<p>I've been very lucky to be accepted to a bunch of great schools- including the four listed in the thread title, which I've narrowed my choices down to. I'm not completely sure what I want to do, but my major will likely be in the sciences- physics, bio, neuroscience, etc., and I'm very interested in research. </p>
<p>The costs are fairly comparable. I'm a Virginia resident, and received scholarships to Vandy (covering full tuition) and to Michigan (20,000 per year), so Vandy would be slightly cheaper than the VA schools, and Michigan a bit more expensive. My family is pretty wealthy, though, so this isn't a big factor.</p>
<p>I've been leaning towards either Vandy or UVa, but I seem to change my mind once every couple of hours (hence, consulting CC). </p>
<p>Anyway, I typed up a set of criteria, and it didn't really help me much, because I like them all in some way or another. Most of this is, of course, subjective. I've been to all of the campuses several times. </p>
<p>I also got into Duke, Virginia Tech, and JMU, so if you have a super compelling argument for any of them, go ahead. Any help would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Congrats on some excellent choices. I am very familiar with these schools. I think the Vanderbilt campus is as nice as UVA and I like Nashville a lot better than Charlottesville (which I also like a lot). I think Nashville simply has more to offer. I also think you won’t give up a bit with Vandy (SEC) sports over UVA. Michigan would trump in sports, though. Climate trumps for Vandy and UVA. With full tuition to Vandy, I would choose it. I don’t see why you would pick Michigan over UVA. W&M drops off, in my view.</p>
<p>It’s going to come down to which one grabs you more, because all are excellent. Nashville has easy transportation (air) which Charlottesville lacks. It also has professional sports teams and awesome music scene.</p>
<p>So, I’m sure you have your reasons already, but why not Duke? It’s only lacking feature is the college town/atmosphere, though it’s not bad by any means (just not as good as Vandy, UVA or UMich). Its campus is as beautiful as UVA’s, its athletics and school spirit is just as good as Michigan’s, and it is higher regarded at the undergraduate level than the rest of the schools you’re considering (they’re all good schools though). Duke also has the best weather, the smartest students, the most resources per undergraduate, and the best biology program of all the schools you’re considering.</p>
<p>I just saw you got full tuition to Vandy if money is a concern…although it doesn’t sound like your family minds to pay to put you where you want to go.What say you?</p>
<p>MomofWildChild, thanks, I share most of the same sentiments, although I definitely think that what Charlottesville lacks as compared to Nashville in opportunities, it makes up for in charm and history. Also, I didn’t mention this in the OP, but I included natural surrounding in the college town ranking, and I think the area around UVa (Blue Ridge, Shen. Park) easily trumps Nashville. </p>
<p>goldenboy, I liked Duke, but no more than any of the others, and I don’t think it justifies paying full cost, even if my parents could pay for it. Also, Durham kind of sucks.</p>
<p>Fair enough, Durham doesn’t offer a classic collegiate town or young city like your other choices. I would go with Vanderbilt in your case; its focus on undergrads exceeds that of UVA and its giving you a full ride. The Freshman Commons are supposed to be amazing.</p>
<p>That part of Virginia is gorgeous (I visit frequently) but don’t underestimate the Natchez Trace and Percy Warner Park which is the most beautiful (and huge) city park I’ve ever seen and it’s only a few miles from Vanderbilt. Nashville also has lots of hills like Charlottesville, but I think the traffic is more manageable. There are lots of similarities- the horse country going south towards Shelbyville/Lynchburg(TN) is similar to the areas outside Charlottesville.</p>
<p>I was choosing between W&M, UVa, U of Michigan, and Va Tech this time last year. I currently attend UVa. It is hard to argue against Vandy at the price of Full Ride. If you are not very outgoing, I would def recommend UVa. My older bro is graduating from UIUC this year, and he hated it. It is difficult to make friends at a school this size unless you are very outgoing, even then it is difficult to make close friends you can trust. Since you are in-state I assume you have good friends going to UVa. I’ve made some friends in the dorms and in classes and around grounds, but it has always been nice to have my several highschool friends to help me out. Just a thought, IMO.</p>
<p>If I had to choose, I would pick Vanderbilt. It’s a great school and has a strong reputation. I have a second cousin who earned her Master’s in Chemical Engineering (I think, maybe it was Biomedical?) from there and absolutely loved it. Nashville, from what I hear, is really nice. The weather there is great (for the most part) and its very ‘cultural’. Oh, and I’m not sure if you’re a guy or not (or if this matters to you), but apparently Vanderbilt girls are extremely pretty.</p>
<p>All of the schools you were accepted to are great schools. You can really make a case for any of them. Personally, I think college is all about what you make of it, so you should go where YOU think you would best fit in.</p>
