<p>On CC College search Vandy is listed at being gay friendly, but from what I've read on other threads people have been saying that it isn't. The reason I ask is because right not Vandy is one of my top three schools, along with Cornell and Tufts, both of which I found to be very accepting and gay friendly. I have yet to visit Vandy, although I hear it's great, I was just wondering if you would say that it was "Gay Friendly" or not? Is it similar to Cornell/ Tufts in that way, or is it less accepting than them?</p>
<p>I would say Vanderbilt has become a lot more gay friendly in recent years, but remember, it’s still a college in the south. There are a lot more conservatives here than at other colleges (especially colleges in the east like Tufts or Cornell). Thus, you might experience more hostility towards gays than you would at a college on the east coast. Honestly, visit and see if you really love the campus, but I (personally) think that Cornell or Tufts would be better options for someone who wants a more vibrant gay community/more accepting people.</p>
<p>Essentially, Vanderbilt isn’t intolerant of gays, but it is most definitely less accepting of them than Cornell or Tufts.</p>
<p>thanks thats what I was looking for, I’m not sure where it stands compared to Tufts, but for example when I was comparing to Cornell my problems were “Cold vs not as gay friendly”. Since it’s where I’ll spend 4 years of my life, although Vandy is great, I’d like to be out and have a bigger gay community.</p>
<p>Please keep in mind that Vanderbilt and Nashville are very vibrantly involved with one another. The weather is great, and I would compare Nashville to a place like Austin Texas…a place in a conservative state in a city full of artists and creative types in business. Obviously you want a quality of life for your undergraduate years and you may not be weaving your life into Nashville that much in year one and two particularly.</p>
<p>However, my rising junior and his friends are very into life in Nashville and have many friends who are gay. I don’t think my son is qualified to recommend Vandy or to not recommend it to you based on your original question. That is a personal decision as you shake out your admission offers, or your financial offers and many other factors along with your comfort zone for feeling optimistic that you will not only be accepted, you will have an abundance of friends where you go to school.</p>
<p>Nashville has an outstanding arts scene. There is also a very big article on life in McGill dorm in a Nashville publication from 2004 that you might want to read since students who are gay sometimes opt for a year or two in McGill.
[Where</a> the Freaks Are | Features | Nashville Scene](<a href=“http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/where-the-freaks-are/Content?oid=1190512]Where”>http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/where-the-freaks-are/Content?oid=1190512)</p>
<p>My straight son has many friends in McGill now, goes to parties there as well as in other corners of Vanderbilt. He opted for coed housing in a Lodge on campus last year with ten other students who were extremely eclectic in their interests and outlooks…not that much like each other politically or vocationally…so much as interested in trying one of the learning/living themed Lodges for a year. That was a positive experience. He is abroad now as many Vandy students are in their third year. Keep in mind that third and fourth year at any college is time for differentiation into who you really are and into often leaving campus for other things like jobs and studies abroad.
So, I think Vandy is a very progressive international and national university in the heart of a more conservative culture in America. I really think you should visit in April if you haven’t scratched Vandy off your list by then and if you are admitted. Then decide. My Vandy son said Vandy was his “least favorite” college on his admission list till he visited. He was worried about the stereotypes at Vanderbilt but in fact, he has had nothing but outstanding opportunities at Vanderbilt and is living life large as an independent among other independent students there.<br>
I hope in April you get a gut feeling about your college and your decision will be golden. No school is perfect so it really is about knowing yourself and making a good guess about where you will be your best version of your future self.</p>
<p>Progressive or not, there’s really not a comparison between Nashville (or Charlotte, where I live), and the Boston area in terms of eclectic interests. I agree with everyone who says you need to visit and see/feel for yourself.</p>
<p>No it definitely feels more conservative around Nashville and Charlotte and they can’t be compared to Boston or to Atlanta either for that matter. However, Nashville and Charlotte have their charms as smaller important cities…and also their gay pride communities on and off campus.
for our son financial aid was very persuasive in the end, so he turned down offers at colleges that were more consistently liberal and gave up going to the two colleges that ended up being much more expensive where more students share his outlooks and accepted his offer at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt has been very good to him and he has done his best to contribute in a couple zones at Vandy.</p>
<p>Each of the three universities in consideration has its own merits, so I wouldn’t want to detract from any of them, but you will likely find a larger gay community, and consequently feel most comfortable at Tufts, Cornell, and Vanderbilt in that order.</p>
<p>Hmm. . . not sure what “eclectic interests” are, but having gone to university in both Boston and Tennessee, I would remind you that people can be provincial even in Boston, the “hub.” Cambridge has its share of “townies” just as Nashville has its country folk. What people say is really not as important as how they behave after all. Is there really any quantifiable data that shows Nashville as less tolerant than bean town?</p>
<p>@twopence, I’m not sure what your trying to say. Do you mean that they are the same, or that there is no way to know if they are the same? because it seems to me that you having lived in both areas would have a pretty good understanding of how they compare.</p>
<p>As a student who transferred from a liberal arts college in the Northeast to Vanderbilt I was curious as to whether a southern, conservative ideology would be more prominent than the general liberal tendencies of academia. As it turns out, they’re both present, and in fairly equal measure. Vanderbilt is very moderate as far as politics go. Regarding gay issues specifically, the gay community is well supported by the university as it is at any respectable college. I have met one gay transfer student already and haven’t heard or witnessed any anti-gay sentiment. However I will say that heterosexuality is implicit in the general social atmosphere. While it’s not Ithaca or Boston, Nashville is still a modern city and accepting of all lifestyles. Southern culture is only really prominent in terms of food and clothing in Nashville. So in short, you will never be unwelcome at Vanderbilt but as mentioned above the gay communities at Cornell and Tufts are probably larger. It really depends on the type of atmosphere you’re looking for - at my previous school, the student body was generally liberal to the point of activism, which occasionally manifested itself aggressively. I myself am very liberal, and would say that neither experience is superior, they are simply different.</p>
<p>I’d like to add that being out shouldn’t be a problem and the weather is great in Nashville when it’s not above 90 degrees (which is only the first few weeks).</p>
<p>Banava, in response to: “Southern culture is only really prominent in terms of food and clothing in Nashville.” You’ll find that “Southern culture” is well represented in the English dept. course offerings. “Southern culture” is also very manifest in the music scene around Nashville. All is all, “Southern culture” is evident at Vandy. Is that a bad thing? Wiki has a fairly informative page: [Culture</a> of the Southern United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_Southern_United_States]Culture”>Culture of the Southern United States - Wikipedia)</p>