<p>I just visited Vanderbilt and I loved everything about it. However, I am not a trust fund kid and my family is not loaded. What I want to know is: will I fit in there? Would I be able to participate in the social scene without feeling left out? Or should I look elsewhere?</p>
<p>Absolutely, I transfered here and everyone has an extremely inflated sense of self worth. Especially anyone even midely associated with greek (which, excluding the people that never leave their studies, is mostly everyone). Go to USC</p>
<p>I have two children attending Vanderbilt. We are certainly middle class and not well off. Neither are Greek and according to them they are extreamly happy with their choice to attend Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Feline19 - Sorry to hear you are not having a good experience, from a parents perspective, that is definitely not what you want for your child.</p>
<p>Well, I think that some people are and some people aren’t. Last week, I went to a local Vanderbilt Reception for Admitted students program near where I live and I must admit that there were some people there that seemed like they were definitely very upper class. But there were also people there that seemed very nice and down to earth, so it just depends on who you ask. I’m not rich or anything like that either, so I wouldn’t worry to much about trying to fit in at Vandy because like it is at most colleges, there all sorts of types of people, and I’m sure it would be easy to make plenty of friends there</p>
<p>You’ll definitely find snobby people there. But only in the amounts you’ll find at any other top-tier school. I wouldn’t call Vandy any snobbier than any other school (which isn’t that much at all)</p>
<p>Ugh I visited Vandy 3 times. The guy I stayed with was really cool, but almost all the Greeks were snobs. They also made me wonder how they managed to get into Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>You would think that it would be yes. I mean, I thought that it would be yes.</p>
<p>Regarding income? Well… one of the things that I noticed upon coming is that it’s hard not to spend money, because it’s just the lifestyle: and people do spend, a LOT. A majority of people have luxurious backgrounds, and that’s just part of the old south culture, I think. It really made my eyes pop out for a while. (like, I went to a frat semiformal and the guy dropped a three digit figure on the dinner, no big. I was like Wut?? o.O) The toughest thing for me was that I got a bid from the Greek house that I really wanted to pledge to, but I have a single dad and even though my fin. aid package was super generous, his contributions and my savings through high school are leaking away really fast = no greek life for me. Thinking of working this summer, rushing again and trying to make something work. But yeah, that side of the culture is definitely visible.</p>
<p>And academically? Truth: my friends and I have discussed the fact that Vanderbilt breeds a dual inferiority / superiority complex. I <em>personally know</em> people who have albums on iTunes, signed contracts with Hollywood producers, testimonials presented to Congress, published books, and patented engineering products. That’s ridiculous. and yeah, it seems like that would suck: I sit on my butt after class and watch Grey’s Anatomy, you know? And sure, sometimes it does suck, because when you’re feeling down it can feel like you’re behind in the great rat race of life. But we <em>all</em> work incredibly hard at different points. I’ve had my share of accolades this year. You just have to know when to buckle down.</p>
<p>And yeah, sometimes we joke about transferring back to our state flagship so we have time to breathe again --Don’t get me wrong, that’s not to say that people who aren’t at a t20 don’t work hard!! It’s just that Vanderbilt is an inferno of an intellectual environment (everyone around you kicks a** at EVERYTHING: see above examples) and you never really forget about that. It’s not easy.</p>
<p>But are people actually “snobby?”</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>People are always reaching out, friendly, full of advice. In terms of materialism, my friends and I swap clothes and items (e.g., someone gave me a pair of boots from Madrid because she “outgrew” them o.O). I figure out where the cheap boutiques are and my friends and I invade them en masse. It’s a well dressed student body but will anyone ever worry about anyone’s ensemble but their own? no. Not under any circumstances. And yeah, the lifestyle can be pricey sometimes, but I still attend every social event that I can fit into my budget, and either way Vanderbilt is excellent about providing low-cost bashes on campus. </p>
<p>And academically, no, we’re not “snobby” in that respect either: competition is friendly, not cutthroat. It has to be, with the grade deflation we suffer. We team up, as a student body. The solidarity is wonderful Example: once I sat in on an upperlevel class in my major and had my mind blown by a) the rigor of the course and b) the intelligence of the juniors and seniors in it, and what happened? Afterwards they all crowded around me interrogating me about my freshman experience, and offering course / professor advice, and telling me about career placement in their field. One had an internship at a firm in Nashville that is always looking for more Vanderbilt students. I have hundreds of phone numbers for emergencies or networking or even just casual weekend plans, because wow, it is so easy to make friends. It’s what struck me about Vanderbilt when I visited: everyone is so freaking approachable, all the time. (A tip: ASB is also an indispensable part of the experience.)</p>
<p>I love it. The Old South gilded culture, the intensity, the wonderful, welcoming social scene. I’m not rolling in dough, or at the top of my class, or anything like that… but I would never go anywhere else.</p>