I know of at least two sports at MIT that do recruit. Don’t count out coach’s influence there.
Are publics absolutely out of the question except New Mexico? Is Georgia Tech’s swim team too good or something, even if so…their engineering programs are so awesome that it may be worthwhile and even better if she somehow gets a scholarship or something.
@fdgjfg : “If you’re a future fratstar and want a place that’s academically rigorous but with a more laid-back peer atmosphere and opportunities for more a more traditional/quintessential well-rounded “college experience” Vanderbilt might serve your interest more than the aforementioned ivory tower.”
Now you know…how ridiculous that reads:
Rearrange to: “If you’re a future fratstar and want more laid-back peer atmosphere and opportunities for more a more traditional/quintessential well-rounded “college experience”, and can sometimes tolerate academic rigor, Vanderbilt might serve your interest more than the aforementioned ivory tower.”
Most people frat star or not do not seriously consider the academics and/or its level of rigor (questionable if they even know what this looks like sometimes) beyond its general reputation. Let us keep that 100% real. If they did, most schools below 12 or so would be really struggling for students as everyone would only want the top 10-12 and the best public honors programs.
My response is general to the college search, not Vandy/Rice specific. I think the parent and student should both participate in developing the college list. I have a good friend who forced her son to visit a specific college that he had no desire to see. He fell in love at the visit, is currently a sophomore, and told me recently how much he loves it there. The key is the mom only forced the visit, not the decision. My son didn’t put Vandy on his list, I did. I also let him apply to a few schools I would prefer he not select. If by chance he is accepted to Vandy with sufficient financial aid, I will make him visit, but I will not make him go. He knows this up front and trusts me. He knows I’m not trying to manipulate him into a specific choice. If your daughter understands this then she can go visit Vandy with an open mind. She might fall in love with it. She may not, and if so you should let it go, as Rice and others mentioned are great schools.
Counsel your daughter to stay open and flexible. You truly do have April to make your final decisions. We only needed to make one on campus visit for second son (at Vandy) for him to cancel the Accepted Student recruitment weekends at his other lovely offers of admission to other worthy colleges. This son of ours also copped an attitude about the very word “vanderbilt” and imagined being forced to cope with super preppy culture. A visit to campus eliminated all these distortions. Also he felt a huge happiness with Nashville itself as a classroom. It’s not Boston or NYC but Nashville was a step up in cultural vibrancy and size for our son and he was more than fulfilled by four years there. Husband and I had extensive Nashville/Vandy grad school history and we enjoyed our somewhat lefty son being part of the decade of shifting changes at Vandy. What a wonderful vision the Trustees and the Chancellor have set forth and committed to in the last 15 years. Vandyson got into Rice where he jived with their well developed residential colleges on that stunning campus-- but he was bypassed and received zero merit $ and we were full pay. He got a merit offer at Vandy which was most unexpected. In April, your daughter will take pride in choosing a college where she can contribute to reduction of costs…so keep $ as a strong factor.
Lastly, Rice actually has a very attractive policy of giving merit offers to a higher percentage of admitted students than Vandy does. On the negative side, the offers are smaller % of tuition. Vandy’s fewer but more generous merit offers are full tuition. Even so, for families willing to pay full freight or and bracing for a high tuition at a private college, Rice’s merit awards to a higher number of admits can be a welcome plus.
Thank you, she is a junior this year so I’m just working getting her to consider it for applying and reaching out to the coach with an email.
I think Tufts sounds perfect. You say she emailed the coaches - has she visited? Is so, what did she think?
P.S. I know it’s Diii. But like the rest of the NESCAC, they take their sports seriously. She would still be a true student-athlete.
@Aida We are visiting Tufts and MIT later this month. I know MIT coaches are wanting to visit with her while we are there. Not sure she has told the Tufts coaches she is coming yet. We might visit Northeastern too and probably a casual look at Harvard but they are a bit fast for her and not sure about their engineering.
Just a vote against Vandy because of the uber football worship. That’s just ---- why?
I’m still shook by the Vandy football rape case. Sorry but it really set me off. That plus the Vandy emphasis on football in all its recruiting materials: front and center: the darn football team! As if it doesn’t have academics to make it proud and as if football is the only team that counts. That tells you where its priorities are. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/us/vanderbilt-rape-brandon-banks.html
My understanding of LACs (admittedly limited) is that they don’t officially recruit but they do get a nod from the coaches – and admission preference – and money.
