<p>vandyalum - You are right on target with the Vanderbilt of today. Our S fell in love with the school, applied and is currently a VERY happy freshman. We are also from the northeast and had a bit of a concern with the “southern” aspect of the school. As it turns out, our S has diverse friends from all over the country, and is making the most of the academic environment as well as the social scene (frats, football games, Nashville, etc). He couldn’t possibly be any happier or picture himself anywhere else.</p>
<p>I know that Vanderbilt students often rave about the perfect balance their school offers and now I have seen first hand that it is absolutely true!!</p>
<p>Hey guys, i have a plan to transfer colleges in the future and vanderbuilt was on my list. I went to a public school in mass. and grew up as a poor kid…i am going to be attending umass for 2 years and transfering…</p>
<p>my sister attends a private school and says that vanderbuilt is mostly rich elite white people…(im asian)</p>
<p>i have tons of friends in top private schools like exeter and i fit better into the “prep” stereotype than the regular asian stereotype… (i play rugby , xc skiing , crew lol)</p>
<p>do you guys think i would have trouble fitting in?</p>
<p>well since I am on page one of this thread responding to these concerns 4 or was it 5 years ago when eldest son was looking… and now have a son at Vandy as a freshman-- I will speak up. Like most schools of its caliber, and no different than any peer college, small and large, Vanderbilt has a significant number of students admitted who can afford to pay its over 50 grand a year complete costs package. These are kids from privilege for good and for ill, but it is often for good! You will not be out of place at all without a lot of income if your attitude is upbeat and you take advantage of all Vandy has to offer whether you are Greek or independent. My second son is independent and never ever is bored because Vandy is in a great location for independent types–he is a joiner in other ways and groups. The Greek tradition is very strong and has a regional flair at Vandy, but it would be a mistake to mark off your list all colleges with strong Greek scenes…ie…UVA has a great Greek life but also tons of alternative lifestyle outlets…and ditto Vandy. besides the dressing up tradition for football and a few other traditions…you would have to say that UVA and Vandy are in fact very diverse schools re student body make up. Many of the kids paying full freight are from amazing families who have done great things and admirable things, and in some cases…as in our family…we are first generation “not qualified” for financial need aid --because Vandy was generous one generation back to us!..so relax…it is all good. I would add that my husband who is Vandy educated is a Yankee, second generation off the boat and Vandy gave him generous need aid when he arrived with nothing in his pockets 30 years ago. He attended a Vandy grad school with financial support and no extra cash…which included having the heat turned off in his apt because he had no money and studying in his winter coat and hat all winter, and riding a bike with no gears to a downtown job 20 hours a week for cash. Nashville and Vanderbilt are very very good partners and Vandy undergrad has a truly national footprint now. Not every kid from privilege flaunts material things…many are just great people who are getting ready to take on very responsible roles in life. You will meet these same students at Duke, Yale, and many smaller privates as well. What sets Vandy apart is the generous merit aid program and the no loan financial aid packages which puts it on a short list of colleges with exceptional financial aid for those who deserve it. That said, Vanderbilt has amazing financial aid and therefore you will see very impressive economic diversity in a large segment of the student body and you will see that everyone deserves to be at Vandy and has some talent or other and something to contribute. They have need blind admissions and a rare merit program to add to an extremely fair financial need sliding scale fund based on both FAFSA plus the CSS profile.<br>
Good luck getting the absolute best out of the University of Mass up in snowy New England…make those two years count. Then consider Vandy and other places for transfer, and I hope your transfer goals all come to fruition for you. The south can be a very pleasant place to live.</p>
<p>or as my Virginia grandfather would say…“hope it alll works out real pretty for you.”</p>
<p>my advice is always to find your match colllege and then excel there although I also support applications to a couple of reach colleges of course. My son at Vandy had very high test scores but they are not at all unusual there and his entire class is very able indeed. He had the advantages of being raised second generation college instead of first one out of the gate…
Vandy is very selective now and so you will need a strong transcript, but they do read applications personally…so do many other colleges.<br>
Hmmm…advice…apply to at least as many good match colleges as reaches for your transfer plans or stay at UMass and make it sing for you. Match colleges are underrated in my opinion…the faculty is excellent at more than top tier colleges. Example…I have a son who went to a reach college…Duke…and there were great things about this…however I am certain he would have had to work just as hard for decent grades at Wake Forest, one of his match colleges. Their faculty is also full of talent.<br>
Be happy to be poor in your shabby chic college years and focus on academics over material comforts…ie…don’t work too many hours just for money and let you academics slip too far from first priority in these crucial years of your life.<br>
