<p>Is there ONE school that is considered tops in the South? What do southerners think of Emory, Vandy, Davidson, UVA, UNC, Tulane and Miami especially in relation to one another?</p>
<p>Duke and Davidson are probably the top academic schools in the South. UVa and UNC are the public Ivies, with W&M definitely holding their own. UVA is probably a little more prestigious still than UNC, although UNC may be harder to get into OOS. Emory and Vandy are similar in academic standing, although different in atmosphere. Tulane is more similar to Emory with the overtone of NOLA - Tulane is not the place it once was, even before the hurricane, I hope it regains some of its quality.
Miami is not a Southern school.</p>
<p>You could get an excellent education at any of those.</p>
<p>Intersting quote from the Dean of Admissions at Duke from an article referenced in another post:</p>
<p>"But the crux of the answer to questions about "the Southern thing" is this: "There are so many people from so many places that that just doesn't dominate the culture," he says. "It doesn't feel like a Southern school. It feels like a national or international university that happens to be in North Carolina.""</p>
<p>yeah thats why i didnt list Duke, because a) student body is from all over b) mostly because its one of hte best in the country, not just the south</p>
<p>How does Emory rank in the south in relation to Tulane, Gtown, and Vandy?</p>
<p>In the south, Emory would be seen as below Vanderbilt but <em>probably</em> above Tulane and Georgetown. I'm from Louisiana, so there are a lot of Tulane fans here, and it's hard to gauge the perspective (I hate Tulane and LSU equally--one because it's overpriced and everyone who goes there is a snob, the second because it's a football and beer college). But Emory is definitely above Georgetown in the South. I don't even really consider D.C. the South, though. Vanderbilt, I think, is definitely one of the best Southern schools. It's very preppy, lots of white southern males (they're trying to change this though). Really relaxed, and you're in Nashville, which is pretty awesome.</p>
<p>Hmm, I'm from NC, and it goes:
1) Duke (or UNC, depends on the person)
2) Emory
3) Georgetown (NOT in the South)
4) UVa
5) Davidson
6) Vanderbilt*
7) Tulane*
8) Miami</p>
<p>Emory has a strong Northern feel to it like Duke does, so don't assume it's a laidback Southern school. You can't really rank these schools, though, because each is so completely different in character. </p>
<p>* Not a lot of people in NC have heard of Vanderbilt or Tulane (keep in mind this is a perceived ranking, not an actual ranking of quality).</p>
<p>What about real Southern schools, like Hampden Sydney? </p>
<p>Are you looking for a school that is located South of the Mason-Dixon line, or are you looking for a real Southern experience?</p>
<p>I have a hard time believe any Southerner doesn't know about Vanderbilt. I'm not even talking on an academic level. Now, it could be that North Carolina is ACC country, but everybody in SEC country knows about Vanderbilt since it's in the conference. It's the along the same lines as how everyone hears about Duke because of its basketball before they hear about its academics.</p>
<p>yeah im really only going by geography...almost all of those schools are northern in student body and atmosphere</p>
<p>so emory isnt seen as "the best" in the south?</p>
<p>I don't think so; most people agree that Duke and Vanderbilt are better.</p>
<p>I go to Tulane... We're an ok school, though it seems that a lot of people here in New Orleans don't like us (they prefer LSU and Loyola). In fact, the only time when i've really seen people impressed by Tulane is when I spent my summers up in New York and DC. We have a good reputation in New York, I think.</p>
<p>i think a considerable amt of tulane students are from new york - thats probly why</p>
<p>duke is a given but outside of duke you think vandy has a better rep than emory?</p>
<p>I picked Vandy over Emory (im from NY though).</p>
<p>Not a single mention of Wake Forest yet... shouldn't it be on the list somewhere? And how about GA Tech?</p>
<p>No offense, but I think Miami is still a ways from being considered among the best in the South. I think I'd have to consider schools like William & Mary, Washington & Lee, Wake Forest, GA Tech, etc. over Miami.</p>
<p>I live in Texas and here is how the Southern schools are perceived in general in Texas. The general public in Texas has not really heard about Davidson, Washington & Lee, William & Mary, or Miami. </p>
<p>1) Duke
2) Rice
3) University of Texas
4) Emory
5) Texas A&M
6) Baylor
7) UNC-Chapel Hill
8) Wake Forest
9) LSU
10)Vanderbilt
11) UVA
12) GA Tech
13) Tulane</p>
<p>The real ranks are more like the following:</p>
<p>Duke
Emory
UVA
Vanderbilt
UNC
Wake Forest</p>
<p>Most people consider Emory more prestigious and well known than Vandy. Vandy is respected but doesn't have the same grad programs that Duke and Emory have.</p>
<p>Tulane, Miami, UTexas, Ga Tech would follow in the next category, but not to be mentioned with the above list. William and Mary and smaller LACs are generally not as well known, although many are very good.</p>
<p>the general public of texas doesnt know Miami? do they watch tv on saturdays?</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is better regarded in the South than Emory.</p>
<p>Both the law school and med school (really the medical center, not the school per se) are very highly regarded. Undergrad has the pick of Southerners who want high academic standards, but do not want to give up SEC football and frats - a very large number of quite intelligent people. Emory is more like a Northern university - think Tufts, maybe - in many ways, and has a much smaller following in the South. </p>
<p>Emory and Tulane are the 2 old Southern traditional "Jewish" schools, where Southern Jewish families sent their offspring for education and to meet other Jewish kids. This is from back in the days when Jews were not welcome at institutions like Vanderbilt. The legacy of those days colors the flavor of all the schools, even today when the discrimination is not blatant, and Jewish people have presences at all the schools.</p>
<p>You can't compare apples to mangos.
Tier 1: UNC, UVA, William and Mary
Tier 2: GT
Tier 3: Texas, Florida
Tier 4: Georgia and Maryland</p>
<p>Private Schools:
Tier 1: Duke
Tier 2: Davidson, Emory, Rice, Georgetown
Tier 3: Vandy, Wake Forest, Washington and Lee
Tier 4: Tulane, Miami</p>
<p>aca0260:<br>
Just saw your question, and without a doubt, most southerners would consider Duke as the top school in the south. I don't think there's any argument there. After that, I suspect your perspective depends on where in the south you live. I agree with warblersrule, though, that many (at least here in NC) view UNC-CH equal to Duke. Our local public magnet high schools (2 in particular) are feeders to both Duke and UNC, though many choose UNC over Duke for many and varied reasons. After that, I would agree that most people (around here) look at Emory as more desirable than Vanderbilt, simply because of Emory's graduate programs and hospital/CDC, etc. (opportunities for research?), though Vanderbilt has a good reputation. And while UVA obviously has a great reputation, too, not many people (again, from NC) would pay out of state tuition to attend, nor choose to even apply--not when they have both UNC and Duke here. Davidson is very highly regarded around here, definitely--but you have to like very small schools, with lots of "nurturing," which can be overwhelmingly claustrophobic and suffocating for some--and locations in very small, sleepy southern towns. And, around here, Vanderbilt is considered much superior to Tulane. And--sorry--no one ever talks about Miami here, and only very rarely, any Texas schools.</p>
<p>Again, I think the answer to your question depends on where the person is from, but I suspect all would probably agree that, for private schools, Duke is the top in the South. For public, I would say UNC-CH!</p>