<p>There are a few older conversations on this. Anything more recent? I am a humanities/liberal arts person. Not yet convinced about the Greek thing. I am from California. I like the southern feel of Vandy - but I am concerned whether I will fit in.</p>
<p>From what you said, I’d lean away from Wash U. I live in Missouri (Kansas City side) and have heard a lot about WashU, and applied there as well (was rejected). I also have a friend get in this year with early decision. Gathering what I know from friends, research and current students, I’d say WashU is a school more geared towards numbers. Future doctors and lawyers thrive here. It’s very intense and competitive. I don’t know if you’ve visited, but St. Louis is not the greatest place to live… I guess I could be biased. If you like the whole ‘Southern feel’, I don’t think you’ll like St. Louis. I know if I were personally faced with your decision, I’d choose Northwestern. I’m also a humanities/liberal arts person, hoping to do something with TV or film. My aim was to get out of the midwest, but I’ve never considered Chicago to be midwest at all. Obviously, you are the only one who can make the final decision, but I’d say WashU is probably not your school. As for Vandy, I’ve never visited or done any research… but if you like the feel, that might be where you should go. Bottom line, they are all very good schools, so at this point it’s really down to the vibe and community you like best. </p>
<p>Hope this helped… </p>
<p>Vandy IS very southern, we have a friend who goes there and he came back winter break Freshman year wearing ties and shopping for seersucker, a bit too uptight for my taste! I don’t know Wash U. at all. NU and Vandy are two great schools, it’s a personality/fit decision.</p>
<p>I’d like to provide a little balance to the discussion. @whitgirlprobs is very negative about Wash U so I would highly recommend that you visit. My son just graduated from Wash U and found it to be a wonderful experience. The University is actually located in Clayton, a prosperous suburb of St. Louis and there are great restaurants in the surrounding area. The academics are superb and the students are unpretentious and collaborative. As a liberal arts major you have the opportunity to complement your studies with business courses if you are so inclined. It’s a beautiful campus as well. You have three excellent choices. </p>
<p>Thanks. To be clear, I’ve visited and been accepted at all 3. But, I find it very hard to learn anything walking around and asking a few questions to people who are their selling their school. Here’s a specific question. At Vandy, would a non-Southerner be on the sidelines, sitting with the New Yorkers?</p>
<p>I’m just trying to give my perspective. Obviously plenty of kids love WashU and thrive there. But I just don’t think it’s the best choice for a liberal arts education out of the three you have. And, as you know from visiting, the campus is beautiful. But if you like “southern charm”, you won’t get any of that at WashU. Or Northwestern for that matter. Each school has its own vibe. I’m sorry if I came off negative. All three are amazing schools, and you are obviously a great student to have to choose between them. I’m sure you’ll prosper wherever you go. I just figured since you are on here asking, you’d want to hear any negative things people have to say because sometimes that is harder to come by than the positives. </p>
<p>thanks for your opinion.</p>
<p>I faced a similar decision in deciding between Northwestern and WashU when considering undergraduate school. NU and WashU are very similar in many respects. Ultimately choosing NU, I found Chicago to be a far more desirable location than St. Louis and had family in the Chicago area. I did find that WashU students tended to be very happy at the school and the quality of life there was outstanding. </p>
<p>These are all great schools. I believe you can forge a great experience at any of them. Weather and vibe are pretty big factors but it sounds like those have not helped you decide as yet. I think if I were you I would do the following: </p>
<ol>
<li>Compare Financial Aid packages (if that is an issue). As a side note, if you have siblings coming up, how would that package change?</li>
<li>Compare any AP/IB credits and how much it may help you. Those free you up to take more electives, or are a nice buffer to have if you get sick, change majors, etc.</li>
<li>Study the actual course catalog in 1-2 of your prospective majors, say History and English. </li>
<li>Also study the distribution requirements. Does the school offer ways to fill those without making you take chemistry with a bunch of premeds and a nutso curve?</li>
<li>Are you interested in study abroad? It tends to be less complicated if you go through the university’s own program, so see what they’ve got.</li>
</ol>
<p>Northwestern!</p>
<p>I’m a current junior at Vandy, and am also from California. You’d be totally fine here. Contrary to popular belief, the student body at Vandy is not really “southern” anymore. </p>
<p>There are a fair amount of Tennesseans and Texans here, but there are comparable numbers of students from New York, Chicago, and California. Everyone meshes together nicely. The only groups that don’t always naturally “fit in” are some international students, and that’s because of a language barrier. </p>
<p>In fact, social segmentation here – like at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, or pretty much any other top university – is, if anything, determined by wealth (at every top university, there are always a handful of wealthy kids from boarding schools up in the northeast who seem to have a little more fun than everyone else. But that’s just because having a bigger wallet lets you drive nicer cars). It has nothing to do with being southern. One of the top fraternities here, by charter, has to be at least 85% Jewish. Only two of the 15+ fraternities here have substantial amounts of southerners. </p>
<p>NU>WASHU>VANDY in terms of prestige</p>
<p>When you look at student surveys from The Princeton Review, Vanderbilt and Wash SL are in the top 10 for happiest students. The student quality of life score for Wash SL is 99 and Vandy is 98 among the best in the nation. NU is an inexplicably low score of 69% the lowest of any top 20 university…how can this be?
