<p>The title pretty much speaks for itself - what are the people at Vanderbilt like, by and large? Is getting into a "good" sorority difficult/competitive? I'm considering a lot of smaller Liberal Arts schools but I worry that I would get bored at them, as many are in rural settings...I like that the Vanderbilt campus doesn't feel too urban but has a lot going on around it. I just worry that the social life at the school may not be for me...</p>
<p>Thoughts? Experiences? Anything is welcome.</p>
<p>As a parent I am not the best person to try to answer all your questions but I will give it a try…I would say the students at Vanderbilt are friendly and outgoing,amazingly bright, willing to study hard Sunday evening-Thursday afternoon but will have fun Thursday evening-Sunday. They are diverse, not just racially but economically, geographically, sexual orientation, political orientation, pro-Greek life and anti-Greek life. The school is large enough that you should be able to find your niche but not so large that you can go all day on campus without seeing anyone you know. </p>
<p>Nashville is great, a lot going on if you want to leave the “Vander-bubble” to experience something other than the frat-party scene. It is my impression that the top tier sororities are indeed difficult to get into (that’s why they are “top”) but if you want to be in a sorority, there are probably a dozen of them and they take large pledge classes every January. (Search “Greek life” on the Vanderbilt website where there are statistics about every Greek organization including the size of the sororities and their pledge classes.)</p>
<p>If you have not visited the campus, you should try to do so–it is beautiful and you will see how Vanderbilt is in an urban environment but still it’s own world.</p>
<p>Why Vandy? What kind of students are attracted to Vandy? Is it for you? These are all great questions.<br>
All the top LAC’s and national U’s will offer you an elite education and job placement. Vanderbilt offers its students an elite education PLUS a collegial atmosphere, school spirit, SEC football, basketball and baseball, merit scholarships, a great social atmosphere, and a dynamic greek life. This is packaged in a beautiful campus in a nice location of a great city. In short Vandy offers the total college experience to its students. Few of the top 20 schools can offer all this. Vandy tends to attract students who are looking for this balanced approach to the next 4 years of their life.</p>
<p>virtuoso’s comment is not necessarily true. My D did not come from any school that anyone at Vanderbilt would have known, and she knew no one in the sorority she joined, which is universally regarded as “top tier.” She did get lots of recommendations letters from family friends, which, I think, helped her get through the initial rounds.</p>