<p>Hi! I am a prospective Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar and am comparing Vandy versus UT Plan II Honors and Boston U (full ride). For the record, I will NOT be a sorority member. I have one big concern:</p>
<p>How loud are the dorms? I go to bed at 10 pm and am up at 5 am to go running. I am very studious and am not interested in the party/drinking scene at all. How often are there parties? I know I sound prude and un-fun, but I am concerned about not being able to get 8-9 hours of sleep (I am a training athlete) and not being able to find quiet study places for a Political Science/Middle Eastern studies major.</p>
<p>Any info would be greatly appreciated! A couple of people have told me that I shouldn't be worried because everybody in college sleeps less and parties more, but for the sake of this example please assume that I would continue the way I train/study now.</p>
<p>There is no lack of quiet study places at Vanderbilt. The library (central) is great and the quiet places (carrels etc.) aren’t anywhere used to full capacity at any time except MAYBE the 1 reading day they give us for finals.</p>
<p>That’s a really big maybe.</p>
<p>errr…you get a private room if your 10 friends’ concept is approved for a Mayfield Lodge after freshman year…and there are other ways to get privates like living in Kissam by choice. Lots of ways to protect yourself a bit. The freshman dorms at Vandy are probably going to outclass your other options and my son had a non drinking religious roommate freshman year (nice guy) who didn’t care that my son was not a big partyer…you just have to take your chances in year one. Older son at duke bought headphones that are noise cancelling as he is a classical music addict when he studies…and doesn’t like loud rock music…several kids had these on besides him. You will have a RA to discuss any possible bad conflicts with…don’t worry so much. You should be thinking about Boston vs Nashville for your next four years…good luck–I hope you don’t mind me pointing out that lots of people who have the stats to get into Vandy are nerds on some levels who study a LOT…you are not going to be that different in that respect. My son runs with friends often too</p>
<p>You probably need to chill out a bit about all these concerns and enjoy college. If you go to bed at 10 every night, you will have no social life. I’m not just talking about partying, hanging out and most other activities take place late at night. During the first few weeks you should expect to get very little sleep because you need to spend a lot of time making friends in addition to school work and exercise etc. I know you said to assume you will maintain this lifestyle in college, I would be absolutely shocked if were able to go to bed at 10 every night. If you have a roommate who parties, you can’t be this uptight because she will probably not be back until 2 am or so thurs,fri, sat. If you flip out every time she comes back late you will have a terrible relationship with your roommate. My roommate parties more than I do ( I do drink and party) but I don’t care that he comes back at 2 or 3 as long as he tries to be quiet and not wake me up. My advice to you would be to come to college with an open mind and then figure out how to maintain your priorities while having fun. and 5am running. . .yeah right. I was a very good competitive runner and athlete in high school and tried to run in the morning before classes. I lasted a week before I gave up on that. Chill out and be open to all the opportunities college presents.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman this year at Vanderbilt. He and his roommate selected each other over Facebook, which, though somewhat awkward, was effective. Although he described it “like using a dating service,” he was able to find a roommate with similar interests and time schedules. There is also a very brief questionnaire (?3-4 questions) that can be completed and Vanderbilt will set you up with a roommate. </p>
<p>Since half of the women and two-thirds of the men are not in fraternities and sororities, the majority of students are independent. I realize that is an obvious statement but people tend to forget this because the Greek scene is prominent, especially freshman year. And, of course, not all Greeks party. Please check the Vandy blog and look under a recent post about projects: [Inside</a> a Vanderbilt Project | The Vandy Admissions Blog | Vanderbilt University](<a href=“http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2011/04/inside-a-vanderbilt-project/]Inside”>Inside a Vanderbilt Project | The Vandy Admissions Blog | Vanderbilt University) It lists 8 students who have created a website to make it easier for students to become involved in service projects early in their freshman year. It briefly describes each of the freshman; most are independents. You will find many independents (and Greeks) who are interested in service, the arts, the environment, politics, etc. You will certainly find a lot of scholarly athletes (or athletic scholars). There are 1600 people in each freshman class; I’m sure that you will find many that share some of your viewpoints.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t plan to study in your room anyway. Though the rooms and desks are very nice in the Commons, it’s easy to be distracted there because “there’s always something going on.” For serious study, you probably want to go to one of the libraries or other quiet spaces on campus, but you’ll figure that out for yourself.</p>
<p>The 10 pm sleep cutoff is probably not realistic, but there are ear plugs, noise-canceling earphones, and sound machines that could make it possible. Since lots of fun activities (exclusive of partying) happen after 10 pm, you may want to shift your sleep time, but I think that will be true at any university.</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision.</p>