My daughter is in the fortunate position to be considering these schools, and she is worried about regretting her decision. She would like to study Neuroscience, and possibly premed, but of course that may change.
We are in the Boston area so are familiar with NEU, and originally she wanted a less traditional college campus. But now she is considering other prestigious possibilities offering a more traditional experience. The cost of the schools for us is similar.
We spent the weekend in Nashville and St Louis, trying to get a sense of the student community. Wondering if I can ask for thoughts on the culture of these schools. I hope for a warm inviting community for a kid to find her friend group and blossom. From what I gather, Wash U has academically focused students. And my daughter has to work for good grades, so I hope for good friendships to balance the hard work. Vandy has more dominant Greek life and I worry about how non Greeks thrive socially.
But I do see leaving the hometown, and discovering a new part of the country as a valuable part of the college experience, though not having those admitted student days is making it hard to get a gut check on a good fit.
All three have quality programs for her major and will do well for premed. With costs being equal, this becomes all about fit so only she can truly decide here. It sounds like itâll come down to WUSTL and Northeastern and from there itâll be about traditional vs nontraditional. Your point about leaving home is very valid as well and college is a great time to try a new place.
Only 32% of Vanderbiltâs undergraduate population is involved in Greek life. How is it that your D canât find friends amongst the Greek population or the 68% of the population (the vast majority) that is not Greek? Of course, she will.
That âVandy is so greekâ legend is now just a myth at Vandy.
I have two Ds at Vanderbilt. The eldest rushed for fear of missing out and was accepted to her Top 3 sororities. She chose her favorite. She liked it, but after a year, was too busy with other friends and other activities and dropped out. Her younger D arrived and decided not to pledge. They both have plenty of friends and feel they missed out on nothing. Both say Vanderbilt changed their life.
Approximately, same cost? She can always transfer from Vandy to Northeastern if she got really homesick, which I highly doubt would happen. Will be harder to do the reverse.
my two cents as an NU student. absolutely love it, the practical experience on co-op is unparalleled, and we still have some traditional college aspects!
FYI half of WashU Greek members deactivated last summer, more sorority members than fraternity members, so the future of Greek life is pretty unclear at this point
FYI: According to this TIME Magazine article Vanderbilt is a leader in âAbolish the Greek Lifeâ debate.
Vanderbilt lost several fraternity and sororities over the years and several hundred members quit in 2020. Greek life continues to dwindle at Vanderbilt.
My D was invited to Wash Uâs basketball camp so we toured it, and I know Vanderbilt well, so if you have any questions please feel free to ask. I can share some of my two Dâs experiences. Donât know anything about Northeastern as a comparison, but it is in your backyard, so you donât need any help there.
So my daughter is still deciding between Wash U (she committed) and Vanderbilt (she just got off the waitlist.) She is premed, neuroscience and the difference in cost is Vanderbilt is $13k less expensive for me as her sole parent. The $ difference is important to me, but I want her to be happy. And yet, the savings could go to grad school (or med school if fortunate.)
My daughter is an Asian Adoptee and is a bit quiet. She will be participating in ROTC as her extracurricular (nonscholarship), so will hopefully have friends there. I see her at Wash U, and she is worried about fitting in with the girls at Vandy. What draws her to Vandy over Wash U is Nashville, and the admissions people were welcoming as was the ROTC rep.
She is thinking of fit @ Vandy. Again, she is a quiet kid and I want her to grow in confidence. Academic rigor is going to be tough at both so I am assuming lots of time studying. I donât see her in an exclusive sorority.
Any last minute thoughts are welcome, once again. Thanks so much.
My D went to Wash U and loved it. Made lifelong friends, including her now husband, who was on her freshman floor, two doors down. Lots of students from the Northeast at Wash U, lots of premeds (though DD was not). Hard to ignore the higher price, though vs. Vandy.
Both are wonderful options, and Iâm sure she will find good friends and great pre-med academics at either. Could you reach out to WashU and see if theyâll match Vandyâs price? Clearly they wanted your daughter to attend, and the money will mean less to them than it does to you.
I attended WashU and my brother went to Vandy, and we both had great experiences (FWIW he was not Greek and took a heavy engineering coarseload, and still found his people on campus). WU ROTC students are part of a battalion with students from 11 area schools and I believe drill off-campus (which could be a cool way to see the city and make connections outside the campus bubble). I think Vanderbilt ROTC drills on campus and is mixed with Belmont students.
Both are great cities to explore â Nashvilleâs âboomâ gets more attention, but there is a ton of fun, accessible stuff for college kids in STL as well: forest park, free zoo and museums, nearby restaurant/shopping areas and concert venues, film festivals, trivia nights, etc. She would not run out of things to do!
The financial aspects are VERY important, but if she is truly interested in pre-med, WashU did list that those who finish their med-prep program as having a 95% med school acceptance rate. Socially, it may be a great fit as well it seems.
Both are wonderful colleges. Our two daughters are 1/2 Asian. One is shy, the other not so much. They both love Vanderbilt and have plenty of friends after knowing not a soul upon arrival. While courses are challenging, my daughters say everyone wants others to succeed, so they help each other out. They tell us it isnât cutthroat at all.
Every kid blazes her/his own trail at Vanderbilt. A quick summary of my eldest D. She was an Economics Major with a Business minor and also a Psychology minor. When taking her first Marketing class, her professor asked her if sheâd like to be his Teaching Assistant the next semester. As an undergrad student, she loved it. She took a Maymester month overseas with her favorite Economics professor who taught an Economics of War course in London and Normandy. She also volunteered to teach local Nashville high school kids, worked for the Vanderbilt Foundation in the summer, and got practical experience in a Vanderbilt Psychology Research internship.
My daughter was selected for Study Abroad in both Tokyo and Denmark, but at the last minute decided to stay at Vanderbilt, because she loved it so much, she didnât want to be away for even a semester. Vanderbiltâs Womenâs Basketball team caught the injury bug, so the Head Coach asked her team who the best player was theyâd seen on campus. A couple of girls saw my daughter dominate in intramurals and recommended her. The next day my daughter was playing pickup basketball in a gym and noticed the Womenâs Coach was watching her for two games. Afterwards, she called my daughter aside and asked her to come to practice the next day. This happened two more days in a row and then the Vanderbilt Coach surprised her at the end of the 3rd practice by handing her all the Vanderbilt swag and the team welcomed her aboard. The next thing you know, she has a great new group of lifelong friends, and is flying on private planes to play against all the other SEC basketball teams throughout the southeast, playing in a tournament in the Bahamas, the SEC Tournaments, etc⊠She added a Masters Degree at Vanderbilt during the Covid year. Nashville/Vanderbilt is a very special place for her.
For $13,000 less x 4 years, how could you go wrong? While your daughterâs path at Vanderbilt will be different, it will be life-changing and magical too.
@bloomfield88 What a great story! I am a basketball player myself and always enjoyed my visits to Vandy. It is definitely among the top 5 choices for college when the time comes for my kiddos, if not the top 3.