<p>Hi, I am from oversea and I got an offer to study in a Graduate Program either in Vanderbilt or in Columbia.</p>
<p>How would you assess both universities and cities, regarding academics, life quality, campus feeling etc...</p>
<p>Is Vanderbilt's reputation comparable with Columbia's? Obviously New York is an exciting city, I am not so sure about Nashville though. Then again New York might be too expensive. Hmm.
I appreciate any suggestions. Cheers!</p>
<p>There is somebody on this board who attended both Columbia and Vandy, and they might give you some insight.</p>
<p>Academically, I believe Vandy is comparable to Columbia. However, Columbia has higher prestige, this can be attributed to its location (NYC is internationally known...Nashville doesn't have as much a international name) , its membership in the Ivy League, and among others.</p>
<p>Outside academics and prestige -- the schools are VERY different. You should thoroughly research the schools before you commit, because you probably would end up very different experiences at each school. Congratulations on having such stellar options though! :)</p>
<p>In terms of prestige, Columbia is defintely better than Vanderbilt. In terms of quality of education, they are probably pretty even (although Columbia probably has more prominent/famous professors)
In the end, it really comes down to what you want to study in Graduate School. Find out which program is stronger at which school.
Personally, I would chose to attend Columbia over Vanderbilt because I love New York City and the reputation associated with an Ivy League school.</p>
<p>I think the quality of the academics is very dependent upon which program you have been accepted to at both schools.</p>
<p>Which field?</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. It's Germanic studies.</p>
<p>In general, academia absolutely loves prestige, so attending the highest-ranked grad program you can is extremely important. Moreover, you are an international so pretige is even more of a factor.</p>
<p>For individual departments, neither college is ranked high in German (but the only official ranking is 10 years old). Nevertheless, the Columbia U name carries a lot more weight.</p>
<p>Socially, the colleges are extremely different. Vandy has D1 sports, a lot of school spirit, and a compact, self-contained, social campus. Columbia is extremely urban, and while it has a main quad, buildings are still spread over nieghboring city blocks. Columbia students get out into the city every weekend.</p>
<p>Thanks again! May I ask which ranking site you have used?</p>
<p>Two sources: </p>
<p>The national resource council rankings is considered the gold-standard, but its only published every ten years. </p>
<p>Here are two others:</p>
<p>Ranking</a> of German Language and Literature Graduate Programs — PhDs.org Graduate School Guide</p>
<p>Chronicle</a> Facts & Figures: Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index</p>