Northwestern > Vanderbilt > WashU.

Vanderbilt's 25%-75% SAT is

1480-1570
25% of enrolled freshmen submitted an SAT score, 32% submitted an ACT score

Northwestern
1500-1560
47% of enrolled freshmen submitted an SAT score; 31% submitted an ACT score

WashU
1500-1570
27% of enrolled freshmen submitted an SAT score (33% submitted an ACT)

Based on SAT data, Northwestern is better than WashU and Vanderbilt

Anonymous wrote:DS is interested in economics and CS, these are his options. Money isn’t a problem, any thoughts?

All three are wonderful choices, and your DS really can't go wrong. If he doesn't have a clear favorite, I suggest visiting them all again to get a better feel for each. They are all outstanding academically, and I don't think the USNWR rankings really make meaningful distinctions between them in terms of quality of education. As a result, I would suggest taking quality of life factors into account when making your decision. Your DS might want to consider location, weather, dorms, food, social culture, restaurants in the area, and other things that will affect his day-to-day life. Perhaps he could make a list of the ten things most important to him in a school and then examine each to see which school would be strongest in each category.

If it were my decision, I'd choose WashU for the comfortable dorms and good food, the very high average SAT (1527, according to PrepScholar, as opposed to 1495 at Northwestern and 1505 at Vanderbilt), the proximity to Forest Park, the presence of the famous St. Louis Chess Club nearby, and the driven but collaborative vibe of the students. Those are factors that appeal to me. Your son will have a different set of criteria.

Ignore the anti-Vanderbilt trolls. Vanderbilt's SAT is always top 5 in the country. Haters going to hate. It is a great school and provides a fantastic education. If you can afford it/get need aid, it really can't be beat.

Northwestern. I don't know if it is true, but I have heard Vandy CS is not great.

We visited all three. They each have a very distinct vibe. WashU felt more like a country club. But Northwestern and Vanderbilt seem to attract somewhat similar applicants. Except there's going to be some students at NU that would never study in the South. And there will be some students at Vandy that would never spend a winter in Evanston. Engineering is probably better at NU.

I meant (full tuition merit scholarship).

What if the comparison is Washu (full tuition), Northwestern or Vandy ?

NP. WashU and Vandy are similar for prestige. Northwestern is a bit above. Obviously they are all good schools; hard to imagine that one isn't more of a favorite than the others for vibe.

Northwestern is consistently ranked above Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt is consistently ranked above WashU.

Rinse and repeat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wash U & NW are far above Vandy.

Oh my goodness no

But you do you

If we're going to do this in 2023

Vanderbilt>Northwestern>WashU

Lmao, no one serious views Vandy above Northwestern...

Since they are all top schools, I would pick Vanderbilt due to weather. These schools are pretty different so maybe go on fit. Northwestern will be so cold which is a hard no. Housing at wash U in theory will be less expensive.

Anonymous wrote:Visited but did not like Vandy. Too much of a party/frat culture and not enough diversity.

Both schools are approximately 50% white.

Anonymous wrote:Wash U & NW are far above Vandy.

Oh my goodness no

But you do you

If we're going to do this in 2023

Vanderbilt>Northwestern>WashU

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northwestern=WashU>Vandy

LOL no

Vandy boosters out in full force

Exactly!
Northwestern > WuStl > Vanderbilt