<p>Assuming I get accepted to these schools, which one do you think is better? I definitley like to have fun and I know I will at vandy but I'm skeptical about ND. I'm Catholic though and I want to double major in history and spanish. Which school has better programs? Really stuck right now someone please help me out!!!</p>
<p>My older brother goes to Notre Dame, and trust me, you will have plenty of fun. Notre Dame is a great school with an extremely strong alumni network. I don’t know as much about Vandy sorry. Good luck! =)</p>
<p>Fighting Irish!!!</p>
<p>If you can get in, GO!!! </p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>(I have family at both schools - but I would choose ND everytime over Vandy. ND has a super strong alumni network. There are still parts of this country that don’t know squat about Vandy, but EVERYone has heard of ND.)</p>
<p>One of the major differences between these two schools is location. South Bend, IN, is not Nashville. If you don’t care about life off campus, then that fact will not bother you about ND. If you think you might like to participate in some of the activities and entertainments off campus that are available in Nashville, then make sure you visit both schools before making a decision.</p>
<p>Both schools are very fine, academically. My H used to be on the faculty at ND, and my son attends Vanderbilt. I have a lot of respect for the quality of undergraduate education at both schools.</p>
<p>My S also attends Vandy and considered Notre Dame but in the end, the social aspect and the Nashville scene changed his mind. He decided he could NEVER attend a school that still had single-sex dorms with Parietals (hours when members of opposite sex can visit dorm rooms) and he even attended Catholic school his entire life. Interestingly, he has several friends at Vandy that made the same choice. In the end, it is really about which school best “fits” you, and I believe the general “feel” of the schools and of South Bend and Nashville are very different. </p>
<p>I think most would say both schools are considered academic peers so I think you should go with where you would be happiest for 4 years.</p>
<p>Are parietals that big of an issue? And what do ND students do for fun if there is no greek life?</p>
<p>I can not even imagine choosing Notre Dame over Vanderbilt unless you feel strongly about the Catholic connection. Yes, Notre Dame is known by the masses, but not necessarily for reasons that should really sway this decision. Both are good schools- Vanderbilt is better. Nashville is great. The weather is better at Vandy. SEC sports are awesome.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>SEC sports are awesome, but Vandy sucks at too many…(Roll Tide!)</p>
<p>I’d still go ND. </p>
<p>As for the parietals…I think many kids would appreciate that they won’t get sexiled or have to put up with orga$mic sounds coming from the bed 3 feet away. I’ve also heard too many complaints from kids who can’t even change their clothes in their dorm rooms because their roomie’s latest hookup is always there.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter that Vandy isn’t great at football (does well at baseball and basketball). Being in Nashville puts you right in the heart of SEC sports and you get to enjoy all of it.
Nashville has so much more to offer than South Bend. I am familiar with both. No comparison.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I live one hour away from Nashville (nephew is at Vandy). My in-laws live in South Bend (ND people all the way).</p>
<p>I’d still pick ND. Nashville is cool, but so what…you’re in college, you’ll be doing college stuff, you’ll be doing NOTRE DAME stuff!! If you have an occasional urge for big city life, Chicago isn’t that far away.</p>
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<p>Likewise, I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind who would choose Vanderbilt over Notre Dame.</p>
<p>For those in Notre Dame’s mostly self-selecting applicant pool, the only other better choices are either Georgetown or an Ivy League school.</p>
<p>If one wants to go to school in the South, Duke is the best choice.</p>
<p>I think some non-Catholics don’t “get” the ND thing. LOL (although, I know some do.)</p>
<p>While Georgetown is higher ranked, there’s just something about being a Catholic kid and getting to go to Notre Dame. :)<br>
Hail Mary passes and Touchdown Jesus!</p>
<p>Now that I’m thinking Irish and the Golden Dome, maybe DS1 will want to go there for grad school…hmmm :)</p>
<p>While they are both excellent choices, I’d go with Vandy over Notre Dame, myself.</p>
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<p>as I mentioned above…"As for the parietals…I think many kids would appreciate that they won’t get sexiled or have to put up with orga$mic sounds coming from the bed 3 feet away. I’ve also heard too many complaints from kids who can’t even change their clothes in their dorm rooms because their roomie’s latest hookup is always there. "</p>
<p>as for what ND does for fun…</p>
<p>The “Fighting Irish” are no slouches for having fun. Homegame weekends are 3 solid days of partying. The fans come from everywhere.</p>
