Vanderbilt vs. Emory?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm looking at a college to ED to, and I plan on visiting next month. I'm visiting both Vanderbilt and Emory, and I'm asking for a little information on their undergraduate programs.</p>

<p>I am interested in going into either business or pre-med. Those two places have good undergraduate programs in these fields?</p>

<p>Also, a social scene is important to me, as is food, dorms, and girls. Also extremely important is how much mosquitos there are. I friken hate mosquitos and i'm allergic to them. Can anyone provide some input plzizzle?</p>

2

<p>Academically - Emory is amazing in business and pre-med.
Socially - Vandy is one of the best among top end schools.</p>

3

<p>Academically, the schools are similiar.
Vandy has D-1 sports and more school spirit. Emory is more liberal and near a bigger city.</p>

<h1>Below is a thread where I talk about the social life, food, and dorms at Vandy:</h1>

<p>Vanderbilt has arguably the best social scene out of any Top 20 school. The student body is incredibly balanced and driven. The classes are demanding so people are generally very focused on their work during the week, but on the weekends there will be tons of parties all over campus.</p>

<p>There are about 6,000 undergrads which makes it a mid-sized school. It is big enough where you can always meet new people but small enough where you can see your friends around campus. The campus has a park-like feel (nice brick buildings surrounded by lots of trees). One of my favorite parts about Vanderbilt is the incredible geographic diversity – you will make friends from all across the country/world.</p>

<p>There is no need for a car on campus. There are tons of great restaurants within walking distance. Most people typically like to stay on campus, but Thursday is the big night to go downtown. Generally, people will go to the Munchie Mart (mini-convenience store on campus) and buy “cab cash”. Downtown is about 2 miles from campus so it is generally really cheap when you split the fare with friends.</p>

<p>Nashville has a lot of different "neighborhoods". Elliston place has lots of indie/alternative bands (Exit-In; The End); Hillsboro Village has lots of trendy bars/restaurants (Cabana is on the VandyCard). WestEnd/Midtown is the area around campus. The area that surrounds campus isn’t really southern at all, but downtown Nashville has much more of a country western sort of feel. Coming from NY, I found the downtown area to be small/southern but it has grown on me. Culturally, there is the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, TN Performing Arts Center, and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Lots of venues downtown for concerts including Ryman Auditorium (the old Grand Ole Opry venue) and the Summit Center. Nashville also has some professional sports teams – TN Titans (NFL), Nashville Predators (NHL), and the Nashville Sounds (Triple-A Baseball). Centennial Park is also a really nice area by campus (read/jog/makeout) which is around a block from campus (also home to the Parthenon – one of Nashville’s landmarks).</p>

<p>Although Nashville has lots of social outlets, most people stay on campus during the weekends. Homecoming Quake and Rites of Spring are the biggest music festivals but Vanderbilt will generally bring bands on campus throughout the year. Some bands that have played in recent years include: The Roots, Nelly, OAR, Modest Mouse, Maroon 5, Counting Crows, Busta Rhymes, The Wailers, Ben Harper, Better Than Ezra, Cake, Robert Randolph, Ludacris, Afroman, Hootie and the Blowfish, Nappy Roots, SR-71, Pat Green, My Morning Jacket, Yonder Mountain, Bone-Thugs, Keller Williams, Drive-By Truckers, Matt Kearney, and Wolfmother. Rites of Spring is one of the best-funded college festivals in the country and the committee generally gets some bands that will later be at Bonnaroo (The Grateful Dead played here in the 70s). During Rites of Spring there will tons of partying, lots of dancing, and even some crowd surfing. The campus becomes electric.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt is in the process of completing the “Freshmen Commons” – essentially they are brand-new residential colleges. The campus is very tight-knit and very few people live off-campus. Around 1/3 of guys join fraternities and around 1/2 of girls join sororities. Only the officers live in the houses (around six people). I’m independent but I have lots of friends who are Greek and everyone interacts well. The fraternities will generally have lots of theme parties where everybody gets dressed up (80s, Middle School, Anything But Clothes, Foam/Paint, Jungle, Gatsby, etc.). There are also lots of live bands and DJs for late night dance parties. Aside from the fraternities, there are also lots of parties in the upperclassmen suites. There will be tons of dance parties in Towers Suites or Morgan Lewis. There will also be lots of drinking games, especially Beirut/Beer Pong and Flip Cup.</p>

