<p>I'm pretty interested in Vanderbilt but I have a few questions about stuff.</p>
<p>I'll probably major in Engineering (about 51% sure).</p>
<p>How is Vanderbilt for Mechanical Engineering and/or Chemical Engineering?</p>
<p>It's really low in the rankings, so is the quality of instruction "lower" at Vandy than at say ... UIUC?</p>
<p>How big are the classes and how is undergrad attention (do professors teach)?</p>
<p>And the final question is about recruiting. I haven't made up my mind about a future career - I don't mind working as an engineering (or in management consulting). The only job I'm not too crazy about is Investment banking. Do employers in these areas recruit at Vandy?</p>
<p>(This might come off a bit shallow) Would a low income kid fit in at Vandy?</p>
<p>Darth,
If you don't get any replies in the next few days, bump up your post late next week. It's move-in weekend at Vandy and the 13th straight day of temps over 100 in Nashville! Your desired responders are probably too pooped from heat and exhaustion to reply right now!</p>
<p>As a student entering the engineering school for MechE I was impressed with the school and for that reason made the decision. Vandy engineering is heeded better than say a U of colorado that is supposedly better; however it is really what you intend to get out of it. Really, a top 50 program should be relatively the same as another because of the standardized aspect of undergraduate engineering. However, I liked that at vandy</p>
<p>-more girls, 20 vs 30
-don't segregate from the campus
-the engineering school doesn't stand independent, but you are instead valued based upon the school and vandy is a good school with a very good engineering department
-classes can be large, but at the U of Col, mech E's had classes up through junior year of 100+
-the social scene
-the campus comradely
-I am forgetting so much, but I am tired and will end this message now, sorry</p>
<p>ChemE classes are always smaller than most other majors. I'm this major. We have around 38 people my year and it's considered one of the years when they have more students /grade. Instruction is very good. I really dont' think I'm at a disadvantage when compared to other schools. Teachers are great and knowledgeable in their field. ok, let me actually try to answer your questions:</p>
<p>If I'm not mistaken, Mech E is Vandy's 1st or 2nd most popular Engineering major. The other is BME. Therefore the classes tend to be a bit larger, usually held in teh auditorium. However, there are many sections so that divides up the class size. Really don't know about the professors.</p>
<p>There are plenty of recruiters who recruit on campus. the career fair takes place early on in the year. (around sept or early oct, I think)</p>
<p>Yes, you'll fit in. There is enough diversity on campus that you should find someone who is like you and has your interests.</p>
<p>I would contact Vanderbilt if you can't get the page to work. There are some merit scholarships that require a specific application, but I think the majority are screened for automatically from among all the applications. No special essays, recommendations, etc.</p>
<p>But as I said, there are a few that will require extra effort on your part, so contact them and get the details.</p>
<p>I think way too many people are hung up on rankings. Also, in my experience Vanderbilt appeals to students who are not "narrow" in the sense that some engineering students are. VU engineering tends to get a lot of students who are interested in other fields, and avail themselves of the opportunity to take music or other humanities classes; a lot of double majors with math as well. </p>
<p>Professors teach, and they are very involved in the undergraduate program. You may have a freshman "general engineering" lab that is run by graduate students under the advisement of faculty. It is a small group, though. Other than that, classes are taught by faculty. The ones my son sat in on while visiting campus were very small, and featured a lot of give and take between students and faculty.</p>
<p>I can't answer your question about "fitting in", although I am inclined to think you would have no problem as an engineering major. Try to visit.</p>
<p>^ It's up now midmo. Thanks again for all your help.</p>
<p>Some others things - I'm interested in the BS-MS program (where you earn a Bachelors and Masters in 4 years) and I believe the GPA cut-off for that is 3.5. So how hard is it to achieve a 3.5 in Engineering? And I assume the double-major is more or less out of the question if the MS is attempted in 4 years.</p>
<p>I heard the dean and assistant dean speak this weekend. The average gpa at graduation for engineering students is something like 3.4; the avg gpa at the end of freshman year is more like 3.0.</p>
<p>A double major and masters in four is probably only possible if you enter with a lot of AP and/or university credits earned while in high school. The engr school is more liberal with AP credits than arts and sciences, but there are limits, and scores need to be high. I think it will also depend on which engineering field your pursue. Some are far more restrictive than others about the type and sequence of courses required.</p>
<p>My H happens to be an econ professor (not at Vanderbilt). He has high regard for the faculty at Vanderbilt, but I can't say we know that much about the undergraduate program. It might be of interest to you to know that the faculty at Peabody includes some economists, doing applied work related to education. </p>
<p>Personally, I think someone interested in both econ and engineering could do a lot worse than Vanderbilt. Make a point of sending e-mails to the undergraduate directors of economics and the filed of engr that interests you and ask some specific questions.</p>
<p>
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I heard the dean and assistant dean speak this weekend. The average gpa at graduation for engineering students is something like 3.4; the avg gpa at the end of freshman year is more like 3.0.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That could be a tiny issue. The program requires that students "enter" the Masters program after Sophomore Year.</p>
<p>Thanks again midmo, I'll definitely send an email to the faculty. Hopefully, in a couple of years I can get my interests narrowed down :)</p>