<p>I really have my heart set on Vanderbilt, but if I'm not to make it, I'd like to have a back up school that is similar. There is already a post that wants a similar school in the city and look of the campus, but I want a school with the same feel as Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>At Vanderbilt, everything is community based, about making Vanderbilt a home for students through relationships with other students and professors.</p>
<p>Another thing that I really love about Vanderbilt is the fact that the learning there is so flexible. You can create your OWN MAJOR. You can double major in Engineering and Business, and double minor in U.S. History and Tuba performance. I love this flexible learning style, that students are encouraged to learn what they want to learn, whether it helps them reach their major or not.</p>
<p>Any universities that have these traits that might not be so selective?</p>
<p>Many of the things you like in your research about Vandy are available at other colleges throughout the country. I I have one son who is a recent grad and a husband with a Vandy grad degree. So I am very familiar with Nashville. And I obviously like Vandy a lot.<br>
But I encourage you to view the bounty we have in this country of wonderful college experiences. Before you make a list of qualities you like in a college you have to answer this question:</p>
<p>Can you afford Vanderbilt full pay? If so there is a list I think of “similar” mid sized research institutions and perhaps smaller or somewhat larger colleges to consider. But many colleges cannot offer No Loans in their financial aid packages. Many other colleges cannot offer what is known as “need blind” admissions. Do you need No Loan financial aide? Do you stand to benefit in a Needs Blind admission policy school? If so, Vandy and its peer colleges receive a very large number of applicants and are considered highly selective, partly due to their financial aide.</p>
<p>Most colleges, like my very good undergraduate college, Furman University, cannot offer No Loans to their finanicial aide recipients. Many great colleges cannot choose their class without consideration of how many students can pay full ticket price to offset those getting need aid. </p>
<p>Double majoring or creating your own major with faculty approval is offered at most colleges. Many colleges are good at creating community among students and faculty. Vanderbilt does offer a very attractive campus in an urban setting that is fairly easy to get around in. Many of our best colleges are not really in towns of much size.</p>
<p>anyway, pick your financial aid matches and safeties first. Then start to create your list with a selective or two, and more colleges with good odds of admission. (Vandy was admitting over 35% of applicants when my eldest applied and there were 11 thousand applicants.) Now they get 30 thousand applicants and admission is quite difficult. </p>
<p>I know children of several friends of mine who had their hearts set on Vanderbilt but did not get in and are now happy at Wake Forest. It is no means a breeze to gain admission to WFU but it is slightly easier than Vandy. It has a beautiful campus tucked into a residential area of a medium sized city with a Southern feel. The students are serious about their studies, many are pre-med, law, business, but they also like to have fun. There are Greek organizations on campus but I believe, like VU, they are basically non-residential. WFU is not as generous with financial aid as Vanderbilt is with it’s need blind admissions, but then again, not many universities are. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Emory and Rice both state they will meet 100% of your demonstrated financial need and are need blind in their admissions. Their ranks are also similar to Vandy.</p>
<p>Does Emory really have good financial aid? Their netprice calculator estimates didn’t reveal that in comparison w/schools like Duke and Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>All of those schools say they will meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. Somehow, when you put the same exact information in their NPC, you get different results. We got approximately $10,000 for Emory, $7,000 for Vanderbilt and $2,500 for Rice. I have no reasonable explanation for figures that are so radically inconsistent with the same input!</p>
<p>I agree that Duke, Emory, etc. are similar to Vandy, but they sure aren’t backups. Some of the schools mentioned are harder to get into, not easier. I would look at Tulane and Richmond for schools with many similarities to Vanderbilt that are easier to get into. College of Charleston might be a good safety for a Vandy hopeful.</p>
