<p>Hey,
I was wondering if someone here could give me their advice or anything about this situation....I'm from St. Louis and and trying to decide between Vandy and UNC Chapel Hill. I received acceptances from both schools and got a gigantic financial aid package from Vandy which knocks off roughly 40k a year. Needless to say, I was ready to pack my bags and head to nashville in the fall. However, I found out today that i got a merit/financial aid scholarship from UNC which will cover practically everything....I don't know what to think, all i know is that nashville (5 hours) is much closer to st. Louis than Chapel Hill (13)....any advice about the schools/decision would be greatly appreciated</p>
<p>well, UNC has more brand-name recognition, and I hear Chapel Hill is a nice town, but I like Vandy. A second visit to both schools may be in order.</p>
<p>I considered applying to both UNC and Vanderbilt, and in the end I felt that UNC has mostly in-state students, and that Vanderbilt would provide more diversity (not necessarily ethnic, but there is a wider variety of students from different states around the US). It is a much more conservative, Southern-feeling campus than UNC. The size of UNC was attractive in terms of the number of academic opportunities it may provide, but I felt that Vandy would have a much more close-knit community feeling without being too small.</p>
<p>I may be way off, but that's what led me to choose Vanderbilt over UNC when making my college application choices.</p>
<p>I definitely don't think that UNC has more brand name recognition by any means, but UNC is no doubt a very good school.
P.S. I visited UNC and I was VERY disapointed</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is well worth the price you would be paying after your generous merit award. Vanderbilt is also not as conservative as it once was and has students from all parts of the USA. Nashville is a wonderful capitol city with many options for internships, jobs and evenings out and Nashville has strong ties to people from St. Louis and Louisville/Lexington. I think it has a Midwestern friendliness...but a boom town New South economy. Chapel Hill is a great life, fun town and educational option to be proud of as well... but please factor in the small classrooms and full professors at Vanderbilt and you will see you have a bargain..life with no TAs and professors who know you when it is time to work for that graduate school placement.</p>
<p>Boy, what a tough decision. I truly feel that both schools will offer you an outstanding education. There are so many good schools out there. I myself have looked far and wide for that perfect school. I wanted to be no more than five hours from home, recieve a great education and support my state. The school I have chosen is a school I feel you should seriously consider. That school is Truman!!!! Located in Kirksville Mo. I know what your thinking....small rural farming town....home to a Super Wal-mart.....no social life. You have to ask yourself "What is College about?" Is it about parties, sports, chess clubs perhaps an education? TRUMAN HAS IT ALL!!! Have you considered it? Don't get me wrong UNC and Vandy are great schools but I feel Truman offers more. What do you think mslefty?</p>
<p>vanderbilt and UNC both offer very good academics...sub ivy, barely, super bright kids and good social lives. here's the big difference: Vanderbilt is more conservative, the overwhelming majority of the kids are from affluent to mega rich homes and it is a bastion of the old south, altho changing slowly. Oh, and the Greeks totally dominate the social scene. But, the campus is gorgeous and facilities are second to none. Chapel Hill is more liberal, more laid back and less socially exclusive. The campus isn't quite as nice as Vandy's, but then most campuses can't hold a candle to vanderbilt's. you probably get a wider talent spectrum at UNC...more uber brilliant kids at Chapel Hill, but also more kids at the lower (read: low for an elite) end of the spectrum (read: in state kids who are top 10% of their class with 1200 SATs). Most kids at Vandy are the sons/daughters of the south, daddy is a doctor or ceo, belong to a fraternity/sorority and are unusually attractive. Most kids at UNC are the cream of the NC in state crop, with a sprinkling (18%) of uber smart OOS kids, who aren't as affluent (altho plenty of country club types here) but are much, much more diverse.</p>
<p>ummm..this original poster was in the HS class of 2005 with my son's cohorts and is now a junior in college! My son is at Duke and I have plenty of great things to say about the quality of life in Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill is a big state university with one of the happiest College towns to brag about in the USA but it is nothing like living in Nashville which is state capital, a true boom town economically, with an incredible mix of new businesses, regional medical complexes, music industry and arts institutions and colleges. Vanderbilt also has world class graduate schools and caters to adults as well as undergrads.<br>
Your assessment of Vandy is way out of touch and based on archetypes not reality in the year 2007. As the Ivies have taken on educating over 50% of their students who now qualify for financial aide, Vanderbilt has been admitting applicants who formally would have been unwilling/hesitant to leave the East or West coasts. Many students at Vandy have the qualifications to be considered for Ivy admits and come from very far away. Vanderbilt gives out tons of merit awards as well as generous need awards and has a student body that is representative of all social classes and is increasingly more national as a draw rather than regional. Greeks have a very strong presence at Chapel Hill and ditto at Vandy but there is a hearty amount of alternative social worlds in both towns, with Nashville as a true player in the short list of America's "third coast" cities. Sports are great at both schools but you are going to see a lot more of your full professors and smaller learning environments at Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Faline2: As you point out, this is a rather old thread, and though the above poster's statements on Vanderbilt may possibly be "way out of touch," your own assessment of UNC is greatly skewed. </p>
