<p>Fo to Vandy.</p>
<p>The people in Cali are all loons like the above guy. The state is in the crapper and the South is much better.</p>
<p>Cali is going bankrupt. It’s basically the last place you want to be when the poopy hits the fan.</p>
<p>vanderbilt is not redneck, and save for the touristy downtown area, neither is nashville. it gets a bad rap but come over and you’ll see why people love the city!</p>
<p>nyfan11: My S will be attending Vandy in the fall but his second choice was USC. We visited both and loved them. Both schools have fantastic alumni networking all over the country so you can count on using those connections the rest of your life. (BTW, my sister is a Vandy alum (HOD major 20 years ago) and lives in LA. Her husband went to UCLA but works for a company that hires 99% USC grads as all the partners went to USC). Both campuses are beautiful and I have heard many USC grads say the “bad neighborhood” hardly factors into equation. Nashville is a great small city. I thought the neighborhood around the campus was nice. The southern hospitality (which you are experiencing as we type) is such an nice change from the northeast. We felt like Vanderbilt was “honored to have my son attend”. He is so excited to go to Vanderbilt for four years - and then hopes to attend USC for grad school… seriously, I am not kidding. So, I don’t think you can go wrong with either choice. Good Luck!</p>
<p>I would not call Nashville a “small city”. It is at least mid-sized. Nissan relocated its North American headquarters to Nashville from LA, and most of the employees have been thrilled with the move.<br>
I assure you that people with “low GPAs and mediocre SATs” are not being admitted to Vanderbilt- unless they happen to be really, really good basketball or football players, and even most of the Vanderbilt athletes are excellent students.</p>
<p>Dizzimom, thanks for your reply. My dad is not going to pay to have me visit USC and he prefers Vandy to begin with. Obviously, school is out so I did not get to see the students. How would you compare the students at both, and how did you feel about LA as a city to go to school in?</p>
<p>People tend to overestimate how bad LA is. I’m a USC Alum (as of 6 days ago!), and I really love this city. While it is nice to have a car, it is possible to get around the city without one, especially because a new subway line is going to open right next to campus soon! Also, you have a huge number of options of things to do- beaches, mountains, Hollywood, Disneyland… you never get bored in LA.</p>
<p>I’ll admit that I don’t know much about Vanderbilt, so I’m not sure how different it is. One of the coolest things about USC is how diverse it is. Only 20% of the student body goes greek. Over 50% of the students are on some sort of financial aid. It also has a very diverse ethnic and religious background. The new dean of religious life is the first person of Hindu faith to be the religious dean of a school. </p>
<p>Class size isn’t really that bad at USC. The biggest classes are the basic sciences (biology and chemistry), and some of the large lecture classes. The vast majority of my classes were under 20 people. </p>
<p>Do you have any specific questions I can answer for you?</p>
<p>I am pretty sold on Vandy now. Deposit is due next week. Any last minute impressions from those that have been to both schools?</p>
<p>I’d consider doing a different major. From what I’ve heard from friends at Vandy, HOD is a joke. I have no clue why a school that claims to be prestigious offers such a “fluff” major. Just search for the thread on it on CC. References to “coloring” and other baby work are notable.</p>
<p>All the classes I took this past year would transfer perfectly for HOD. I would also get a minor in managerial studies. I don’t understand how it is a joke if the HOD graduates are among the highest paid.</p>