Hi! So basically I’m between all four schools where money really isn’t an option as I have full rides/full tuition at all (A&M through National Merit, UTD through AES, Vanderbilt through Cornelius Vanderbilt) except for Notre Dame, where we’re still waiting on financial aid (aiming for half-tuition).
I’m from the South so I love the whole “Southern Hospitality” thing. I want to be “close” to home, which is in Tyler, Texas (South Bend seems very far away). I am very interested in participating in research, and I want to do a double major in music with either math or biomedical engineering. I am aware that I might have to do a music minor. I would love to travel and I’m more of a playing cards/basketball/intramurals/dance classes/book club than partying/drinking. I also love a diverse student body (lots of opinions, backgrounds, etc.)
Any comments either on the culture, intellectual atmosphere, opportunities for ethnic restaurants, academic rigor, etc. would be appreciated, as well as advice from current students at either one of the four schools, and especially from a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar. Thank you so much for taking your time to read this and I hope that you have a great day!
Hi,
Congratulations on your acceptances!
Thefull ride at Vanderbilt is absolutely your best choice based on your interests. You’ll probably have more food options at Vanderbilt than at any of the other places as well, since it’s in a very interesting and relatively big city.
Notre Dame is equally prestigious as Vanderbilt, but it is definitely more of a party school and in a much less exciting city. And it’s not in the South. So I don’t see why you should even consider it unless it also offers you a full ride which it seems you don’t expect.
ND and Vandy are in a totally different league than A&M and UTD. All of them are good schools though, but not really comparable.
Good luck in making your decision!
I can speak a bit for ND - I am from South Bend and have grown up on campus. There is definitely a lot of research opportunity with ND. I did graduate-level research in chemical engineering last year as a junior in high school. There is always going to be tons of research opportunity at top-tier schools.
As for diversity, there is a lot of diversity within South Bend, but at ND I believe that the student body is about 80% white. There are groups on campus to promote diversity, but as a whole, the students are white and catholic.
If you have any other questions about ND or the area, please feel free to message me!
I would agree that in terms of academic quality and cultural opportunities, Vanderbilt is in the lead. It is quite an honor to have been given this scholarship. I would visit as many of your choices as you can possibly fit into your schedule as there is no substitute to the on campus experience to gage fit. Do you mean that money is not an obstacle instead of money is not an option?
Oh yes, I guess I do mean that. Money really isn’t an obstacle here (except a little for Notre Dame as in comparison to the other three colleges). I have visited three of the four (except for Vanderbilt, which I will later this week) to get a feel for the atmosphere. So far, UTD is more the atmosphere that I like…I’m just a little concerned about the intellectual rigor of the place (yes, I know the prestige/name/everyone’s super smart won’t really apply).
If money is not a concern, I’d go with Vanderbilt. If you feel you can succeed there, it’d offer you more resources and opportunities, simply because the university has way more money. Your learning conditions would be more comfortable and you’d have the intellectual rigor.
If you don’t like Vanderbilt after visiting though, there’s nothing wrong with UTD.
What did you like at UTD that was missing elsewhere?
For a double major in music and biomedical engineering, I’d also think Vanderbilt. You’re in Nashville, and the school seems to be very strong in everything medical.
Of the four schools mentioned, Vanderbilt is the only campus I’ve actually been on. I believe it’s some kind of National Arboretum, and it was very nice.
I like the “nerdy” atmosphere at UTD and how there really isn’t a football team and more of an intellectual atmosphere. I also like that they have a big travel fund that I can apply for so that I can go basically anywhere that I want to for any kind of service project/research experience, and that it’s pretty close to home because we have health problems in my family and if anything happened I would want to be close to home, although Vanderbilt really isn’t that far away. I also am a little worried about the grade deflation at Vanderbilt because I want to get into the ten top medical schools after four years. I also feel like I’ll have more individualized attention from professors at UTD, although perhaps I could find that at Vanderbilt. I’m pretty torn, because I know that Vanderbilt has a better name and more intellectual rigor, but I don’t like the party atmosphere.
It looks like you have already found your school. There is nothing wrong with UTD. You are the one that will have to live at the college for 4 years. Go ahead and visit Vanderbilt but follow your gut feelings. Best wishes.
Thanks! I am visiting Vanderbilt within the next week so I can’t wait to see what it’s like. I’ll definitely let y’all know which school I choose (I’ve read so many college confidential threads where people just let the threads dangle so I will give you a conclusion here! :)! )
Hey everyone!!! So I’m still checking out A&M, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt, with Vanderbilt leading by a little. Vanderbilt has everything I’m looking for: a medical center right on campus where I can volunteer, a fantastic music school, a challenging math major with an engineering concentration, a small-discussion based learning component in honors seminars through the CV scholars program, and super nice professors who are very willing to meet with you in three days’ notice. The Greek life is definitely a minus but there’s a Christian sorority that does things like Harry Potter Trivia and western dances and is just really cool and inclusive which is not part of the pan-Hellenic council so I may join that next year. I decided to forego UTD because it’s still building up its math and music programs, although I have no doubt that one day it will be excellent in these two departments, as it has contacts with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Since I’ve looked at CC posts since freshman year, I hope that this helps someone also making their decision! (Also, I’m still checking out Notre Dame and A&M so I’ll keep y’all posted!)
Okay, so I promised! I will be attending Vanderbilt University in the fall as a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar because of the reasons I enumerated in post #13. The best advice I can give anyone for College if they are potentially making this decision–go where is the best fit for you, travel-wise, interest-wise, community-wise, and don’t go into debt to pay for college, even if you like the community a little bit better at another school (luckily, I’ll just be paying room and board!) because I have no doubt that I’ll find the group of friends that is perfect for me and for whoever reads this, good luck with your decision! You don’t have to scour CC as I did or read the Harvard or Stanford applications results obsessively. You don’t have to take up all of your time trying to build a college resume. Do take your SAT IIs right after your AP tests, and if you’re bad at math, take Math I instead of Math II (I had a friend get into Stanford by taking Math I). And… Anchor down!