Need suggestions of Southern Universities!!!

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I need some suggestions of southern universities (not LACs.... something a bit lager... medium sized university perhaps?).... I have already looked into Duke but I am not that interested in it. Can anyone give me some other Southern schools that are well known and prestigious.... My stats are pretty good (2230 SATs, 3.87 UW GPA) and decent extra curriculars(nothing amazing).... But yes, other than Duke, can anyone give me names of some really good Southern schools and can you please tell me something about them and how they stack up against top schools in the North East! Thanks so much!</p>

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<p>bump… someone please help!</p>

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<p>Vandy, Emory?</p>

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<p>I would recommend Emory, which is a great college with about 6,500 undergrads on a beautiful campus located in an affluent section of Atlanta. Emory has lots of diversity. If I had to compare it with a school in the northeast, I might say Tufts. In the USNWR ranking of national universities, Emory is tied at #17 with Vanderbilt and Rice, while Tufts is at #28.</p>

<p>[National</a> Universities Rankings - Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings)</p>

5

<p>WUSTL, Rice (might not really be south since it’s in Texas), Wake Forest, Tulane, UNC Chapel Hill, UVA. </p>

<p>WUSTL and Rice are on par with some of the top schools in the Northeast. Many northerners may not recognize the names but they are definitely still well known and prestigious.</p>

6

<p>Vandy
Emory
Davidson
Georgia Tech (if engineering is a goal.)
UNC- Chapel Hill
Elon
Tulane
Rice
UVirginia
UMaryland</p>

<p>What else do you want in a school beside prestige?</p>

<p>What will your major be? What is your future career?</p>

<p>Is money no object?</p>

<p>What “non-academics” are important to you? Greeks? Big sports-rah rah, nice dorms, night life, warm weather?</p>

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<p>Thanks guys for the suggestions! … mom2collegekids, I want a medium sized uni that is good in pre-med… Money is no object… I like sports but they I don’t mind if sports isn’t huge on campus… nice dorms are important… warm weather is always a plus… I would also prefer a liberal university (would this be hard to find in the South?).</p>

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<p>*I would also prefer a liberal university (would this be hard to find in the South?). *</p>

<p>No, I think some say that UNC-Chapel Hill is practically socialist. LOL</p>

<p>UVa is probably pretty liberal, too.</p>

<p>Actually, most (not religious) college campuses are pretty left of center. My kids are at Alabama, and the school was Obama-land last year.</p>

<p>Ahhh pre-med…</p>

<p>What about Johns Hopkins? </p>

<p>However, keep in mind that on many college campuses (everywhere) hard science majors tend to more “middle of the road,” rather than liberal. </p>

<p>Also…virtually ANY decently ranked school that is strong in Bio, Chem, Physics, and Math can prepare a student for med school. With a high GPA and a strong MCAT, you’ll get into med school. :)</p>

<p>What will your major be? Pre-med isn’t a major; it’s a program. (For example: my pre-med son is double-majoring in Chemical Engineering and Biology.)</p>

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<p>William & Mary
Wake Forest
Emory
Vanderbilt</p>

<p>These schools fit your requirements the best. What was it that you didnt like at Duke?</p>

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<p>idk,
I think you just described Vanderbilt. </p>

<p>Healthcare is a big deal in Nashville and the school places well into leading med schools, including its own which is one of the best in the country. Its sports are competitive and the competition of the SEC is always fun to watch (even if Vandy is not very competitive with them in football). They just opened a new dorm area called the Commons. And the weather in Nashville is pretty good, but not warm like you’d find in Florida or southern California. There are seasons, but not too harsh. As for the politics, I don’t know, but the data that I have seen about political affiliations indicates a balance of conservatives and liberals. I’d check out College P.ro…wler to learn more about questions like that. </p>

<p>With your stats, I’d say you’re a very competitive applicant. </p>

<p>A 2nd school you should look at is Tulane. With your stats, I think you’d be competitive for some of their attractive merit scholarships. Athletics are there, but lower key than Vandy (or Duke). It’s a great size for a school and a beautiful campus and the kids are known to have a good time. Good feeder to med schools and even better weather. </p>

<p>If you have a chance, I strongly suggest you visit these colleges and take in as much of Nashville and New Orleans as you can. Most northerners don’t know much about these cities and are often surprised at their vibrancy and their terrific music and other cultural offerings. </p>

<p>There are probably others that I could suggest, but these two come first to mind. Good luck.</p>

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<p>If the OP doesn’t like Duke, I don’t see how he or she would like Vanderbilt. Both are frat-based and sports-oriented schools.</p>

<p>Emory or William & Mary seem like good fits. So does Wake Forest, but it may be a little too small (size-wise) for the OP’s tastes.</p>

