<p>I know there are supposed to be a good amount of Liberal ppl at Vandy, but is there any artsy/alternative scene or is it pretty much just jocky and preppy?</p>
<p>I have a D at Vanderbilt, and she is not the stereotypical Vandy girl; she is comfortable. However, she has stated that her brother, who is into the alternative music scene, would hate it there. If you like Vanderbilt, I would suggest visiting. That would be the best way to decide for yourself how well it fits for you.</p>
<p>i disagree. Nashville is the country capital for music. Not just country!! It has a hugeee alternative scene there. Bright Eyes (an alternative band) is from there. Jack white lives there. And there is a huge indie scene there. I'm sure you have the jocks, but honestly, I'd say Nashville would be a great place to find cultured scenesters. There is growing diversity regarding the liberal ambiance over there. Don't think too much though. Every top 30 college campus is going to have a liberal, artsy scene</p>
<p>Nashville obviously, like any other city, has a indie hip artsy thing in some areas. Vanderbilt, as is easily inferred from the term "VanderBubble", is a cultural bubble. If you want a better idea of the overall "feel" of Vanderbilt, take a drive over to Belle Meade while you're in Nashville. There are some Nantucket types here, but most of the "preppy" kids you see are Southern "preps" and there isn't really a "jock" feel here, more of just a general athletic, "good shape" feel.</p>
<p>Belmont is the Nashville university where most "hipsters" go.</p>
<p>You could feasibly fit in here if you're kind of a hipster, and there's a dorm building on Alumni lawn where most of them live, but it would be a very different experience for you than say, NYU.</p>
<p>is the "good shape" feel a healthy thing, or is it a kind of a obsession on appearance? I've heard that there is a culture of eating disorders/girls being underweight at Vanderbilt. Does that seem true?</p>
<p>Well, the ones that aren't cut out for the Vandy life might pick up an appetite-depressing drug habit or an eating disorder (minority), but usually, if you check out the Rec center, you'll just see tons of girls in Nike shorts running off Last Night.</p>
<p>To answer your question, it is a healthy thing derived from coming to Vanderbilt with a general recognition of the importance of appearance.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Well, the ones that aren't cut out for the Vandy life might pick up an appetite-depressing drug habit or an eating disorder (minority), but usually, if you check out the Rec center, you'll just see tons of girls in Nike shorts running off Last Night.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Bulimia/anorexia and an intense focus on exercise are not mutually exclusive. They often go together, in fact.</p>
<p>VandySAE, I think the whole "importance of appearance" is overstated and really should not be that important of an issue at all. </p>
<p>Now if we are talking about dressing appropriately for a job interview, med school interview, or whatever then yeah maybe that is important, but beauty and the tendency to put a lot of pressure on that fact is overrated and shows the true separation between Vanderbilt and other elite institutions who's students care a little more about doing well then looking good.</p>
<p>And I am NOT saying that the girls at Vanderbilt only care about looking good, but you will often get that impression if you listen to too many of these people on here who brag about that aspect of the campus community.</p>
<p>Do you go here?</p>
<p>SAE, i'm going out on a limb and assuming that your username doesn't refer to the "society of automotive engineers," and that you're probably enveloped by greek culture, and probably visit your fraternity multiple times each week. not everyone at vanderbilt is like this, and it would behoove us to eliminate the stereotype that we are.
this culture is furthermore defined by the superficiality and ignorance that surrounds the school since the influx of the nouveau-greek system which exists today.</p>
<p>don't let it define you, and it won't.</p>
<p>Are you serious? Good God</p>
<p>Funny how this is coming from a guy in SAE.</p>
<p>NKYL, there are different types of people on campus. There is a stereotype because there are a number of students who fit the stereotype. But there are plenty of students who are different from the stereotype, and they have friends, too. My caution is because Vandy is not like Tufts, NYU, UMich, Berkeley, Oberlin ... I know this is a hodgpodge list, but all are schools I think of as having a larger number of alternative kids than Vandy. Only you know what will be good for you. Again, if it's possible to visit, it would be a good idea.</p>
<p>After reading this thread now I am really confused. Keep the comments coming for those of us who have not made up our mind but are a bit concerned about the culture at Vandy.</p>
<p>Elrod: You need to visit to understand....don't be confused; just decide for yourself...IMO, If you are applying RD, you'll be fine to visit after you are admitted. If you applying ED, you must visit and be sure before you apply....</p>
<p>For what its worth, Elrod, I did visit last spring and I loved it. The campus was beautiful, the ppl looked diverse, and I thought everyone I met was very nice, but I really only hung out with Jewish ppl from the North and since then I have heard that there is a big population of Southern conservative bigotted guys and girls who sort of parade around campus...So i'm sure everyone can find their niche at Vandy, I guess I just still don't know how big of a presence the conservative culture really has</p>
<p>Are you people honestly that insecure about your own appearances that when somebody semi-casually mentions the fact that not everyone is blind and how you look affects how people think of you, you all have brain aneurysms? And no, you over there in the corner, VandySAE does not just mean "for job interviews". People judge you on your appearance. "Waaaaah, but they shouldn't!" They do. They judge you based on how much you weigh, based on how much acne you have, based on your clothes. Should or shouldn't doesn't matter in the slightest.</p>
<p>So you can go ahead and "fight the system" and "not let it define you" or whatever, but fact of the matter is, while you're busy expressing how different you are by not caring about how you look, someone who sucks it up and does care will get your job, your girlfriend, and your friends.</p>
<p>Haha well put. </p>
<p>As George Costonza put it, good looking women don't get traffic tickets and good looking men are never homeless. Well, that's a paraphrase I think.</p>
<p>Seriously, grow up, looks matter, presenting yourself well matters, and Vanderbilt students, like at most other SEC schools, recognize that.</p>
<p>^ This is the problem with Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Do you mean 'that' is the problem with the...real world? Boo hoo. I say again, grow up and face reality instead of being so insecure. Work to your strengths, there are hundreds of books that can help with that. Do you go to Vandy or do you just criticize its fantastic culture all day?</p>