I am a high school senior deciding between the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University. I am looking to study business and possibly in music (vocal performance). My main concerns are: alumni networks, reputation, dorm food, party/social scene, and the difficulty of getting classes. Please leave your thoughts on these topics and any other thoughts between these two colleges. (Price is the same.)
Wow! great choices @UVAorVanderbilt. My first though was UVA for the business school, but then saw the possibility of music - and thought Blair at Vandy. I am very familiar with both of these schools. Have you visited both? UVA has approx. 3700 freshman and Vandy has 1700. At UVA the freshman live in a few places - I think Alderman road dorms and then newer ones near the football stadium. At Vandy, all freshman live in the commons. I think the alumni networks, reputation, dorm food, party scene is probably equal. And probably the class thing too. What are your thoughts and please comment on what you liked/disliked about visiting either. I would love to hear.
It’s competitive admissions to McIntire.
Vandy doesn’t have an UG business school although they have a collection of courses that let you “minor” in finance / buisness. They’ve added to it in recent years so maybe an UG B school is in the future.
At UVA, all of the first-year dorms are in the same general area on Grounds, and concentrated around two main dining halls (so it really feels like the first-year bubble). McIntire is amazing as far as I know, but it is competitive to get in (those who don’t get in, however, do just fine majoring in Economics, which generally gives them more of a liberal arts education than Comm school students). The party/social scene is alive and well - UVA is one of the best examples of the “work hard, play hard” schools; however, plenty of students choose not to party at all and have great experiences. Also, UVA is larger and in a smaller town vs. Vanderbilt, which is in a much more urban environment and is smaller. Both were on my shortlist, but I liked UVA better because of its larger size and “bubble” feeling to it.