Vibe on campus: Vanderbilt versus Wake Forest versus Davidson versus Washington & Lee

[Anonymous]

DS got into Davidson ED this year. We’re over the moon. We visited campus in September, and he fell in love. Said he felt like it was an ideal that he didn’t want to leave. I have know Davidson graduates for thirty years, and I’m always impressed by their kindness and intellectual curiosity. It’s a genuinely great and humane school with a beautiful campus in an easily assessible small town with good access to Charlotte.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS got into Davidson ED this year. We’re over the moon. We visited campus in September, and he fell in love. Said he felt like it was an ideal that he didn’t want to leave. I have know Davidson graduates for thirty years, and I’m always impressed by their kindness and intellectual curiosity. It’s a genuinely great and humane school with a beautiful campus in an easily assessible small town with good access to Charlotte.

CONGRATULATIONS! Your son is going to have the BEST time!!! DS is a member of the class of 2027 and absolutely loves Davidson. We, as parents, love it, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t find W&L to be isolated at all, VMI is down the street, and a cute little town right outside campus.

You want your kid hanging out with VMI guys? I have 2 daughters and this would be a neg. W&L is in a small town and when I used to go see friends there, we went to parties in literal fields.

+1. We toured with our son. The huge Greek scene $$$, the drinking and the fact that kids pile into cars to drive to drinking spots (and then kill one another driving back -yes, you can find that google) was an enormous turnoff. And Lexington is a tiny run-down town which abuts both VMI and W&L

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS got into Davidson ED this year. We’re over the moon. We visited campus in September, and he fell in love. Said he felt like it was an ideal that he didn’t want to leave. I have know Davidson graduates for thirty years, and I’m always impressed by their kindness and intellectual curiosity. It’s a genuinely great and humane school with a beautiful campus in an easily assessible small town with good access to Charlotte.

CONGRATULATIONS! Your son is going to have the BEST time!!! DS is a member of the class of 2027 and absolutely loves Davidson. We, as parents, love it, too.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt first, then Davidson, Wake last.

No, I would put Wake above Davidson. But really, it depends entirely on the kids. My born and raised in the city twins (Chicago) visited Davidson and Wake.
One loved Wake, thought "eh" about Davidson. The other was the reverse. I think unless your "city kid" wants a true urban school like NYU or Columbia then there will be far more things to distinguish Davidson, Vanderbilt, Wake (and a million similar schools) from each other than some sort of vague "better for city kids" vibe.

You can walk nowhere from Wake. Davidson is in a small town with restaurants, shops, etc. Neither are NYC, of course.

+1 Davidson is so much nicer than Winston Salem. Plus, the school is amazing.

There are plenty of nice place near Wake Downtown. I was just there with a family friend who teaches on that campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt first, then Davidson, Wake last.

No, I would put Wake above Davidson. But really, it depends entirely on the kids. My born and raised in the city twins (Chicago) visited Davidson and Wake.
One loved Wake, thought "eh" about Davidson. The other was the reverse. I think unless your "city kid" wants a true urban school like NYU or Columbia then there will be far more things to distinguish Davidson, Vanderbilt, Wake (and a million similar schools) from each other than some sort of vague "better for city kids" vibe.

You can walk nowhere from Wake. Davidson is in a small town with restaurants, shops, etc. Neither are NYC, of course.

+1 Davidson is so much nicer than Winston Salem. Plus, the school is amazing.

There are plenty of nice place near Wake Downtown. I was just there with a family friend who teaches on that campus.

Walkable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In your opinion, would kids from NYC who love the city life be happiest at Davidson, Vanderbilt, or Wake Forest.

Vanderbilt.

The other 3 really don't offer much to college students seeking "city life".

[Anonymous]

Davidson is a great school, but really really small. My child was going to apply anyway but didn’t after a friend’s sibling who attends Davidson said the social scene got stifling by later years and they wished they had gone to Wake Forest instead (where they occasionally visited friends due to proximity). Not every student will have this preference, but something to consider with more extroverted kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt first, then Davidson, Wake last.

No, I would put Wake above Davidson. But really, it depends entirely on the kids. My born and raised in the city twins (Chicago) visited Davidson and Wake.
One loved Wake, thought "eh" about Davidson. The other was the reverse. I think unless your "city kid" wants a true urban school like NYU or Columbia then there will be far more things to distinguish Davidson, Vanderbilt, Wake (and a million similar schools) from each other than some sort of vague "better for city kids" vibe.

You can walk nowhere from Wake. Davidson is in a small town with restaurants, shops, etc. Neither are NYC, of course.

+1 Davidson is so much nicer than Winston Salem. Plus, the school is amazing.

There are plenty of nice place near Wake Downtown. I was just there with a family friend who teaches on that campus.

Walkable?

It’s a ten minute ride on the free shuttle that leaves main quad regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vany is very hard to get into. If you want a shot there going to need to ED.

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fiske Guide To Colleges also gives awards up to 5 points for "social life".

Vanderbilt social life = 4/5.

WFU, Davidson, & Wash & Lee social life = 3/5.

5/5 is a bad rating for social life as it indicates that such a college or university is a party school.

The ranking below used Princeton Review for student happiness ratings, and also includes diversity and classroom experience in its calculations. It's one of the few I've found that includes universities and LACs on the same list.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/blog/6/


Vandy is #13.

Wake 64.

Davidson 70.

W+L not on list--I think b/c they don't publicize their common data sets, which always seems kind of shady to me.

Their common data set is online just like any other school.

https://my.wlu.edu/accreditation-and-institutional-research/common-data-set

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t find W&L to be isolated at all, VMI is down the street, and a cute little town right outside campus.

You want your kid hanging out with VMI guys? I have 2 daughters and this would be a neg. W&L is in a small town and when I used to go see friends there, we went to parties in literal fields.

DD is a freshman there now. The VMI guys are not at the W&L parties. Majority of parties are at the frat houses or students off campus houses. All frat parties are open to everyone after 11 PM if you are affiliated with greek life or rushing. If you are independent you can attend any party without restrictions.

The town is cute and literally 5 min off campus. Several good restaurants and cafes. They have town festivals and other activities throughout the year. It’s not for everyone but DD loves it there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t find W&L to be isolated at all, VMI is down the street, and a cute little town right outside campus.

You want your kid hanging out with VMI guys? I have 2 daughters and this would be a neg. W&L is in a small town and when I used to go see friends there, we went to parties in literal fields.

+1. We toured with our son. The huge Greek scene $$$, the drinking and the fact that kids pile into cars to drive to drinking spots (and then kill one another driving back -yes, you can find that google) was an enormous turnoff. And Lexington is a tiny run-down town which abuts both VMI and W&L

The school provides a free shuttle to pick kids up from parties. That is always an option. There is no reason why your kid should get into a car with someone drunk. That can happen on any campus.

[Anonymous]

The Greek scene at Vanderbilt is a big turnoff. We had no idea just how prominent of a role it plays in social life until kid enrolled. DC transferred out after two years. She joined a sorority but just found the environment to be very cliquey and divided. The amount of alcohol and related issue is off the charts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Greek scene at Vanderbilt is a big turnoff. We had no idea just how prominent of a role it plays in social life until kid enrolled. DC transferred out after two years. She joined a sorority but just found the environment to be very cliquey and divided. The amount of alcohol and related issue is off the charts.

Where did she transfer to?