Is the "Southern" stereotype true of Vandy?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
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<p>So I live in Texas - and to be honest I don't really like it here. Sure the girls here are beautiful (albeit a little excessive with the make-up) but I find this place to be excessively conservative, ignorant, arrogant and "hicky".</p>

<p>Even living in quite a nice and privileged area, I never fail to see a ton of either A. Excessively naive, arrogant, racist, and preppy rich white kids or B. People who are ridiculously southern (rednecks)</p>

<p>I try my best to be culturally tolerant, but I am sorry I can not STAND red necks with their giant trunks hailing giant confederate flags, screaming "NOBAMA" and constantly preaching their strong beliefs in gun laws and how whites are the best. </p>

<p>Also, racism seems to be a huge issue with these types of folks. Some kids have freaking bumper stickers with giant bold letters saying "White Power", making incredibly slanderous and racist statements towards me ( an asian ) and many others. Whenever I speak my language, I am mocked and told that I am "in America" so I should speak that way. And damn I am sick of the squinty eye joke. </p>

<p>I know these people aren't inherently bad people - they are incredibly nice towards me sometimes, but have no filter when it comes to their opinions on race.</p>

<p>I'm also not a fan of the white, southern, and preppy culture - A couple days ago I was called poor for driving a honda civic to school. Enough said. </p>

<p>I'm cool with conservatives and I think everyone is a little bit racist and arrogant sometimes but this really is too excessive. </p>

<p>Now I'm not saying everyone at my school is like this - only about 30% has these traits - many are very nice. </p>

<p>This is the reason I am not applying to any Texas schools besides the more diverse UT - Austin - I am tired of racism and being marginalized by how much my parent's make. </p>

<p>My parent's discourage me from applying to Vandy because of it's location in well.... erm... Tennessee. .. which really isn't known for their erm.... tolerance and diversity. I told them that Vandy people are known for being hospital, but they say they are only hospital towards whites. Supposedly there is this huge divide where rich whites hang out with rich whites, asians hang with asians, blacks hang out with blacks, ect.
However, I hope Vandy is better because it's known for being academic, but I dont know... I have heard reports from students about Vandy being more racist than most top schools. </p>

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<p>This “stereotype” issue regarding VU is so tiresome! Plenty written on it at CC…look for it. Pure nonsense, and 20 year old facts. Yawn.</p>

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<p>You want a culture that seems different/more culturally diverse/less entitlement behavior in peers… than the culture around you in high school. Understood. This is a factor in your decision making process. Keep in mind that many students are looking for change in their college home. Since even highly qualified students have a slim chance of admission to Vandy, you have your “agony” decision making backwards. Agonize during the 30 days of your senior spring after Vandy is one of your options. Refrain from agonizing and stereotyping and judging until you have admissions in your pocket…then go at it till you find your best offer. Best offer and best fit are number one above all: financial safeties. Secondly judge academic fit and emotional fit.</p>

<p>You are probably going to go to grad school. We are done with 8 years of paying Duke (full pay) and Vandy (merit aid) now but Duke son starts night school MBA soon and Vandy son will start a very expensive graduate program in 15 months some where. Please let me emphasize what guidance counselors in high school seldom push parents to evaluate --the student graduate school loan burdens and if they are going to offer reduction.</p>

<p>Our son thought he originally wanted a very lefty culture with no Greeks–possibly a LAC education… but the recession crash came in the fall of his senior year. Yes, he was admitted to Haverford and Swarthmore and his very good flagship colleges. He got very little need financial aid at his favored LACs. His private school merit offers came from Vanderbilt and Davidson. </p>

<p>If you attend a private college, even one with a great endowment, even a university that is need blind and puts no loans in its financial aid package, you may have to compromise and open up your personal preferences. Vandy son was also bothered by its “Old South” reputation. He got over it. He visited and realized that Vandy was his number one offer not only financially but he fell in love with the campus and the city. He was active in Democratic organizations and political activities around him and in DC. He did his own thing and didn’t rush or spend time in Greek organizations. He decided to his surprise that he preferred the larger more fluid size of Vanderbilt rather than the smaller intimacies of a LAC. Many of his friends are Asian American although from different national backgrounds. Vanderbilt has a really decent lifestyle for non Greeks due to its good location and good town/gown relations. Some colleges are isolated and have less to offer on weekends.</p>

