<p>Daughter is considering Vandy.She grew up in Westchester County ,just north of N.Y.C.. anybody know if Vandy is ultra conservative?</p>
<p>There are 3 squirrels to every human at Vandy</p>
<p>No, it's really not even that southern.</p>
<p>My daughter felt the need to share that little piece of trivia about Vandy.
Vandy is more Southern than Duke. I would not describe it as "ultraconservative" although the student body will certainly be more conservative than in the NE. Faculty will be more liberal than student body. Vandy is actively trying to recruit students from the NE, and when we visited, probably at least a third of the students touring that day were from the NE. Try posting on the Vandy thread to get responses from current students.</p>
<p>Hi:
As a parent who lived in Nashville for a decade and attended a grad school there...and has a son applying, I concur that Vanderbilt is more Southern than Duke. It is also cozier and has very cohesive undergrad experience to offer in a very bustling city. We were not Southern and were very happy there. We also believe Nashville has a Midwestern friendliness, California music industry people, gazillions of musicians and artists, several black historic colleges and is much more multicultural than viewed by outsiders. Very progressive town. Vandy undergrad is finally shaking out of being the most conservative/traditional segment of the campus. The grad schools have been diverse and excellent for a long time. Interesting article if you google Wall Street Journal on Vandy's attempts to attract more Jewish students to the undergrad school. Attempts to make it a national draw school are sincere.
I was personally very impressed with Admissions Director Shain and think Vandy undergraduate school is on the right path and has turned a big corner. My son did an overnight and met interesting people from the NE and Midwest as well as from the old faithful New South Atlanta/Alabama corridor. I noticed decent campus rags on both the Democratic and conservative platforms. Reagan won the on-campus mock election in my youth but things have altered. I have to admit I wish sororities and frats were less visible and are offensive at times. But I know from experience that there is room at Vandy for many kinds of people and the city itself adds sparkle to being there. Yes much of the charms of the place are Southern but sometimes that equates with warmth and I recommend the place highly. Terrific faculty too.</p>