I hate to do this but... UT or Vandy?

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
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<p>I'll start off by saying I'm well aware that this is on the UT thread, so don't tell me I'm going to be swamped with biased answers. That's why I'm doing it. </p>

<p>I was lucky enough to be accepted to both McCombs at UT and to the College of Arts and Sciences at Vanderbilt. I thought Vandy was an absolute long shot, and after getting rejected from my no. 1 school, I became pretty set on going to UT. I went up and visited some friends and went to some fraternity parties 3 or 4 times, and had an absolutely unbelievably good time. I loved everything about UT, especially the greek scene. At McCombs, I'll major in Finance and possibly minor in geology or economics. </p>

<p>Once I found out I got into Vandy, I was immediately torn. I had been so set on UT that it was all I could think of (I was actually extremely close to putting my deposit down at UT the day before I got into Vandy). After seeing some of the statistics for this year's incoming class, it seems almost foolish to turn down Vandy (10.8% acceptance rate, at least 25% scoring perfect scores on SAT, etc.). </p>

<p>Now, all this being said, my only reservation about going to Texas is that it is simply not as good as a school. However, I am very interested in the Oil & Gas industry, and being from Texas and having a dad and a lot of friend's dads in the industry, it seems like a degree from McCombs for O&G is about the same as a degree from Harvard for iBanking. </p>

<p>So, essentially what this boils down to is this: Is McCombs Finance (possibly, if I'm lucky again, BHP) comparable to an econ degree from Vanderbilt? I specifically have O&G and other energies in mind, but I'd greatly appreciate any input on the worth in general. Cost is not a factor.</p>

<p>ANY input is EXTREMELY appreciated. This is one of the most important decisions of my life, and knowing that I have a little more than a week to make it and still being so torn is a bit terrifying. </p>

<p>Thank you in advance to anybody who responds to this! I really do appreciate it.</p>

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<p>" being from Texas and having a dad and a lot of friend’s dads in the industry, it seems like a degree from McCombs for O&G is about the same as a degree from Harvard for iBanking." - Very true. If you use the dreaded USNWR rankings UT Austin is actually ranked #26 for economics while Vanderbilt is down at #36 so even in economics UT is ranked higher. If you look at the top schools of business UT’s McCombs is ranked Top 20 at #17, whereas Vanderbilt is #25. Going strictly by the US News & World Report ranking (which many consider the first source for rankings;you know how that goes) I don’t see how you could say Vanderbilt is a better school in these particular fields. Of course, yes the rankings are for graduate school but then that’s all we have to go on for those particular fields. Either way, you seem like you’ll be ok. UT does have considerable pull, to put it mildly, in Texas.</p>

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<p>Any financial considerations? I would probably go with the one that is cheapest. I understand your point about students being academically stronger at Vandy. I do not think the differernce is significant enough to make a major difference.</p>

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<p>It is not clear how those statistics would have any effect upon your undergrad experience. Is this about bragging rights? “I got into a more selective school!”</p>

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<p>@franko - Yeah, I actually didn’t know that Vandy’s economics department was ranked so low. That’s surprising to me considering it’s the largest major at a top 20 school. I just don’t know if overall reputation at UT is strong enough for anything besides O&G should I decide to switch industries or states.</p>

<p>@perazzi - Thankfully, no. </p>

<p>@SoCalDad - Haha, unfortunately that might be part of it. When you put it that way, it makes it seem foolish. But I guess it’s also indicative of attracting stronger students and a potential rise in potential in the future.</p>

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<p>You are looking at two very different schools here. Have you visited Vandy? If not, you need to go and get a feel of its residential campus. </p>

<p>I would not judge schools by only looking at the stats. The acceptance rate-besides the name of an elite school that attracts applicants, private schools also have resources to fund their marketing efforts to lure more applicants. With Common app, universities and colleges are receiving more applications than before. All this will lower the acceptance rate dut to the increase of the application pool. High percentage of perfect SAT scores could mean more students from wealthy families that can afford to prep (or drill) for perfect scores. It does not necessarily mean students are stronger academically IMO.</p>

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<p>@sunny - Fair enough. Yes, I’ve visited Vandy twice now. The campus is beautiful, well laid-out, etc… You also bring up the point that it is residential, which is a major downside for me. At UT, I’d live in Towers, and as a graduation present would have my own room with my own bed and bathroom, and upperclassmen years I’d live in apartments and my fraternity house. This is opposed to Vandy, where I’d be cramped in a dorm all four years. </p>

<p>The fact that Vandy didn’t have a supplemental essay this year on the common app probably boosted its applicants by at least a couple thousand. </p>

<p>Also, I hate to be this frank, but I’m less concerned about the actual academic strength of students than I am about the reputation of the school. As far as I’m concerned, I’m going to work my tail off in either environment and do well - I could really care less whether I was doing that in a room where only 5% of kids were doing that or 95% were. Also, the consideration is to be made between Texas and Vandy, not A&M (haha!), so I agree the caliber of students, at least in McCombs, will be similar between the two.</p>

<p>Perhaps it would be beneficial to other people (since I imagine I’m one of only a few students choosing specifically between UT and Vandy) to make this thread even more focused on a large top-tier state school like UT, UMich, UCLA, etc. vs. their smaller, private counterparts, like Rice, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, etc.</p>

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<p>I think you’d do really well and fit in just fine at Vanderbilt.</p>

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<p>I think for what you think you want to you (O&G) you can’t and won’t beat McCombs for education, and MUCH more importantly, networking. Now you speculate what will happen if you change majors. Well that is just that…speculation. </p>

<p>Let’s talk about Greek Life. So Greek Life is important to you. Both schools have a very strong Greek scene. If you don’t mind me asking, what fraternities peaked your interest when you visited UT? I ask for a very specific reason. There are particular houses at UT that distribute bids not only based on who you are, but many consider family connections. It sounds as if your father is well connected in the O&G world, and let’s face it, those connections matter on West Campus. You will not have this benefit at Vandy. Vandy is a playground for some of the wealthiest families in America. This are the kids that went to some of the top prep schools in the nation. They are connected to each other. So breaking into this “out of state” scene, or “out of social circle” scene, may make pledging at Vandy more of an uphill battle. This may not be the case in your particular instance, I of course don’t know you or where you are from, so you may already know a huge majority of frat guys at Vandy.</p>

<p>And if the greek scene is important to you…sports may be also, since 80% of frat events surround tailgating, OU weekend, etc. Certainly you see the blessing of being a Longhorn versus a Commodore. What exactly is a Commodore anyway?..jk. And let’s face it. This is Texas. Texas women > Vandy women. Just sayin.’</p>