<p>We've been inundated by mail from Vanderbilt, and my daughter has asked to visit. Previously she wasn't planning to go south, but the mailings show Nashville and the school so wonderfully that she wants to check it out. </p>
<p>Before we take the trip to Nashville, I wanted to make sure we weren't wasting our time. My daughter is only a junior and her grades seem on the low end for Vandy -- 4.3 weighted/3.8 unweighted, three APs this year but no scores yet, no SATs yet but 200 on the PSATs. She wants to major in chemistry, also sings acapella and is an accomplished ice skater (been to nationals a couple of times). Nevertheless, she seems like a border candidate, although she is Hispanic (all the mailings started when she got the Venture Scholar designation) so I am also wondering if that factors in. </p>
<p>Anyway, not to ramble, but does she have a shot? And will the environment feel comfortable for a Hispanic/Jersey girl, especially one who is not interested in Greek life?</p>
<p>PS Other schools on her current "hot list" include NYU, McGill, Oberlin (though she hasn't been yet).</p>
<p>Only a visit can answer your question…she is definitely qualified given what you have presented here, especially if her PSAT can be bumped up for SAT/ACT but with all schools where admissions are <25%, it can be tough</p>
<p>But only she can tell you if she “feels it” at a visit…</p>
<p>You don’t mention what her peers are like here in NJ; there are many, many NJ kids there…increasingly over the last 4 years or so…</p>
<p>The kids we know love it…but there were some who stepped on campus during visits and just didn’t “feel it”</p>
<p>tons of kids from New Jersey/New York corridor at Vandy My southern Vandy son went to NY for a week and spent time with let me see…four different “Vandy” families and his friends. Each family was from a different ethnic group and high school in the region. </p>
<p>The Greek question is one you will need to let your daughter feel out. Vanderbilt has more students in sororities than fraternities and this has held fast even with the huge breadth shift in demographics in the last seven years. </p>
<p>Our Duke son is highly identified with his Greek life, even as an alum. Our Vandy son has zero interest in it but it still so busy attending things that at times he sacrifices studying for the vast amount of fascinating events going on at Vanderbilt and in Nashville. Personally, we think our son would have been emotionally somewhat happier in a college with zero Greek life, and he did have that option. But in the end he chose Vanderbilt because of the finanicial aid and because of the richness and breadth of the town gown offerings. </p>
<p>I think it is a mistake to eliminate colleges with strong Greek life unless you know you can afford your estimated cost of attendance at a college that is Greek free. We are Virginians and there is no way for instance that our sons were not going to consider attending UVA and Wm and Mary, two institutions with healthy Greek cultures. Better to raise a son or daughter who can embrace the life of an independent on a campus where a portion of the students choose Greek affiliations. The real world post college is also full of associations that you may or may not want to be part of, but it is error to eliminate people in other groups from your vistas in the work place. I think Vanderbilt has done a lot for our son who navigates his weekends on his own terms with the 40-60 percent (depending on guy vs girls) who didn’t rush or didn’t pledge or get an offer if they did rush.
This also plays out in Vandy classrooms…there is definitely both liberal and conservative, Republican and Democrat in every classroom, plus many international students with other perspectives. Although I am sometimes a little sad our son isn’t at the private liberal arts colleges (Swarthmore, Haverford, others) that admitted him where so many others are like him, I feel that Vanderbilt has done him a favor by presenting more reality that he will see in the work place in terms of competing American outlooks. I also think it is a mistake to not work with and befriend Greek students when you are independent. Most outside of the classroom programs at Vanderbilt will have Greeks and independent students working together…in every venue.</p>
<p>so long ramble which says, if it will upset her that half the girls are very interested in their sororities, perhaps Vanderbilt is not a great place. If she is a rugged individual who loves variety and can navigate well on her own, she will love Vandy.</p>
<p>D is applying to Vand, though I am very skeptical of Greek life aspect.<br>
NJMomx3: 200 is a good PSAT score, so I would strongly urge an SAT prep class. We used Princeton and daughter brought her PSAT up 40 points from sophomore to junior year, plus she took the SAT in the same month, so it helped both. It was $800 very well spent, we did it for both her and her brother (he was NMF). Have her attend all the extra free after school ones they offer for 2 months, then take the SAT test. It worked better for both to do it over the summer, no excuses, do all of the homework. HOW to take the SAT test is as important as CONTENT of the test (the subject tests are more like the ACT). Drive her to each and every class without complaint. No matter what they say, these scores count; they are second only to the transcript, period.</p>
<p>Nashville is an incredible area to spend your collegiate years so it really doesn’t matter if she goes Greek or not. She’ll have a great time either way, especially since she’ll be invited to a lot of Fraternity Formals anyway if she’s outgoing.</p>