Other student scores:
Academic rating: Vandy 92, Wash SL 92, NU 85
Interesting professors: Vandy 92, Wash SL 90, NU 75
Best run schools: Vandy rank # 18,Wash SL #12, NU not ranked</p>
<p>Wow: what great choices to have! Having to pick one of these three is what is known as a “high class problem.”
You simply cannot go wrong.
That being said, my daughter looked at all three of these schools and ultimately decided she preferred NU. Vandy was a bit too “Southern” for her, although its campus is gorgeous. WashU offered great architectural, academics, and quality of life, but St.Louis just didn’t offer the excitement of Chicago (and a friend of mine - a St. Louis attorney who’d gotten a masters at NU - told her that St. Louis was really boring compared to Chicago).
She went with NU because it had all the things she wanted to have available to her: first tier academics, a good location just outside a GREAT city, a nice campus, a waterfront location that she found even more appealing than Vandy’s arboretum and WashU’s striking architecture, Greek Life if she wanted it (but she wouldn’t miss anything if she decided against it), Div I Athletics, etc.
She had the time of her life at NU, got a great education, and early in her senior year had a great job waiting for her after graduation.
As a parent, I think I got real value for my money - and given the cost of private universities today, that’s saying something.
As I said, though, you are in a Win-Win-Win situation. Good luck whatever you decide.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. Just spent my spring break visiting these 3 schools again. I thought I would share some of my conclusions: Here’s my priorities: Vandy, Wash U, and NU. Absolutely, all have great academics. All have lots of new buildings and facilities. The adjacent city preferences are Nashville, Chicago, and St Louis. The student body at Wash U was the friendliest. The creative side was best at NU. The greek system was a big concern at Vandy - but, I’ve been convinced whether i participate or not, all is OK. Being in a Div 1 school is also exciting, but a little scary. I don’t follow sports, nor care much. And, I’ve learned that everyone goes crazy at a Div 1 school. I plan to take a crash course in football this summer! Wash U has a great orientation program - Vandy comes close. The tutoring at Wash U was outstanding, but Vandy seems to offer similar support. The food was best at Vandy - even though everyone kept saying how great it was at Wash U. Vandy is the highest cost. WashU had the best alternatives for financing and locking in the cost of 4 years if you set up a loan for the total up front. Wash U had the greatest flexibility for switching between Arts and Sciences and Engineering schools - which is something I would like the option for. NU was also good. Vandy forces you to stay in the entering school for a year before switching - but you can take the engineering courses even if you aren’t in the school so you don’t get caught out of sync. And I guess I can’t say that I wasn’t influenced by the weather too. NU was just <em>&^%</em>&^% cold. St Louis was close. When I got to Nashville - I was able to see the faces, heads, legs, and a few other things on the students. Coming from California, I have to admit, being comfortable outside all year wrong is a powerful motivator. (I didn’t mention it earlier, but, I was also accepted at Cornell - and after hearing lots of stories - I just couldn’t go there - on weather alone.) So, right now, it looks like a Vandy decision. But, that might change as a now have the next set of conversations!</p>
<p>Just curious, how much different do you suppose the weather at Northwestern is…</p>
<p>If you are looking for LAC, these are not the best fit anyway. These area all research universities. Given that direction, I suppose Vandy would be the broadest overall option given those 3. All great schools, but I would expect more for science than for humanities.</p>
<p>My 2 visits in April ranged from warm to snowy! Last Saturday, it was 70 degrees, but then on Sunday it snowed and dropped under 32 degrees! And a cold wind. I’m not afraid of winter. But, it’s the fact that most of the school year forces everyone to bundle up - walking up and down campus. I am attracted to staying outside in shorts!</p>
<p>Here’s a great site: <a href=“http://www.weathertrends360.com”>http://www.weathertrends360.com</a> From here you can see what the weather has been and will be up to 2 years in the future. I can see Evanston in December through March. There’s a lot of days hitting lows of 10 degrees and highs of 30s.</p>
<p>It was 78f and beautiful in Chicago today, could be snowing tomorrow ! Thats Chicago spring for you. The truth is that you are likely to have temperate weather September through Mid Nov and then cold from Thanksgiving through March. Its the way it is around here. Even though it gets cold everyone knows how to handle it so unless its -20f classes will not be cancelled. Im sure the same cannot be said for Vandy when (inevitably) that area gets hit by 2 inches of snow or an Ice storm.</p>