2016: How preppy is Vanderbilt?

undecided2000
Mon, 17 Oct 2016 19:24:24 +0000

Hi. From what I’ve gathered both from my visit and from online research, Vandy seems like a really cool, yet still prestigious, place to go to school. Recently I’ve started to read things saying that Vandy students are preppy. Some of these were written a few years ago, so it’s possible that things have changed since then as the school has become less of a “southern school.”

The consensus that these threads seem to come to is that while there are many Vandy students who care a lot about being stylish, there are still plenty of kids who are more casual.

I’m a guy who has always been content with what you might call “athletic wear.” (T shirts, shorts, sweatshirts, etc.) At my high school, this is how most guys dress. To be clear, I don’t go to school looking like I just woke up. I just don’t really like the idea of wearing polos or button downs to class.

My question is: Is there pressure for kids to conform to the “preppy” way of dressing and acting? I got the impression that Vandy kids were friendly and cool, so it was disappointing for me to find out that a lot of them get all dressed up to go to class. Is this just a noticable minority? Are most kids totally fine with wearing casual clothing?

Thanks.