<p>To start off, I'm not on here to hate on Vandy. In fact, I just got accepted (pleasant surprise for me!). But what I really want to know is why Vandy is ranked so high on USNWR when its schools aren't really notable with the pleasant exception of Peabody. I'll be honest, Vandy wasn't my first choice as a school simply because of the price tag so I guess now I just want to know what I'll be getting for my price tag. Just an FYI, I plan on majoring in BME or BE or in some sort of business/finance. Again, I'm really not here to hate :) I don't want this to sound like an excuse, but my parents want to know more than I do... maybe because it's their money at stake (for now).</p>
<p>no. it’s the perfect school.</p>
<p>Must be, if you applied.</p>
<p>I guess a top 20 law school and top 20 med school doesn’t count right? As far as engineering is concerned, you have to compare Vanderbilt to departments of somewhat similar faculty sizes since pure numbers has a significant impact on the engineering rankings, so schools like UIUC and Berkeley are going to dominate Vandy (although they do have stronger engineering programs regardless) based on size alone. Vandy is ranked higher than Yale, Dartmouth, WashU, Brown, etc. </p>
<p>But hey, if Vandy’s overrated, I wouldn’t mind lumping some of those schools in as well.</p>
<p>I think it’s underrated!
In the south, it is mentioned with reverence, much like Harvard or Yale here in the northeast where I live. Duke has made national strides in the past decades, and Vandy is certainly gaining prestige in the north.
It’s engineering program is excellent, as is its political science, economics (so i’ve been told), and teaching of course. It’s pre med program is well known as one of the best in the country.
But more than anything, it’s very selective, and that in itself is an important factor. Rankings are a self fulfilling prophecy, part of what makes schools better is the quality of its students, and as rankings increase, so too do the quality and number of students who apply. This lowers the acceptance rate, which is always a measure of prestige, if not quality.
If you look on rankings that don’t really factor prestige, you will see that it is considered one of the best in the country, due to a lack of reliance on historical precedence, and instead focusing on raw research and intellectual life.</p>
<p>Of course I’m biased, having gotten accepted ED this year 
But I think what I’ve said is true</p>
<p>Can I get some proof for these things you guys have stated? Not that I don’t believe you or anything.</p>
<p>assorted google searches. the polysci i searched a while ago, engineering on any website, med and law very well known, and acceptance rate and us news rankings of course. But it’s all subjective really. Rankings only mean so much. Yes, Princeton is probably a better school, but it’s not something you can quantify. If it’s prestige in the north you want, then vandy isn’t #1, but it’s getting there if you ask those who follow this stuff. teachers/counselors etc. But as long as you’re within a couple spots on US news, go by fit and feel.</p>
<p>Also, no undergrad business at vandy, so if you’re deadset on finance, perhaps elsewhere is better, though economics gets you a finance job anyway.</p>
<p>I’d say that, aside from Harvard and Yale, Vanderbilt is the most prestigious school to most people in the South, even more so than Duke. Duke seems to be more nationally prestigious, but within the South, mentioning Vanderbilt is almost akin to mentioning Harvard.</p>
<p>USNWR graduate school rankings aren’t particularly difficult to locate</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is showing a tremendous rise in selectivity that has to be paying dividends in cohort quality. This issue is often cited as a major factor in applicants choosing the Ivies over other high-quality schools. Smarter classmates raise the quality of learning. </p>
<p>Vandy has shown what is easily the largest increase in test scores for accepted students in recent years for the schools I tracked. Here are the changes for mean core SAT scores in the last three to four years according to my data.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt 65
Duke 25
Bowdoin 20
Davidson 20
Wash U 10
Virginia 10
Dartmouth 5
Yale 0
Wm & Mary -5
Williams -15
Richmond -30
Wake -55</p>
<p>When these “brighter” young people hit the grad schools across the country in a few years, Vandy’s reputation will grow as well. Based upon this data alone, I would label Vandy as underrated and coming on strong. In five years I expect Vandy to be considered on equal footing with Duke in national prestige.</p>
<p>First, I think you will find very few people willing to defend the retail cost of any selective, private school. They all require a pile of money. Net cost is another subject, and Vandy does well there.</p>
<p>As for “overrated,” compared to what?</p>
<p>I guess the real thing I’m struggling with with Vandy is that it just doesn’t seem top 10 for really anything except education although it is very well-rounded in almost everything. As for law, I’m really not interested in it. And I can’t seem to find anything with med in the top 20 about Vandy, at least on USNWR.</p>
<p>Sorry. I found Vandy at 15 in research med.</p>
<p>First of all, don’t bet your life on us news. They’re the antichrist when it comes to actual quality of education. Wanna know hy colleges keep binding early decision even though it hurts lower income students and lacks any discernible student benefit from early action? Because it increases the matriculation rate, which is a us. news factor. </p>
<p>Also, it is well known for its pre med and med facilities and reputation. Ask your doctor, or call up a medical school and they will surely sing its praises. But if all you care about are us news rankings, then by all means go where you’d like. To each his own</p>
