<p>So, we have all seen the threads and read the rumors about the drinking scene; don't need to hear about that anymore...but</p>
<p>For those who are there or have children there:</p>
<p>What is bad about Vandy that you did not expect or know about when you were making your decision?</p>
<p>Always good to hear different points of view......</p>
<p>Hi Rodney,</p>
<p>Straight A's are mighty hard to come by in some majors.</p>
<p>If you talk to the office staffers for any length of time you develop a pronounced Southern accent. (just kidding, the office staffers are great)</p>
<p>I hate driving on the highways around Nashville. East is west and so on.</p>
<p>The 19 meals required for the freshman meal plan are too many. (If that is still the case.)</p>
<p>Can't think of anything serious. I think my kid is easier to please than most, though.</p>
<p>I heard it has the third hardest workload of any university in the country. I don't mind that necessarily since I am a serious student, and I love the work hard, play hard mentality at Vanderbilt, but I don't want to have a crap GPA. I'm going to be an econ major. Say I am a relatively hard working student, is it possible/probable that I would be able to pull of a 3.8?</p>
<p>haha my pre-med major will make me work crazy hard... how exactly is the 19 meals too much? can't you use the flex money at outside restaurants?</p>
<p>Yes, you can use the flex money at some other restaurants, and you can use some of it for cab fare, also. My son thinks it does not work out dollar for dollar, though, and wants to scale way down on the number of meals next year. He is really cheap, though.</p>
<p>If you get up at a decent hour and eat breakfast and make the effort to get somewhere to eat at lunch, you will probably find the number to be reasonable.</p>
<p>ok thanks for the info!</p>
<p>Many colleges require freshmen to get an unlimited meal plan. My D found it to be way too much. Depending on her schedule, she either eats breakfast or lunch in her dorm room (oatmeal or cereal). She plans on getting a smaller meal plan next year.</p>
<p>Nothing serious ... but for kicks:</p>
<ol>
<li>There is no decent grocery store within close proximity to campus. It's a pain getting to the store if you don't have a car.</li>
<li>If you don't have allergies when you arrive as a freshman, you likely will at the end of 4 years. Lots and lots of pollen.</li>
</ol>
<p>(johnnyhoward3: a 3.8 in any major is extremely difficult to come by, especially in economics, a department known for its grade deflation.)</p>
<p>Vandy08 has hit on two important points! The second is particularly important for freshmen at this time of year. Nashville is geographically in a basin and there is something about the freshman exposure to everything blooming that makes even kids who grew up in nearby environs susceptible to what I call National Arboretum disease. Both of mine had to make visits to student health freshman year for advanced measures - oldest required inhalers for first and last time ever.</p>
<p>On the academic front, my one serious criticism is something I mentioned in a previous thread way back. Everyone at my house thinks advising is a weakness. I teach at a cc where advising is probably a strength and faculty form a bond with students in this capacity. Both kids had trouble getting advisors identified in their majors and youngest has had to work to get recognition for courses taken for AXLE that counted at the time for those requirements, but no longer do. This is not a reason to choose another college - both kids have gotten outstanding educations, but this is an annoyance that can be discounted significantly if you know to expect to be self sufficient in this area. That's not a bad thing - highly intelligent college students should be able to figure it out and willing to ask questions when necessary. It's just the figuring out who is responsible for the answer part that has been tricky!</p>
<p>Getting a 3.8 in Econ is difficult but certainly manageable, johnnyhoward3. Work ethic helps a lot in achieving this and it sounds as if you have a good one.</p>
<p>Worst thing is the grade deflation. By far the worst of any top 20.</p>
<p>A worst/best thing depending on your mindset is the huge party scene. It is a factor that cannot be ignored when deciding schools.</p>
<p>Not that this will effect freshmen but you'll hear lots of murmuring when you get here due to the housing situations. You newbies will have the best available. The rising sophmores will be getting the short end AGAIN. What's up with that.....I thought your housing was suppose to get better with each year. </p>
<p>You may also find that some profs (calc) find pleasure in giving you near failing grades. They seem to take the attitude "so you think you're academically advanced.....HAHA" And it's not that the course is so hard just that the profs delight in giving exams that are impossible to finish in the allotted time, give questions over material that your TA never covered or assured you wouldn't be on it, and randomly deduct points because you choose to use the method your HS AP teacher taught you even though you both come up with the same answer. </p>