<p>Duke and Vandy are “peers” re financial need offers. Emory cannot do the no loans deal for their students. Every school struggles to do their best but they also choose priorities. Richmond has some good merit aid but like Emory’s Emory Scholars…they both require early applications for consideration, and there is a great deal required in the competition of their merit applicants. Rice gives merit offers to a higher number of admittees than does Vandy or Duke but their merit offers are smaller. Wake? Expect full pay if you don’t qualify for need aide and they do not have a No Loans program yet. If you want an experience similar to Vanderbilt (graduate schools on premises, vibrant sports scene, fun town, lots of peers with high test scores and high grades) that you might be able to afford, rather than looking at privates (which have vastly different financial aide abilities)…look to the honors colleges in state flagships in your own state. Look to things like getting In State rates at OOS flagships where possible. (example University of Georgia has a strong student body of good students, and allows a segment of OOS students some discounts). Chapel Hill allows something like 15% -18% of the student body to be from OOS, and their OOS honors students sometimes get discounted rates that are better than full price at Vandy or Richmond. If you are into engineering, look to engineering schools like Clemson, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. If you are a very self directed person you can spin into gold doing an excellent job at a state university. You can also argue that networking for Virginia Tech graduates in some fields is better than networking from smaller colleges. If you are looking at privates and you are not keen on the SE, look at American in DC or Bucknell in PA or Colgate in NY if you can afford them. There are plenty of ways to get a great education but fewer ways to get an affordable great education. Altho my kids went to Duke and Vandy, we are still “recovering” from full pay at Duke years later. I have lived long enough to see the kids here in VA who went to Tech or UVA and have just as wonderful momentum in life. Don’t get too preoccupied with the glamour of your college name. </p>
<p>@Faline2–Great advice! So many kids just think of the name schools. I know my son did at the start of this process, but he may be changing his view now. I do think that kids at state schools also have to be very motivated in order to " spin into gold." But I guess you said that, too.</p>
<p>I wanted a small school with big sports, a nice campus, solid academics and a great community. Boston College is a good option because it has all of those things and is close to Boston like Vandy is close to Nashville. It’s catholic though so I’m not sure if that’s a deal breaker for you. Virginia is really nice too and a great school. Someone mentioned UGA…I live in Georgia and it couldn’t be farther from Vandy. Georgia Tech is much closer academically but atmosphere wise and socially it’s not similar to Vanderbilt. Also, UNC Chapel Hill is a school that a ton of kids who applied to Vanderbilt at my school applied to. It’s a little big for me but I know people who really love it there</p>
<p>Klbc18, I have also lived in Georgia, and I think that it is easy to not fully appreciate the things in your backyard. I am talking about finding a fine college you can actually afford, which is difficult for many students. (you should see some of the lack of appreciation for the College of Wm and Mary around here in VA…and it is a world class public Ivy). Georgia Honors has a student body with stats that are tip top, smaller classrooms plus many many perks for those who can get admitted. Full pay at Vandy Wake – or Georgia Honors? many families come to this point, or fill in the blank for their state’s honors college vs a full pay private. OOS Honors at UNC or instate Georgia Honors for half the price? Every family will come up with a different answer to these kinds of questions. Since the recession and the hits in the real estate equity of many families, it is wise to look at the long haul re further education post grad when making your decisions. I agree that Boston College is a great example of a fun urban college with a lot of spirit and good academics. It’s not cheap either. Haven’t researched what BC can do for families whose EFCs indicate legit financial need or if BC is truly need blind, but families need to get these things completely understood before you choose your college app list. </p>
<p>My prior list did not account for “not so selective” universities. I’ll add Miami and USC to my list. Wake Forest is great for top students with so-so SAT’s (SAT/ACT optional). As noted above state honors programs have come a long way and are hurting the LAC’s by offering smaller classes within a larger university. Do your research on these programs. Some honors programs are excellent while others are little more then a marketing tool to recruit top students with high numbers. State honors programs target the upper middle class student while the high and low income students are free to attend any university with little concern over costs. </p>
<p>Vanderbilt’s student body is now far more diverse, racially and geographically, than Wake Forest’s. So at this point I don’t know if Wake Forest is a clear “fit” for the typical student applying to Vanderbilt.</p>