Stereotypes

<p>I know two people who graduated from Vanderbilt within the last five years, and they both claim that to fit in the school, you must have the blonde, "preppy", expensive, sorority girl style. How true is this? Can a student without brand name clothes and from a middle class family fit in? Are there any other stereotypes the school has, and are they generally true or false?</p>

<p>There are 1600 kids in every class. Not even half of the girls go Greek, and they definitely do not all embody that stereotype.</p>

<p>My daughter had been told by someone (who didn’t know anything but the conventional “wisdom”) that every young woman there was like what’s-her-name in Legally Blonde before she went off to Law School. Fact is that there are all types of folks at Vandy, and now as of August, my Converse-sneaker-dark (not brand-name)-clothes-wearking, politically progressive and decidedly middle-class non-sorority-pledging New York City daughter is happily walking the gorgeous paths of Vandy’s campus as a freshman – and fitting in with similar and not-so-similar friends. Come, if you can, and check the school out for yourself. It really helps.</p>

<p>StringPop–Your daughter should meet my daughter, a junior, who also is a non-brand-name-clothes-wearing, politically progressive, middle class, non-sorority pledging girl from the south who wears New Balance sneakers and has dark curly hair. There are plenty of them at Vanderbilt that are very happy with their choice in a college! </p>

<p>It is absurd to think that every girl who does not have long blond hair and Tory Burch flats at Vanderbilt is miserable and feels like a social outcast–they are far too intelligent and involved in their political/environmental/charitable/artistic causes to worry about “not fitting in.”</p>

<p>If that stereotype was ever accurate, it is now outdated. Vanderbilt skews a bit more J Crew than some eastern schools of similar caliber, but non-Southern girls of all hair colors and dress styles are definitely mainstream at Vandy. Visit and see for yourself!</p>

<p>Well, speaking of Legally Blond, Reese Witherspoon was valedictorian of her high school class at the girls prep school Harpeth Hall in Nashville. No wonder she was so brilliant in the film Election. Personally I think she is a hoot and has developed into a very fine actress even though she was a cheerleader and traditional go getter in a traditional southern private school.<br>
all goes back to my point with my own son who was a GDI (not greek) at Vandy and who did his own thing at Vanderbilt. Altho he was known to squire a few girls in sororities to their parties when asked, he basically was allergic to Greek world.<br>
My point with my son was that sweeping generalizations and judging people by their covers/social circles/beginnings as freshmen and sophomores is a mistake. I get that almost 50% of the women at Vandy choose the Greek system for companionship etc and this is a large number of women caught up in the social appointed evenings/requirements/projects required.<br>
If you feel you would have a low tolerance for this among half the women you know, factor that in but don’t make it an overblown factor in choosing a college. Who would eliminate UVA or other great universities from a possible list for college for such a reason?
Have the long view about how being Greek is not going to be the defining aspects of the personalities and futures of fellow classmates is what I advised our independent son to keep in mind. Nobody’s future is really decided by how they get on their feet socially at college, including the independent non greek kids and how they get going.</p>

<p>All Vandy students are honor students with dreams and excellent learning potential. So many wonderful young women.
If your daughter is admitted to Vanderbilt, then sort out these intangibles and weigh your financial choices next to the social/emotional factors.
the best thing I can say for the non stereotype life at Vanderbilt is that Vanderbilt has an excellent town gown relationship which broadens social life at Vanderbilt considerably for all students. Not every college/town offer as much as a combo. </p>

<p>best wishes</p>

<p>Here’s the class of 2017
<a href=“http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/08/2017-photo/[/url]”>http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/08/2017-photo/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>That photo is really helpful.<br>
They all look alike and seem to be wearing the same shirt and the same colors. hmmmm</p>

<p>I know that last message was meant to be sarcastic, but I actually do think that that photo is very telling. If you zoom in, you’ll see such a diversity of people–many different races, hairstyles, hair colors, clothing styles (beyond the t-shirts), etc. They aren’t all blonde and blue-eyed. The photo should give some comfort to those who think that they might not fit in at Vanderbilt because all the students are the same.</p>

<p>Lenny, good point!</p>

<p>I’ll add my 2cents: you can pretty much ignore anyone who says VU is somehow ethnically or culturally homogenous. The only significant homegeneity that I’ve noticed is that everyone’s pretty smart, motivated and (therefore) successful. Maybe some people wore blinkers while they were in school, because they felt uncomfortable with the “other types”.</p>

<p>BTW, here’s the hi-res version of the class picture: <a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/digitalvu/9573138842/sizes/o/[/url]”>http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/digitalvu/9573138842/sizes/o/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Below is a link to a news article from InsideVandy, an online student news source, profiling the 10 Outstanding Seniors chosen for 2013; after student voting, the winner will be announced at halftime during homecoming (the Vanderbilt equivalent of “Homecoming Queen/King”). You will notice that very few fit the “stereotype” mentioned by the original poster. Instead, they are all highly involved in campus activities and with charitable organizations, and are from NY,OH, AL, SC, NJ, IL, LA…
Here is the link: [Top</a> 10 Outstanding Seniors - InsideVandy: Campus Events](<a href=“Inside Vandy: Vanderbilt University's student news source”>Inside Vandy: Vanderbilt University's student news source)</p>