<p>Currently, I am considering both SMU(I was accepted to the Honors College) and Vanderbilt as future colleges. When I went to SMU, it felt very safe, with no busy Dallas streets running through it, and almost felt like a mini town. It was also in a very nice part of town. Dallas was accessible, but distant. </p>
<p>However, when I visited Vanderbilt, there was a major road running right through the campus, and busy, traffic filled streets surrounded the area. A very busy Nashville seemed to be right outside the dorms. Literally, some dorms were across the street from stores. </p>
<p>I am worried that safety will be an issue at Vanderbilt. Does anyone have any comments on the safety and community feel of Vanderbilt?</p>
<p>Vandy’s crime stats can be viewed on their website…most colleges post them weekly. While you have to be vigilant anywhere, Vandy is reasonably safe…but it is not closed off from the public…that is true. The major road you are referring to is 21st AKA Hillsboro Road…which will carry you to the fun college Hillsboro Village hangouts…and a couple miles further to the sprawl of Green Hill’s…upscale shopping and eating. But you can cross to Peabody/The Commons on bridges and never set foot on the sidewalk on 21st.</p>
<p>I would say that most people view Vandy’s location as an asset. I used to work on the Emory campus and have a son at Duke, and Emory is a bit of a chore/trip to Atlanta central or Buckhead…and Durham is a small town compared to Nashville. I think Vandy/Nashville and Rice/Houston take the prizes for happy locations and have similar vibes…very positive relationships with the city, close enough to the main city to do internships, and fun strips of coffee shops and restaurants within a stroll of campus that feel like neighborhoods. Nashvillians love Vandy and come to campus a lot. Steps off campus you will be dining with people who are employed in many fields…which I think is cool.</p>
<p>Internship opportunities are one of Vandy’s strong suits…state government, federal offices, medical facilities that have a regional outreach–Vandy really does serve the entire region, tight relationships with every agency in town that serves Nashville in social services, and Nashville has a healthy economy so there are good business related internships. Nashvillians are always finding placements for Vandy students in businesses, schools and agencies. The Vanderbilt daily calendar also offers unusual opportunities to attend performances at Blair or to hear major speakers at the law, med, business, or div schools. </p>
<p>I really like the way Vandy students can huddle down and have their undergrad bubble with green space…or choose to step off to the world of work. My first kid was very keen on Dartmouth…and they are so isolated that they use an entire semester to Outsource students into internships…great place, Dartmouth…but remote. Can’t speak to SMU.</p>
<p>If you are asking if Vanderbilt is like some other urban campuses that lack a cohesive campus community, the answer is a resounding no. Since almost all undergraduates live in on-campus housing, the campus is always full of students. It has a safe feel to it, but of course it is an urban campus and there are no guard towers or barbed wire, so one does lock the doors and, I hope, not wander around alone in the middle of the night. (I wouldn’t recommend that on any campus anywhere.)</p>
<p>I’m not sure this is a good measure of security, but my son’s bike has been sitting outside his building all year and no one has taken it yet. That could be an indication of the value of the bike, of course.</p>
<p>As Faline2 has already mentioned, the “busy street” (which is not a highway or even a big street, IMO) is quite a welcome sight if one is interested in finding a coffee shop or a good lunch spot, etc. Freshman and Peabody students should use the pedestrian overpasses to access the main campus.</p>
<p>I think the city-view dorms the first poster mentioned are the towers along West End Blvd. Those are apartments occupied by some seniors. By the time you are a senior, the sight of the big city might be welcome. Freshmen live on the Peabody campus, a big stretch of green space and lovely old trees.</p>
<p>Students who are really turned off by all things urban might prefer isolated or rural campuses, but Vanderbilt seems like a great compromise to me between urban City in Your Face campuses and isolated campuses that might get claustrophobic for some.</p>
<p>1) Many people, including myself, rarely lock their doors. I’m a Southerner and this may seem weird to some people, but I’ve never had anything stolen, which includes my time living off campus.
