<p>I want to study Economics at either one of these two schools. I am looking to take the degree as far as I can I take it, so I am looking for the school with better international recognition. I am also looking for excellent academics and a rock solid alumni network. </p>
<p>Emory or Vanderbilt?</p>
<p>It's really hard to say, these schools are so similar that they're pretty much the same. Both have the same selectivity. Both have good national recognition, not international (compared to ivies). Both have great academics and rock solid alumni network. I'll tell you this, which one fits you better? My friend from Nashville said that compared to Nashville, Atlanta is more ghetto, more traffic, more city life, more wealthy, faster pace, more ubrban. Atlanta's international airport is one of the most busiest airports in the US. I think Vanderbilt has a bigger sports scene. Emory does not have a football team. I also heard the Emory is slightyly, just slightly, more academic driven. My friend also said that Vanderbilt in general have more attractive girls. I think Emory's business school have a better recognition. It's just really hard to pick academically. Why don't you apply both? The reason i applied Emory over Vanderbilt was because i thought Nashville was kinda country for me (Vandy fans don't kill me). I also liked the Atlanta location because many many companies are headquartered in Atlanta, especially CDC, American Cancer Society (i'm going to do pre-med), so getting an internship is not a problem. But Vandy fans would argue and say that Nashville has great internship opportunities too. So i dunno, i say apply to both and visit them.</p>
<p>Why economics? Versus the BBA?</p>
<p>What does "I am looking to take the degree as far as I can I take it" mean?</p>
<p>You can't go wrong with either choice; they're both great schools. What else are you looking for? because both seem to fit your criteria.</p>
<p>I assume that your stats are so good that Emory and Vanderbilt are both safeties, and that you are therefore highly confident that you will be accepted at both of these institutions in April.</p>
<p>Last year I had to decide between Vanderbilt and Emory. I chose Emory. While I have really enjoyed Emory thus far, I sometimes wonder if Vanderbilt was the better choice.</p>
<p>From my experience, Vanderbilt has much better name recognition than Emory. I am from the Midwest, and most averagely intelligent people in my area are familiar with Vanderbilt and they know it's a good school, whereas few know anything about Emory. Granted, of the few that do know Emory and Vanderbilt, they recognize that they are both academically strong and comparable. While this lack of recognition for Emory is unusually strong in my area, I think in general Vanderbilt has better name recognition across the nation. The exception is obviously Atlanta, and maybe also NYC and some other areas where Emory is highly regarded. Why the difference on the national level? Partly because Vanderbilt has division one sports whereas Emory has division three sports. </p>
<p>Socially, Vanderbilt, with its division one sports, definitely has a stereotype for being a jock school. There is truth to this, and while there is plenty of overlap between student bodies, Vanderbilt is more jockish than Emory. It is also more politically conservative. The admissions department at Vanderbilt brags about having a "50-50 split" between liberals and conservatives. At Emory, there is no such perfect balance: the student body is largely liberal. The social scene heavily revolves around frats at both colleges, but Vanderbilt is perhaps more notorious for a heavy presence of frats. </p>
<p>Nashville feels much more southern than Atlanta despite being geographically north of Atlanta. Nashville has an altogether smaller feel and population than Atlanta. Atlanta is a cosmopolitan, booming city. It has the world's busiest airport, an upscale and "yuppyish" area known as Buckhead, and it serves as the home of some of the nation's most well known companies -- CNN, Coca Cola, Delta, and UPS. Notably, it headquarters the third highest number of Fortune 500 companies among all national cities, behind Houston and NYC.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt's location within their city is rather vibrant. It's close to downtown, and there are many neat places to eat and visit within the surrounding area. Emory, on the other hand, sits in the middle of a suburban, wealthy area, and has Emory Village, which only suits a couple of restaurants. Without a car, it can be hard to access areas of Atlanta, although the MARTA transit system is fairly convenient. </p>
<p>Academically both universities are comparable. In fact, they are tied in the US News rankings this year for 18th. Emory's business school heavily out ranks that of Vanderbilt, and generally Emory is more prestigious and well connected for business. Vanderbilt, however, has a slightly more prestigious law school, and arguably has better liberal arts programs. </p>