<p>As for “no greek life”…being a part of Notre Dame is like being in one big frat or sorority…you belong.</p>
<p>Both are good schools. I think a lot of people DO “get” the Catholic thing, and that is certainly part of the appeal of ND to a large group of people. With Vandy it’s the “southern” thing.</p>
<p>One thing I have learned over the many years of this whole college-thing is that you can’t only look at the first year. (In running we call it “dressing for the third mile”). Of course, you have to like the place first year or you won’t stay! That said, my son had to reluctantly turn his back on Williams because he simply knew that due to things somewhat unique to HIM, it was going to feel too small by junior year. You say college kids are doing “college things”. That is true, but by junior year- and certainly by senior year- MANY (not all) students are looking for other things. They may want a job or better restaurants and clubs. These kids are 21-23 or so and the frat party thing has run its course. The Vandy students are all over the Nashville social and music scene as well as jobs at the incredible medical center.<br>
I am also not saying Vanderbilt is right for everyone. My own daughter (Rice '07) is a grad student there and said she would NOT have liked it for undergrad.</p>
<p>I am delighted by the passion of those posting in favor of each and would like to read more specifics about the student experience at each, eg, MOWC’s comments on evaluating a place based on an expected 4-year experience and mom2’s comments on the ND “family.” I’d also be interested to read kwu’s comments on why ND over Vandy is so clearcut to him. </p>
<p>These are two colleges that I often present as among the very best combinations of academics/social life/athletic life. I think that they’re both great and probably there is some considerable overlap in their potential student bodies. I’m not sure which I’d recommend as they are very close on the numbers and the “fit” call should certainly trump anything where one college may have a slight statistical edge on the other.</p>
<p>I think if someone is going to ultimately be living in an area where there are a lot of Catholics (such as the midwest, the west coast, or the northeast), then going to ND will be a super plus for networking and job prospects (Although, I must say there is a super-popular ND club in the south where I live, too. But…I live in an unusual area in the south where there is a high concentration of Cathollics).</p>
<p>When one gets outside of the south, many say, “Where is Vanderbilt? Is that a good school?” - they have no idea. No one says that about Notre Dame.</p>
<p>and…When you’re Irish, who needs to be Greek… ;)</p>
<p>(My African-American neighbor who is a ND grad tells everyone that he IS IRISH! LOL )</p>
<p>They are both outstanding schools with very unique but zealous culture on campus and alumni associations. To some degree its a geographical choice (and for some of those, its weather!). Many in the South will tell you Vandy is the place to be and where the jobs will be later. But for Notre Dame it does carry a panache nationwide. </p>
<p>At the top schools of our nation, whether national universities, LAC’s, elite masters’ etc, the quality of education is really quite similar, and it does come down to “fit” and campus culture. </p>
<p>I do know Catholics who are turned off by Notre Dame (really!) and want something a little less Catholic. I know people waitlisted at Notre Dame who went elsewhere and now say they haven’t looked back. Not to bash the Irish…its just a “cultural” response for some. Too much hype and rah-rah and so forth. (Some other schools at the very top of our nation’s colleges also fit that bill.) </p>
<p>But both Vandy and Notre Dame are excellent schools whose graduates get wonderful jobs and get into prestigious medical and law schools (including their own!).</p>
<p>When I lived in Chicago I felt that there was some backlash against Notre Dame. Yes, most Catholics in the entire city considered themselves honorary alums, even if they never laid eyes on the campus. The rest of the population tended to root for whatever team was PLAYING Notre Dame! The whole “I’m Catholic so the best school in the world is Notre Dame” thing got old.</p>
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<li><p>I’ve lived in a lot of different places in the U.S., but never in the south. In my world (academia) there has never been a lack of knowledge about where and what Vanderbilt is.</p></li>
<li><p>More to the point, I know many successful, high-income, college graduate adults who have no idea whatever what CalTech is. So, does that mean I shouldn’t suggest CalTech to an appropriate candidate? For that matter, I have a neighbor who asked me what state MIT is located in; maybe they thought the M stood for Montana, or Mississippi or Minnesota. Who cares?</p></li>
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<p>Some students would find ND more to their liking than Vanderbilt, some would prefer Vanderbilt, some wouldn’t like either one. There are a lot of factors to consider, but the greater “knowledge” about ND among those who don’t matter for graduate and professional school admission, or even hiring for businesses, is not one of those factors. In my opinion.</p>