<p>paupowpew,</p>
<p>First of all, I agree with everything everything everyone has said so far and think SCH did a great job in his/her explanation.</p>
<p>Here is a link to the Vanderbilt med school website and lists the ranking in case you didn’t already see it. <a href=“https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/admissions/us-news-world-report-rankings[/url]”>https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/admissions/us-news-world-report-rankings</a></p>
<p>In addition, I am assuming you applied ED2. If you weren’t sure about the school then why did you apply ED2? Research is best done prior to applying. If you did in fact apply ED2 then I certainly hope you aren’t waiting until now to do your research considering the binding nature of the application.</p>
<p>runningmomof3: you read my mind!<br>
paupowpew: it doesn’t sound to me like you had any business applying ED2 with all of your doubts. The time for these questions was BEFORE you submitted the application and you should not have applied RD if you weren’t sure. That is the whole idea behind ED applications: you are already committed. Vanderbilt is an awesome school. I speak from the experience of an alumni and as a Vanderbilt parent. You will find the pre-med education second to none and the experience that Vanderbilt Hospital offers even to undergrads and the research opportunities available are an excellent way to build the best resume for med school. I can’t even begin to say how impressed we have been with all the different opportunities my daughter has had as a pre-med student. The curriculum is tough, but the professors are generally excellent. Lucky for you, you have inadvertently found yourself in a great place. The rest will be up to you.</p>
<p>I would say underrated. I know it’s much more respected in the South and lower Midwest than in say, California or New England. It’s kind of similar to Emory in that way, just as far as name-recognition goes…</p>
<p>And it depends what type of degree you want. One of my majors is English-creative writing, and Vandy has a top 10 nationally ranked program. Engineering students I think waste their work/sanity because engineering here is by far the hardest track, but Vandy’s engineering program tends to be lower ranked. If you’re talking about if the name Vandy will get you a job or special consideration in grad programs, then yes depending on the field. I would say those people tend to know a lot about college rankings and know that Vandy is high ranked in a given field, low ranked in another. Hit/miss.</p>
<p>nationally, its underrated.
In the south, its probably overrated, if someone on this board said its like a harvard of the south.</p>
<p>Engineering is the hardest track that any school that offers. Don’t even imagine pure engineering schools. Also, doesn’t Emory also rank well in terms of English? Seems like Vandy is very much like us (atmosphere aside), except for our lack of engineering, which means less miserable students here (along with less academic diversity, especially in the sciences) lol. All the miserable students are across town. I think most top schools are over-rated in many senses, but in terms of what the rankings are indicating, I’d imagine Vandy as under-rated (screw the number assigned, I’d imagine that very much like us, there is much more to Vandy than its rank). If it’s anything like us academically, it’s probably really good (I’ll admit this, though just as many of you would never attend here, I’d never attend there). Hopefully it’s reputation will eventually reflect. But then again, like most top 25s, it’s currently well off enough to afford some advantage (We’re okay, but really need to work on marketing, we’re kind of new/lame at that). If not, the education should. Hopefully most are there for the reason that the school is prestigious and not for the prestige itself.</p>
<p>OP: It’s too late to worry. However, I doubt you’ll be disappointed, at least academically (as your social life is up to you). Calm down, and rejoice over the fact you’re going to a great school. Imagine how amazing the campus will look when you arrive for the fall semester. Look forward to great things that you’ll experience and/or be able to take advantage of. Just like other top schools, Vandy is well-off. Get excited. Also, doing BME at Vandy may provide a nice balance that you probably wouldn’t get at a purely/pre-dominantly engineering school like Georgia Tech, Purdue, etc. You’ll get to take amazing classes in other areas, and since it’s smaller, you’ll have greater access to faculty members and any learning support you may need, which is important when you’re in a harda** major like BME. You’re less likely to fall through the cracks. The difference in classroom environment will hopefully make the additional bucks worth it. I’ve sat in intro. science classes at Georgia Tech for example, and realized how grateful I should be for attending the liberal arts university across town. Even though Tech is amazing for science/engineering overall, I can’t see myself dealing with the class-sizes and relatively weak teaching quality in what are supposed to be foundation courses before you jump into even more rigorous engineering coursework. The model for teaching at private schools that are pre-dominantly liberal arts based seems more conducive to success (basically, the grading differences is not just pure grade inflation). Having pure rigor could be great, but only if you have great teaching/ learning environment. You’ll want that. Vandy should give you that. This comes from a person that doesn’t even go there. I would feel comfortable attending for engineering if that was my interest. You should too.</p>