<p>Vanderbilt undergraduate school recently conducted a poll which ascertained that the student body was split down the middle in political leanings. Yes, this is a new direction, but worth reporting, especially since many of us watched Evil Robot make the choice to go to Vanderbilt <a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=17863%5B/url%5D">http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=17863</a>
My husband and I were there at the Law School in the 1980s and I know the undergrads voted greatly for Reagan in a mock election. The graduate schools have always been diverse and exciting places, but the debutante atmosphere in the undergrad school is finally giving way, and there are many social groups in the undergrad school to call "home" if totally traditional is not your style. I took my son to a PreVU Day last June, and later he visited in the fall on his own, and he confirmed my impressions that Vandy undergrad is a place with real diversity of thought and geographical beginnings now. He met students from the Midwest and New England as well as from the usual corridors in the South. Combine that with Nashville's arty progressive vibe and cultural offerings, and Vanderbilt's lack of reliance on Teaching Assistants in the classroom, and you have a great institution. Admission Director Wm. Shain really impressed me. Although Vanderbilt admissions greatly increased in selectivity in the last three years, he conveyed a warmth that I found to be the opposite of arrogant and stated sincere intentions to make Vanderbilt an undergrad school that would be an outstanding social experience for people from any sector of the USA. My husband and I have lived in something like 14 states combined, are more Northern than Southern, and we were very happy in Nashville, which more of a melting pot culture than people on the Coasts realize.</p>