I’m currently making my college decision right now, and it’s looking that Vanderbilt is the most affordable for our family. I am also a hard left progressive and plan on being an activist at any campus that I go to, and I’ve heard that Vanderbilt has a sizable conservative population. Is this true? Are people politically active? Would they be willing to work on issues regarding race, climate change, and economic inequality during their time there? I’m worried that many of the students will be apathetic or conservative and that I would not be able to make progress on issues I care about.
I would say it’s somewhat true that there are more conservatives. However, that is just in comparison to other top schools; overall, the campus is definitely left of center. There is just a contingent of more conservative people, but a majority of them are associated with the greek life system and aren’t that politically active really.
It’s going to be less politically active here than somewhere like UC Berkeley, but there is definitely a social justice/activist presence that can be felt on campus. For whatever reason, it seems like there are less explosive/dramatic incidents here - for example, I couldn’t really imagine a situation developing here like that Halloween thing with Yale last year, or some of the protests at other ivies. I’m not sure if that’s because people aren’t as passionate about their political beliefs, or if it’s because the institution does a good job of responding to students promptly; Chancellor Zeppos and the administration generally seem to be really open to making changes/listening to students. Activists on campus definitely make an impact though.
Thanks for the info! Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?
Vandy is 70-80% left of center compared to 90+ at most schools. The administration is quite liberal although the activism is a bit toned down compared to schools like Berkeley and Yale. I personally like it and wish it would be even more split. Echo chambers are boring, you’re supposed to be challenged in college. I’d even argue that conservative voices are suppressed a little bit outside of friend groups due to potential backlash.
So you are looking to make progress on issues just with people who agree with you?
Relative to a liberal meca like Berkeley or Brown, yes it’s more conservative. It attracts a lot of southern applicant, which are more likely to be conservative. Adversity shouldn’t deter an activist; it should energize them. Go to the school you want and don’t let partisanship that is present everywhere bother you. Surrounding yourself with other viewpoints is a good idea.
@ClarinetDad16 makes a very good point
our Vandy son was active in liberal political groups on campus. For a top US university, Vandy has a healthy group of Republican voters that you will not find in other peer colleges. Nevertheless, the campus votes more left now. Here is how I view it (as a left leaning parent). The workplace in most of America is a politically divided experience now, and it is best to put faces to the opposition while you are in your formative college years rather than just showing up in the workplace without comprehension. Hone your skills at Vandy by knowing that in every class there are people who represent opposing views. btw Vandy has an unusually strong Communications department and learning to speak persuasively can be accomplished at Vandy. The newspaper can always use strong writers. PS. follow the money. Life is long and you probably have graduate studies ahead of you where money is scarce and loans are large.
My friend who’s a rising sophomore there is similar to you - he’s a very left leaning guy but involved with the more right leaning parts of campus -frats and the like but also with social activist groups and is pretty openly bisexual. He’s been at Vandy for a year and has not encountered very major problems - compared to schools like Brown (my commitment lol) it is less political, but not apathetic. You just have to fall into the right groups.
Vandy is pretty liberal (maybe too liberal at times!). Although we do attract more (conservative) people from the south, the campus climate is very politically correct and left-leaning.
Our experience with the admitted students day was harshly, uncomfortably LEFT for us. we chose not to finish the process at Vandy because of how uncomfortable we were made to feel and the lack of interest by anyone (including admissions) on jobs and outcomes. Jokes about “being poor”. And an insult that conservatives were LOST, not edited in any way by admissions. If you’re left you’ll feel welcome.
Good luck elsewhere, @rosa0463! :-h
I’ve been worried about the same thing - Vandy’s the only school where I can graduate debt-free but I’m extremely liberal and was hoping to escape the South, where I’ve lived all my life. I talked to several current students that were in the same situation as me and the general response has been that while there are conservative students, they don’t form a majority, and the large number of student organizations makes it easy to find supportive groups & opportunities for activism. One mentioned that with this year’s election, the left-wing majority was extremely evident this year (as could be expected, I guess). Hopefully I’ll see you this fall!!
Us conservatives are “apathetic” towards issues? Lol, it’s not that, its that we have a different mindset than your side. Some of the other people in this thread that are “worried” about conservatives being on campus, please don’t think that lowly of your own peers, we are all students after all, trust me we don’t bite 
If anything, its us conservatives on campus that should worry because there very well may not be a single university in the U.S that is conservative dominated (exceptions maybe BYU and Liberty U, but those are extreme outliers).