While at UMass, I advise you to give it your heart…even for a couple of years, it is important to BTru2UrSchool…and it will give you double in return. Even if you really think you will leave, you should not hold back. Love your teachers and friends there…give UMass your best effort and love.</p>
<p>How does Vandy get all the goodlooking people? Are they biased FOR attractive people when they do interviews and admit them or what? I don’t get this…</p>
<p>I think it’s a self-selecting group kinda thing… Pretty people see older pretty people already on campus and want to bask in their respective beauties together. Or something.</p>
<p>It’s hard to see how it could be the result of interviewing, since interviews are not required and are conducted (upon the applicant’s request) by Vandy alums, not adcoms. You can download the interviewer’s report form here, if you’re curious: [CoRPs</a> Commodore Recruitment and Training Program | Alumni Recruitment Interviewing | Undergraduate Admissions Vanderbilt University](<a href=“http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/admissions-alumni-recruitment.php#form]CoRPs”>http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/admissions-alumni-recruitment.php#form) It does ask (among other things) the interviewer to assess whether the applicant possesses qualities that make him/her a good match for Vanderbilt. (And to some on this particular board, I’m sure this is where the interviewer would be expected to assess the applicant’s purse, other accessories, and haircut. :rolleyes: But as the parent of a Vandy alum, I’m gonna say, I really don’t think so.)</p>
<p>I’d never deny that there are many great-looking students at Vanderbilt. Because this question has been raised numerous times since I’ve been reading CC, I’ve made a point of noticing more average-looking students when I visit campus. And there are plenty of them, too. Yes, there are.</p>
<p>Also - don’t you find that people of college age tend to be pretty good-looking?</p>
<p>I had to say interview because isn’t that the only time they can see how you look?</p>
<p>Anyway, if it’s really about the “see what you want to see,” that if you look for average-looking, you’ll find the campus to be average looking, etc. then why do everyone go for “most people are good-looking”?</p>
<p>As a high school junior from central NY, when I have visited top colleges in the northeast, they have all talked about their goals for improving geographic distribution among their students, and specifically scouting students from areas of the country traditionally underrepresented there. I’m wondering if Vanderbilt has similar programs, which could play to the advantage of someone from more northern climes?</p>
<p>I was there with my son on Monday for a ‘Black & Gold’ admissions event. Large crowd, from all over. We’re from RI.</p>
<p>I read somewhere on CC recently [not this thread] that you’d have some geographic advantage at Vanderbilt from obscure states, such as ND, but not so much from places like NY or CA, where they traditionally have pretty good representation already due to their national rep. Though maybe [my thought] an Ithaca prospect would have some geographic edge over a NYC-area prospect.</p>
<p>We have two kids @ V. One thing that I am always impressed with is where the enrolled students come from. Our D has 2 good friends who are from Portland – one from ME and the other from OR - and many other friends from every state in between. S spent part of Christmas Break in Chile (the Country) with one of his buds. S says that there are lots of students in his dorm that are from Cali/Dallas area/Florida and the Northeast. S thought that V would have a southern feel to it – but with the great deal of geographic diversity of the student body – he said that to get that “ feel” – you have to leave the campus grounds.</p>
<p>D’s grandmother heard D describe some of her sorority sisters one time and asked where the Southern girls were. While her big sis is from Atlanta and there are a few from Nashville and Dallas, most of the best buds are from NYC area, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Southern California, etc. I think there was a time when my children were applying that saw Vanderbilt considered as a safety for many applying to higher rated schools, particularly those from the NE. They’ve had so much good publicity now that there aren’t too many areas where it isn’t known. It would be interesting to know if the number of apps from the obscure states has risen with the record number of applications the last few years.</p>
<p>Since posting on this thread in 2004(!), my second son has enrolled. He recently applied for housing with a cluster of students from these locations: Ohio, SE Asia, Shanghai, Poland, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Arkansas. </p>
<p>LOVE the diversity at Vanderbilt now! And Nashville remains a great city with a positive relationship with Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>MISS my son. But he is enjoying his life and his liberty as it should be.</p>
<p>Well, hello there vandy2013! Congrats on your success and exciting opportunity next year! I believe in finding your second “family” of friends in college, and wish you all fulfilling times —life, liberty and pursuit of happiness…among memorable friends and inspiring teachers. the VA Mom</p>
<p>My D will be a senior in the fall and is fervently hoping to be able to live off campus! She wants peace, quiet, and her own kitchen.</p>
<p>By the way, D is a midwestern girl who LOVES Nashville. She is currently doing an internship at a music management firm & is writing a proposal with a prof for a summer research project in her major/minor area (MHS/sociology). The opportunities she has had have been wonderful. She is not the “typical” Vandy girl (or “Vandy Candy” as my coworker’s Nashville-based brother describes them) … but she says there are enough non-typical students these days that maybe it’s time the non-typical become known as the typical.</p>
She wants peace, quiet, and her own kitchen.</p>