<p>I don't know how Emory weighs up to Vanderbilt in terms of Economics specifically. Both programs, however, are clearly a step below that of the Ivies and UChicago, Northwestern, etc. For international recognition that you so desire, UChicago, the ivies as well as Cal and some other colleges have much better international reputations. Emory and Vanderbilt certainly aren't known that well known internationally for Economics.</p>
<p>neither emory nor vanderbilt has any real recognition for economics.</p>
<p>also, as an international student, while its true many people haven't hard of emory, there are much much fewer who have heard of vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Emory also has a higher endowment per student. If that matters. </p>
<p>Blaze-you're a current Emory student, you would know better. When you walk around the campus, do you really see the high endowment per student used efficiently?</p>
<p>I think that the administration uses their endowment efficiently. After all, Emory has transformed from a largely regional university into a national university over the past twenty five years. Without loads of not just money but reasonably well used money, this transformation is not possible.</p>
<p>Money can do many things for a university. The campus itself is maintained very well, and it's really beautiful. Clairmont campus resembles a resort rather than traditional dorms -- elaborate parking garages, impressive tennis courts and swimming pools, and well constructed apartments. Emory has a master plan to renovate the campus over the next several years, and currently construction is taking place for a new dorm for freshman and for an anatomy building. This plan is very extensive, and much of the campus is being torn down and rebuilt. All of this takes lots of money.</p>
<p>A good example of a way in which the endowment has positively influenced me is my involvement on the chess team. Along with three other members of the Emory chess team, Emory paid for my travel expenses for the Pan-American chess tournament in Washington D.C in which college chess teams from around the country compete.</p>
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Socially, Vanderbilt, with its division one sports, definitely has a stereotype for being a jock school. There is truth to this, and while there is plenty of overlap between student bodies, Vanderbilt is more jockish than Emory. It is also more politically conservative. The admissions department at Vanderbilt brags about having a "50-50 split" between liberals and conservatives. At Emory, there is no such perfect balance: the student body is largely liberal. The social scene heavily revolves around frats at both colleges, but Vanderbilt is perhaps more notorious for a heavy presence of frats.
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<p>I agree with Blaze. Vanderbilt attracts alot of students that were athletes in HS, while Emory comparatively has more of a liberal/artsy vibe.</p>
<p>Don't choose between the two based on name recognition. Name recognition is not synonymous with quality and the difference in name recognition between Emory and Vanderbilt is minimal in any event. Chico State has more name recognition in the San Francisco Bay area than Emory and Vanderbilt combined and you can get a good education at all three, but the two privates offer some distinct advantages over the public despite their lack of name recognition around these parts. </p>
<p>Graduate schools have all heard of Emory and Vanderbilt, so name recognition is meaningless if you're planning on grad school, and if you do go to grad school, name recognition of your undergraduate school is also meaningless. If you have an advanced degree from a reputable college/university, potential employers won't care where you got your undergraduate training (unless they happen to be alum). They will be looking at your graduate training and the jobs you've held along the way. </p>
<p>Name recognition is also meaningless after your first job out of college (again, unless you happen to be interviewing with an alum, and even that will only get you off to a good start, the finish involves much more). No one else will care whether you got your B.S./B.A. at Emory or at Vanderbilt -- who you worked for and what you did on the job is what will matter most. </p>
<p>Many people haven't heard of either school, some have heard of Vanderbilt because of sports or the famous Vanderbilt family. If some guy named Emory had built a railroad, Emory would have more name recognition. </p>
<p>If you're planning to apply for a job at Jiffy Lube, you're probably better off going to a local state school that the guy at Jiffy Lube has heard of. If you're hoping to travel in more highly educated circles, either Emory or Vanderbilt will do and I would look past name recognition and dig into more important factors if I were you.</p>