<p>Be open-hearted, and refrain from stereotypes. In April you can sort all things out. Make a list that makes sense financially. Make a list that includes safeties and has colleges on it that are financially sensible. Keep your UT Austin option open until April of your senior year. There are many equally deserving kids who will end up at honors colleges in their home states and who will “take off” with the same momentum as private school grads. </p>

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<p>Nashville is a lot more liberal than the rest of TN. Davidson county votes a lot of blue. And I think especially at Vandy, people are pretty tolerant.</p>

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<p>The reality is the Southern culture (it’s negatives and positives) still exists at Vanderbilt. Even though Vandy has tons of kids from other regions, many of them actually wanted to attend a “Southern” school. “Southern culture” in this context ultimately revolves around rich southern white culture, and while the demographics have changed dramatically, the school’s culture and social scene is really tailored for white students – The South, the Greek System.
I had a similar background and perspective as you when I was in high school. Personally I think anyone non-white would have a better time at a different peer school, or even UT Austin. That said, if you’re reasonably social, you’ll undoubtedly develop a large group of friends and enjoy your time.
But yeah, I don’t think Vanderbilt is an ideal elite school for minorities for many reasons. </p>

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<p>Sometimes parents say the darndest things:
-don’t eat between meals, you don’t want to decrease your appetite
-the shot at the doctors office will not hurt
-the elf on the shelf will watch you and report back to Santa
-my friend has a cute son who wants to go on a date with you
-Pluto is a planet
-Vanderbilt will never beat GA, FL, and TN in football</p>

<p>Fortunately some kids have the courage to explore the world on their own.</p>

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<p>Strongly disagree with vandydone. There are minority students who would not fit in at ANY elite white school, because of their own views and preferences/personalities. They may be insular, and sub culture oriented. I guarantee that any outgoing, sociable person, of ANY color, would seamlessly fit in at VU. Now, at any school their are cliques of highly privileged, rich, snobby kids. Well, the criterion in such cases is money and social prestige, and that usually excludes people of ALL colors who do not have money/prestige.It so happens that minority students attribute this exclusion to their race!!! That is NOT peculiar to VU. Many kids bring an apprehensive, suspicious, and defensive attitude to VU, against what they EXPECT will be exclusionary, discriminatory treatment, and end up fulfilling their own misguided prophesies. I am utterly flabbergasted by this persistent blathering about the Vanderbilt stereotype. Lets face it, there are “class” and race-based attitudes in this country, and we can NEVER expect them to see things the same way. Just don’t blame VU for these endemic attitudes!</p>

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<p>misspelled “there” above as “their”. Will do penance.</p>

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<p>I only said Vanderbilt was “not ideal” for minorities. This isn’t exclusive to VU, but it’s also not typical at peer schools. You can easily have a great time at Vandy even if you’re a minority. </p>

<p>OP, have you ever been online and someone makes a joke about Texas (or some other southern state) being racist or backwards, and some white Texan or southerner gets defensive and says, “It’s not true. The south isn’t racist. There’s racism everywhere. The south is very friendly. Boston is racist” --or something to that effect.
But you know your experiences in the South. You’ve probably visited family in other parts of the country and noticed a difference. You probably realize that while racism is everywhere, some places have more of it despite their defensive protestations…so take some of these posts, including mine, with a grain of salt.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt isn’t redneck and no one will call you poor for driving a civic. It’s more conservative than peer schools but not excessively so. Vandy and TN are different. There’s a big difference between growing up in say, Lynchburg, TN and being a student at Vandy. There isn’t significantly more self-segregation at Vandy than other schools. The only difference is that there are fewer organizations on campus where students come together. At other schools, kids self-segregate, but tend to come together because of certain student organizations. At Vandy, these student orgs aren’t as relevant as your social circle, but they can be if you want.</p>

<p>College really is what you make it. If you go into it expecting a bad time and not doing anything to change it, then you’ll have a bad time. I still think minorities have a better time with less effort at other comparable, “elite” colleges.</p>

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<p>VandyDone - I would suggest you really think through what you wrote, possibly do some research to correct some of the generalizations you make. The generalizations really are harmful, bordering on the ridiculous, and unfortunately they are reflective of too much discussion on too many topics in our society today. I would hope for more rigorous reasoning on a board discussing “top universities”. Please know that I do not attack you personally, but I do challenge what you say. </p>

