<p>“Vandy had a more natural, laid-back feel than Emory did though.”</p>
<p>I go here, and I think I know what you mean. While Vandy is amidst a city, Emory feels/looks more like a city itself (enshrouded in forest, but still more urban), given the modern architecture, which includes some abnormally tall buildings for a supposedly liberal artsy school, and the direct integration of the medical/hospital complex into the campus. And Emory is not nearly as competitive as you think it is. However, it is very professional, which makes the campus structure/layout befitting I suppose. It’s very interesting. </p>
<p>I like it here a lot by the way. It really depends on your visit, will you like the architecture or the vibe from either. Also, would you prefer the traditional type of fun (frats/sororities, football, sports scene) or cultural fun/activities, which Emory is excellent for given the level of diversity. I like both, which is why I visit Tech a lot, but when I get back to Emory, I realize how refreshing the enhanced cultural scene is here in comparison to them and even many of our peers. Depends on what you want. Hope you get to enjoy visiting both, and I wish you luck with your decision. Just get ready to work hard at either school Perhaps Emory’s professional atmosphere will pressure you into working harder. Often you will wonder why you aren’t taking a break or something. This is not even because of a difference in rigor (the two are basically the same here overall), it is indeed b/c you see everyone else working for excessive amounts of time. It’s kinda weird lol. But despite that, you can play hard too! Academically you’ll be fine at either though. Again, just worry about the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Both are amazing schools, but based on what you are looking for/want, i would recommend emory. Emory has more of the feel that you seem to be describing and has a really good pre-med program</p>
<p>My son visited both Vanderbilt and Emory, and chose Vanderbilt because he felt most comfortable there. Visting is essential. He is now a freshman at Vanderbilt. He is very happy with both his premed courses, and his social life. He loves the Commons, and the fact that all of the freshman are together there. His RA is very involved in school activities and encourages his freshmen to do the same. Even though his strengths are math and science, he thoroughly enjoys his freshman writing seminar which has 15 students and a very engaging professor. His math and science courses are challenging, even though he, like many of his fellow students, had AP credit in the same courses. He says that there are so many things to do on campus and in Nashville, he can barely make a dent in them. Lectures, music performances, political debates, football games, intramural volleyball, trips to museums…are just a few of the activities he has participated in. He hopes to pledge a fraternity, which only 30% of the men choose to do. However, he is very close to the 15 guys on his hall and feels that he will remain friends with them regardless of whether they pledge or not. Since the top 6 leaders are the only members of a fraternity or sorority to live in the house, people are not limited by their decision to join. Half of the women choose to pledge a sorority and half choose not to. The Greek system is an opportunity that a freshman can choose to participate in or pass on. Of the 1600 freshmen, 640 are Greek and 960 are not.</p>
<p>Gonna be honest and say that if I was choosing, that description wouldn’t seem helpful to me as it basically sounds like Emory with exception of football (this can and often does make a huge difference in atmosphere). There are challenging pre-med courses and freshmen seminars here also (this goes for nearly all top schools). The curriculum/academic experience for a non-engineering (by virtue of us not having an engineering school) pre-med student will be about the same at both, except I’ve seen gen. chem and orgo. material from both schools, and we take the cake there in terms of difficulty. Our exams tend to ask more application/conceptual questions (they like to ask why) as opposed to procedural. This can be a killer as many of us are merely good at memorizing computations, etc… Your son perhaps dodged bullets there. However, he has to deal with Vandy’s bio, where most sections will be harder and the easier ones are about the same as ours. Your poor child; luckily they curve bio there. We don’t. With that said, hopefully your son won’t need the curve . </p>
<p>Anyway, bottom-line is that the OP needs to visit both. </p>
<p>Random: I also thought Vandy had less freshmen. Didn’t know they had 1600. Thought we were nearly exactly the same size. In fact, I thought we were slightly larger. Interesting.</p>
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