<p>“I’m not completely sure what I want to do, but my major will likely be in the sciences- physics, bio, neuroscience, etc., and I’m very interested in research.”</p>
<p>“I don’t see why you would pick Michigan over UVA.”</p>
<p>I can see picking Michigan>UVA for similar costs. Michigan is better in the sciences than UVA. It also is tops in overall research expenditures among all public universites in this country. U-M also has a strong culture of undergraduate research opportunities.</p>
<p>I’d pick Vanderbilt, my second choice would be UVA. They are similiar schools but I feel that Vandy has the better undergraduate experience (and Nashville/Vanderbilt has some of the most beautiful girls in the country).</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone, I appreciate the responses. To clarify, I don’t exactly have a full ride to Vandy, just full tuition, so the cost difference between it and UVa/ W&M is about $7,000 because of room and board.</p>
<p>That’s one tough decision. There is no bum in the lot! I think the choice should come down to Duke, Michigan, UVa and Vanderbilt. </p>
<p>I would give some thought to your major. In the Life Sciences, Duke is hard to beat. Thee facilities and research opportunities in the Life Sciences at Duke are excellent. In the Physical Science, Michigan is the clear cut winner. Although Michigan is large, Physics is not a common major, so Physics classes past the intro-level tend to have 15-20 students at the most. The Physics labs and research projects open to undergrads are world-class.</p>
<p>I think campus beauty is moot. All the campuses considered are easy on the eyes. </p>
<p>School spirit is ample at all the schools also. Basketball and Football are hard to beat at Duke and Michigan respectively, but UVa and Vanderbilt are ok too. </p>
<p>Alumni relations are great at all four schools.</p>
<p>All of those schools have a wealth of resources, affording undergrads great academic and extra-curricular facilities, particularly where labs and research are concerned.</p>
<p>I think the OP should prioritize factors and go with the gut.</p>
<p>I can certainly see your dilemma. I personally think UVA and Vandy have extremely similar cultures and are as alike as two schools could be. Yes, UVA is public; however, it’s size makes it feel more like a medium-size private. They both tend to attract preppy, highly driven kids. They both have beautiful campuses/grounds. I feel travel costs to and from Nashville will eat into some of that cost differential. (We had no idea how much travel, an occasional hotel, etc. could really cost. We thought we had budgeted, but flight costs have gone up, hotels have upon occasion been needed, we’ve wanted to pop up once or twice for various reasons which your folks will also probably want to do, etc.) If you live in VA and chose UVA, you won’t need to worry about flights, storing your stuff over the summer or trying to get it home, etc. Also, you would have access to go home during Reading Days or a long weekend and your parents could easily come for an occasional football game, fraternity/sorority parents’ weekends, etc. without incurring significant additional costs. </p>
<p>I agree that you can’t go wrong with either. It’s funny…our D is an Echols scholar at UVA (OOS) and loves it. She will be spending the entire summer this year performing research/interning at Vandy. :). Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. I just got back from visits to Ann Arbor and Charlottesville, and I think I’ve narrowed my choices down to UVa and Vandy. I’ll probably take a few more weeks to decide, but I’m still struggling to find huge distinctions between the schools, especially academically. I’m leaning towards UVa a little bit because of its proximity to the Blue Ridge, and I love the culture of central Virginia. Nashville, too, is certainly nice, but the downtown is sort of… weird. The area around Vandy is nice, though.</p>
<p>The downtown area of Nashville grows on you - Broadway/2nd Avenue are sort of country and small if you are from a big city (like NYC). But the only night people go downtown are Thursday nights (college night) and the bars people go to will mostly have a “Vanderbilt crowd” - so the country scene is easily avoidable if you dont like it. Also, you probably didn’t check out Demonbreum Street which is where alot of Vandy kids go – places like Dan McGuiness and Tin Roof. Or if you are the indie music type - check out Exit/In.</p>
<p>With that said, you can’t really go wrong with UVA. I prefer Vanderbilt because I feel it has better geographic diversity (people from all different states rather than majority from VA). Schools are very similiar though.</p>
<p>I know that there’s no way I’d pay for Michigan. On the other hand, I think that the full scholarship to Vandy is a great deal! Nashville is actually a really cool town, and the campus is absolutely gorgeous! I think the academic opportunities are definitely comparable to any of the other three schools, although I don’t have any specifics. However, if you really want to go out of state, I’d suggest Vandy in a heartbeat!</p>
<p>A lot of the social life in Nashville happens in smaller pockets of restaurants/clubs that are not right downtown. The 12 South area is one and also Hillsboro Village right off the Vandy campus. The Belmont area (near Vandy) also has some great places.</p>