2) Vanderbilt’s location is an asset and couldn’t possibly be a cause for concern. There are crimes. You hear stories of girls walking home alone getting mobbed occasionally, but this is the exception and not the norm. My ex-girlfriend that goes to a different school called me a couple days ago crying about just such a thing happening to her, she goes to a school that you would consider very safe. It happens everywhere, but happens less here than most other places. The campus itself is pristine and the surrounding areas are great.
3) SMU is a neat place, and if you’re from Tejas might benefit from its top notch law school, but Vandy is where you want to be for undergrad. Trust me.
4) The campus is incredible. Just about 3/4s through your freshmen year, you’ll start to get tired of the “Vandy Bubble”, this is an effect of a bunch of well-bred students staying on campus 98% of the time to only socialize with each other, and then all of a sudden you’ll realize that not only is Nashville one of the better cities…in the world, but everything is also less than 10 minutes away.</p>
<p>Welcome to Vandy.</p>
<p>PS I suppose you could describe 21st Ave. as a “major road”, but it doesn’t really run through campus, and we easily cross over via the walkways. Last thought: we have those emergency blue lights everywhere like everyone else these days, they get very little use.</p>
<p>My D describes 21st as “sketchy,” but she isn’t afraid to walk there with others at night or alone during the day. She says that she encounters panhandlers from time to time … but that is an issue in any large city. She doesn’t feel threatened at all. She is careful, of course - as any student should be, regardless of how “safe” they feel on their campus. But she definitely is happy to be right in the middle of Nashville!</p>
<p>I am really surprised to hear that 21st avenue is “sketchy”. The Hillsboro Village on 21st includes great little boutiques,restaurants, bakeries, bookstores. As you head north on 21st above Wedgewood, on the right side of the street(which is only a total of 4 lanes and is not a wide boulevard or superhighway) you have a bank, the Village at Vanderbilt which has some medical offices, townhouses, apartments and a couple of restaurants. Next is the Peabody campus. After the Peabody campus you have the University School of Nashville( a private preK-12 school) followed by a bagel shop, San Antonio Taco, Panera Bread, Starbucks and more restaurants. On the left side of the street from Wedgewood heading north is the far eastern side of the medical center which includes a gas station, parking garage, medical office buildings and then the far eastern edge of the Vanderbilt campus. Further down are some additional office buildings,Noshville deli, some additional small restaurants. Aside from now getting a bit hungry describing all of these restaurants, I just am not sure where the sketchy part of 21st avenue is. I have a D who will be a freshman next year and I am interested in hearing where the “bad” part of 21st avenue is so I can let her know. No sarcasm here at all, I am just really confused to hear that this is not a good area from other posters.</p>
<p>Phew,thanks for clarifying that kelsmom! Well, at least other people know what is on 21st avenue around the Commons area after my last post!
I have only been on Elliston place during the day going to doctor’s appointments,etc but it is still not a bad area. Once again, there are several good restaurants, and some fast food places, pizza joints,smoothie king,etc. It is actually a block west of West End Avenue which is where the Carmichael Towers and the admissions office is. That area is close to the huge Baptist Hospital and Centennial Hospital complexes which are very good medical centers. The best thing about Elliston Place is the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop! You can smell that sugar in the air for a couple of blocks!</p>
<p>It’s not “bad.” But D doesn’t like the area near the hospitals - it’s just different from the area closer to the school & the busier areas. She once went to find an atm that was on her no-fee-atm list & it was in Baptist Hospital - she called me to tell me that it wasn’t like the area around Vandy’s hospital - for a young woman alone, it was just not the same as going to Hillsboro or some of the other areas within walking distance. </p>
<p>She is also very careful at night - she had no worries walking alone after dark at her former school (campus outside town & off by itself) - but she is aware that being in a city requires being more careful. She does NOT feel unsafe, though - if she did, she would have chosen another school.</p>