Schools similar to Vanderbilt

My son is a junior in HS. We visited Vanderbilt a few weeks ago. My son really liked it. Specifically he liked the size, student spirit, city, and ability to double major. What are some schools with a similar size, urban setting, spirit, and provide opportunity to double major that have a higher acceptance rate? We are from California but my son is open to going out of state.

In some respects, Auburn University, University of Alabama, & the University of Mississippi resemble Vanderbilt. All of these SEC schools have Honors Colleges / Honors Programs which offer merit scholarship awards.

In my humble opinion, best comparisons in size and location are Washington University in St. Louis; Rice University, Wake Forest University (less urban) and Duke University (less urban).

Flydad’s suggestions are good. I’d add Emory (also southern, private, mid-sized, high academics, semi-urban) and maybe USC. But none of those are really any easier to get into than Vandy (which was the question).

If you drop down to the top 40-75 rather than the top 25, you could look at BC, BU, Tulane, Miami, maybe Villanova, SMU.

I second the suggestion of SMU. It is located in Dallas, is a similar size to Vandy, has lots of school spirit, Greek life, etc., but is less selective than Vanderbilt. SMU offers lots of merit aid also. Tulane is also similar to Vanderbilt and is located in the heart of New Orleans.

A few I can think of include: BC, Miami, (and somewhat larger) Syracuse, and Pitt

Thank you for the replies! It definitely appears my son should look at SMU. He is also planning to see a presentation about Tulane when they are in our area next month.

OP: Almost all colleges & universities allow students to double major (Princeton University, if I recall correctly, does not).

Unfortunately, the aspects that your son liked at Vanderbilt are too broad (size, student spirit, city, and ability to double major) to generate truly meaningful responses. Your qualifier specifying that you are seeking similiar schools with a higher acceptance rate than Vanderbilt is reasonable.

Interesting that some schools mentioned in this thread do not, in my opinion, resemble Vanderbilt. Use of broad terms leads to individual interpretations of readers which may not be in line with your son’s interests.

In short, could you be a bit more specific about your son’s interests ?

Thank you. My son liked the city of Nashville. He wants an urban setting. We looked at Wake Forest which is a great campus but he felt too isolated from Winston Salem(3 miles away). Ideally, he would like to walk off campus and be in a city setting. As for majors he will likely be either econ or business but is very interested in history and math. My daughter is at a California public school that does not allow double majors. A liberal arts school would be the best fit for my son. As for spirit he would prefer a school with D1 sports and a spirited culture around those sports. Finally for size, he liked the medium sized feel of Vanderbilt. He prefers the 5000-9000 size. I hope this narrows it down. We have a ton of reach schools for him to look at but need to really balance the list.

Often ‘business + history’ is a double degree, not a double major. There may be a lot more requirements for a double degree - more core classes, more credits with having to complete both the BS in business and the BA in history (math, econ).

LACs are generally much smaller than 5000 students. And rural.

U of Denver is urban.

Is warm weather a requirement?

It will be difficult to find an LAC that meets your son’s preferences. Maybe the University of Richmond ? College of William & Mary in Virginia ?

Seattle University except for the school spirit revolving around D-I sports.

The University of Virginia may be of interest to him.

Curious about weather preferences.

I’m not sure about weather. He says it’s not an issue but he’s only experienced snow during ski trips. We plan to see Northwestern this winter and see how he feels about cold after that trip.

By the way my son really liked UVA.

@DifernlessRjump If the cold winter turns out not a factor for Northwestern, I recommend you to check out MMSS and Kellogg certificate programs on their website. MMSS is an one of a kind and rigorous program that integrates math and social sciences (especially in the context of economics but could also be poli sci, psychology or even history). Kellogg cert comprises of grad level business courses through highly quantitative approach within a top-ranked business school.

With that clarification and with the idea that you might look for something slightly less selective, Emory, BC, Northeastern, and SMU are good choices.

Thank you so much!

"By the way my son really liked UVA. "

Lots of similarities in look and feel, even though UVA is a public flagship and Vandy is private.

In case you didn’t catch it on your visits, Vandy’s Peabody campus is a very deliberate homage to UVA’s Lawn. The Peabody president at the time that campus was designed had come from UVA and wanted to re-create the Academical Village.

P.S. UVA out-of-state isn’t much/any easier to get into than Vandy.

P.P.S. Applying to Vandy ED might make a difference. And UVA this year re-instated ED, so that might give your son a better admit chance too.

^ And Charlottesville is a really cool town. Tons of food, art, music. Some walkable, some 5-10 minutes away (closer than downtown WS to Wake campus - which btw is only a 10 minute shuttle ride so not difficult to get to- runs all the time as many STEM classes are held in the new facilities downtown).

Maybe too small (and Catholic) but what about Holy Cross?