With other acceptances, should I consider Vandy?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

<p>So I'm deciding between Cornell CAS, Northwestern WCAS, and Notre Dame Arts and Letters. I plan to visit all three, having an overnight at ND and NU. I have already visited ND and NU, liked them both, but was not in love. I also visited Vandy and liked it, didn't love it, and later heard about its massive Greek system , which completely dominates campus. And, btw, Vandy now costs $53k a year:insane. With my other excellent choices, especially for a prospective econ major, why should I consider Vandy? I understand the whole fit thing. Again, I visited Vandy, liked it, but didn't love it b/c of fears of dominating Greek scene, lack of diverse and interesting people, uber preppy, conformist environment, and the fact that its reputation is lower than my other three choices. It seems like its an up an coming school, but I sense that , academically, it is inferior to other three b/c it seems to lack the vibrancy of a true intellectual community in favor of Frats, Hollister, and Abercrombie and Fitch. This blog I found on their website is the most pathetic piece of writing: True</a> Life: I'm a Vanderbilt Freshman<br>
"Home Sweet Home?" I could have made this up as 1st grader. My perception of this school is a bunch of rich, ignorant, sheltered, materialistic white kids, many of whom, lack values or at least diverse perspectives. I like its school spirit, location, sports, and small class sizes, but what should I pay at least $4k extra to go to Vanderbilt over my other excellent choices?</p>

<p>What are your thoughts?</p>

2

<p>I'm going next year, thats the first reason you should choose Vandy. Also, its reputation is better than both Notre Dame and Northwestern (this coming from a New England snob, no Southern prejudice here). Better weather than all of the aforementioned schools, especiaaaly Cornell. I am going to do econ too, and one of my teachers who is an alum says that it is their strongest program, and all the best investment banks recruit HEAVILY from Vandy.</p>

3

<p>I turned down Cornell for Vanderbilt. People seemed a lot happier at Vanderbilt and I didn't really want a school with boring athletics and cold winters. </p>

<p>Also, nobody here wears Abercrombie/Hollister. The stereotype here is more of a polished/professional look (J. Crew, Patagonia, etc.). But the majority of students here wear normal clothes. What you wear isn't a big deal (especially if your shirts are clean, not wrinkled, etc.)</p>

<p>It seems like your Vanderbilt visit was a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you are not going in with an open mind, why even waste the money visiting.</p>

4

<p>Let me begin by saying I do not know how to begin to respond to your comments. Given that I am four years your senior and a proud member of the Vanderbilt community, I find your post extremely insulting to my and my fellow students' intellectual capacity and our qualities of character.</p>

<p>Your pejorative tone is unnecessary given that you have clearly made opinions about Vanderbilt as an institution and as a community. I agree with TheOC89: you absolutely made your visit a self-fulfilling prophecy.</p>

<p>In truth, your perceptions are quite ignorant and rooted in largely outdated stereotypes. I will now try to alter some of those perceptions, however, more for others' than for your own benefit:</p>

<ul>
<li>Vanderbilt is hardly an "up-and-coming school" nor is it "inferior" to your other choices. We are highly esteemed throughout the nation and the world by individuals who actually know what constitutes a quality college education. You clearly do not know anything about our reputation.</li>
<li>We are largely type-A personality students. We are intelligent, competitive, motivated individuals who are here first and foremost to receive an excellent education.</li>
<li>And we are hardly shallow. Perhaps if you made an effort, you would see we are diverse and we are interesting people. Your ignorance towards us as a student body seems ironic, because you clearly judged us without bothering to look beyond stereotypes.</li>
<li>Greek life does not dominate campus. (Yes, our Greek community flourishes, but did you know that many of our greatest national leaders--political and otherwise--were or are Greek?) Our campus is dominated, rather, by individuals display impeccable social skills while actively involving ourselves in a variety of activities and working to improve our community.</li>
</ul>

<p>Having said all of this, your complete lack of tact does not speak well for your ability to perform well here at Vanderbilt, as it seems you lack some of the basic social skills that we expect of one another. We are first and foremost proud of our membership in this community.</p>

