would likely have a larger gay scene.</p>

<p>Social Life/Greek Life – Hopefully, an Emory poster could elaborate on the Greek life at Emory. Although I’m an independent, most of my suitemates are in fraternities and I have good knowledge of the scene at Vanderbilt. Vandy differs from many schools in that fraternity members (aside from the officers) do not live in houses. The vast majority of the parties are open parties meaning that all you need to get in is your Vandy Card. Thursday night kids generally take cabs and go downtown to bars/clubs. On the weekends, the Frat parties center largely around themes: Paint parties, 80s, Great Gatsby, White Trash, Golf Pros/Tennis Hos, Middle School, Anything but Clothes, foam parties, jungle/army and about a million others. A typical pregame is generally playing beirut or flip cup in towers and generally there will be several kegs. Most kids are pretty responsible – mostly just a lot of dancing and kids just having a good time. There are also tons of live bands and DJs on campus every weekend. Vanderbilt will spend a lot of money to bring in huge bands – Homecoming and Rites of Spring (multi-day festival on campus with like 30 bands) will always have big name talent. Nelly, OAR, Modest Mouse, Maroon 5, Weezer, Counting Crows, Busta Rhymes, Dave Matthews, The Wailers, Ben Harper, Better Than Ezra, Cake, Robert Randolph, Afroman, Hootie and the Blowfish, Nappy Roots, SR-71, Pat Green, My Morning Jacket, Yonder Mountain, Bone-Thugs have all played recently, among others. (If you listen to Indie/Alternative, a lot of those type of bands play at Exit/In, Ryman, and The End along Elliston Place in Nashville with a lot of vintage style shops similiar to around NYU.)</p>

<p>Although there is a big party scene at Vanderbilt, do not be deceived. The kids here are highly motivated and put tremendous effort into their school work. The workload here is very demanding and it is not unusual for kids to have to pull numerous all-nighters. The teachers are also brilliant and foster classroom discussions. Finally – there are definitely alternatives for kids that do not drink. Last year, I lived on Peabody and a lot of the non-drinking kids would just grill out on the BBQ, bring out some music, and play some beach volleyball (the court is right next to the dorm) with the girls who lived upstairs.</p>

<p>Misconceptions – Many people on this board consider Vanderbilt a “regional, southern” school but this is simply not true. I have lived in New York for my entire life and I have been here for three years and the campus could really be anywhere in America. I have friends from every single region of the country. If my car broke down in Oregon, Colorado, Massachusetts, Kansas, Texas, or Florida I would have a friend to call. Less than half the student body is from the south and NY is one of the most heavily-represented states. The preppy stereotype has more truth to it – there are a lot of kids here from top prep schools and the kids here are very articulate, athletic, and sociable. But all in all the kids at Vanderbilt are extremely friendly; it feels like a big family. People will greet you on your way to class and it has a tightly-knit, community feeling. Hopefully, an Emory poster can provide insights on the campus life of Emory, so you can make a balanced decision. Good luck choosing.</p>

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<p>Social Scene --</p>

<p>Vandy > Emory.</p>

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<p>I'd take Emory. It's more relaxed then Vandy is.</p>

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<p>^ You're insane. You can't get more fun than Vandy with its hot girls and frat parties. Emory girls are laughable by comparison and so is the social life.</p>

<p>With that said, I'd go to Emory for med/premed and Vandy for everything else.</p>

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<p>I'm far from insane. I dont need frat parties and such to have a great time. Also, Emory has a far larger Jewish population.</p>

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<p>i like vandy, but it's very preppy though...if u dont care for preppiness than Emory is the place to be..much more laid bk.</p>

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<p>People who think Emory is just good for pre-med are the reason Emory is getting a marketing team, lol.</p>

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<p>"With that said, I'd go to Emory for med/premed and Vandy for everything else."</p>

<p>Because Emory's #5 ranked undergrad business program isn't as good as Vanderbilt's non existant bschool.</p>

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<p>how is emory a laid back place? goldcoast</p>

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<p>Well obviously you wouldn't compare non-existent programs. That ranking is also flawed (I'd use US News' which is pretty consistent with salaries/recruiter rep than a ranking that puts Goizetta? over Stern).</p>

<p>But calm your Emory feathers :); I am not even providing facts. I was under the impression this was an opinioniated thread as no one has offered statistics (only experiences) so I gave my own personal opinion. </p>

<p>Mostly it is because of the better social life that I would choose Vandy over anything non-med at Emory. </p>

<p>Different strokes 4 different folks...</p>

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<p>Hmmm that was very interesting, thanks for posting. </p>

<p>These are two of the few schools that I am really considering. I visited and loved both, but it's always nice to get the opinions of people who are actually attending on the schools.</p>

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<p>Emory has a much better reputation around the country.</p>

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<p>^^^
Nope.</p>

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<p>In New York most people hold Emory in higher regard, and seeing that ricegal probably is in TX, I'm assuming that holds true for that state too.</p>

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<p>I’m from NY and in my community Vanderbilt is considered the more prestigious school. It is incorrect for you to assume that your preference has a correlation for “most people”. According to the revealed preference data, Vanderbilt ranks considerably higher than Emory in cross-admit battles. Also – Vanderbilt’s acceptance rate was 31% for class of 2010 (for Arts & Science – 27%) which is on par or better than Emory's. To say Emory has a much stronger student body and reputation around the country is largely inaccurate.</p>

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<p>I'd have to agree with college2332 for the most part. I wouldn't use acceptance rates as an acceptable measure though since Uchicago has a 40% acceptance rate and Umich had a 60%.</p>

<p>From my experiences, Northern VA/DC kids have never heard of Emory but they are more likely to know Vandy. Those that know both consider Vandy more prestigious.</p>

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<p>all i know is that when one kid in my kid's HS graduating class also applied to Vandy besides my own and was rejected while ours was accepted, the parents of the child rejected stopped talking to us. That child attends Emory.</p>

<p>Emory is pw3nd.</p>

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<p>I would venture to guess that Vandy may be better known among the layman due to its more visible athletic program, notably basketball. When it comes to meaningful* national prestige for academics I think Emory clearly has an advantage. In my experience this is partially due to Vandy’s association with being a very traditional southern school (which is a negative in most places). When comparing these schools, Vandy’s perception is multiplied since Emory has moved in the opposite direction as being perceived as a “northern” school located in the south. This is largely because of Atlanta, the student body, and the association with prestigious national institutes like the CDC and Carter Center. Again, this is what I have seen in the northeast, and there will likely be others with different views</p>

<p>*Perceived prestige by professionals, etc.</p>

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<p>The CDC and the Carter Center definitely give Emory prestige points that Vanderbilt simply can't counter.</p>

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<p>I'm a business major and I'd choose Emory over Vandy in a heartbeat.</p>