Duke vs Vanderbilt vs UC Berkeley

College Search & Lists
1

Hi, I currently live in Southern California and am currently being recruited as a golfer to these three schools.
I also want to become a professional after college but also want a backup just incase I decide not to pursue a professional career. Also, I currently have a 4.8 GPA and got a 2010 on my SAT.
I’ve already gotten offers from Duke and Berkeley and have a possibility of an offer to Vanderbilt if I visit.
My family is well off but not rich.
But here’s my dilemma (I’ll list out the pros and cons)…

Duke…
Pros: (Great golf facilities, great academics, strong alumni base, private, golf ranking (4), loved campus, reputation)
Cons: (Super rigorous both athletically and academically, far from home, weather (beautiful but worse than california), also most importantly, only a 50% athletic scholarship which means no financial aid)

Vanderbilt…
Pros: (Great facility, great academics, strong alumni base, golf ranking (11), nice coaches, private, maybe FULL ride)
Cons: (I heard people were very preppy and stuck up?, far from home, different environment, lack of diversity?)
NEED ANSWERS TO THE CONS W/ QUESTION MARKS

UC Berkeley…
Pros: (great academics, close to the team and coaches, comfortable to the cali vibes, a lot of diversity, FULL ride, weather)
Cons: (practice facilities are a little farther away, golf ranking (35)).

I was just wondering if anyone had any personal experience/insight on these schools and areas of the schools and any advice for me! Anything is appreciated. Thank you! :slight_smile:

2

What academics do you want to pursue?

3

Honestly, I’m not sure yet…

4

I know nothing of the golf aspect. If it was me, I’d choose between Duke and Cal, depending on how much parents are willing to pay. BTW, academics at both those places would be hard.

5

Well they are all if course all fantastic academically. If you lean engineering, I’d go Cal. Else go to one of the schools giving a full scholarship and has the stronger coaching and golf facilities.

I really wouldn’t view Vandy students as stuck up in anyway even if some are preppy.

6

If you have time, a quick visit to Vanderbilt will help you sort out one part of this question for yourself. I think meeting and talking to members of the team will make a big difference.

7

If you are serious about golf, I would say Duke or Vanderbilt. Brandt Snedeker went to Vandy.

8

Vandy students aren’t stuck up. They’re some preppy types, but likely also at Duke.

Visit Vandy.

9

I would say that there are preppy students at basically every top college/university. There are some schools that are more known for it (New England LACs tend to be very preppy from what I’ve heard/seen), and some that are less, but I think any school with upper middle class to upper class students will have at least some preppy students.

Visiting each school is probably your best option at this point because it doesn’t really seem like you know exactly what you want. I’m sure that if you visit all three you’ll immediately know which one is your favorite. I don’t think any of these schools is a bad choice.

10

All three schools will be great. Perhaps you could base it on the golf program itself. What are the coaches like and the other players? What are the home courses like? Have you been guaranteed in writing a place on the traveling team at each of the universities freshman year or will you have to compete for the spot via a multi day tournament? How many upper classmen are on the golf team, for instance, so you can estimate your chances of making the traveling team? What is the practice routine like - how many hours a day will you be expected to devote to golf and will there be certain days of the week you won’t be able to schedule classes? (This can be an issue if you want to take foreign languages or specialized seminars, for instance.)

11

Full ride at Vandy or Cal trumps half ride at Duke. Vandy is big enough that you can find non-preppy, down-to-earth types. And you might just meet some people who dress preppy or went to prep school but aren’t stuck up :wink:

Nashville is a great town. But yes, you should visit if you can. And @SpiritManager brings up good considerations.

12

Vandy has diversity…it isn’t all rich white kids.

I don’t understand that “stuck up” claim. These are typical high-achieving kids like those found at other top schools.

My nephew graduated from there nearly 2 years ago, and he doesn’t have a stuck-up bone in his body…very sweet, kind, and quiet. He made lots of friends there and had a very good experience.