Help! Vanderbilt or Davidson?

<p>Hey guys! I am planning on applying to either Vanderbilt or Davidson EDI, but I can't decide which. I know that I want to apply early and that I would be happy at either, but unfortunately I have to pick one! I will post this in the Davidson board as well because I know that posting in the Vanderbilt forum will be biased towards Vandy, but what makes you guys like Davidson or Vanderbilt? What is the social scene like? I want to party in college but not excessively; I definitely want to go to college with people that know how to have fun but also can be down to earth and intellectual. What is the surrounding atmosphere like? Do you leave campus a lot? What are classes/workload like? Biggest vs smallest classes? Is there a common stereotype for students at your school? Anything that you guys can give me would be extremely helpful, I just really need to choose soon and need someone to push me one way or another!</p>

<p>Both are great schools and offer their students an excellent education. Vandy offers more of the “total college experience”. Vandy is a national university, SEC sports, urban campus (nice safe area), lots to do for young adults in Nashville, walk to places to eat around campus, school spirit, greek life, grad. schools, national name recognition. Nashville is a center of music, healthcare, tech, banking and state government. It’s best to visit both schools and see which fits you best. Good luck.</p>

<p>Have you had a chance to visit either school? Davidson is a very good school is but very different than Vanderbilt–there are almost as many kids in the freshman class at VU as there are in the entire school at Davidson. Do you want a school that size in a small town that is 30 miles from the closest major city? Are you absolutely settled on your major–at Vanderbilt you would be able to change from a liberal arts focus to something very different such as education or engineering if you wanted–that would necessitate a transfer from Davidson. </p>

<p>As bud^^ likes to say, at Vanderbilt you can have the “total college experience” with strong academics as well as a strong,varied social scene (greek life, lots of other clubs and student groups, off campus entertainment…) Div 1 sports and a degree from an institution with a national reputation. My daughter has loved Vanderbilt but has friends who are quite satisfied with Davidson.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision!</p>

<p>We greatly respect Vandy and Davidson and our Vandy student had scholarship offers at both schools.<br>
Because he had been raised in a tranquil small city, he chose Nashville over Davidson, and he has benefited greatly with his access to Nashville and with the exposure to the broader and more diverse student body of Vandy. Davidson is also a national footprint college, so I am not criticizing Davidson for any diversity marks it doesn’t hit. Davidson gives a lot of attention to diversity goals.
One of my best friend’s daughter picked Davidson merit over Harvard and over a Cornelius Vanderbilt scholar offer from Vandy. She is from a large city, traveled extensively as a young adult and she loves the peace and tranquility of Davidson for her very intense academic goals. I visit her there. The village of Davidson is very cozy and a good place to be. She has much much more intimate contact with her professors than is common at Vandy. She is getting excellent small classroom science training which suits her. She will go abroad…as most Davidson students will…they do a good job placing students off campus to make up for the small school downsides. She will garner references that will be very personal, an advantage at Davidson for grad schools. She is a female so she is actually relieved re the lack of sororities, and she loves the Eating Clubs for women. Vandy girls go about 50% to sororities. That is a high number of students but I think it is foolish to drop a college that is Greek oriented. Who would drop UVA or UNCCH or the honors programs at Univ of GA? I wouldn’t. Admissions to Vandy and Davidson can be unpredictable.</p>

<p>Vandy for our son is more about the whole package of stimulation and the bigger sea of people and opportunities but Vandy will never be as cozy as Davidson or Haverford. You will never duplicate a small liberal arts college at Vandy Duke and Emory or Rice…but you will get a personal education at these mid sized research universities in the south. Classroom sizes are really very good at Vandy. But you will not have the “take home exam” honor code option policy that you have at Wash and Lee or Davidson. I personally believe that a Davidson education can be a strong foundation for grad school, but our son decided it was the wrong atmosphere for his needs at age 18.
good luck with your final choice</p>