<p>If you would not be proud to call yourself a Commodore, then I suggest (and politely request) you attend a different university.</p>

5

<p>online definition of "joker":</p>

<ol>
<li>One who tells or plays jokes.</li>
<li>An insolent person who seeks to make a show of cleverness.</li>
<li>Informal. An annoying or inept person: Some joker is blocking my driveway.</li>
</ol>

<p>Hmm, our 'joker' doesn't tell jokes, so I guess he took his name from definition 2 or 3.</p>

<p>Do yourself and the Vanderbilt students a favor and choose Cornell. That will put the greatest distance between you and them.</p>

6

<p>I was thinking the same thing midmo...</p>

7

<p>Interesting responses. It was never my attempt to offend people; my use of stereotype-laden rhetoric was an intentional effort to disprove those stereotypes. BTW, my visit to Vandy preceded my acceptance to any of my other choices and my visit to these other schools too. I did go in with an open-mind, and I thoroughly liked it, meaning I could see myself going there. However, I was not SOLD. To SELL myself on Vandy, I wanted to get some student perspectives, viewpoints from those that are already there. On a separate forum, Vandy08 told me the following: "it's definitely possible to make friends if you don't drink all the time or are not Greek." The tone of this, specifically "its definitely possible" revealed to me that although smart, intelligent students with morals, values, and a resistance to get wasted 24/7 do go to Vandy, the majority, who are also smart, enjoy a social life revolving primarily on drunken revelry and fornication. However, I am not ignorant enough to take my word from one person; rather, collectively from many. One of the most influential posts I received was by departed, a new Vandy student, who said the following: </p>

<p>"Most Vandy kids get really caught in what we call the "Vandybubble" since basically everything is available on campus. I assume you will have to do a fair share of studying since you are pre-law so just keep that in mind. But bare in mind the very large influence of Greek culture here.
I'm still fairly new so I can't speak for the whole school but it seems that over 3/4 of the freshman class enjoys getting trashed on a regular basis and weekends start on Thursdays.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt is working towards changing that student body but it will take more than a year to do so.
I had the same vision of college as you did and I think you'll do well at Cornell, Northwestern or Dartmouth.</p>

<p>If you have any questions feel free to PM me."</p>

<p>I'm not sure if I want to immerse myself in that. I will drink in college, I may get drunk; however, I do not intend to get trashed on a regular basis. I'd like to try to "fit" with the rest of the students, and, from departed's post, I don't think that I will at Vandy. I've checked facebook too, and every student who posted their stuff said that they intend to pledge for a sor/frat and party often. </p>

<p>As far as academics go, I am basing my "inferior" statement on sources like usnews. While Vandy is an excellent school, according to US news it is tied w/ ND and behind NU and Cornell. However, I am wary of these rankings, but, when I went to Vandy I did not see or hear about anything that resembles some of the stuff at NU (40% of classes with 10 students or less, research, seminars, ease of double majors w/ the quarter system)ND, or Cornell (top-notch professors, notorious academic rigor) (all three are ranked high in the WSJ feeder survey, which Vandy wasn't even in); furthermore, Vandy's diversity is lacking compared to NU and Cornell (ND, I am not concerned about diversity since I love the Catholic, school-spirit environment). I guess I just don't know enough about Vandy academics, but what I do know leads me towards concluding its inferiority. </p>

<p>I like Vandy: the location, school spirit, laid-back people, great academics (though I'd like to learn more)</p>

<p>I just want to hear you guy's opinions. BTw, I am happy so many responded in such length. I have learned on this forum that being positive gets no attention: I tried making forums entitled "Make me love. . . ", which were scoffed at and not taken seriously. Finally, I'd appreciate, Vandy08, if you wouldn't repeat the same thought in multiple sentences: it's annoying and time-consuming.</p>

8

<p>Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch?</p>

<p>Really....?</p>

<p>Get some taste in clothes and drop by Brooks Brothers or Ralph Lauren. Those are the preferred brands for guys here while girls go with Vera Bradley, Lilly, Ralph Lauren, and whatever else girls wear.</p>

