<p>im currently deciding between vanderbilt and usc.. my main concern for vanderbilt is its location and diversity. In terms of location, I have never been to nashville before as im an international from canada and dont know if its a huge city.. if anyone can describe to me just what the general feel is in nashville, that would be great! thanks! ( im gonna visit vandy in 2 weeks but i wana know now lol)</p>
<p>another concern of my is vandy's diversity.. im asian.. and my impression of vandy and nashville in general is that the school and the city is pretty much all caucasian.. not much racial/cultural diversity.. wel its not like i only hang with ppl of my own race.. in fact most of my friends are caucasian.. but then it would still be nice to have friends of differnt ethnicity.. so can someone please help me out by explaining this?:</p>
<p>my knowledge of the school is that it is very white, very conservative and many are religious. everyone that i know that graduated from there is 'upper" class acting whether they are or not. recently met someone that said that he is still paying for his loans and that he wished he had not spent the money? that the vandy degree did not get him any better job. the moms that my mom knows are all stay at home moms...not that that is bad but it kind of reinforces the conservative tilt of the school. nice school and yes, nice campus but a very lot of $$$$.</p>
<p>Vatownsend, your knowledge of Vanderbilt is extremely outdated/flawed. First off Vanderbilt is not very conservative. If you look at Facebook (an online social network website) the political ideology at the school is split about 1/3 moderate, 1/3 liberal, and 1/3 conservative. Also the results of a Spring Survey this year showed the following breakdown:</p>
<p>Middle of the Road -- 36.52%
Liberal 29.66%
Conservative 27.46%
Far Left 4.22%
Far Right 2.14%</p>
<p>It is obvious that the school with these splits can not be called very conservative. In fact, this survey had more people classify themselves as liberal. I have plenty of friends on both sides of the political spectrum and neither feel out of place. Vanderbilt may be viewed as conservative when compared to schools like Columbia, Brown, Yale which are probably 70%+ liberal. Similarly with religion, I know a lot of people here who are agnostic but probably not at the same rates as other T-20 schools. Vanderbilt isnt very conservative, but is probably conservative when compared to other top colleges. </p>
<p>You also criticize Vanderbilt for costing a lot of money. While this may be true, I think my teachers so far have been worth every penny. Also I doubt Vanderbilt costs more than any other top school. Vandy gave me great financial aid, but I can see how paying for college can be difficult for some. On a related note, you say Vanderbilt has too many upper class kids. But again I think this is true for most top 20 schools. When I visited Princeton, I didnt feel the student body to be any different than Vanderbilt. Wealthy families are always going to try to get their children into elite schools Im not sure why you are surprised by this. I went to a regular public HS and I feel that while there is a preppy element there are lots of regular kids with various fashion styles and trends. The students are very down-to-earth and friendly. </p>
<p>I think diversity was a problem 5-10 years ago, but the university continues to make tremendous strides every year. I have met kids from all around the country and the world and I have friends of many ethnicities. I thinking you guys should visit, this way you will know for sure if Vandy is a good fit.</p>
<p>While I agree that USC is a great school with a climbing academic reputation and great weather and diversity, I do not think that it can compete with Vanderbilt academically. Vanderbilt, academically, is on the rise more than ever before. </p>
<p>When Chancellor Gee started, he said that he wanted Vanderbilt to pick up. He recognized that it was a very good university, but that he believed that it had the potential to be recognized as ivy-status academically. He has been pushing several programs that have helped Vanderbilt to move up the ladder. The first two years after he started, Vanderbilt moved up four spots on the USNews Rankings, from 22nd undergrad in the country to 18th. I believe that people are acknowledging this very rapidly. Students are applying to Vanderbilt in greater numbers than ever before, showing the sudden increased interest in Vandy...</p>
<p>The weather definitely is not bad in Nashville. The winters aren't ridiculously cold (one or two flurries a year)...but spring, summer and fall are all warm. </p>
<p>Although, every student will tell you that there is a lack of diversity (racially and socio-economically) at Vandy.</p>
<p>Im also trying to decide between Vanderbilt and USC, and its a tough choice. I love USCs location (L.A. is amazing) and atmosphere, but Im also very attracted to Vanderbilts academic reputation. Vandy is generally ranked higher, but USC has been climbing. USC has a very strong reputation in California, but is less prestigious back east. </p>
<p>Both schools are stereotyped as being wealthy and conservative I think these stereotypes are grossly exaggerated for both. Admittedly, Vanderbilt is very preppy, but then, USC is maligned as the University of Spoiled Children. The fact is: both are big schools with a lot of different types of people, so youll find a group of friends at either; I really wouldnt make this a big factor in your decision. </p>
<p>This probably isnt much help, because Im in the same dilemma its a tough choice. </p>
<p>Vanderbilt is conservative. I am a student, and I can attest to the conservative bent of the school. Don't rely on the student body to tell you (using Facebook). Most of the people I know who claim to be in the middle-of-the-road politically would have voted or did vote for George W Bush in the 2004 election. Anyone who would compromise the well-being of America to put that monkey back in office would have to be conservative. By the way, I'm ultra-liberal. We do exist at Vanderbilt, but the opposition has us flanked.</p>
<p>I think it's important to note that it is a conservative bent and by no means dominates the campus. Plus, it's not like you always talk about politics with people. When I meet someone, I really don't care whether they're republican or democrat as long as they can intelligently support their opinions.</p>
<p>now im in a bigger dilemma as I also got in notre dame... im going to visit all three schools in the coming week and trying to decide then.. i would go to usc because I want to do business and I am VERY sure of that.. and usc might suite me better in that part... though notre dame also has a business school (but marshall is ranked 9th as opposed to 20 something for notre dame, and i didnt see any ranking for vandy under business programs) ay.. but the concern for usc is definitely its party school reputation.. just like stressed4college said usc = university of spoiled children.. I personally like to party but then my impression is that partying in usc overrides studying and I dont like that.. (now my impression can be wrong as I have not visited the campus yet).. and I forgot to mention my concern for notre dame is that I am not catholic... and no matter how much respect/openness the student body is towards non-catholic students, I think there has to be some barriers.. so that is definitely one of my concern... as for vandy, the whole not enough diversity as well as its location concerns me.. i like big cities.. ay dillemmaaaaa.. sorry for my disorganized thoughts.. I just typed them as I thought of them.. </p>
<p>and i want to thank everyone for helping me out on this board. THANK YOU =)</p>
<p>If you like Big Cities you are not going to like Notre Dame, its in the middle of nowhere. Academically, Notre Dame and Vandy are about equal and USC is a tier below.</p>
<p>iwantivy,
i am an Asian too. I decide to go to Vandy. I like that school. and my friend, an Asian freshman in Vandy, said although there aren't many asians, but she enjoys so much.
I had the same concern before, cuz in my high school, (i am in houston) we have 37% asian. so, basically, we hang around w/ all Asians. but, i am really eager to go to Vandy to change my all asian around life. i think that will be a really good experience.</p>
<pre><code>So, let me know, if you decide to go to Vandy. i would like to make you as my first asian friend in Vandy's class of 2010. :-)
</code></pre>
<p>you're correct. diversity is more than just skin color but...the princeton review ranks schools with least Race/Class interaction
1. University of Denver
2. College of the Holy Cross
3. Washington and Lee University
4. Vanderbilt University</p>
<p>I live a couple hours away from Vanderbilt and have alot of friends who attend. They all say there is little race AND class interaction, but the Greek system probably factors into this. You can always find people with common interests. But diversity is not Vanderbilt's best feature. Academics are excellent though. Do they beat USC? Depends on what you plan on studying.</p>