Vanderbilt social life

As of now Vanderbilt is my number one school and I’m thinking about applying ed, but I need some questions answered.

  1. I am from upstate NY and am very outgoing and social but am worried about not fitting in great because of being from the north, not the south
  2. I'm not the type of person to wear a dress to class everyday, I want to wear leggings and a shirt to class and dress casual/ in school color to football games, will that be hard to do?
  3. I am not observant, but I am Jewish and am proud of it, i'm wondering about the Jewish life there and if Jews are discriminated against at Vandy
  4. I want a school with a good greek system and fun parties, but i'm scared that the greek system at Vandy will be too superficial for me to join/find a god fit in. I am a laid back person who likes to be friends with everyone and have fun and be in a sorority not based on how I look or how much money I have, will that be achievable at Vandy?

Students come from all over to Vandy. You should have no problems fitting in, atmosphere is casual, people in Nashville are very friendly too. The atmosphere in the city is very positive.

http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/profile/#enrollmentbystate – Here’s a map of where Vandy students come from. Might be more southern students than some other top schools, but you can see Vandy still brings in a ton from the east coast. In fact, more students come to Vandy from NY than any other state, other than Tennessee.

Most girls wear leggings and a shirt to class.

We’ve seen a rise in the number of Jewish students as Vandy recruits more and more from the northeast. Vanderbilt Hillel is very active. It does seem like most Jewish students are not particularly active in their faith but still have a strong sense of community through the Hillel. http://www.vanderbilthustler.com/life/article_b89bf724-440b-11e4-b300-0017a43b2370.html

The Greek system includes some 2000 girls who come from all over the country and all were at the top of their class in HS. You’ll be able to get a sense of all the sororities during the rush process. If they feel superficial, just don’t join, but I think you’ll find each sorority has their own feel and many of them will come across as very genuine. You’d be welcome at any Greek party whether or not you’re in a sorority, plus there is fun to be had outside of Greek life.

Not gonna lie, but there is a very prevalent social standard here for girls to “look good”.

@AnnieBot could you elaborate a bit? I am a very social outoging person and I work hard play hard in hs and have noticed that vanderbilt will reflect that too. I just want a laid back school during the day with good academics that parties hard at night. Sure, i’ll look nice to go out but will I stick out a lot and be looked down upon if I wear sports clothes to class and don’t dress preppy? And are there good high tier sororities that have genuine people and make good friendships not based on how you look?

@REP26x2 I’m a guy, so i have no idea about the sororities but based on my information about the frats, I don’t think they’ll judge you based on how you look.

No, you won’t stick out during class by not dressing nice, but there is quite a sizable population that do put makeup on for classes. Granted, I’m a freshman and haven’t been exposed to that many classes, but that seems to be the general trend here.

What I was talking about “looking good” was more geared towards things like being fit and stuff(Though dressing up isn’t noninclusive). Anorexia is a really big problem here, and I personally know a couple of freshman girls who have already been to student health for eating disorders.

My daughter is a sophomore. She used to dress nicely in high school and now wears athletic shorts and t shirts all the time at Vandy. And she fits right in. I see a lot of the girls wearing this on campus.

Hi, I am in the exact same situation as you, I have the exact same concerns. Did you end up applying ED? Or did you find further answers to any of those questions?

  1. You will fit in. 66% of students come from outside the Southeast. Like most schools, it seems like everyone is from NJ and NY. Are there any colleges in those states? haha
  2. No
  3. idk
  4. Should be easy to find your crowd. Go visit before you apply ED to make sure it's a great fit.
  1. Most kids are from the north.
  2. Your ideal outfit is pretty much the uniform for what girls wear to class.
  3. Vanderbilt is pretty jewish. I don't have any sources, but I think I remember there being a statistic that ~20% of kids here are jewish. Some are really into it and go to the Chabad Student Center every week, and others aren't so into it.
  4. The sorority system here is very inclusive and great for people who like having a lot of friends. Everyone is guaranteed a bid, so you won't be left out. There are some sororities that are more selective than others, but it wouldn't be too hard to find a group where you fit in.

There are many Jewish students at Vanderbilt. My Jewish-but-mostly-secular daughter is in a sorority and has friends of all backgrounds and religions. Vandy is a very welcoming school for Jewish kids. Don’t worry about that at all!

At a top school, that is basically like saying “let us exclude 1/3-2/3 of those that are white” which seems non-sensical and would say something about the schools or the people at them. I really doubt that one would happen at any top school.

I also don’t understand how Greeklife at Vandy would be more or less superficial than anywhere else. I don’t know of places where Greeks are much different from elsewhere. It likely depends on the org…different orgs take on different personas and often said personas are somewhat consistent across schools.

If you haven’t done so already, visit campus. That will answer some of your questions.

Your stats from a previous thread indicate that Vanderbilt is a significant reach for you. Make sure that you have a solid, realistic list of matches that you are equally enthused about. IMO you should apply to a minimum of three schools that 1) you have visited and that you really like; 2) that your family can afford; and 3) where your stats place you solidly within the middle 50th percentile of accepted students.