Have not posted here since last spring, probably right before S '20 made his final decision, due to a family emergency and all kinds of craziness. My apologies to Faline, who also gave us great advice and whose input was so important to that decision. As you probably figured out by now, S did end up at Vanderbilt and is loving it there. He just mentioned today that he just hosted a guy from the west who ended up choosing between two different scholarships, one of which was the CV. My S is also a scholarship student but did not apply for the CV.
I think Faline is right in that the scholar experience is different at Vanderbilt than at some other universities. I would say it is not overwhelmingly ‘defining’ in a good way. The students are free to make it a larger part of their experience but they also can identify with other groups and activities, as well as pursue independent relationships and interests.It is a good balance. Our S spends time weekly with his scholarship group and also hangs out on his own time with friends from that bunch. They are often running out to some cultural event they were given tickets to, or lunch with an advisor, or getting together to do something in the community. On the flip side he has made lots of friends in a couple of other groups as well.
Last semester he got gear with friends and went camping. He went on a retreat in the Asheville area, to Dollywood, to an event at the Country Music Hall of Fame as a guest, a presentation of The Sound of Music, and to concerts that I couldn’t begin to list. He plays tennis and walks all over. They catch cabs or carpool downtown or to events in the area. We caught him on tv a few times cheering for the basketball team. He made it over to Lipscomb and Belmont for a game and other events as well with new friends from those schools. That scratches the surface at least, but it’s not all fun and games. Vandy is a serious academic school! He is not in a fraternity but has friends who are…and he does not drink. That’s ok at Vanderbilt. He is from the west coast. Like I said, he loves Vanderbilt! Just today he commented he would rather be at Vanderbilt, even if he didn’t have a scholarship, than at Duke with a scholarship (which he did have and turned down, even after they footed the bill for a second visit, post-scholarship event with a parent in tow).
@hanuman123 - Go with your gut. Have you visited both places? No offense to Duke, but S could not wait to get out of there. I agreed it was a poor fit for him. S '17 has a close friend their on scholarship who loves the place, but maybe it didn’t hurt that his mom was an alum. His brother, S '17 had always dreamed of going to Duke if admitted, and then didn’t even attend the admitted students event (even with his friend there) because although Duke looked like a great match on paper, by then he was choosing between Stanford, Yale and MIT. So he ended up giving up a full ride at Chapel Hill and scholarships at top elites that award merit, but I can say, with graduation around the corner, he has truly lived the dream. So many opportunities! Our D ‘14 chose a very selective LAC over a scholarship at Vanderbilt, even though it was tough for her to let that experience go. She wanted to do both! It was the right decision for her. Worked in admissions all 4 yrs and couldn’t have been happier. (Thrilled her little brother is there though.) Her older sister went the state honors program/scholarship route. Lots of positives there too, but sometimes wonders after watching her siblings’ experiences if she made the right decision. You really need to check out the campus vibe, go through all of the pluses and minuses and figure out what works for you.
Like Faline said, Vanderbilt is full of top-flight people, academically and otherwise. It is the only college four of our kids applied to and we are honored that our youngest gets to be a part of that wonderful community. We have visited everywhere, and USC is lovely but a very different vibe from Vanderbilt. So, like Faline said, Stamps is great, and certainly an honor but what else do you want to do? I mean that is just one part of college. Study abroad, music, sports (SEC or PAC 12?), alternative spring break, (great at Vandy btw!) religious group, political group, clubs? Also, speaking from experience, SEC and PAC 12 are very different overall experiences. Are you from California or the west coast? Nashville and LA are polar opposites as well but S’20 did not want to be in California.
Above, stvea who “regrets not choosing a scholarship at another school that gave me benefits compared to other students.” Good point. Do you want to be a big fish? Our nephew chose a scholarship at Tulsa for that very reason. S '17 has had Olympic athletes, actresses, and all kinds of other phenomenal beyond accomplished peers as dorm and classmates. The parents, staff etc are a who’s who list. Mostly they keep a low profile and he finds out from someone else who they are. As he says, “if you are the biggest fish in the pond, you’re swimming in the wrong pond.” What’s your preference? It is hard on some students to go from being top-dog at their school to a place like Vanderbilt where everyone was a top-dog. Others thrive in that environment.
@sursumcorda - Enjoy your visit. Vanderbilt is beautiful this time of year! Like I said, we are far from SEC country as well. S '20 did not end up applying to the deep south. But he also spent the summer after his junior year at MIT and even though the program director was upset with him for refusing to apply to MIT and Harvard where he was supposedly a “lock” (hmm…)he would not apply to anything north of Duke. And then he said Duke still felt like the NE! S '17 is on the quiet side but good at finding his people-somehow managed to lead everything, recruit everyone and get everything done in high school. He lit up on the Vanderbilt tour, yakking away with the tour guide most of the time. Looks like he is running true to form in college, which seems to always be the case. Where do you think your daughter would click? I think it is really telling to watch them and their interactions closely on the visits and then ask questions and add observations of your own right after the fact.
Our younger 3 applied to all of the top merit scholarship schools and need based colleges with success. They also each had very big scholarships at top state schools like WM and Mary, UNC Chapel Hill and the University of Washington with the perks you mentioned. In the end they were not satisfied with the dichotomy of what they felt was the two-tiered system. They wanted the diverse, uniformly strong student body for a peer group. How many courses will actually be with honors peers or are there contracts within regular classes? It varies greatly as to honors benefits. We researched/visited widely. Some programs are more substantial than others by a large margin.
Some students may not feel a match with that private school environment. It is not always easy to move across the country to a very different culture. There are bumps in the road but also many rewards. Our oldest was a year younger than her peers already and decided 6 hours away and an honors college was as much of a stretch as she could manage at the time. I think she was right. To be fair, I will add that she did somewhat outgrow that model by her upper class years and is the one that had the most regrets, even though overall she had a good experience and got a fine education. Our oldest son also said there in the end that he did not want to be the ‘poster child’ or top student on display (you see them at the scholarship weekends with the sales pitch) at a school either, and eliminated the scholarships/programs where that was a possibility. There is no right or wrong decision here-just different ones. I always tell my kids to do their homework, make their choice and then make it the right decision.Good luck!