<p>Food is the only other negative I can think of......and not that it's not good... it's just that there aren't enough low fat options. Can't find any places that have low fat or fat free condiments. A low fat sub turns unhealthy quickly when you only have regular mayo as a topping. If eating low fat is important......good luck! Plain chicken sandwiches gets boring with no condiments.</p>
<p>If these are the worst things there are to life at Vanderbilt, we should all get down on our knees in thankfulness! They seem to be the kind of problems that can be easily remedied with some attention.</p>
<p>My second son has just decided on Vandy as his first choice school, so I would love to hear more about it. Does anyone want to tell the good and bad on a Political Science major?</p>
<p>I would just like to restate the difficulty of the academics here. Most people overlook that when applying/deciding on top schools because you have the mentality of "I was the smartest kid in my HS, I get good grades, and I work really hard - I'm going to go to class and do my work and make the good grades." This just isn't so. Going to class, doing the work, and studying a lot just isn't enough at the harder majors here (Pre-med track, Engineering students esp.). It's a huge shock to most people when you studied as hard as you could for an exam and still come out with a 60. Having said that, if you are planning on furthering your education after your undergraduate years(grad school, med school, law school etc) then these places know Vandy's reputation for grade deflation/rigor. So I would just seriously consider that before deciding. While it's hard at any top 20 University, Vandy is among the most difficult of them academic wise. (Although, I'm not talking about the HOD majors, etc.) While this may not phase you now in deciding, it definitely will once your here so factor it in. Best of luck to everyone in choosing your college!</p>
<p>I can't tell you about PS as a major, but I can speak to two of the faculty members. John Geer is an extremely dynamic lecturer who has spoken during the parents lecture series that is part of graduation, along with Roy Neel, an adjunct faculty member who was formerly VP Gore's chief of staff and who currently works with VP Gore (he was also Clinton's asst. chief of staff for a time). They have taught several times in the spring and are extremely interesting. Bruce Oppenheimer teaches a course on Congress and is very knowledgeable and a solid professor. Former Rep. Harold Ford was a guest professor last spring and spoke at the Impact Symposium - I heard him and he was great. One of D's former roommates took his class and loved it. This fall Professors Geer, Oppenheimer, and a guest professor are going to teach an Elections class that should be popular.</p>
<p>For those who are not pre-med or engineering, how is the grade deflation in the humanities or managerial studies??</p>
<p>Come on guys, there have to be more people to post opinions....</p>
<p>Also, what about internships away from IB? Corporations? Media? etc....</p>
<p>Parking and tough grading.</p>
<p>Also, I think theres a lot of girls who come to Vanderbilt who were used to being the best looking girl in HS/president of student council/etc. Then theres a shock when they come here and lots of girls are even better-looking than they are (Victoria Secret Model Molly Sims, Movie Star Logan Browning, etc.)</p>
<p>Parking. Yes, I forgot to mention that. Even faculty are afraid to move their cars during the day, I'm told. Too few spots for the number of permits sold.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the free market is at work, and there are numerous hotels on the edge of campus that are happy to sell students a regular parking spot. My son thinks it will run a bit more than the Vanderbilt rate, but not sure yet.</p>
<p>I want to go into IB and I know Vandy doesn't have a business program, so how would the econ program place me into IB positions? Also, if I go to Vandy, I want to do something with math/compsci - econ, so is that a possibility, especially considering the grade deflation and the generally tough workload?</p>
<p>I don't know anything about IB.</p>
<p>Math and computer science is a not uncommon combination of majors, since comp sci requires a good deal of math and the engineering school (home to comp science) allows the math courses to be "double counted" for both majors. Tacking on econ sounds very interesting, but it would make for a tough work load. If you enroll in engineering, and you have a lot of AP courses with high scores, or some university courses taken during high school, you might get enough advanced standing credits to make it doable in 4 years (not easy, mind you).</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the engineering school's current policy--unless it has changed recently--regarding AP credit is far more liberal than A & S, which now limits it to something like 18 credits.</p>
<p>If you posted this question on the Bad Stuff thread because of the grades policy, then I will say that my son has discovered that upper level math courses are not very generous with high grades. Comp sci has been a smoother road for him. Don't know about econ, but most students who are good in math find econ. not too tough (speaking generally, not about Vanderbilt in particular.)</p>
<p>Here's a thought. The computer science dept has started a new program that combines cs with financial engineering, I think. Check the cs dept web site for a link.</p>