Hi everyone, I am between these two schools and am really indecisive about them, so I thought I would see if I could get any advice from the cc group. I would be studying engineering at both, so obviously any info about which program might be stronger would be helpful, but I also think there is a lot more to consider other than academics. In particular I am looking for (other than academics):
a work hard play hard type of school, where academics are of high priority but the students still have fun and let loose on weekends
big school spirit
nice campus and surrounding area
success of students after graduation
Also I am out of state and did not get any money from either school, so that is not a factor.
@enginero I have been visiting Vanderbilt the last two days with my child who also got into UVA (Echols and CSS) and was offered a merit full-tuition scholarship at Vandy. This was our first trip, and it might be important for you to know for your decision that, to us at least, Vanderbilt is really urban. This surprised us. UVA is not urban. One of your choices has a college-town (UVA) and the other is part of a rapidly-growing city. My child did not like the honking horns, sirens, helicopters overhead, traffic noise etc. that are here at Vanderbilt. Did not like it so much that even though the scholarship and need-based aid together would bring the cost to very, very little, it looks like Vanderbilt might be out of the final three.
So when weighing UVA and Vanderbilt, consider whether you want a “college-town” experience (with access to big cities when desired by car or bus e.g. DC) or an actual city setting for college. Everyone will have a different reaction to each, but they are different experiences and might be important in your selection.
Wow…what great choices! Congrats! Obviously you can’t go wrong with either of these schools. I know someone in a similar situation a few years ago…(CS major) and she chose UVA, but was IS. She also liked both equally, but the money difference was large. She loved UVA, got an awesome job, had multiple offers, including from the ones everyone wants…she never looked back and loved her time there. Good luck!
