Vanderbilt or Swarthmore?

<p>So these are my final two colleges, and I have to decide which one to go to (which is a mind-blogging task because these are so different, thus, hard to compare). Extremely lucky to have to make this decision. :D</p>

<p>I am an international student, so I can't visit, and have to do with online tours.</p>

<p>Also, I want to study engineering and economics. Leaning more towards MechE, or EEE. I know that Swarthmore only offers a general engineering degree, and I keep wondering whether this general degree would hold me back. I want to go straight to grad school, or as soon as I can. So, grad school placement is very important. From the data I've gathered, the majority of Commodores (I LOVE the name!) in the engineering dept. go into the industry right after undergrad. A number of them do go to top grad schools, but a number of my friends at Vandy are saying that this number is low in absolute terms. </p>

<p>Anyways, despite seeing the numbers, i can't judge them properly because I have no idea what numbers are good and which are bad.</p>

<p>Also, I don't know how much a general engineering degree is going to hold me back, if at all, for graduate school. Kids from Swarthmore do well in grad school, right? I can't find class of 2012 data.</p>

<p>I know that Swarthmore is regarded as one of the toughest places, but I feel as though choosing Vanderbilt because of this would be silly, and a little cowardly.</p>

<p>As you can see, I'm really confused. And this post is all over the place.</p>

<p>And finally....is there a bad choice here?</p>

<p>No bad choice here. Both excellent schools. What’s your COA for both schools?</p>

<p>I got similar, and extremely generous, fin aid packages at both places. Money, thankfully, is not a concern.</p>

<p>Academically they are both great. I would try to figure out if you would be happier at a university or a small LAC.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt is closer to a typical college experience – D-1 sports, great concerts, lots of school spirit, and access to a great city. Swarthmore students tend to be more introverted than Vanderbilt students.</p>

<p>bump 10char</p>

<p>shamelessly bumping this for more advice and opinions.</p>

<p>Have you seen this? <a href=“http://www.vanderbilt.edu/career/media/pdf/Post-Grad-Report-2012_FINAL.pdf[/url]”>http://www.vanderbilt.edu/career/media/pdf/Post-Grad-Report-2012_FINAL.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>[Post</a> Graduation Statistics :: Career Services :: Swarthmore College](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/student-life/career-services/post-graduation-statistics.xml]Post”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/student-life/career-services/post-graduation-statistics.xml)</p>

<p>This says 21% go to grad school…less than Vandy.</p>

<p>Pancake, and or calling on current Vandy students or parents who have a recent Vandy engineering grad…do you know an Engineering student at Vandy who could skype with unforgiven?</p>

<p>I’ve visited both (and got accepted into both), and ended up choosing Swat. </p>

<p>Swarthmore is one of the only lib arts colleges that offer a BS in engineering instead of a BA in 4 years of schooling. It’s an incredibly rigorous program. And the economics department is top notch as well. Chemistry is the only really bad thing to study at Swat. At Vandy, you’d get the BS in engineering in more than four years, but it’s hard to say which program is better.</p>

<p>Swat is pretty much considered a grad school place. People who go there generally do get into the grad schools of their choice. I forget the absolute percentage, but it’s impressive. So is Vandy’s overall, but I’m not sure about engineering specifically. </p>

<p>People from Swat do very well in grad school. “It would be an A anywhere else” is a common term. Meaning that the work is very thorough (and difficult) and prepares you for grad school programs. </p>

<p>Neither is a bad school. Both have names that impress the right people. Vandy is probably better known among people in general, but employers know what Swarthmore is, and that’s the thing that matters. It’s the atmosphere that you have to think about.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt is a more typical “college” in the sense that Greek life is big, parties are common, and the students are very . . . college student-y: clearly intelligent but less prone to doing academic things outside of the classroom. It’s also very sports oriented. About an equal mix of liberals and conservatives, though leaning toward the right since it is in the South. The stereotype is that they’re all rich white Southern gentleman jocks and debutantes. It’s not exactly true, like all stereotypes, but upon my visit the students seemed less interested in academics and more interested in social life outside of class. It’s also right in the middle of Nashville, a lovely city, and the surrounding area is very nice. Upon visiting, most people talked about a party that had happened the night before.</p>

<p>Swat, on the other a less typical liberal arts college. Greek life is almost nonexistent (I think there are two frats in total with about 40 members each), parties are still common but in less places, and the students are generally of the intellectual sort, the types who continue class discussions into the dining hall. Sports are considered more of a past time, and while people are involved in them and love them, the school as a whole isn’t as peppy as far as sports are concerned. Mainly liberals and libertarians from what I gathered, though conservatives do exist. The stereotype is that everyone is a “quirky” and intellectual nerd. The students are intellectual and deeply involved in politics/activism, and while there were plenty of “quirky” people, there were “normal” ones as well. It’s in a suburb of Philly, and is very lush and has the small town feel. Upon visiting, people talked about a live action role playing game that happened the day before where they pretty much pretended the school was Hogwarts and they taught magic. </p>

<p>It depends on what type of place you like better. Both are great schools with good networks that will help you out tremendously. It all comes down to the vibe.</p>

<p>So you have the more “normal” Greek life, city, good classes but less political involvement life of Vandy or the “quirky” intellectual, suburb, that’s into activism that is Swat.</p>

