<p>Can current students compare campus life at these two schools? D attends Vandy. Son is interested in both.</p>
<li>He likes Vandy’s “school spirit” around football and men’s basketball, although is not athletic at all, and would attend games solely for the party. 2. Likes the fact that everbody lives on campus all four years at Vandy.</li>
<li>Likes Atlanta better than Nashville.</li>
<li>Has no interest in pre-med. Probably will study poly sci, psych, history, or something like that, and eventually go to law school.</li>
<li>Would probably join a frat, but is not the type to drink 24-7.</li>
<li>Is from the MidAtlantic area and is a progressive Democrat.</li>
<li>White and Jewish.</li>
</ol>
<p>His sister tells him Vandy all the way, that Emory kids are apathetic and wish they were at an Ivy, while Vandy kids love Vandy and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.</p>
<p>Can you visit both schools & spend a little time on campus? I think that might help him decide. D talked to random students on campus at Vandy & was pleased that they were all friendly/all had nothing bad to say about their school. She was a freshman at another school at the time, so the things she was looking for were probably different from what your son is looking at ... for example, she won't be living in the Commons, so whether that is good/bad is not something she even considered. </p>
<p>I think the two schools are both excellent & he can't go wrong either way. Spending a little time on campus will help him decide where he feels most comfortable, though.</p>
<p>mirimom, I am not sure that Vandy kids all really LOVE to be there and would not prefer to be elsewhere. Some kids get into certain schools and accept it b/c its still a good school, but they would rather be at Duke or UPenn or elsewhere. Its a fact of life. I have no clue about Emory so I cannot offer much about the way their students feel, but I can tell you that all schools have students who would rather be elsewhere.</p>
<p>Jman, one of Vanderbilt's strengths is keeping those weirdos away. Another is turning the ranking addicts that just missed the cut at Duke into actual people with good old Southern charm.</p>
<p>I think many, many people (including me) strongly prefer Nashville to Atlanta, so your son might want to rethink that one. That said, Emory will be a lot more like NY than Vanderbilt will be. I think highly of Emory, but for an overall college experience, Vandy gets the clear nod.</p>
<p>I live in atlanta not far from Emory and my wife, brother and son go/went to Vandy. The biggest difference is the college life not the education, because you can get a great education at either place. Emory life is more decentralized. After your freshman year, you move off-campus and life is not campus oriented. Everyone goes into Virginia-Highlands area or downtown Decatur to party and socialize. Nothing but Everybody's Pizza is next to campus. Vandy everything is right there, live on campus for four years, restaurants and bars are all within walking distance and Downtown Nashville is alot nicer than Atlanta. You can find pockets of areas in Atlanta but not all together like Nashville. Good point on the Athletic aspect of Vandy life. I went to a Softball game at Emory this spring and only two students were there. Sports is part of Vandy, not so much at Emory. Good luck with your choice you cant go wrong with either school, it is just how you want your social life to be. You need to visit the schools and spend the night to understand the difference, while school is in session.</p>
<p>I really dont understand why anyone would choose Emory over Vandy, academics are pretty much a tie depending on your major, altho for someone looking into law, Vandy has the better law school. But, for social life, from what I have researched, Vandy is much much much better. The best social life of the Top 20</p>
<p>I've heard that 1/3 of the students at Emory are Jewish, so if that's a big part of his life, he might like to have lots of people around him of the same religious beliefs.
But if he's big on social life and sports, then Vanderbilt definitely wins, even though it is fairly conservative. Also, he would get to live in the new Commons housing for freshman, which would be a huge plus, since it's supposed to be really nice.</p>
<p>o boy you have no clue how many people agonize over this decision (including me)</p>
<p>The 2 schools have very different vibes, different demographics, and starkly different campuses. Vandy is a gorgeous campus filled with vegetation, but is also right in urban Nashville. Emory is strictly urban. Nashville has a cozy feel even though it's a big city. Atlanta is very fast-paced and cosmopolitan. Emory is much more diverse, even though Vandy is trying to change that. Although many people say Vandy has better social life, it really depends on what kind of social scene you want. The sports is obvious. both have greek scene, but quite small at Emory whereas quite visible at Vandy. Law is better at Vandy. Jewish and progressive would fit in better at Emory, if that is an issue.</p>
<p>Your son seems dynamic enough that he would fit in at both campuses. we could chat all day, but there's is no replacement for visiting. why not apply to both and see how the financial aid turns out? he could get a merit scholarship at one and not the other (which is not rare).</p>
<p>I'm applying to both schools but personally, I think Vanderbilt wins. Like many people have said, as far as academics go, they tie. But Vandy's social life wins. I'd also have to say Vandy's location wins. Vanderbilt is in downtown Nashiville while Emory is located somewhat outside Atlanta, you can't walk anywhere from the campus and public transportation in Atlanta isn't that great(I've lived in Atlanta my whole life, but MARTA isn't accessible from that many places) . I'm sure your son has visited Vandy since your daughter goes there, but if he hasn't seen Emory he really should. I'm also Jewish and originally thought the small Jewish population at Vandy would be an issue, but I've heard that although it is a rather small, it's growing and the Jewish community at Vandy is very close-knit. At Emory, everyone's Jewish (ok well 1/3) so there isn't as much of a push to go to hillel or anything Jewish because you're always around other Jews. Maybe I'm just biased about getting away from Atlanta, but it just seems like Vandy students love their college experience a lot more than Emory students.</p>
<p>Personally, I'm very into music. The only music scene in Atlanta is gangester rap such as Lil Jon. But Nasville is great because it has recording studios everywhere so the demand for musical talent isn't that high. Nashville just seems more lively and intersting. (Kind've Like the Village in New York)
**if anybody wants to disagree, go right ahead because I've never been to Naswhivlle. I think I'm on target though</p>
<p>this is a bit off topic, but lol @ palmettotree. My profile name is Latin, inveniam viam, part of a Hannibal quote, which means "I will find a way" so it wasn't just gibberish :]</p>