I used to be a radical liberal (and I mean Bernie Sanders liberal) in high school, and now I’m a sophomore and I’m a conservative with a capital C because of many different things, one of them being my current college’s atmosphere. I was accepted as a transfer student to Vandy just a week ago and one of the most appealing prospects of Vanderbilt is how much more even the split is there politically (or at least thats the vibe I get from the place).
One of the reasons why I’m leaving my current school is that I probably go to the most left-leaning school in the midwest and overall in the U.S (bonus point if you can guess which one), and I’m pretty fed up with it. As a conservative, we are constantly bombarded by liberal viewpoints because of professors and students, we are in the minority after all. It’s actually made my arguing skills sharper for that reason because I am on the constant defense. The way you write about conservatives suggests to me that you don’t have that much of a discourse with them (and I was the same way). Life is verrry different when you leave high school, and you should open up your mind more. Being an activist is well and all, but what is even more valuable (in my opinion) is engaging in arguments and debates with your fellow peers, especially the ones that disagree with you. All of us students are young after all, and we don’t have that much experience with life, so I don’t think its a wise idea to be extremely active politically (thats something I didn’t understand when I was a liberal). You don’t want to be stuck in an echo chamber where all you will ever hear is people that agree with you, because then you’ll never know what the other 50% of society thinks.
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@Sam-I-Am I might be wrong, but are you seriously taunting @rosa0463? Lol, it seems so with that emoji…
“All of us students are young after all, and we don’t have that much experience with life, so I don’t think its a wise idea to be extremely active politically (thats something I didn’t understand when I was a liberal).”
Don’t really understand what you mean here, @Mastodon97. Young people are impacted by public policy just like old people are. The political process is for EVERYONE. Young people ought to be politically engaged & active, regardless of which side of the aisle they find themselves on.
Also, you can be an activist and engage in debate… They aren’t mutually exclusive.
@Mastodon97, that would be a violation of terms of use! 
@Mastadon I agree with mostly everything you had to say. I was also accepted as a transfer this year and am a conservative coming from a very liberal hometown (Boulder) and left - leaning college.
I don’t understand why someone would be concerned with going to a school with a “sizable” (not majority) group of students that think differently. Especially when half of the country shares that group’s beliefs. To reiterate some other people’s thoughts, I chose Vanderbilt because in comparison to other top schools because it seemed to be atleast a bit more balanced politically. Growing up and learning around people with vastly different political views has allowed me to strengthen and mold my own beliefs and understand better the viewpoints of others. I personally don’t understand why you would want to be completely surrounded by people that feel the same way. It honestly sounds boring, but then again I like to argue.
@KRA123 : Meh, even at more liberal universities, you often get a great range of viewpoints especially in cases where there is much more economic diversity than normal for a selective public or private. I learned a lot from friends who were from upper middle class, wealthy, and working class/poor (me) families from other states who were either left leaning, centrist, or even somewhat conservative in some areas. It was quite interesting to see how even liberalism or conservatism takes on different tones and forms based upon income brackets and family background. When you have SE or ethnic homogeneity, then things can get boring. People didn’t have my same viewpoints and folks should honestly realize that this isn’t really going to happen if you attend any place with any sort of diversity, whether it be political, ethnic, whatever. They should check that fantasy upon going to admissions visits. What matters more so is people actually being able to “safely” have conversations about this stuff in formal or informal settings. Like if there is too much self-segregation (it will occur, but the severity is what matters. Like is it serious enough to cause a splinter on campus and divide them into two groups?), then having any sort of diversity is somewhat meaningless as you won’t really interact with other of opposing viewpoints anyway And if you do, such topics will never come up outside of say…a protest or demonstration (which I do not necessarily consider dialog in all cases) .
you’ll be fine here. i don’t think i’ve encountered someone who was super right since i’ve been here. they’re around, but unless you actively make friends with them, you won’t be around them. we’re pretty liberal on campus; when Milo Yiannopoulous came to speak, there was a counter-event to protest him coming. There was also a protest when the WBC came and walk-outs after the election. The student body really does care about these issues, you’ll fit in perfectly.
Part of a college experience is being open minded and learning from others who think differently than you.