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<p>isn’t Vanderbilt a bit too conservative… is Emory liberal? If it is, I would not mind it at all! I will check out the other unis as well… hmmm, well some people have been telling me unappealing traits of typical Duke students… idk if its true. William and Mary also sounds interesting… how would one compare Emory, Vanderbilt, William and Mary and UNC in terms of overall undergraduate experience (academics, class sizes?) Thanks!</p>

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<p>W & M offers the diversity of public school academics and research in a more intimate, private school environment. Or at least say their students and alums…</p>

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<p>Vandy
UNC-Chapel Hill
UVA</p>

<p>UNC is probably the best of the three as far as pre-med goes. You have UNC Hospitals, Duke Hospitals, and Rex Hospitals all within a 20 minute radius; there’s just a huge amount of medical facilities near campus. Also, at UNC you have the chance to become EMT certified and after that you can even ride along with UNC Aircare on their medevac runs (as an observer, of course).</p>

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<p>Emory is quite liberal (as is Atlanta).</p>

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<p>Idk,
Duke is one of those schools that if people don’t like it, they REALLY don’t like it. This is expected from U North Carolina fans, but the degree of enmity sometimes expressed by the Ivy League types often surprises me. </p>

<p>IMO, the Duke kids are very, very good, they know they’re very, very good and they are very, very vocal and supportive of their school. Some folks might find this a little off-putting, if not outright arrogant, especially if a claim is made vs an Ivy, but I don’t find their attitudes meaningfully different from what you’d find at U Penn or Princeton.<br>
Anyway, if you have not visited and your opinion is based on what others are whispering in your ear, then go and see for yourself. Some folks think it’s a pretty swell place. </p>

<p>I should also have mentioned William & Mary in my earlier post. It’s a great size, athletics there are spirited, but far from overwhelming. I also agree with Wake Forest, but I see that as a less selective version of Vanderbilt. Similar in many respects, but Winston-Salem is no where near as dynamic and fun as Nashville. I’d be less enthusiastic about U North Carolina for you as it is a good bit larger and the sports scene is extremely prominent. </p>

<p>Re the class sizes, here is some comparative data on several of the schools mentioned:</p>

<p><20 , 20-50 , >50 , S/F , School</p>

<p>68.2% , 24.8% , 7.0% , 7/1 , Emory
67.7% , 25.7% , 6.6% , 8/1 , Vanderbilt
50.0% , 36.0% , 14.0% , 15/1 , U VIRGINIA
44.3% , 45.2% , 10.5% , 14/1 , U N CAROLINA
55.8% , 42.0% , 2.2% , 11/1 , Wake Forest
44.7% , 47.9% , 7.4% , 11/1 , WILLIAM & MARY
65.2% , 29.7% , 5.1% , 9/1 , Tulane</p>

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<p>Maybe we can help you figure out if those are true? Considering your criteria for a school (medium sized, likes sports, prestigious, warm weather, liberal, and nice dorms), Duke seems to be a pretty darn good fit.</p>

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<p>Thanks guys for your help, especially the stats Hawkette…eatsalot, some of my friends said that people at Duke are rather pretentious and look down upon students from their peer schools… I also heard that some can be quite egotistical thinking they are the smartest bunch out there… I do not want to throw accusations… two of my friends said the same thing so I thought, maybe foolishly, that there may be some truth to it.</p>

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<p>Here’s an example: First day of organic chemistry, my professor starts speaking about how the class is going to be difficult, especially since everyone in the class was smart; there were going to be people who didn’t get As even though they were usually accustomed to them in high school. He, a fairly new professor, then asks, “Right? Most people here were probably the smartest kid in their class…” The students in the class laugh and most kids modestly shake their heads no. Everyone knows that smartest kids generally go to HYP.</p>

<p>While there are rare cases when students do choose Duke, Penn, Columbia, UChi, etcetc over HYMPS, most Duke students will concede that it’s definitely not the norm. I don’t know where this notion that Duke students are more pretentious than students at peer institutions, but I’d encourage you (especially since Duke seems like such a good fit for you) to look into Duke further by visiting or talking to other students. Don’t judge a school by how one or two posters act, as it’s not representative of the student body. Personally, I do not see kids at other peer schools as “lower” than me, but rather students who are receiving similar educations in a different environment.</p>

<p>Lastly, I noticed your post in the Duke forum about an “inferiority complex” that a “Dukie” had. That poster, though, was not a Duke student but rather an applicant. It wasn’t a student trying to inflate Duke.</p>

<p>Good luck! And if you have any questions or other concerns regarding Duke, PM me and I’d be happy to help. SBR and Senator Noodles are also really helpful; they helped me and a lot of other students along the way even though they may not know it haha.</p>

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<p>Dukies can be incredibly arrogant, particularly on this site. Just look as some of DukeAlumnus2003’s posts, for example.</p>

<p>Of course, there are bad apples at every college.</p>