<p>Lots of clubs downtown are 18+, but the bar scene is mostly popular among upperclassmen. On Tuesdays, Cabana/Sams/Sportsman in Hillsboro Village are very popular (the first two are on the Vandy Card). Demonbreun Street is very popular on Thursdays (especially The Tin Roof/Dan McGuiness) along with Buffalo Billiards and the Flying Saucer downtown. I’m not really into country music – but Roberts/Tootsies/The Stage are places to check of if that’s your scene. Boundary and Virago are also popular restaurants around campus and popular pregame spots. For margaritas, many people go to Las Palmas and there are several sushi places for sake bombing (these places are generally less strict on IDs).</p>

<p>Dorms are hard to generalize -- the freshmen dorms are all brand new though. Each residential area generally has an advantage/disadvantage. Towers is close to classes but far from the Rec Center where Morgan/Lewis is the opposite. The Rec Facility is very modern and has great workout center, basketball courts, swimming pool, climbing wall, squash, etc. The student body is very in-shape overall and intramurals are popular.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt also has D-1 sports which definitely add tremendously to the schools spirit on campus. The football program historically struggles but the program is on the rise. Most of the fun comes from the tailgating (lots of food and socializing before the game). Some people are very traditional and dress up shirt/tie while the girls wear sundresses. Other people dress informally and covering themselves in black/gold paint. Basketball games at Memorial are amazing. The student section gets packed and people will be jumping up and down and whatnot. Our basketball team last year was top 20 making the Sweet 16 – while defeating #1 Florida and sweeping Kentucky. It’s hard to describe the excitement and incredible atmosphere of the games (try searching YouTube). The baseball team was ranked #1 in the country for most the year and we have some great recruits coming in. All the sports venues are very centralized on campus and a quick walk from the dorms and the games are all free for students (just show them your Vandy Card).</p>

<p>Food is pretty good on campus. Quiznos is on the meal plan and I like CT West a lot. The Pub and Rand are also decent. Vanderbilt also has a “Taste of Nashville” program where you can use your rollover money at off-campus locations – such as PapaJohns, Chili’s, RolyPoly Sandwiches, Bruegger’s Bagels, Noshville. Some late night places on the card are Wendy’s (open til 4am) and Caf</p>

4

<p>DSC's post is somewhat misleading, if anything, vanderbilt is academically stronger than emory. emory does not have an advantage academically, but vanderbilt supposedly has an advantage socially.</p>

5

<p>thanks so much guys! but i still don't know...does vanderbilt have a reputable pre-med program? i've been leaning towards vandy anyways</p>

6

<p>emory makes you wait 2 years to GET INTO the business school.</p>

7

<p>Vandy may be stronger than Emory in general(arguable).</p>

<p>However, Emory is flat out awesome in business and pre-med. Goizueta is a GREAT UG business school, business week has is above Ross I believe. And they are very very good pre-med with CDC right there in Atlanta.</p>

<p>That's what I was intending to get across.</p>

8

<p>Vanderbilt has a reputable Medical School, which means as a pre-med you would have oppurtunities for internships, research, volunteering etc.</p>

9

<p>I would choose Emory, but mostly because of the reputable business school, the four different colleges, and I'm not much of a partier. At Vandy, something like 40% of the people are in frats. That's a bit too much for me.</p>

<p>But this is about you, and I think you have been given good information to make a choice. I've heard great things about Atlanta as a college town, but I've been to Nashville and it's also a nice, beautiful city.</p>

<p>I would say that Emory is academically stronger, since I've seen a lot more research come out of Emory than Vanderbilt. Again, just my opinion.</p>

