<p>I'm a junior looking at colleges, and I have realized that my visit opportunities will be very limited. Consequently, I most likely will not get a chance to visit some of the southern schools on my list, namely Duke, Vanderbilt, and Virginia. Unfortunately, these are probably the three that I should be visiting, because I've never really experienced the "Southern Vibe" that everyone seems to attribute to these colleges.</p>
<p>So, I'm asking those who have visited two or all of these to compare them. I'm mainly looking for comparisons based on:</p>
<p>General Impression: Is it stuck up, welcoming and accepting, homey, preppy, southern (country music and strong accents)?</p>
<p>Greek Life: Is it as pervasive as people say? Is the Greek scene exclusive? Does it follow the Animal House stereotype or does it consist of people who are far from the frat-boy stereotype?</p>
<p>Diversity: I'm not necessarily looking for opinions on racial diversity (I can find those stats any day), but more trying to find out whether the campus filled with animal-house frat lovers and blonde southern girls with big white sunglasses? Or if there seems to be many different types of people?</p>
<p>Any information you have would be great, but I would really like to limit the discussion to those who have physically visited the schools rather thant those who are going off of the CC stereotypes.</p>
<p>You might want to resubmit your question without the offensive stereotypes. I know you didn’t mean it but a “campus filled with animal-house frat lovers and blonde southern girls with big white sunglasses” only ever existed in silly movies, not real life. Good Luck</p>
<p>I'm sorry if you find those offensive, and I was not implying that those stereotypes existed at those schools. Rather, I was trying to elaborate on what I meant by those categories. </p>
<p>Those three schools are top-notch institutions, so of course, none of them will have a “campus filled with animal-house frat lovers and blonde southern girls with big white sunglasses." I do not expect any of them to fit the examples I gave. </p>
<p>I was merely giving the extremes in those categories, not at all relating my impressions of those schools.</p>
<p>Mvmanno,
ignore ncmentor... he obviously did not understand the intent of your comments.</p>
<p>I hope I can answer your questions at least for UVA. UVA is an awesome school first of all. The town of Cville is quite awesome. It is certainly a college town that has a pretty good amount of activities and shops. The frat scene is there, but alot of the UVA frats(national) are among the most prestigious fraternities in the nation. But I could not tell you details about the frat scene at UVA. I have heard the social life is quite the experience, but not overwhelming at all. The campus itself has a very nice feel to it. I visited my JR year of HS and thought it was an awesome campus. T. Jefferson actually designed the school I believe. There is a southern feel to UVA, but not a "deep" south kind of vibe. If you are from Jersey, like me... you still wont feel out of place even at UVA.</p>
<p>As a native North Carolinian, I wasn't offended at all by your post. I understand your intent. :) I don't have anything to add about UVA or Vanderbilt, but I can tell you that Duke is not southern at all! Duke is like someone decided to stick a little part of New Jersey in the Triangle of North Carolina. Many older folks I know in NC tend to dislike Duke for the amount of Yankees, as they say, at Duke.</p>
<p>I've only been to UVA, but it was a great school. I didn't get a huge "southern vibe" there, not like you would get in Mississippi or Alabama or something. Charlottesville is a great college town with a nice little downtown that is all brick and is walking only and has nice little shops and restaurants. The campus is absolutely beautiful as I'm sure you've heard. It seemed like the greek life there could be crazy, considering it is still a public university. However, I think if you didn't want to drink and party at frats every night, you would be just fine. I still got the feeling that a lot of the kids there were very serious about there education. So, UVA is like a combo of a big state school and a selective private U. You get the best of both worlds there. I guess the size could scare some people away though, since its about 14,000, 2.5 times the size of Duke and Vandy.</p>
<p>I'm visiting Vandy next weekend over president's day, I'll let you know how it goes and compare the two for you.</p>
<p>Second that Duke is pretty much not southern at all. And its in a pretty rough city, Durham. Haven't been to any of the other schools you mentioned though.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt (and Nashville for that matter) are a lot less "southern" than they used to be. The good parts of the "southerness" are still there, but there are lots of people from other parts of the country (including me). Vandy does have a big frat/sorority scene and is a big sports school (to me that is a plus) since it is in the SEC. I would not describe it as particularly diverse, but it's improving. Nashville is an awesome city and I would recommend Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Yeah, the sports scene is a plus in my eyes as well.</p>
<p>What is the surrounding area like for Vanderbilt? I know it's in Nashville, but does it feel like a part of the city, or is it more of a campus-y area set aside from the city? How close is it to downtown Nashville? and is downtown Nashville very accessible?</p>
<p>Vandy's about three miles from the center of downtown, but has a classic Southern enclave campus - lawns and shade trees, winding walks, surrounded by a brick wall, etc. It could do without without the big smokestack on the campus power plant IMO, but is otherwise lovely - the kind of campus students often call a "bubble," but within walking distance of life outside the bubble. "Southernness" to me (and I'm from GA) involves the following factors - political conservatism, lower proportions of racial minorities, heavy Greek influence, preppy style influence, and a higher degree of socio-economic consciousness. On these criteria, Duke isn't Southern at all, regardless of geography, U.Va. and Vandy are characteristically Southern, but without the air of exclusion that would otherwise make non-Southerners feel like outsiders. In the 70s, I went to Wake Forest, whose campus climate is often compared to Vandy's and U.Va's. The regional influence was pervasive, sometimes in undesirable ways, but as a non-Southerner at the time, I still loved it. I perceive that Vandy and U.Va are today far more egalitarian than my campus was back then. </p>
<p>Bear in mind that you'll still be expected to wear a jacket and tie (if you're male) or a sundress (if you're female) to Vandy or U.Va. football games, though. No, I'm not making that up - it's true!</p>
<p>"What is the surrounding area like for Vanderbilt? I know it's in Nashville, but does it feel like a part of the city, or is it more of a campus-y area set aside from the city? How close is it to downtown Nashville? and is downtown Nashville very accessible?"</p>
<p>I recently visited Vanderbilt and was quite pleasantly surprised by the area that surrounds the school. It is very much a campus inside a bubble that is surrounded by a city. The insular nature of the school is reinforced by the fact that undergrads have to live on campus (a bit strange, but I can certainly see the up side). The downtown area is quite close to the campus (at least the medical area that I was in) with tons of bars and public parks within walking distance. Unfortunately, the traffic and road system was abysmal. I am coming from Denver (a decently sized city) and Nashville's awful traffic sticks out in my mind more than anything else.</p>
<p>If you want a an intellectual vibe (ie Brown, Haverford) with good southern weather, check out Davidson and William & Mary. Not as loud as Vandy or UVirginia, but still a lot of fun. No one would dream of wasting time dressing up for football games and the concept of a "prestigious" frat would be a laughable. Non conformity and individuality reign. W&M one the highest Peace Corp schools in USA. May not be for the OP, but fairly unique environments in the South.</p>
<p>I'm looking for a school that has a reputable engineering program though, and preferably a business school as well.</p>
<p>@ gadad and belevitt</p>
<p>Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>I'm getting the impression that the atmosphere Duke is much different from Vanderbilt and UVA, and that while UVA and Vanderbilt have strong southern influences, the southern atmosphere is by no means suffocating.</p>