<p>D.T.-
Yes, you are correct- Brewers is another term for the Vassar undergrads, with the "mascot" being a Brewer. Unfortunately, the Brewery didn't survive a big fire a few centuries ago, but the Vassar Bros. Hospital still exists. Maybe the mascot should have been the "pre-meds" :) You are also very right about Pomona. It (and all the Claremont schools) as well as a few mentioned above (Rice, and, so it seems, even Vassar, Amherst and Williams) and many many other wonderful but smaller schools suffer from the "lack of name recognition" problem. We all know these are all wonderful schools. Maybe they just need to hire a better PR firm :) Does the OP equate "prestige" to "name recognition"? We don't know the answer to that.
But I digress...</p>
<p>And your point is well taken-- this discussion about "prestige" has transitioned to "where people would rather go", or what is and isn't considered the Harvard of the south, or what is even considered "the south" is going from the ridiculous to the sublime, IMO.</p>
<p>I did a little checking-- it appears that the OP started several different threads about this topic. They are from Calif, and her s. got into one UC school as well as Vassar, Vanderbilt, Colgate and Boston College. Got $$$ from Vandy and they seem to be strongly leaning that way. So, I have to wonder, what was the purpose of this thread?? What is the OP's definition of "prestige"? What criteria will they be using to make their final selection? Was the purpose of this thread to get another volley of opinions to support the decision they already seem to have made? Not sure. The OP seems to have gleaned that Vandy was "winning" in this popularity contest (this thread). Not sure I see it the same. But I guess it depends on what you are looking for. She said her s hasn't decided on a major, so narrowing down the choices based on that won't work for them.</p>
<p>I apologize to the OP (who must be away for the weekend or something, as she hasn't posted since 4/3) if I sound snide. I am sure the questions and the many threads started to make their college decision are with the best of intentions. But opinions about the "prestige" of schools are arbitrary. One poster here is strongly advocating the one school they got into, and will be attending. But that poster didn't seem to feel so strongly about that particular schoool when he/she was not accepted to the ivies. I don't want or mean to offend anyone-- I am merely ponting out that our opinions about, and loyalty to schools can change quickly.</p>
<p>So, to the OP, I hope your s is happy with his decision. Vandy is a great school, and yes, having a degree from Vandy or Vassar (and, IMO, to a lesser degree from BC or Colgate or UCSB) will help him in the future. If he plans to go to grad/professional school, thake the $$$ from Vandy and save for grad school. I would.</p>