She might want to look at Smith–also has engineering – http://www.smithpioneers.com/index.aspx?path=wswim
She might want to look at most of the women’s colleges-- Bryn Mawr has the training pool for the Bi-Co consortium.
http://athletics.brynmawr.edu/sports/wswim/index
Bryn Mawr also has cross reg (and transportation to) Swarthmore, UPenn, and Haverford College – all top top schools with great principles.
Wellesley guarantees that if they accept you, you will be able to attend. they have cross registration at MIT. And no football culture to deal with. Rather: women centered and empowering. http://www.wellesleyblue.com/sports/wswimdive/index
Other schools that guarantee that if accepted your child can attend AND do not have that bro culture but rather are affirming of women – Vassar, Barnard (full access to Columbia U); Mt. Holyoke
Vassar – http://www.vassarathletics.com/index.aspx?path=wswim
Barnard – IS DIV I – https://admissions.barnard.edu/campus-nyc/athletics-and-fitness
Mt. Holyoke – http://athletics.mtholyoke.edu/sports/wswimdive/index
@Dustyfeathers If you don’t know too much of the Vandy football case, please don’t make a comment to affect other people’s decisions that will affect their life. I actually know much about the case by researching into the case and watching at least 20 to 30 of the video clips on Youtube about the case and court witness testimony (from the victim’s former roommate and friends) because I was worrying about my daughter applying to Vandy a couple years ago. We ended up let her apply and she is currently a student there.
The school promptly reported the case to the Nashville police to initiate the investigate the rape case even the victim was not aware of being raped (it was school’s security looking into dorm security video trying to see who broke a door and saw some students carrying a drunk girl). The school did the right thing and did not try to cover any athlete students, and it was not like PSU type of scandal (ironically, the football head coach at that time actually went to PSU later and is still the head coach there). Please don’t make false accusation without doing due diligent.
“Just a vote against Vandy because of the uber football worship.”
Dusty – No question the Vandy football rape case was HORRIBLE. But you are way off to suggest that such incident suggests Vandy is a football crazed school.
In that horrible case, the school expelled all the players within five days of the incident. That kind of fast/decisive action by the athletic department and school compares quite favorably to the responses that have occurred at other schools that have had horrible athletics scandals.
Football at Vandy (SEC conference) is about as big a deal as football is at, say, Duke or UVA (ACC conference). My freshman daughter attended two games, and left before halftime both times. Vandy football is mostly about the tailgates.
Vandy’s stadium seats 40,000, which is the smallest in the SEC conference by far. Bama, LSU, TAMU and Tenn all seat over 100,000. Florida, Auburn and Georgia each seat 90,000. Despite its small stadium, Vandy games rarely sell out. When they do, it is because the majority of the patrons are from the away school.
Driving to Nashville (a very fun town) for the weekend to see your team play is a popular SEC activity. Especially since Vandy tickets are cheap and easily available, and your team is very likely to win. Vandy lost 59-0 to Alabama at home this past season and finished 1-7 in SEC play.
The big time sports at Vandy are baseball and tennis. Every once in a while the mens basketball team is good.
@amNotarobot --what false accusations did I make? That Vandy puts football on it’s recruiting things to an extent that I find absurd? Is that false?
That I’m appalled at the atmosphere of a school that would allow football players the sense that they could partake in such a crime??
After the fact, that is what you’re arguing. That the school handled it well, in your opinion AFTERWARDS. I see NOTHING that says that there wasn’t a rah-rah football atmosphere before hand that made the players feel they had the right to act this way. That seemed to be what happened. AFTER the school may have acted appropriately, but it is the case that football is to this day front and center of the flyers and mailers that Vandy sends out – emphasized more than academics. More than other sports. Definitely more than women’s sports.
You may think that my perspective is incorrect, you may weigh things differently, but it is not “false accusations.”
I for one would not send my child to a school that emphasizes football over the other things that the school offers to the extend that Vandy does.
again, you may disagree with my opinion, but it is not “false accusations” just because you don’t agree with me.
@Dustyfeathers Yes, I am saying you are disparaging a school and its football program without searching the facts. First the player who instigated this rape case actually had never played a single football game for Vandy. He was a transfer in during the summer and the football season was just starting. Second he drugged his own girl friend (the victim) and then asked the other players to do something bad on her. It was such a crazy case that you can hardly find someone that crazy (antisocial) as that. It was a bit sad to see one of the offender was actually the son of a long time Vandy employee, and if you see that his interview, you would feel sorry for him to do this foolish thing to ruin his and his mother’s life. You see what I say above was from many clips and news articles I searched before I made to counter your statement, whereas you statements are mostly, if not entirely, you own opinion. Why make you so upset with Vandy? I am wondering.
