<p>So we're from the north, and honestly even though it is a great school, Vandy is not as well known/ prestigious up here. I loved it and am trying to convince my parents, but they're pushing Brown since I have a leg up there, and especially since they did not like Nashville at all and thought it was kind of a party city. Anyway, do people think it's a legitimate choice to pick Vandy over Brown and some tips on what I should tell my parents to let me go there???! thanks!!</p>
<p>We are from the mid-atlantic and our son is now a freshman at Vandy. Nashville is a great city - do some research. It has many universities, a thriving arts community and of course, a great music scene. The only response we ever hear from our friends (many of whom have undergraduate/post graduate ivy degrees, fyi) is “wow, impressive, what a great school”, things along those lines. </p>
<p>Vanderbilt offers the whole package, a great academic environment, fun sports and a great city to explore. I’m sure you’ve heard this before but you should go to a school that appeals to YOU not your parents.</p>
<p>We know about 8 kids in the current freshman class and I can tell you most turned down schools like Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Notre Dame, etc to attend and they are all THRILLED to be there! Good luck</p>
<p>Who’s making the decisions about where you’ll apply/attend? I’m not criticizing, just asking. In some families, the decision may hinge on the parents’ dislike of a particular city - though I don’t really think that should be on a list of “15 most important factors in deciding where to go to school.” Do you think your parents fear that you’ll be too distracted by all that Nashville has to offer? How long did they spend there? Nashville’s got a thriving nightlife and music scene, but there are many other aspects to it - cultural, recreational, historical, etc. They should have visited Bicentennial Park - one of the most amazing public parks I’ve ever seen - for an idea of Nashville’s history, etc. Maybe then they’d have seen that it’s more than a party city.</p>
<p>Not many people would think that Providence offers more as an urban center. It’s hard to get into Brown, but it’s become increasingly hard to get into Vandy. Can you apply to both and decide later? If your parents are concerned about all the partying opportunities at Vanderbilt - they do exist, and some kids definitely get sidetracked by them. Have you discussed that issue openly with them?</p>
<p>why don’t you wait and see if you get into Brown and Vandy and then go to Accepted Student Days? If money is an issue, you may also get very divergent offers. My son is at Vandy which was not at the top of his dream list fall of senior year, and he is thrilled with this surprise outcome. The list of the cultural things he has already attended since being in Nashville a month is pretty long…not dissing Brown of course, not at all but Nashville has its assets as a city. We hear from him once a week and I am pretty thrilled with his small class sizes plus his generally broad opportunities on weekends socially as well as culturally on campus.</p>
<p>Both wonderful schools, it seems to me that Brown and Vanderbilt are very different in terms of atmosphere and might appeal to different sets of kids. Where do you see yourself? Did one or both of your parents attend Brown (thus the “leg up” that they want you to utilize?) Are you planning to apply early, and that’s why you have to make the decision now?</p>
<p>I didn’t like the idea of Vandy or Nashville either, at first. Now I have two kids at Vandy and everybody’s very happy. Maybe your mom is like me and always pictured you at a leafy New England campus (Vandy’s is just as pretty as any of them, though, and might be even prettier). Maybe she has misgivings about Bible Belt conservatism and academic quality in that context? I did and Vanderbilt has turned out to be nothing like what I feared it would be. </p>
<p>Based on what my kids say and what I’ve seen, the only real differences between schools like Brown and Vandy are social. Weather is also different, of course, but that’s not what your mother meant.</p>
<p>Academics are equal. Resources are equal. Size of the school, reputation of the school for purposes of getting in to graduate programs or getting jobs is equal. Admissions standards are pretty close to equal and no one could argue that the kids or faculty at one or the other is superior across-the-board (each school has relative strengths, but she knows that).</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is getting more and more like New England schools in terms of demographics, but that Southern thing is still alive at Vandy. What that means will only start a riot on this board, so use your imagination. For those who like that Southern atmosphere, however, it is a big factor in Vandy’s favor. For those who don’t like it, all I hear is that it is getting increasingly easy to ignore. In Brown’s favor is an atomosphere of “left-liberal ameliorism” and that is probably as big a deal there as the Southern vibe is at Vandy. I have no idea whether it’s easy to ignore liberal activism at Brown.</p>
<p>Which suits you?</p>
<p>good summary, mirimom. We do have to concede that Brown has Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter) in the class 2013 athough Nashville is a crossroads for pretty much all celebrity lecture and performance tours plus it is easy to get anywhere in Nashville to attend events and plenty of celebs are around town. Brown does offer the Shop Around for Classes culture that is unusual…and I think Brown really does “trust the student” to design their coursework path in a noteworthy way.</p>
<p>My son now at Vandy is pretty left of center and he was admitted to some great schools that lean in that direction. He decided it would do him good to attend a national college like Vandy that actually publishes both a liberal and a conservative paper. Although he might be happier in Brown’s “left liberal” scene, he feels he will be stronger from attending classes where both sides of America are in the debate. Vandy is unusual in that respect…conservatives are not a tiny minority. We feel it is more like the real workplace and real world in terms of “marketplace of ideas”.<br>
I would say that Vandy compares very well and perhaps does better sometimes with peer colleges in terms of numbers of intimate classes and classroom size and access to full professors. For premeds or hard science students, ease of access to the Vanderbilt medical complex is a big plus. For students of policy, state legislature and other government offices in town are a big plus…with easy access. For students of business, ease of access to a good economy in the private sector in Nashville is a plus. For students of public service/teaching in HOD/Peabody, Nashville offers a good amount of internship locations in a city where one can get around with ease.</p>
<p>I am new here . I scare to write anything here due to my poor English. My girl is on her 3rd year in Vandy . She loves the school and staff there.