<p>As for Vanderbilt being a Southern school, I suppose that is a geographic fact. And you can prove objectively that the average daily temperature is higher in Nashville than in, say, Chicago. Beyond that it really means nothing. </p>

<p>People are people no matter where you find them. Most are nice and generous, a few are not.</p>

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<p>VandyDone, I’m not sure why you would spread lies like this. I’m a black guy and nobody at Vanderbilt has ever treated me badly. I get invited to all the same stuff everyone else does. Vandy isn’t really anywhere near as clique-ish as you make it seem.</p>

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<p>VandyDone posts a lot of negative things about Vanderbilt on this board, and seems a little bitter.</p>

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<p>My D is from the midwest. While she is white, she isn’t rich … nor is she southern. She enjoyed her time in the south, but she is back in the midwest, where she feels at home. The young lady who was D’s roommate throughout their time at Vandy is southern, but she is not white. Whether or not she is rich, I couldn’t tell you … it wasn’t a topic of conversation. They were two friends who weren’t into the party scene, who went to singer-songwriter concerts, who had friends of all races and religions, and who had an awesome academic experience. It’s a large enough school that there is no “typical.” </p>

<p>I will say that there are plenty of rich, white, southern students at Vandy. To assume there is something “wrong” with them for simply being rich or white or southern is quite unfair. </p>

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<p>My son is of mixed ethnicity. His friends comprise a rather “colorful” mix, and many receive need-based fin aid, while there are some quite wealthy kids around as well. He feels that Vandy is actually more tolerant than many of the “liberal” schools, because all viewpoints are tolerated generously, there is neither any PC pressure to be liberal, nor any “red state” pressure to be conservative. They talk and debate, but it seems to be an open, accepting culture. (Yes I’m sure there are a few intolerant bozos around, but they haven’t come up in conversation.)</p>

<p>And I have to say this to OP: I think your post reflects some of the same prejudice and intolerance about which you’re complaining. I can understand negative reactions to bad experiences, but you have to move on. People tend to respond to what they see from you.</p>

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<p>Theapples,
-the admissions process at VU and the other top universities do a nice job of screening out the type of people you list above
-yes a few slip through but this is true at any university
-you will be accepted at VU and at any of the top universities
-well funded students are needed at any private university to make the numbers work and pay the bills
-need blind or not about 40%+/- students at all the top 20 U’s are full pay. Coincidence ??
-students often spend time with peers with similar backgrounds and race. I have noticed the less diverse schools have more race interaction and the very diverse schools tend to have less interaction of students with different ethnic backgrounds but it’s really up to you</p>

<p>So visit the universities you are interested in, go in with an open mind, talk to the students, and you will see what works best for you… </p>

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<p>Theapples,
The truth is the Greek system dominates the campus. And the Greek system is overwhelmingly white. I’d like to stress that you can have a good time even if you’re a minority.</p>

<p>Ultimately, You’ll get more honest answers from current students themselves. Not parents. Not white students on CC (no offense). Contact club members of the Asian Students Association, South Asian students association, and any other minority affinity group on campus. Ask them to “keep it real”. Don’t ask anyone involved with MOSAIC since admissions affiliated people are too biased.</p>

<p>That goes for anyone considering any school. Find a way to talk to a bunch of non-admissions affiliated students to get the real scoop on a school.</p>

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<p>"There is only 12%, while in most good colleges there are ~25%, which makes me think that Vandy discriminates against Asians to match the national demographics. "<br>
Interesting conclusion Vandalizer-- the admissions office at Vandy “discriminates” against Asians, really??<br>
Looking at the same stats, I conclude that Asians are less interested in attending Vanderbilt because of perceived stereotypes, real or imagined, that are perpetuated by threats such as this on CC. Of course, my conclusion may be incorrect also</p>

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<p>Vandalizer - To really prove your thought you’d have to get acceptance stats by racial category which aren’t available, I think. My own view is that the difference in numbers for Asians at Vandy versus other top colleges / Universities has something to do with self-selection which could be happening for a variety of reasons. And this phenomenon may change rapidly in the next decade or so. I really doubt that the Vandy admissions office goes about its work much differently than others, except that they may value one thing (say test scores) slightly higher than another (say essays). </p>