<p>Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch might be what they wear at Cornell or University of California Santa Barbara, but in the South we keep it classy. You should visit again if you'd like a better understanding of the school and this time open your eyes, maybe even drop by Greek Row.</p>

9

<p>Joker,</p>

<p>I live in Nashville and my son's long-time GF is a vandy freshman (he is hardcore STEM geek and chose a distant tech school, which makes their life "interesting").</p>

<p>She received a scholarship package that couldn't be refused, but was not thrilled about going to the hometown school. Wanted to be out of range from parents, and had many of the misgivings that you voiced in your first post. She is not a frat/prep type person (hey, she's with my son, who doesn't wear long pants or laced shoes--much less an ironed shirt) and not into the drinking/party scene. </p>

<p>Nonetheless, she is very happy there after 3/4 of the school year. Her stereotypical perception of the school turned out to not be accurate (granted, like at Northwestern, there is a big Greek/prep culture, but it isn't the entire school). Challenging work and she has a wide circle of friends. Their other friends who have gone to Vandy over the past 2-3 years also have had good things to say--and very few (any?) of them fit the vandy stereotype that you set forth so vividly in your first post.</p>

<p>As for reputation, I'd put the 4 schools you discuss in the same range. Your decision will (and should) likely be based on subjective items like the feel of the campus and the weather. Don't base the decision on a perception of Vandy that is no longer accurate (if it ever was). </p>

<p>Good luck--you have great choices.</p>

10

<p>Well, joker, if you are still around, I will answer more seriously this time. </p>

<p>Everything stevedad said is true about my son's experience. He had a lot of options, but took a very large merit scholarship from Vanderbilt instead. He has found all of the stereotypes to be overblown, at least as far as his sphere of activities and classes goes. He has a lot of friends who don't match your negative vision in the least, his classes are tough (multiple tough majors underway), he is heavily involved in research, clubs, etc, and is having a great time. Looks like he will even be staying in Nashville to do research over the summer, so obviously he has not found the place to be a disappointment.</p>

11

<p>The weather is infinitely better in Nashville than your other choices. That's no small consideration. As the youngest child in my family, I've seen how brutal winters can dampen academic fervor and raise depression and anxiety. Nashville still has four seasons, but it has lots and lots of SUN!</p>

12

<p>Why did you apply to Vandy? Was it because of its high US News ranking? How shallow!
Talk to your parents. They might be able to provide you with a more mature view of the diversity of campuses generally, the fact that people two people who like the same kind of clothes can be very different, the fact that wearing certain kinds of clothing in order to fit in is a pretty universal attribute of human societies, that those who drink socially are not always getting "trashed," that kids who get mostly As in high school and score above 1350 on the SAT are probably either pretty serious about academics or --at least-- very, very smart -- or both, that US News college rankings are extremely subjective (a disproportionate weight is given to reputation among peers) rather than objective (less weight is given to data having to do with the accomplishments of the school's graduates and/or the publications in peer-reviwed journals of its faculty). Your snide post is so condescending. My very intelligent daughter is working her butt off at Vandy, and barely getting Bs. She cannot say enough about the intelligence and work ethic she sees displayed by her fellow Vandy students. She did join a sorority, and loves it. Grow up kid! You're lucky to have a chance at Vandy.</p>

13

<p>If you'd like another Vandy parent's thoughts - Vanderbilt is an exceptional university with a very talented student body and an outstanding faculty in a thriving city. Not to burst your balloon, but you are going to find a component of "rich, ignorant, sheltered, materialistic white kids, many of whom lack values or at least diverse perspectives" at Cornell, Northwestern, or Notre Dame, as well - or at any other elite university.</p>

<p>I agree with Vandy08 above. You will not find a good fit at Vanderbilt - and that's nothing to be smug about.</p>

14

<p>i don't understand. too many big words, joker.</p>

<p>i guess it's the world-renowned education which i'm receiving here in nashville, tennessee. </p>

<p>but, bitterness aside, if you are as intellectual as you propose to be (and you have proposed it), you should analyze the actual data which goes into making your idolized "US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT RANKING." </p>

