We are in CA and for some reason Richmond really seems to be a good fit for my D18.
Her sister is a junior at Vanderbilt and she has visited and loved Vandy and Nashville.
I may be mistaken, but UR seems like it may be a slightly less intense, more intimate version of the Vanderbilt experience.
Any input or experience with both schools as far as rigor, student body and vibe?
Vanderbilt is harder to get in and a much harder & more prestigious school overall. UR is great, very well thought of, but small & I have found many haven’t heard of it but no matter, only takes a bit of research & you see how great it is. that being said, however, I can’t imagine anyone who can get into Vandy choosing UR instead unless they had personal reasons. V is an outstanding education.
I agree completely about Vandy.
She will probably apply ED next fall, but definitely needs a back up plan. 
Finances are a big issue and we have found Vanderbilt to be very generous so we are not worried about ED there.
Richmond seems to be pretty good also judging by the NPC.
Just wondering if they have a similar “vibe”?
Out here I have not met anyone who has heard of Richmond.
I think Richmond is an excellent school academically and has a really nice campus in a pleasant suburb of Richmond. Sports are Division 1 (but Atlantic 10, so they play schools such as GW and Davidson on bball). It is often used as a backup school for kids applying to UVA/W&M/Duke/UNC/Davidson so as a result accepts lots of high stat kids and uses merit scholarships to grab the tippy top ones away from those other schools. The vibe is less Southern than Vandy and more Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. All is all a great all around school.
It seems that you have done some really great research.
Is your family still in the application process?
What schools have you narrowed it down to?
ED anywhere?
@dragonmom3 We visited UR in summer of 2015 and liked it. My son applied but was wait listed. He had a great merit offer from U Miami so took that, where he is very happy.
If you can, you should visit the schools in VA and NC which are all a bit different. If you like Vandy, have you looked at Wake Forest which has more of a Southern feel than UR? We were very impressed by the academic vibe there. Davidson is a great school also.
My kids got into Vanderbilt with no money but offered full tuition scholarship at Richmond. Which school to go? Any comments welcome.
If I were in your kids’ (twins??) shoes, I would definitely go to Richmond unless there was a specific program at Vandy (such as Education) where Vandy was top-ranked. Still, UR for free tuition is hard to beat!
Richmond
@tingdad Vanderbilt is amazing but a free ride at Richmond? Definitely Richmond, hands down. If you were talking about a lesser school it would be a closer question, but I don’t think the experience with be different enough to warrant the huge bill of 4 yrs at Vandy. And you said kids, plural, so that’s a lot of $! Congrats!
If money is no problem, I would lean towards Vanderbilt. Otherwise, with full tuition, Richmond is a no-brainer. Good luck.
I would go to Richmond.