<p>tk21769–You’re right, although I think it has gotten better. There’s at least some (I think 20%?) diversity, but more importantly, it has a very different feel from my high school. I think it’s a different brand of white and preppy, whereas a place like Holy Cross, while a very good school, felt almost identical to my high school. Plus, I fell in love with the campus and location when I visited. Like I said, for me the right combination of factors can mitigate others, but that definitely tops the list of Vandy cons in my eyes.</p>
<p>I guess you could add the CUNY schools. Right in NYC and they’re not very expensive at all.</p>
<p>'Copter, did you do an overnight stay at Vandy when school was in session? That can be important if you have any doubts about the social environment.</p>
<p>JHU, Penn(maybe), Uchicago, northwestern (close to big city), Duke (Durham is mehhhh, but it still is a kinda small city)</p>
<p>The OP was looking for Safeties. ^ Those are safeties for no one. 
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<p>^ oh woops lol. I just kinda skimmed it</p>