which do you prefer, Rice or Vanderbilt?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

<p>I actually applied to Rice's RD and Vandy's ED2/ and I did(at least I do think so) a great job in my Vandy interview, so it might be a greater chance for me to be admitted to Vandy. However, when I applied for interview for Rice, there weren't no avalible alumnis. </p>

<p>I love Rice very much. But it dose not has ED2.</p>

<p>I am troubling that whether I should withdraw my application for Vandy's ED2 and wait for Rice's RD decision, when I already got the admisson of UVA and UIUC. </p>

<p>If I give Vandy up, I am not sure how much chance I have for Rice, WUSTL, Cornell;
but if I do not give Vandy up, I might be admitted into Vnady(not arrogant(: ), when I still love Rice meanwhile.</p>

<p>any advice for me?</p>

<p>Rice or Vandy??</p>

2

<p>The culture at the schools are pretty different. Rice is kinda nerdy and quirky, which some people really love and others don’t. Vanderbilt is more preppy and social.</p>

<p>You may be able to call Vanderbilt and switch your application from ED2 to RD.</p>

3

<p>I hope it is still able to switch from ED2 to RD.</p>

<p>U r a Vandy student right?</p>

<p>how are the international students fitting in Vandy? and about the minority?</p>

<p>are there many internship opportunities in Nashville, to be honest? I am comparing this to Huston’s…</p>

<p>is there anything you dnt like about Vandy? or things u think Vandy can improve?</p>

<p>you have been a great help!!</p>

<p>thanks!!</p>

<p>isn’t it very late in US now?</p>

4

<p>They are peer schools in most ways. Both are elite universities with happy students. These “one school vs another posts” are sure to get people riled up but a few areas they are dissimilar:

  1. Rice has more of a LAC feel (smaller, weak athletic conference, 50% of it’s students are from TX, lower world ranking).<br>
  2. Do you want to live in Houston or Nashville?
  3. If you want greek life go to Vandy.
  4. Rice enjoys it’s nerdiness, Vandy hides it.</p>
5

<p>^If you are Chinese and international like me, I think you’d have an easier time to fit in at Rice and Houston. That’s not to say you won’t have a great time at Vandy but various metrics suggest Rice would likely be an easier fit for internationals and minorities. Rice has 24% Asian Americans and 10% internationals, which is at the high end among the peers. By comparison, Vanderbilt has 9% Asian Americans and 5% internationals. The 9% is a very low percentage when compared to other peers (the top privates usually have around 20%). I speculate that there is a perception among Asian Americans that Vandy, Nashville, or both may not be as welcoming or good fit to them, regardless of what the reality is.</p>

<p>Greeks and internationals just don’t seem to mix well. That’s just speaking in general and the greeks at Vandy may be the exception.</p>

<p>I had a chance to stay with a friend in Nashville. To me, downtown was surprisingly tiny and small-time just filled with country-music bars and not much else. Hillsboro Village is next to Vandy and is known for shops and restaurants but I was not impressed with the size and variety. If you crave for authentic Szechuan/Taiwanese food, good luck. That said, the people seemed friendly and courteous. The traffic was great and the pace was slow, which many people do prefer.</p>

<p>I don’t see any good reason to ED Vandy when you are still asking how internationals fit in there and you already have UVA in your bag.</p>

6

<p>congrats on your admission to UVA. I am a Virginian with a non Greek male son at Vandy who is a merit scholar. He also liked Rice very much–where he was not selected for merit money…which they give out to a larger percent of the class than Vanderbilt’s program but in lesser amount.<br>
What he particularly liked about Rice and what distinguishes Rice…was the unique (like Yale) Residential Colleges where you reside for three out of four years. He also liked the Lack of Greek Life which is dissonant for him at Vandy but not a dealbreaker at all. He is very independent minded and has friends in Greek and Not Greek sectors of Vandy.</p>

<p>The Village near Rice is very much like the area off campus at Vandy…user friendly, varied enough for dinners out, clubbing and coffee shops. Otherwise, Houston dwarfs Nashville in size and scope but then Houston imho makes Atlanta seems not so big. Rice’s location and campus are however only to be praised.</p>

<p>It is true that Rice has a bit of a tilt towards sciences, engineering and premeds while Vandy has a great deal of scope in types of students and plenty of bang in arts and sciences. The Rice campus is surrounded by regional hospitals of great importance and has connections to oil industry jobs and corporate jobs.</p>

<p>We very much like everything about Nashville as a cozy big city in the middle of the USA far from the coasts. Vanderbilt is varied and as an institution has grad schools that somewhat dwarf Rice which is largely undergrad. I don’t think Rice is as recognizable a name nation wide which is really not fair because Rice is one of America’s jewels. </p>

<p>50% of women join sororities at Vandy. less men. There are ways to stay extremely busy and connected at Vandy without sororities but 50% of females is a high percentage. </p>

<p>My son lived in cottages for 10 with many students who were first generation from other countries, bilingual and one was international. Look at the Residential information pages at your top colleges to think ahead to how you would run your life re housing. There are ways to make Vandy what you want it to be. </p>

<p>That said, Rice’s Residential Colleges are wonderful. Vandy is moving somewhat in that direction give or take restrictions of owning buildings in a serious part of Nashville. The freshman campus at Vandy…the Commons… is award-winning and a fab Residential College model and a wonderful offering. </p>

<p>I think it is always wise to “follow the money”. Our son didn’t win merit money at Rice plus I am not sure Rice’s financial aide is quite as deep as Vandy’s for need based. If you are international…someone posted that only 3.5% of Vandy international’s needing financial aid were selected last round. </p>

<p>Your English on this board has issues but your resume, references and stats must be outstanding if you are already in at UVA. </p>

<p>Be happy you are in at UVA. It is a great place to live and to study and to claim as an alma mater. A happy campus of bright people. The kids from Northern VA alone are so varied culturally that you will be at home. DC definitely influences the student body chosen for UVA. That said, class sizes are much better at Vandy and Rice in most majors and access to professors is excellent at Vandy and at Rice. </p>

<p>I would recommend that IF you need financial aid, you continue on with your run for the money at Vanderbilt because I don’t think anyone else will give you a better deal financially with no loans in your package. Stick with ED2 there for that reason and that reason alone. If you are not selected, you always have UVA and can run your odds at Rice in RD round. </p>

<p>best wishes</p>