I spent 5 nights in past two years in her dorm with her to help to move from one dorm to another. People there are very nice . Being a Chinese, I felt very at ease there. The staff there are very dedicated to the jobs there. My daughter has become very kind person. She is a very good student. I think she made the right choice to go to Vandy.
Nashville is a great city. It has all 4 seasons.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies everyone! My parents are not really trying to make the decisions for me, but I just dont want to declare my decision without taking their input into consideration. I think they felt the Nashville “culture” that we witnessed was a lot less impressive than Brown. They dont think that I’ll get sidetracked or anything but are more concerned with the less intellectual environment. They think that I should take advantage of the Ivy prestige. Let’s face it, despite how great these other schools are, Brown and the other Ivies have their own section on this board, even if I am more of a Vandy type. And yes I plan on applying early to one of them, so that’s the rush.</p>
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<p>As far as I can tell, the “Vandy type” doesn’t care if Brown and the other Ivies have their own section on College Confidential.</p>
<p>I haven’t responded to this thread previously because ,in my 8th year as a Vanderbilt parent since S is in professional school there now, I have a hard time relating to the OP’s parents’ impressions of Nashville. There is proof in the statistics for the last few admissions cycles that there are plenty of folks out there from all over the world who appreciate what Vanderbilt and the Nashville community have to offer. </p>
<p>ocean10, if you are really interested in Vanderbilt, you may want to check out this link and show it to your parents.
[IMPACT</a> Symposium: Vanderbilt Programming Board | Vanderbilt University](<a href=“http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/vpb/impact.html]IMPACT”>http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/vpb/impact.html)
Since I only live 2 hours away, I have driven down for Impact on three occasions. Vanderbilt offers opportunities at this level, whether in the arts, politics, etc. on a regular basis.</p>
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<p>That’s kind of an ironic question. Vandy’s recent rise from regional to national prominence came to a large extent under the leadership of Chancellor Gordon Gee, one of the star executives in American higher education. He left the presidency of Brown to take over Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Hey, I thought I’d peruse cc since I used it so much last year and came upon this post.</p>
<p>I am currently a freshman at Vandy, and I’m from the north as well. In my college decision I was choosing between Vandy and WashU and had many of the same questions and concerns that you seem to have. Just to hand out my endorsement, Vandy is a great school and I honestly have not regretted my decision since I came here. I posted something last may or so where I compared the two schools and talked about the pros of Vanderbilt if you’d like to check that out. Nashville is a great city, and while there definitely are places where you can party it also has, as many people have pointed out, a fantastic arts and music scene. Visit the campus some more, check it out, but definitely consider Vandy. I probably didn’t answer your question as well as I should have, but let me know if you have any other questions, I’d be happy to help somebody in the same position I was last year!</p>
<p>Both are good schools. Different weather. Similar student/faculty ratio. About the same number of undergrads. Vandy has 6300 undergrads vs 5900 at Brown. Vandy has 5700 grad students, whereas Brown only has about 2000 (if you include med students). </p>
<p>Most students live on campus at both schools. Lots to do. 300+ clubs and organizations at both schools. Both have great retention rates (97+%).</p>
<p>Vandy: 86% were in top 10% of their class. Brown: 96% of admitted students were in the top 10% of their class.</p>
<p>Vandy: 5% international vs. 10% at Brown (64 countries), 13% in Brown’s 2013 class. </p>
<p>Brown graduates:
35% pursue grad or professional study immediately, 60% within 5 yrs, 80% within 10 yrs.
Vandy graduates:
36% of recent graduate class plans to pursue grad school. I couldn’t find stats for 5/10 yrs out.</p>
<p>Brown consistently ranks among the top 5 colleges in the nation in the percentage of its applicants accepted to medical school. Of those who apply to law school, 92 to 95 percent are accepted to one of their top three choices; among business school applicants, the figure is nearly 100 percent. </p>
<p>Vanderbuilt is a traditional college system academically. Brown EXPECTS students to take an active interest in shaping their education. It is considered THEIR education. Students are given great freedom in choosing classes and grading options. Like traditional schools, Brown’s students MUST complete all the requirements for their program of study, but they don’t have core classes or distribution credits. They can choose the rest of their courses depending on their personal interests. They are encouraged to try out new interests and/or strengthen weak areas (credit/no credit classes are an option). This system is not desired nor appreciated by everyone. This system seems to work well because of the students’ attitudes toward learning. Brown seeks and accepts students who have shown they are self-motivated, independent learners who will make the most of their opportunities. Most students are hard working, self-driven students who collaborate (and don’t compete) with one another.</p>
<p>Another difference is campus atmosphere. Vandy’s website states there are 38 fraternity and sorority houses. "Greek life involves almost half of the campus…A lot of parents ask me about Greek life because they are worried their kids won’t have a good experience if they’re not a part of it.” Obviously Greek is a large part of the Vandy culture. This is definitely not the case at Brown. “9% of students belong to fraternities or sororities.”</p>