Vanderbilt's Reputation

[MomofWildChild]

I do think it is somewhat of an adjustment for some northerners. WildChild's girlfriend transferred from Vanderbilt after freshman year. She was disappointed in the intensity of her sorority and the big drinking scene (haha-as if Penn is any better.....) I personally think she was homesick and wanted to be closer to her Baltimore home. Now removed, she is fondly remembering a lot of things about Vandy and Nashville, especially when I told her about our sunny, 70 degree Sunday!

[rubio]

"Gee was quite the anomaly..in Nashville..take my word for it..and he had just been let go out of his contract by Brown. He not only sported a bow tie..he was a Mormon (!)and Nashville holds the publication offices of the mainstream Protestant Methodists and Baptists as well as a solid Catholic base, and is most definitely a stronghold for the Bible Belt in many respects."

In my opinion (the poster who originally raised the point about the recruiting of Jews by Gee), this response is worse than the issue related to the recruiting of Jews.

Who cares if the President was a Mormon or wore a bow tie? This is obviously
a school that attracts people who exclude one who is not a WASP. I wouldn't want my child in this environment.

[mathmom]

Not 2007-2008, being the packrat that I am I can tell you it was March 2004 and it was William Shains Dean of Admissions who spoke. It was clear that in addition to geographic and racial diversity they would also welcome religious diversity, but I really, truly didn't think that the way it was presented at that particular meeting it seemed offensive. However, not being Jewish myself, I am probably no judge of that.

[MomofWildChild]

rubio- That is completely untrue. There are plenty of non-WASP students at Vanderbilt and absolutely no interest in excluding anyone! The liberal Divinity School didn't just "happen". It has full support of the administration. In fact, it is TOO liberal for some protestant denominations when considering ordination of Vandy Divinity grads.

Gee was beloved at Vanderbilt and did an excellent job. I've sure his successor will as well.

[rubio]

MOWC, it may be untrue, but I didn't make the quote. That is how my brain logically followed.

If I am mistaken, I have no problem acknowledging it. Internet communication isn't always clear, as we all know.

[frazzled1]

Oh, dear. I seem to have lost the thread of this argument. I thought the initial difficulty was with (now ex-) Chancellor Gee saying, in 2002, that he wanted Vanderbilt to recruit more Jewish students because their SAT scores were higher. Some posters found this statement unacceptable, I imagine because it reinforces a stereotype (Jewish = smarter). Okay, so the guy's gone now. For how long does this comment get to define Vanderbilt's campus culture?

Now we hear that Vanderbilt is still attempting to attract Jewish students because they will benefit the university, both academically and by increasing the diversity of its student body. I have to admit it – I don’t see what’s so reprehensible about this. Vanderbilt identified a problem several years ago – a not-diverse-enough student body – and is trying to solve that problem by recruiting more students of color and ethnic diversity. How are they supposed to do it?

So if what Vanderbilt wants is more diversity and a less WASPy student body – where does this come from?

This is obviously
a school that attracts people who exclude one who is not a WASP.

The admitted students profile for this year includes 30.2 percent students of color. And who knows how many Caucasian non-Protestants? That’s a ridiculously large number to exclude, isn’t it? For such a smart bunch of people (SAT 25/75 percentiles 1380/1540), especially.

[Hanna]

"She was disappointed in the intensity of her sorority"

As in, it was too intense or not intense enough?

Did she affiliate with a chapter at Penn?

[MomofWildChild]

As in too intense and too shallow. She did NOT join a sorority at Penn. To be honest (and I do not mean this at ALL in a negative way), she seems like the type who would have really liked the sorority experience.

[sryrstress]

Wow-I am very surprised at some of the negativity on this thread. Over the last 18 months, I had inferred that many at cc thought highly of Vanderbilt. It was one of our favorite schools and one of my S's final choices.

He found many things he liked about the school: excellent academics, work hard/play hard atmosphere (i.e.-good social life), not a cut-throat competitive atmosphere, D1 sports and great school spirit, beautiful campus, yet still close to all the attractions of Nashville, lovely weather with 4 seasons and mild winter, etc.

From the ten schools to which he applied, Vandy easily won the "friendliest and most helpful to applicants and parents". I was, and am, impressed by the school.

[midmo]

^^^I count one or two negative posters. Most of the posters are positive, and for exactly the reasons you mention.

[sryrstress]

^^Well, good. I was reading too quickly, I guess, and not specifically looking at the posters. Was getting more of a negative "vibe" than I would have liked!

I am from the rural midwest and feel that Vanderbilt (and many other southern, midwestern, western schools) often gets an unfair rap, and not due consideration, from those from the NE.

[MomofWildChild]

^^ As I said, not necessarily a bad thing for it to be off the radar of a majority of the northeasterners.

[rubio]

"The most famous mansion at Newport Beach is also a Vanderbilt mansion, also owned by the city or state, as the family abandoned it."

"Its called the Breakers and its Newport not Newport Beach and its owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County. Countess Sylvia Szapary (great-great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt) continued to live there on the upper floors 1998. Her son Paul now is on the board of directors there."

Roberthid and others, forgive me for not being up to par on my history of robber barrons and the state of their mansions and locations. I will be sure to associate the Rockefeller name with Vanderbilt in the future. When I next skate at Rockefeller Center, I will think of Vanderbilt.

[midmo]

^^^Actually, I think it is John D. Rockefeller who is noted as the founder of the University of Chicago. So you will have to think of U Chicago, too.

[hawkette]

sryrstress,
Having read and posted on CC for over two years, I have actually seen Vanderbilt's star rising here. Partly this is thanks to the very informative and fair and specific posts often made by midmo, MOWC, and several others that reflect the quality of the school and how it compares favorably with many of the better-known, historical elites. And partly Vandy’s stronger national (and CC) reputation is due to the swell in top student demographics and the larger universe of top colleges that these students are now considering for application and matriculation.

The beauty is that, for many people, the more that they learn about Vanderbilt, the more they realize what a terrific place it is. Great students, great academics, beautiful campus, lots of fun, mild weather, active sports scene, excellent city....It's a pretty terrific place.

Folks who have known the school for years have known of its quality, but only recently has the school come on the radar screens in a big way for large numbers of America's top high school talent. This year’s 30% increase in applications was extraordinary in an extraordinary year and bespeaks the school’s many attractive qualities including the opening next fall of the university’s new freshman dorms/residential colleges. The application increase may also reflect the increased efforts by the college to expand diversity. It will be interesting to see how these numbers evolve over the next few years.

Perhaps much to MOWC's disappointment, now that the genie is out of the bottle, more and more Northeasterns and other non-Southerners are likely to find their way to Nashville. It's a different and comparatively unique undergraduate environment and experience than what virtually all of the prominent northeastern colleges offer.

Without question, Vanderbilt has become an increasingly acceptable choice for many top non-southern students who had previously not looked past Duke in their consideration of top colleges located in the South. The more folks see some of these top southern colleges, like Vanderbilt, Duke, Rice, and Emory, the more they realize that there truly are great colleges in all regions of the country and some that offer a surprisingly strong (and perhaps better) undergraduate alternative than their better known peers to the north and west.