<p>they base most all of the ranking on reputation with other professors, the general public, and those in academia. </p>

<p>other rankings, such as the shanghai jiao tong university's rankings, and the graham-diamond rankings from northwestern have been more accurate, measuring more important aspects, such as numbers of research papers produced and the statistical ability to obtain jobs after university. you need to analyze and hold fast to what YOU and YOU alone find important in education. if you don't find any inherent importance in education itself, i suggest you think about it before you make a decision. </p>

<p>greek life is prominent, however I have never participated, and still have a good time. think about it, chum.</p>

15

<p>oh, and additionally, if you can't appreciate the heritage of the university, you probably won't like it. unless you are planning to get wasted every night.</p>

16

<p>calling ducks is right--lol to the a&f</p>

<p>brooks brothers, vineyard vines, and others haven't been seen anywhere else more except maybe pepperdine.</p>

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<p>cornell seems to be the best choice</p>

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<p>I checked out the jiao tong university's rankings or 2007
Academic</a> Ranking of World Universities - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>

<p>and Graham Diamond Should</a> we abolish ranking universities by their reputations?
Graham-Diamond</a> Report
FG13 seems to have a point.</p>

19

<p>It seems like the college discussion forums have gotten a little heated up while i was away. well, let's see. I see that mr. joker is almost as cocky and confident as my friends and I were, so i guess I'll have a pretty decent opinion. While I don't know anything about cornell, i visited Stanford, Wash U, Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Tulane before making my final decision to enter Vanderbilt. </p>

<p>I understand your desire to use the US news rankings to determine the quality of the education. However, when you're deciding between schools like these, does it really matter which one you pick as long as you're confident that you're going to do well? I will begin attending law school classes this fall (perhaps at vanderbilt, but who knows), but I think the decision should mostly be based on where you felt like you best fit in. I certainly didn't like Wash U or Stanford, personally, because the students that I got to meet were either too serious or was a stoner (this isn't representative of the entire school but it surely didn't make me feel like I would fit in). So if you didn't like Vandy, then why attend? Go to the place that you feel was best for you, which I'm sure you're going to do. </p>

<p>But from a positive perspective for Vanderbilt, I was able to have a close group of friends that represented over 10 different ethnicities. Perhaps it was just that I got lucky, but at least you know that can happen. As for the partying, whoever mentioned the weekend starts on Thursday is mistaken. I believe it starts on Wednesday. However, for me, this was a positive thing since if there are weeks where you aren't burdened with work and you'd like to go out during the week, there will surely be somebody out there to hang out with. Quite a lot of people party, but if I break down my friends, I would say about a third never had a drink until their senior year, another third were borderline alcoholics and the rest balanced out the fun and work rather efficiently.</p>

<p>So I'm sorry that you didn't feel comfortable in the Vanderbilt environment, but I assure you that if you do decide to attend Vanderbilt, you will be able to balance out your time since that decision is up to you. I don't know what the living situation is now for freshmen since the Commons (new building next to peabody) was created, but the Branscomb Quadrangle is famous for having kids that party all the time, Kissam tended to have more kids that were studious and stayed in a lot and finally, Vandy/Barnard had a good mix of all types. This is what I mostly recall from the freshmen housing situation, but if I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me.</p>

<p>Well, good luck to all of you with your decisions. for joker, I will just say that as long as you're as smart as you have attempted to present to us, there should be no worry with regards to your future. But being cocky and arrogant actually does hurt you in some classes, so if you decide to go to vandy, let me know and i'll be more than happy to provide you with a listing.</p>

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<p>My daughter is not greek and isn't a big partier. That being said she never lacks for anything to do at Vandy. The people are awesome and the education is first-class. We are from the midwest and any time I mention where she goes to school there is always some sort of "wow" factor. You can't believe everything you read in the rankings. If you really are an elitist snob (it's what you sound like...sorry) then I doubt Vandy is right for you. If you are open to getting a world-class education in a park like setting with a diverse group of people then I think Vandy would be a good fit.</p>