Senior2016M, ambitious people like the students who matriculate to Vandy often take a summer or two or an extra semester to knock out that second major or to take a semester away and return. For premeds, summer session is often full of people retaking a basic course. (My Vandyson was overbusy his freshman and sophomore years on a travel team (not sports)…and he failed to have weekends to rest and study for some crucial tests. He also was under the false impression that he could memorize all the rocks in a natural science if he started at one am…NOT.) You see, he had to attend all the fascinating speaker programs on campus in the evenings…and then he had to report on them and craft those essays, and sometimes he put off his homework. Time management is a skill that some of you high achieving high schoolers have down and some of you do not. Not when a hundred new friends and opportunities present themselves. Freshman big-time follies are not that common-- but the need for do-overs are. Many roads to Nirvana.
Our son took summer school biology (budget was about six grand for this). And he dropped a science he was flubbing up royally due to poor study hours. We felt that he had been perfect long enough, and we didn’t mind his messing up once…although the six grand for summer school is not cheap. You can sometimes also get approval to get a science done at a good college in your hometown thus saving living expenses. Lots of premeds in other colleges do this. Many students want to go abroad for instance. Others change their minds on majors and take one step forward two steps back.
Vandy allows for you to retake a course if you can make your case to your advisor. Both grades on transcript forever but second grade is averaged into your GPA. I really like this policy because Vandy students should not opt for easy grade courses, should not feel like they cannot recover from a bad grade and people really do get sick or mature at different paces. This is all with the supervision and approval of your advisor btw.
Have no fear…you will figure out how to use your four years of classes to fulfill your goals as they take shape. You can emerge from Blair after you get on your feet re your requirements and take up new interests and still do very very well in composition. Although Blair is a bit of a hike, the subschools at Vandy share a lot of joint experiences on campus.
congrats on your offers.
@Faline2 Your perspective has truly reassured me that Vanderbilt is an amazing offer. Odds are that I’m off to Music City in the fall! How exciting. Seriously, thank you so so so much for this information - knowledge is power and it’s so important to know how things work as well as you can before you arrive so that you have a greater chance of succeeding when you do get there. I look forward eagerly to the next four years 
our son was actually on “academic probation” for this semester when he dropped a class. On a merit scholarship. You asked about freshman year…and he aced his first semester but he had picked classes that all played to his strengths, and he had not been selected to do much yet in terms of extra-curriculars. So it was sophomore 1st semester when he was on a travel team and was not holding up well in one class…he was at that time getting very active outside of the classroom. This is all completely unique to each person…when you might really need to be smart about how to load up your courses and when to say no to something outside of classwork.
Once your hours drop below the required number for full time students, you are no longer on good status and you will be formally reinstated when you have righted your ship.
Learning to meet with your academic advisor and take corrective action is honestly a very good life skill. The Vandy students are not short in work ethic but we all need freedom to grow and to trip sometimes.
But learning your limits also is learning. Honestly, after high school “perfection,” it is AOK to experience a bit of a struggle and some confusion. Obviously, I don’t want my kid being confused when courses cost a great deal of our financial resources… but you really don’t have to promise your first-born child to your Composition advisor or to your science lab teacher when you are feeling overwhelmed for any reason. You are allowed to shift and alter your course and most people will! Since you have been one of the few accepted into composition, I will say that I think Blair within Vanderbilt will give you more of an all-over traditional college experience than some colleges with conservatories can offer, and that does have to do with the relatively cozy housing and academic building arrangements on the Vandy campus. And with Vanderbilt’s easy access to festivals and events in Nashville which will be more than enough to fill up what free time you have, there are many places to blow off steam.
One thing I always remember from a gifted education specialist that spoke at our high school is that on the spectrum of IQs, once you get to the higher IQ kids, they do not resemble each other very much in terms of their talents. So it is challenging to teach a “gifted” class the further along you go. I think it is funny when people comment that sometimes Blair kids get in with lesser test scores! really funny. As if the mastery required for admission to Blair is not a test most students would fail in the other sub-colleges that make up Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt knows what it is about for its conservatory. They know what they are looking for.
That is the joy of college. You are allowed to differentiate and to study something intensely once you get past your pre-requisites. You no longer have to “all” do well as you “all” had to do well say in AP History etc to advance. Your teachers do not expect you all to be equally good at things. What a relief. To ditch moving along as a “group” of students and to fall out as individuals more and more.
You can be happy to see someone surpass you in their own chosen arena. It is the natural order of things for each of you to go at things at your own pace and in your own way now. Well, maybe not in quantitative courses. But in many areas…you are the sum of your own drives and interests now.
I wish you happiness and many new mentors and friends!
I’m also considering Vanderbilt. As a guy not interested in Greek life, could you elaborate on why it’s easier being a GDI girl than guy?
I think they are referring to girls who do not rush having more “welcome” to entrance to Greek parties? Our son didn’t rush and wasn’t interested in Greek parties and obligations. However, he took dates to sorority parties when asked and had a perfectly nice time several times. I am sure someone in Greek life at Vandy will elaborate on this.
@Faline2 is basically right. Girls can get into Greek parties very easily, regardless of their affiliation or what they look like. To get into parties as a guy you need to be friends with several brothers. If you aren’t but come with girls you might be let in. GDI guys usually can’t get into other fraternity events such as pregames, etc. Girls can. This is partly because Vandy’s Greek houses are much smaller than those at other colleges, meaning there’s less room, and because Vandy is cracking down on Greek Life. If houses started letting random guys in and they caused trouble the whole house, not just the individual, would get in trouble. There are other schools where a GDI guy can pay $20 to get into a frat party. Vandy would absolutely not allow this.
Of course if a sorority girl asks a GDI guy to a date party they can absolutely attend. The reverse is also true. If someone has no interest in partying, not rushing shouldn’t be much of an issue.
@Senior2016M Did you end up picking Vandy?
@Vandy93 I did indeed! Very excited about it
SejongTheGreat? what did you decide?