<p>Hope that helped.</p>

10

<p>These two are equals overall so I would choose for fit.</p>

11

<p>They're equally strong academically, it just depends on what you're looking for.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt has more of the research university feel. The student body is preppy and significantly more southern. Greek life is big. </p>

<p>Emory has slightly more of an LAC feel. The student body is more northern and liberal. City life is big.</p>

12

<p>Go visit. Emory is not as "southern" in feel as Vandy. I second that it is about fit.</p>

13

<p>I agree that Emory is less "Southern." It feels more national in scope, and I think in the west and northeast it might have a slight reputation advantage. Once again though, these two are as good as each other so pick for fit.</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
It feels more national in scope, and I think in the west and northeast it might have a slight reputation advantage.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I highly doubt this. Vanderbilt has a slightly higher peer assessment score and ranks higher in all of the major world rankings (Newsweek, London Times, etc.). Vanderbilt also does better in Revealed Preference rankings.</p>

15

<p>I am a native midwesterner, but spent much of my adult life i(15 years) n Massachusetts. I cannot agree that Emory has a bigger or better reputation in the northeast than Vanderbilt. Quite the opposite, I think.</p>

<p>There are many pre-meds at Vanderbilt. While it is true that many students at Vanderbilt join fraternities and sororities, they do not live in them. They live in the dorms along with those who do not join.</p>

<p>Visit both if you can.</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
[emory] feels more national in scope, and I think in the west and northeast it might have a slight reputation advantage.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>in fact, vanderbilt is 16% in state while emory is 29%. if anything, vanderbilt has a stronger national draw.</p>

<p>also, as previous posters noted, vanderbilt wins in revealed preference rankings among students, indicating that it has a stronger name advantage and national appeal.</p>

17

<p>No. In-state vs. out of state does not determine national draw... in-region vs. out of region does. Some other facts:</p>

<p>Emory:
South 40%
Mid-Atlantic 20%
Midwest 12%
New England 8%
West 6%
Southwest 5%
International 8% </p>

<p>Vandy:
South 46%
Midwest 14%
Middle States 13%
Southwest 8%
West 6%
New England 4%
International students: 2%</p>

<p>... Emory is more evenly distributed... (45% southern vs. 54% southern at Vandy)... and more international... (8% vs. 2% at Vandy). International rankings are fairly irrevelant as is pointed out in many other threads and revealed preferance is outdated. Since these schools are as similar as they are it truly depends on both location and culture as to which one is more presitigous. I'd argue Emory is more prestigious with minorties and wall-street... pre-med is fairly even but Emory has a stronger science program. And Atlanta, well, makes Nashville look pretty pathetic.</p>

18

<p>Also. The in-state at Emory is 21%, not 29%. Also again.. diversity numbers:</p>

<p>Emory: 37% Minority
Vandy: 20% Minority</p>

<p>International Ranking Trend:</p>

<p>THES World Ranking
2005: Vandy (114), Emory (141)
2006: Vandy (53), Emory (56)
NET: Vandy (+61), Emory (+85)</p>

19

<p>I think that Vanderbilt is stronger!</p>

20

<p>
[quote]

Emory: 37% Minority
Vandy: 20% Minority

[/quote]
</p>

<h1>Your data is very misleading. Out of Emory's 36% minority students (24% are Asian) meaning Emory is only more "diverse" in the sense it has a larger Asian population. Vanderbilt has an equal number -- if not greater -- amount of students who are African American, Hispanic, or Native American.</h1>

<p>Vanderbilt --<br>
Minority Enrollment -- 24%
African American -- 9.8%
Asian American -- 7%
Hispanic -- 5.5%
Native American -- 0.4%
Other -- 1.3%</p>

<p>Emory --
African American: 9%
Asian: 18%
Caucasian: 57%
Hispanic: 3%
Native American: 0%
[I couldn't find a breakdown on Emory's website -- Info. is from Princeton Review]</p>