<p>We'll be in Nashville for 2 days the first week in April. Son is doing 'Dore for a Day and we are meeting with an Assistant Dean in the school of engineering. It will be a quick trip.</p>
<p>Is there something we shouldn't miss in our short trip to the University?</p>
<p>Make sure to leave your son alone during 'Dore for a day and let him feel what it’s really like to be a student.</p>
<p>There are a bunch of topics on this board about trips to Nashville and things to see-- I recommend surfing around!</p>
<p>Pancaked - I thought leaving my son alone with another student was the whole idea of "Dore for a Day. I’d be thrilled if he could spend the night in the dorm.</p>
<p>Indeed, but you’d be surprised how often parents interject with their own plans. Just making sure you weren’t making plans for him that day!</p>
<p>I recommend breakfast at Pancake Pantry if the timing works out.</p>
<p>Oh, and lunch at Fido! </p>
<p>Go across the street from Vandy and check out the Parthenon. Walk around Hillsboro Village. Walk around the Vandy campus … spend some time just hanging out there (it is beautiful). </p>
<p>If you want to see the tourist-y side of Nashville, walk around downtown. </p>
<p>We like music, so enjoyed visiting Gruhn Guitars. We love Grimey’s New & Preloved Music. </p>
<p>And if you are an American Picker’s fan, you won’t want to miss visiting Antique Archeology!</p>
<p>[Radnor</a> Lake in the summertime - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>There are really three or four within walking distance urban conclaves near the Vandy campus…the more commercial West End district full of restaurants and businesses, the more residential and village like Hillsboro Village, the Elliston Place business area, and a couple of districts closer to the Commons and Music Row. All and all it feels more expansive than the nice district near Rice University although Nashville is much much smaller than Houston. The neighborhoods around Vandy are much cooler than the neighborhoods near Emory or Duke.</p>
<p>The graduate schools are all quite close to the undergraduate school which is a nice compact feeling. The grad schools add a lot to the campus life.</p>
<p>If you want to see where native Nashvillians relax, there is a wonderful one mile level walk around Radnor Lake only ten minutes from Vanderbilt in the neighborhoods just south of the city off of 12th/Granny White. A great place to catch your breath, experience living in Middle Tennessee and/or have that clear your mind conversation with your overworked high school college applicant.</p>
<p>I believe Vandy stopped doing overnights in the dorms except for special outreach programs like Mosaic and CV or Ingram Scholars. 29 thousand applicants=a more streamlined process for prospies.
I personally think overnights in the dorms are over-rated anyway. High school juniors and seniors need sleep and there is more than enough to do if you attend two classes, take down names of professors and chat up kindly Vandy students for follow up emails…and if you grab a bite here and there on and off campus. </p>
<p>I do think there is a great reality check if your student (or you without him…privately) spend a few minutes in the library just blending in a bit but observing. Vanderbilt students study very hard. Make sure you know that the Peabody Lawn which is part of the freshman Commons now…was designed by Stanford White. Vandy is a unique cozy college in a close in part of Nashville. I would not bother with tourist destinations at all…but if you are ambitious, parents could do a couple of hours at Cheekwood or the Frist museum of art solo.</p>
<p>Just completed our quick overnighter to Vanderbilt. Here are my thoughts after spending time on campus and meeting with faculty and staff.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is focused on the undergraduate experience. They want every student that enters their gates as freshman to graduate from the University. They have the programs to support this. We heard over and over again, if you are having trouble; please come see us, we can help.</p>
<p>Students are involved in lots of things beyond their classes and the University supports it. Support includes paying the travel costs for the Ultimate Frisbee Team or lane fees and shoe costs for Club Bowling. We talked to quite a few students and with only one exception they were each involved in at least a couple of groups.</p>
<p>The band program is impressive. Dr. Sagen made our son feel very welcome. He spent 45 minutes with us learning about our son and telling us about the program. I’m confident that the band program will be the center of our son’s social life. He also made it clear that underage drinking and illegal drugs were not allowed when you are representing Vanderbilt. </p>
<p>There is diversity at Vanderbilt. We did see groups of students from various ethnic and religious background talking together.</p>
<p>The various schools / colleges work together and support students taking classes or majoring / minoring in another subject. It is also easy to change your major or change schools/colleges. You clearly aren’t stuck with what you picked when you were 17.</p>
<p>The trip back to Vanderbilt just recomfirmed the decision to apply ED. It really is the perfect fit for our son even though it’s clear across the country.</p>
<p>I’m glad you enjoyed your trip to Vandy. Good luck with the application process.</p>
<p>VandyRealist - We’re done with the application process. Son is a member of the Class of 2017.</p>
<p>go9er! So glad you had a great visit! we were there yesterday as well, picked up D1 and went to a concert downtown. She actually walked across the street and got a table for us at chili’s before the show…so convenient to have her dorm right on West End! D2 goes Monday night for Vanderbilt and You. Can’t wait till next year!</p>