<p>I'm going to be visiting the campus on November 24, which, incidentally, happens to be the day the Commodores play Georgia. While I may buy tickets from a scalper, I'm interested to hear any recommendations as to places on campus I should visit. Granted, the Admissions Office is closed for Thanksgiving weekend, but hopefully I can get some tips.</p>
<p>Also, are there any other "must see/visit" places around the campus and the airport? I recently talked to an admissions officer visiting my school, and she said that I "must eat" at the Pancake Pantry. I'm a Hawaii kid, so even if there aren't many places open during that day (I'm instate only for that Saturday), I think I'll be able to find obvious differences in lifestyles.</p>
<p>hmmm. Well, seeing a great football game is an excellent way to get a feeling for the good alum support at Vandy, which we admire. Check ebay for tix, too. I certainly hope you can get into a few of the campus buildings but think they may be locked up tight. Call YOUR admissions rep or email them....and ask if there is any access to Vandy buildings that weekend. Probably find it locked up tight. You might want to see the Library for instance or the newer science buildings if at all possible. Blair School of Music has a wonderful venue for on campus performances. You can get a feel for things just walking the campus. Get a good Vandy map off the website and stake out the housing selection for freshmen..aren't they going with new residential village type housing next year rather than the old style dorms for freshmen? Peabody campus and Scarritt should be checked out. Spend a couple hours on campus. Someone might let you in a building. Three historically black colleges are in Nashville: Fisk University, Meharry Medical College and Tennesse State University. You will at least want to drive through Centennial Park, a favorite place to relax.
We lived in Nashville twice and spouse has a Vandy grad degree. Stake out the grad schools, which in my opinion lend a bit of gravitas to campus which is cool as you can attend lectures at the Law, Div and Med schools for special events as an undergrad. Vandy students are really lucky in terms of access to close to campus eating options since Vandy is such a huge employer in Middle Tennessee...they have plenty of working adults to feed nearby.
Stake out Hillsboro Village which is where Pancake Pantry is located..will be packed on Sunday, but they also have cool bakery and coffee shops and a quaint movie theater. I used to wait tables in Hillsboro Village. While on that side of campus, get out your Nashville tourist map, and go see Music Row, which is decidely low key with major media/music business offices in old brick buildings. Still, the people working there are also hanging out in the same places Vandy people hang out. Walk out the other side of campus to see the strip of places to eat on West End Avenue and the arteries on that side of Vandy like Elliston Place.
We used to take people to either the Bluegrass Inn for...bluegrass, or the the Bluebird Cafe to hear new talent perform, or to the Station Inn. You will want to see Other must see outings include breakfast at the Loveless Hotel, which has been renovated..that is an outing! Downtown Nashville should take up an hour, but don't get swallowed up in the tourist stuff. Do take a look at the Capitol building and register that there are good internships available. We are mega impressed with the new home of the Nashville Symphony which is pretty dazzling. Nashville has endless interest in musical arts.<br>
A favorite bookstore is Davis Kidd in Green Hills. A drive out to Franklin will give you a sense of the rolling hills and affluent suburbs, but Franklin itself has historic integrity. Belle Meade is the old prestigious residential area closer into town.
We actually love the Hermitage, which is Andrew Jackson's home, but that is a 20 minute drive away. It is quite authentic and cool but you won't have time for that.</p>
<p>Faline has some good ideas, but I would advise staying away from Green Hills as it will be swamped with holiday shoppers. Even on a normal Friday afternoon it is 20 minutes or more in traffic each way.
She is right that you should call your admissions rep as they might be able to make some kind of arrangement for you to see one of the dorms. S once mentioned that the Malaysian engineering students (they have a fairly good number of them) remain in student housing year round and I assume that there will be someone on staff in residence full time because of that. Some students will also return to campus early after attending the game on Saturday.</p>
<p>Ah, thanks for the tips! I e-mailed my admissions rep a couple of days ago, but she's apparently out of office, so she hasn't responded yet. Hopefully she'll reply within the next week. </p>
<p>So I should stay away from the tourist stuff? I'm going to visit primarily for Vanderbilt, but I hope I can find some inexpensive gifts to get as well. But wow, there seems to be so many things to do.</p>
<p>If you are looking for inexpensive gifts, go downtown to lower Broadway. They have plenty of tacky souvenir shops, so I'm sure you'll be able to find something. Also great if you are looking for anything w/ Elvis on it (and I mean anything!!).<br>
I would check out some tourist stuff if you have time, but don't try and do everything. Going downtown will allow you to see the Sommet Center, symphony center, country music hall of fame, and allow you to do some shopping.</p>
<p>Personally, as great as the tourist stuff is, I'd recommend that you get a good feel of the immediate area around campus. Freshman aren't allowed to have cars, so I think it's important to see what there is to do in walking distance if ever you feel like leaving campus. I guess it just depends on how important the city climate is to you.</p>
<p>Freshmen are NOT allowed to have cars? We were told by our guide that in general most don't and he'd never felt the need still, but we weren't told that Freshmen can't have cars.</p>
<p>Freshman cannot park their cars on campus, in campus lots. Some freshman do bring cars to Nashville, and pay private hotels in the vicinity for a parking spot--it is not cheap. Others claim that they park their cars on restaurant lots near campus and just move them around constantly, without getting towed or ticketed. (I'm not sure I believe that.)</p>
<p>My son is a freshman. He owns a very nice car that is spending this year here at home. It is not a big deal. Most of the time he and his friends find their entertainment on or near campus; sometimes they take a taxi to a more distant theater.</p>
<p>Prior to fall of 2002, freshman had been permitted to have cars on campus. S's freshman year was the first year to revert back to the no cars on campus rule. Because we live just a few hours away and he would be driving back and forth, as opposed to flying, his dad paid for him to have a permit at local hotel that was the cheapest option, but over a mile away from his dorm. The cost was a little more than $600/year at that time. Parking through Marriott and Lowes is also available, but at substantially higher fees. He rarely used the car except for transportation home and an occasional grocery trip. At one point that year he hadn't visited his car in a month. When D joined him at Vanderbilt it wasn't necessary for her to have a car until her sophomore year, so I don't know what the current parking fees are off campus. Frankly, I think parking permit costs are fairly expensive on campus given that there are not enough spots to accomodate all permit holders. The Hustler just had an article about this about a week ago.</p>