TBH the kids go down to Broadway and I would be terrified of my kid going there as opposed to college bars in a college town. Frat scene not what it used to be now that the school is so hard to get into. The frat houses are on campus and most students live on campus. If my daughter were going downtown regularly to drink on a fake ID amid drunk tourists and all the other stuff that goes on down there, I would be very concerned.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With Wake Forest pricing itself out of anyone's interest....it's becoming more popular as a southern school.

So your point is that Vandy is the cost effective alternative to Wake?

In the 2024-2025 academic year, the estimated cost of attendance for Wake Forest University is $91,266, while Vanderbilt University's estimated cost of attendance is $89,552.

“Wake too expensive so going to Vandy” are words never uttered.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it popular? Gorgeous campus, top 20 university, test optional, in a fun city (Nashville), not as geeked out as many other top 20 schools. How is this even a question?

A school as selective as Vanderbilt should not be TO.

Agreed. But the question is “Why is Vanderbilt so hot?” Test optional and ranked in the top 20 (really important to many families) is the main reason. The entire debate about whether a test optional school should be in the top 20 is another thread.

Anonymous wrote:Why is it popular? Gorgeous campus, top 20 university, test optional, in a fun city (Nashville), not as geeked out as many other top 20 schools. How is this even a question?

A school as selective as Vanderbilt should not be TO.

My student is so happy at Vanderbilt. Beautiful campus. Top top notch education. Love the administration and how they care about their students. Engaged, dympnamic student body. Work hard play hard. Just a great experience in so many ways.

Why is it popular? Gorgeous campus, top 20 university, test optional, in a fun city (Nashville), not as geeked out as many other top 20 schools. How is this even a question?

Anonymous wrote:With Wake Forest pricing itself out of anyone's interest....it's becoming more popular as a southern school.

So your point is that Vandy is the cost effective alternative to Wake?

In the 2024-2025 academic year, the estimated cost of attendance for Wake Forest University is $91,266, while Vanderbilt University's estimated cost of attendance is $89,552.

Haven't followed the entire thread...so is it really hot with DMV families?

Nobody in my kid's UMC public school class seemed to apply or have any real interest. Don't know of any Big3 kids either that are attending (though they may have applied).

ROTC is a good way to leverage admissions at Vanderbilt, Duke, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt is a very tough admit from our high school. One person got in in the last five years. They had an UW 4.0. Unclear what the SAT was but kid a kid got waitlisted with a 1600 and 4.0.
In spite of this, 18 kids applied there this year. It is a hot school.

At our school, the kids have much better luck at other schools, like Penn and Duke.

Vanderbilt doesn't like to be a backup choice. If you are applying RD, and never did their summer or fall PreVU (or whatever it's called); never sat in on a class; never attended a college fair in your town and met the rep, they know you aren't serious.

With Wake Forest pricing itself out of anyone's interest....it's becoming more popular as a southern school.

We don't have many kids in our area interested yet.

Vanderbilt is a very tough admit from our high school. One person got in in the last five years. They had an UW 4.0. Unclear what the SAT was but kid a kid got waitlisted with a 1600 and 4.0.
In spite of this, 18 kids applied there this year. It is a hot school.

At our school, the kids have much better luck at other schools, like Penn and Duke.

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the big stink? Maybe this is regional, but vandy is an amazing university, and I really don’t see why the average person would be that interested going to college in New Hampshire or Ithaca over Nashville. People here literally drain the fun out of college and want every school to be a Williamstown Prep

Nashville can be fun and Vandy can be a drag.

Anonymous wrote:Parent of current student from DC. Vanderbilt is not nearly as fun as DCUM says it is. No T20 school with the highest entry barriers is going to be fun. V. is very demanding once you’re in, just like Cornell or JHU or Duke. Really.

My son is also at Vanderbilt and just finished his freshman year. Agree, Vanderbilt is not fun. His freshman year was a grind. He likes Nashville and made a lot of friends from all over the world but he worked hard

What’s with the big stink? Maybe this is regional, but vandy is an amazing university, and I really don’t see why the average person would be that interested going to college in New Hampshire or Ithaca over Nashville. People here literally drain the fun out of college and want every school to be a Williamstown Prep