Is Vanderbilt anyones First/Top Choice?

[Anonymous]

I mean Vandy is in a big city like Nashville. The schools with urban campuses somewhat set off with greenery with top academics is a big draw these days to a lot of applicants.

[Anonymous]

Am I only the one that isn’t a fan of Nashville? Love the idea of an urban campus in a manageable size city, but I just hate the vibe there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Previously saw one about Emory so wanted to make one for Vanderbilt. I want to know people’s opinions on the school. My DC unfortunately has not yet gotten off the Stanford waitlist and is planning to go to Vanderbilt in the fall. I see many people on here say the school is overrated and does not deserve to be a top 20. My DC also chose it over two lower ranked ivies.

Many in south have Vanderbilt, Rice and Duke as their top picks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I only the one that isn’t a fan of Nashville? Love the idea of an urban campus in a manageable size city, but I just hate the vibe there.

Yeah...it just seems to be a big bar scene.

[Anonymous]

There is no shortage of students who want to attend top schools but aren't ivy crazed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eclectic List:

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/?rankings=happiest-students

The selective schools on this list of happy schools are Emory, Williams, Rice, Bowdoin, Denison, and Vanderbilt. I don't know how you measure these things, but anecdotally that seems about right. Especially Rice and Bowdoin. I would have thought Notre Dame and Brown would be up there though.

[Anonymous]

Approximately 89% of college students attend a school within 500 miles of their home. Specifically, 72% stay within their state.

Interestingly, 17% of students come from TN and IL (top 2 states)...with Chicago within the 500 mile radius. 32% in total are from the South it's biggest region.

People significantly discount geography in college decisions. Perhaps a bunch of these kids would consider say Princeton a top choice if they lived closer to Princeton...but because they live where they live, they weren't giving Princeton really any thought at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eclectic List:

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/?rankings=happiest-students

The selective schools on this list of happy schools are Emory, Williams, Rice, Bowdoin, Denison, and Vanderbilt. I don't know how you measure these things, but anecdotally that seems about right. Especially Rice and Bowdoin. I would have thought Notre Dame and Brown would be up there though.

I believe these are done from student surveys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previously saw one about Emory so wanted to make one for Vanderbilt. I want to know people’s opinions on the school. My DC unfortunately has not yet gotten off the Stanford waitlist and is planning to go to Vanderbilt in the fall. I see many people on here say the school is overrated and does not deserve to be a top 20. My DC also chose it over two lower ranked ivies.

Many in south have Vanderbilt, Rice and Duke as their top picks.

Yes, Vanderbilt, Rice, and Duke are THE schools in the south. But all three are very national these days. Rice is still a little Texas - it's a huge state - but they're expanding undergrad and increasing enrollment so that should smooth things out. California, tri-state area, and Illinois seem to be the main states where these schools draw their students - plus some preference for home state students like any school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I only the one that isn’t a fan of Nashville? Love the idea of an urban campus in a manageable size city, but I just hate the vibe there.

Yup. It is also a fairly blue dot in a very red state. Don't mean to hijack this thread with politics but it matters. For example, draconian anti-abortion laws in some states are leading OB/GYNs to not want to practice there (because they face the threat of getting put in jail for making a medically sound decision that theoretically might have little to do with abortion) - lots of people just think of it in terms of "my daughter won't get pregnant so I don't care if she can't get an abortion" but quality routine care will also be an issue. This will likely be a somewhat gradual shift but it will matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I only the one that isn’t a fan of Nashville? Love the idea of an urban campus in a manageable size city, but I just hate the vibe there.

yes, you are..

and who cares what the old heads on DCUM think. Just about any normal well adjusted social and smart kid would luv to go to school in Nashville

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I only the one that isn’t a fan of Nashville? Love the idea of an urban campus in a manageable size city, but I just hate the vibe there.

yes, you are..

and who cares what the old heads on DCUM think. Just about any normal well adjusted social and smart kid would luv to go to school in Nashville

Nope. Not true. Some kids want the opposite. And there is nothing wrong with them. Different strokes for different folks. God Bless America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I only the one that isn’t a fan of Nashville? Love the idea of an urban campus in a manageable size city, but I just hate the vibe there.

yes, you are..

and who cares what the old heads on DCUM think. Just about any normal well adjusted social and smart kid would luv to go to school in Nashville

Not all. My very high stats smart normal well-adjusted daughter did not want Nashville. Vanderbilt sent weekly mailings for years to my daughter and multiple p/week when she made NMF. Nashville is not all that.

[Anonymous]

It might be my kid’s top choice - we gave a couple years, though! Would ED there or UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Am I only the one that isn’t a fan of Nashville? Love the idea of an urban campus in a manageable size city, but I just hate the vibe there.

yes, you are..

and who cares what the old heads on DCUM think. Just about any normal well adjusted social and smart kid would luv to go to school in Nashville

Not all. My very high stats smart normal well-adjusted daughter did not want Nashville. Vanderbilt sent weekly mailings for years to my daughter and multiple p/week when she made NMF. Nashville is not all that.

I'm guessing she probably did not like urban setting campuses in general then.