Just responding to @Dustyfeathers
I don’t undertand what she means by “guarantee that if accepted… can attend” – but if that refers to need based aid – there is no such thing. Some colleges, including the ones mentioned – promise to meet full need as they determine it not by what the family thinks they need, or even with regard to real-world factors that don’t fit neatly into the aid formulas.
“Guarantee?” When my daughter was a junior at Barnard, my ex (her dad) was uncooperative about providing financial aid documents. Barnard financial aid told us that if NCP didn’t provide info, DD would get no aid. That was a factor outside of my control, outside of DD’s control – and when we told finaid that meant DD wouldn’t be able to attend, they didn’t care. My DD was an A student. The ex wasn’t concealing assets – and he certainly wasn’t contributing financially - he was just being a jerk that year.
One advantage that Vandy has over the other so called “guarantee” schools listed is that Vandy currently does not require Non-custodial parent information. I don’t know if that applies to the OP or not – but it is an example where Vandy would be almost certain to be more generous with need-based financial aid than the other schools (unless the NCP has no income or assets to factor in).
But my comment isn’t limited to that example --there are all sorts of factors (home equity, self-employment or partnership income,etc.) that can skew the college’s view of “need” very far from the FAFSA calculation – so no “guarantee”. I am sure that there are many admitted students who have to turn down the spot because financial aid comes up short.
@Dustyfeathers your post is almost embarassing. As @amNotarobot says above it almost seems like you have something against Vandy. I for one can say they are not a “football” school in any way that you describe. I too, have a freshman girl there and everything @northwesty says above is true about the football culture/atmosphere there (like many students only going for 1/2 the game or not at all)…I have witnessed this myself. Vanderbilt’s reputation is definitely built more on academics and community and other amazing enriching experiences. There is a reason that it is Top 15 in the country, #1 in Happiness and one of the most sought after schools to go to from recent years. I can name on 2 hands many other schools that come to my mind that are “football” type schools and promote their football much much more (Alabama, Georgia, USC…and the list goes on). And, most schools advertise their football more than other sports (although I am not sure I agree in the Vandy case), because football draws the most money and usually the biggest crowds at many colleges. Anyhow, my daughter has had the time of her life. She chose this school over other selective schools, including Ivies. Vanderbilt (and the Commons for Freshman) is a fabulous place to call home!
FWIW, we have received tons of mailings from Vanderbilt over the last couple of years for both my son and daughter, and contrary to what was stated above, they largely don’t have anything to do with football. They have been very academic-focused.
“I for one would not send my child to a school that emphasizes football over the other things that the school offers to the extend that Vandy does.”
Presumably your kid is going to none of these schools?
Top USNWR schools with major conference football teams:
Stanford
Duke
Northwestern
Vandy
Notre Dame
Cal Berkeley
UCLA
USC
UVA
Wake
Michigan
UNC
BC
Georgia Tech
Vandy is quite happy to be in the above club. D1 sports is a minor part of Vandy’s draw. For some kids, it makes the place more fun than an Ivy or a D3 school.
Except for USC, ND and Michigan, football is pretty muted and pretty unsuccessful at those schools. Although Stanford recently has significantly out-performed its historical awfulness in football.
Vandy has been in the SEC football conference since 1932. Still waiting for its first conference championship. If Vandy was really football crazed, you’d want to shun them for their complete ineptitude in carrying that mania out.
Cheers.
Can we quit the flame war, please? Moderator?
I wish we could stop with the “Vandy”. We don’t call Harvard “Harvy” or Princeton “Prin-Prin”. It really just feeds into all the stereotypes that make my daughter skeptical. She says that all her friends would never let her live it down if she ended up there. But she has agreed to initiate contact with the coach and is open to a visit and says she will have an open mind.
@Bertiemom you used the term “Vandy” in your original post - and the nickname “Vandy” predates College Confidential by many decades, at least. It’s not a derogatory term and it’s not just used on CC. I think you would have a hard time preventing anyone (everyone?) from using the nickname.
I’d say the same thing if you were offended by the University of Southern California being called “Southern Cal” or the United States Military Academy being called “Army.”
Also, perhaps if your D could not “live it down” if she attended Vanderbilt, it should be removed from her list, especially since the nickname bothers both you and her?