Reply to Vanderbilt Thriving In Trump Era With Apolitical Atmosphere: Bloomberg

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Everyone…Vanderbilt’s ranking is a blessing at and a curse.

Without fail, if the school is really going to take the most academically qualified kids, it will turn into every other top 20 school.

Far less sports attendance, dwindling Greek interest, etc.  Based on many responses, the transition is well underway.

Bloomberg published a clickbait article which seems to neglect what is actually happening at the school.[/quote]

I generally agree with this. It’s hard for a strong academic school to maintain its character. You saw this with Stanford. Then Northwestern. Then Duke. And now Vanderbilt.

They were all regarded as the fun smart school.  But over time, they all get the same smart kids - more career oriented, more nerdy, more driven. And the lively, more impulsive, and more creative students don’t get in anymore. Add risk averse administrators and you get a Top 20 that all seems kind of the same.

I have a kid that recently graduated from Vandy. Great experience. But he was noting that the younger students tend to be extremely academic and studious, which is generally good. But they’re in the library Sunday through Thursday, not on Broadway. Vandy’s reputation as a chill school is vastly overstated. Those kids are grinding.

I will give props to Vanderbilt for trying to maintain its character as a more socially and intellectually healthy university compared to its peers and near peers. I think that’s why they stress “leadership.” They value engaged students who put themselves out there. And they seem to be reflexively against imposing some political or ideological Borg on the school - as so many other colleges did in recent years. You can argue and debate at Vanderbilt. No small thing that.

And it’s helpful that their football and basketball teams have had some success in the SEC lately. Say what you will about college sports, but having winning teams in the top conferences does foster a sense of community. So hopefully Vanderbilt’s time as the “fun” smart school will last for a bit. But the reality is that most Vandy students aren’t having that much fun on a Tuesday. They’re in the library.

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