Deciding between Georgetown vs. Vanderbilt - Fall 2023 Transfer

[Anonymous]

Hi. My D was admitted to Georgetown (College of A&S) and Vanderbilt (A&S) as a transfer for Fall 2023 and will be a sophomore. She is social sciences / humanities (psychology, ethics, philosophy) oriented and would currently intends to go to law school (ideally T15 then Big Law job). She was in a sorority at her prior school but would not be able to rush at Vanderbilt (they don't have a chapter of her sorority). Assume cost is essentially, as she is not receiving any FA. We live in the DC area so know the pros and cons of DC really well. She likes DC but likes Nashville too. She's transferring from a well-regarded but not T25 state school, in part for smaller size of school and classes, more intellectual vibe, and prestige. (At least based on what I've gleaned from her.)

Note: She also was admitted to Northwestern but is highly likely to decline because of quarter system, perceived stress level, arguably not great integration of transfers, and weather. (Feel free to challenge any of those observations.)

Would any of you be able to offer insight regarding any of the following (or any other considerations you feel might be relevant:

1. How easy it is for transfers to integrate into campus life at each.
2. Vibe / personality of student body - competitiveness, collaboration, friendly, pre-professional, etc.
3. Quality of instruction, class size, professors in those areas of study
4. Placement in T15 law schools - GU has early assurance, Vandy does not but seems to admit a fair number to its law school.
5. Stress level / grade deflation
6. Prestige in Mid-Atlantic / Northeast, particularly among law schools / law firms
7. Difficulty of fulfilling AXLE versus GU Core Curriculum (she doesn't mind the Theology / Philosophy reqs). for GU
8. Challenges of being non-Greek at Vandy / social pressure for women at Vandy (many posts suggest female's appearance, dressing up, body type is an issue there)
9. Any other relevant considerations.

Thank you so much for your constructive insights. (She feels very fortunate and had much better success in transferring than regular admission, which is so hard from the DMV area as I'm sure you are all too aware.)

[Anonymous]

Georgetown, if she’s just focused on getting to big law.

Vanderbilt, if she wants to broaden her horizons, try a different part of the country, and still have big law options.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. Your reply is consistent with my impressions as well.

[Anonymous]

I would choose Vanderbilt. I think it has a better culture, Georgetown seems like it has more competitive students. Most Georgetown alums I know didn’t love the school, whereas everyone I know who has attended Vanderbilt enjoyed their experience. If she went to Vanderbilt, would it possible to join another sorority? Other things she could do are join club sports, outing club, etc. to make friends. She can get into a T14 from Vanderbilt, though to be honest, it may be easier from wherever she is now if she’s doing so well academically.

[Anonymous]

why can’t she rush? She can rush another sorority? I would not go to Vandy if she can’t be greek because it will be hard socially. Georgetown is great and she will fit right in especially if she is living in a dorm. FYI these are high grade problems-good for her! She must be a terrific student!

[Anonymous]

Thank you. Those are all good points.

My understanding is that one is not supposed to pledge a different sorority, even if you deactivate. I know very little about Greek life, so I could be wrong about that, however.

Based on reported stats from 2022 Vanderbilt admissions to T14 law schools (from a link on Vandy's pre-law advising website), the admissions were surprisingly lower than I would have thought.

I think your point about staying put at her current school and performing well is quite a good one and would be WAY less expensive. She seems determined to transfer, however. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Thank you.

Yes. she's fortunate to have great choices and is a very good student. To put it into context, she got into only one school when she applied her senior year in HS. It's just cruelly competitive for kids applying from the DMV area in the regular applicant pools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why can’t she rush? She can rush another sorority? I would not go to Vandy if she can’t be greek because it will be hard socially. Georgetown is great and she will fit right in especially if she is living in a dorm. FYI these are high grade problems-good for her! She must be a terrific student!

No, if it is a chartered national sorority, you cannot be an active member of more than one. Even if she "deactivates" from her current house, she is not eligible to pledge a new one. And Georgetown doesn't really have a Greek culture anyhow.

[Anonymous]

Has she visited Vandy? We found the tour guides and admissions staff to be very helpful and willing to answer any question quite frankly.

[Anonymous]

To the OP, thank you for the information on the Vanderbilt pre law site, very interesting to see the law schools admissions results link. DoesGeorgetown have similar information?

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to say well done to your kid, effectively turning it around like that (the getting into one college and it not being her ideal place and transferring). These are amazing options to be choosing from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why can’t she rush? She can rush another sorority? I would not go to Vandy if she can’t be greek because it will be hard socially. Georgetown is great and she will fit right in especially if she is living in a dorm. FYI these are high grade problems-good for her! She must be a terrific student!

You can absolutely have a great social life at Vandy w/o being in a sorority. That said, given that she’s already joined one at her current school, she might be bummed to not be involved in sorority life if that’s her inclination.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. She's going to try to visit Vandy before the rapidly approaching commitment date, if possible.

Correct that GU has no Greek life, so it eliminates that issue. Only relevant to Vandy.

Thank you for confirming my understanding that one cannot pledge another national sorority / fraternity.

[Anonymous]

I’m curious why applying as a transfer ends up being easier or less competitive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the OP, thank you for the information on the Vanderbilt pre law site, very interesting to see the law schools admissions results link. Does Georgetown have similar information?

I was not able to find similar information on GU's pre-law website. Another older post on DC Urban Moms and Dads did address T14 law school feeder schools. It was interesting, but I can't find a link to it at the moment. I recall the GU was more of one than Vandy based on the stats cited therein.

I do think GU seems to be more of a T14 feeder than Vandy as someone else posted, but I don't have statistics to support that perception.

And to clarify, I think she's concerned about the bigger picture than possibly going to law school. She could well change her mind. It's been known to happen.