<p>UNC's classes are taught by full (and associate and assistant) professors, just like at Duke and at Vanderbilt; entry level classes in big majors may have some large lecture-hall type classes, but they are all taught by professors. These large classes will have recitations that are taught by highly qualified TA's (PhD candidates in the field), but I think you can easily find that at any university, including the Ivys. Class sizes vary, but most classes at UNC are actually fairly small. As an aside, you may not be familiar with academic settings, but not all students (at any school) are taught solely by full professors. A full professor is just that; then there are associate and assistant professors-- all of whom are qualified in their chosen fields and can and do teach undergraduates.</p>
<p>Students at UNC definitely get to know their professors. UNC is a public university, but with ~17,000 undergraduates, it is relatively small in comparison to other top public universities (ie, Berkeley, Michigan). Your belief that UNC students don't get to know their professors is simply not based in reality. You need to take a look at where UNC places its graduates, in both graduate schools and in careers right after graduation. Look to see what firms recruit there.</p>
<p>In addition, only ~14% of undergraduates are involved in the Greek scene at UNC. (That's 14% of ~17,000 undergraduates.) Compare that to the ~40% (of ~ 6500 undergraduates) at Duke, and about the same at Vanderbilt. </p>
<p>Many students at UNC also "have the qualifications to be considered for Ivy admits," both in-state and out-of-state. In fact, many aren't just "considered," but have turned down Ivy acceptances for UNC. UNC also "gives out tons of merit awards as well as generous need-based awards" (ie, Carolina Covenant).</p>
<p>Since you are comparing college towns, I will also add that UNC, like Vanderbilt, also has "world class graduate schools," including a world class teaching hospital/medical school. In addition, the Research Triangle Park (one of the oldest and largest research/science centers in N. America) is in its back yard. Duke, and all it has to offer, is also a mere 8 miles away, and NCSU, another major research university, only ~25 miles away.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is a fine university, I agree. To give out misleading and woefully incorrect information about UNC-CH, in order to make your case, is unnecessary. Please do some research on UNC to better understand the school and all of its outstanding offerings, including its students, its programs, and its faculty.</p>
<p>Sorry UNC people, but 1210-1390 is not the same as 1280-1470; and Vandy is way more national in its student body. Those are traditional advantages of private schools. Both are great schools. But don't say that UNC has as many Ivy kids as Vandy(then actually suggest that UNC is better in that regard). Both schools are excellent, and there is no reason for this thread to exist anymore. And UNC + Vandy are more than 'fine'.</p>
<p>DSC: My main points above were really not focused on how "national" either student body is, nor a direct comparison of how many students turn down Ivy's to attend either school. That said, I will respond to your post above by just adding here that, in terms of merit scholarships, UNC is home to two of the most unique and truly premiere scholarship programs in the country (the Robertson (awarded at UNC and at Duke) and the Morehead-Cain). Robertson scholars attend both UNC and Duke; both scholarship programs cover the entire cost of one's education at UNC, including a stipend, provide stellar summer programs, advising, faculty mentors, etc. The exceptional students who are fortunate enough to be awarded one of these scholarships typically do turn down Ivys (and their equivalent), to attend UNC. So, yes, I believe "UNC has as many Ivy kids as Vandy," (not that it really matters). There are also other outstanding scholarships at UNC (including Carolina Scholars, Davie, Pogue), which (if awarded to an out-of-state student) become full-freight scholarships for them. Typically, students awarded Carolina Scholars (solely an academic merit scholarship) are also Ivy material.</p>
<p>I do agree with you that both UNC and Vanderbilt are exceptional schools, with great students and faculty. Any student would be fortunate to attend either.</p>
<p>translatedpoorly is right on. i am from the south (alabama rolllll tide!!!!) and there was DEFINITELY more "southern pride" than UNC...NC is still south but personally i loved vandy much more than UNC</p>
<p>UNC has better girls than Vanderbilt. End of discussion.</p>
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UNC has better girls than Vanderbilt. End of discussion.
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<p>Only people who attend UNC believe this. Vanderbilt is well-known for having the best looking girls.</p>
<p>CollegeProwlr schools that recieved an A+ in girls (UNC didn't make the cut):
A+ Arizona State University
A+ Florida State University
A+ Hampton University
A+ Howard University
A+ Loyola College in Maryland
A+ Loyola Marymount University
A+ Pepperdine University
A+ San Diego State University
A+ UC Santa Barbara
A+ University of Arizona
A+ University of Georgia
A+ University of San Diego
A+ University of Texas at Austin
A+ Vanderbilt University</p>