<p>I chose the later after visiting and seeing that, at least in my experience, that the students of Swat are much nicer (and more fun to talk to) than the ones at Vandy, for what it’s worth.</p>

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<p>What is this referring to? Vandy is a 4 year program for all engineering majors. For MechE and EE, and its a Bachelors of Engineering (equivalent of BS).</p>

<p>Regarding other stats, for overall school:
Vandy, grad school enrollment: 34%
…in first choice: 68%</p>

<p>Swarthmore, grad school enrollment: 26%
…in first choice, 67%</p>

<p>Both data from class of 2012. Keep in mind Vandy has improved dramatically in rank/reputation since then, and students are consistently more highly qualified coming in, so.</p>

<p>Yes, the engineering program at Vanderbilt is easily completed in 4 years. It’s a B.E. and almost everyone passes the EIT, the first step to a PE license. With the hospital right there and so many scientific influences in the area, engineering is strong and complete. Classes are smaller, so getting to know professors is a wonderful opportunity. It’s really a perfect environment for difficult subjects. 6% of the world’s biomedical engineers graduated from Vanderbilt. Never heard of engineering at Swathmore, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s subpar…</p>

<p>politically, vanderbilt is divided about 50/50, so it gives a great representation of our entire country, which is the real world. The kids are busy doing what they can to study and get jobs and contribute once they’ve graduated. They aren’t all party kids…when speakers come from the progressive and the conservative persuasions, kids respect both equally. It’s a good microcosm of the US. I would dare to say that completely liberal schools are not.</p>

<p>Briannanic: Thanks for your thoughts. You are an entering freshman? Or are you enrollled now at Swarthmore. If you are enrolled, what are you studying? What do you think of the honors program, first year pass/fail?</p>

<p>Kaukauna, I am an entering freshman in the '17 class.</p>

<p>And I’m sorry about the misconception about Vandy’s engineering program. I thought their BE took five years to get for some reason.</p>

<p>As for Swat, I plan to study cognitive science/neurology at the moment. Like I said, anything but Chem is a good program, especially the engineering one. After talking to some students, the honors program doesn’t seem like that huge a deal, actually. They say that it doesn’t matter all that much (about 1/3 students doing it) except for people who really want to build up job connections while in college. I don’t know if I plan to enter it or not yet. The first year pass/fail is something I’m generally fine with.</p>

<p>Hey thanks a lot for the replies. I have a few friends at Vanderbilt that I know from before, people from my country, my school, and a good friend/former neighbor/peer tutor who shares a lot in common with me socially (apart from my lack of enthusiasm for video games, and his lack of affection for playing soccer or any sports).</p>

<p>He said this:</p>

<p>"Well I will be honest here. I personally did not manage to fit in very well. A part of it is because social life here is very greek life oriented so if you are into that you will have a blast</p>

<p>It is still possible to have a good social life even if you are not. You just need to put yourself out a little bit more. Go to some student orgs, talk to people a lot, especially from the start especially during the beginning of your freshman year"</p>

<p>So, I’m a little apprehensive about the Vandy social life.</p>

<p>On the other hand, I’m the only one from my country who has gotten in at Swarthmore in the past 4 years at least, and there is still the difference in engineering programs.</p>

<p>I had a little confusion about Vandy grad school prospects for engineering students. In 2012, out of 67 MechE graduates, 12.5% opted for grad school. 1 went to Georgia Tech, 1 went to MIT, and one stayed at Vandy, the rest went abroad for grad school. Of course, the information is not complete, and the perception might change drastically if all students responded. Also, of the 22 EE graduates, 40% of those reporting went to grad school. 2 to Georgia Tech and 4 at Vandy, and some went abroad. Again, same problems as the info is not complete. It might also be that a lot of students want to go to grad school after some time.</p>

<p>I don’t really know what to make of this data. Is this good or bad? And I can’t find this much data about swarthmore.</p>

<p>Also, I agree with Pancaked that Vandy has improved a lot in it’s reputation, and it continues to do so. So, even better prospects in the future? right?</p>

<p>I’m not saying I’m going to base my decision on stats alone. In fact, I might choose on something a lot less rational (like which one has better buildings, or weather, for example). But I should still see what the data say, I guess.</p>

<p>…very long post. sorry about that.</p>

<p>I would say most engineers here intend to go right into the workforce after college and worry about grad school a few years out. Personally I thought this was the norm around the nation considering the $$$ engineers can make right out of undergrad.</p>

<p>What’s so concerning about Greek life? Are you totally opposed to giving Greek life a try? A lof of students come here knowing little if anything about the Greek system and it becomes a very important part of their lives (while others stay away from it and do just fine).</p>

<p>These are two wonderful schools, so you can’t lose.
Swarthmore is a classic small LAC, except that it’s in the very top tier of LACs, so you can’t do much better on that front. Proximity to Philly is also a plus.
My gut tells me, though, that for an engineering degree, an ABET-accredited program at Vandy might be preferable to the general engineering at Swarthmore.<br>
Both schools have beautiful campuses and are in or near fun cities.
Vandy is Div I, and school spirit benefits from that.
It’s a win-win for you, whatever you choose. Best of luck.</p>