<p>We attended an admit day, and the student panel talked alot about their fraternities and sororities (45% of the girls, they said) and the SEC (i.e., the Southeastern Conference). Now my daughter is very confused about Vanderbilt, which had been one of her top choices for two years. She is definitely not a stuffy kid, but likes movies, books, and music (not country) rather than football games and fraternity parties. Academics just did not seem to be the emphasis of the day. My ninth grader opined that the panel made Vanderbilt sound like a “smart kid’s State U”. I doubt very seriously that Vanderbilt got its reputation and ranking without having an emphasis on the intellect. What do you think?</p>
<p>When I visited for a couple days, I got the same impression (re: smart kid’s state U). I found the courses I attended to be lacking and the students in them to be unenthusiastic and unprepared.</p>
<p>In my view, Vanderbilt kids tend to be very well-balanced. Im currently a junior and Ive found that the students work very hard and the small classroom sizes allow for engaging conversations. Im surprised that you guys see D-1 sports as a negative. In my opinion, it fosters school spirit and football and basketball games are exciting. According to Facebook, the 10 most popular bands at Vanderbilt are Coldplay, DMB, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jack Johnson, The Postal Service, Ben Folds, Maroon 5, The Killers, and the Counting Crows. There are plenty of venues (ie. Exit/In, Ryman, The End, Mercy Lounge) that bring in popular indie/alternative/punk bands or any genre imaginable. Since kids are from all over the nation, Id say the vast majority do NOT listen to country. Also look at the Rites of Spring line-up this year put together by the student board (<a href=“http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ros/”>http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ros/</a> . Vandy brings many different musical genres to campus. </p>
<p>In reality, the students here are very intelligent and the academics are rigorous but the beautiful campus, friendly students, and good parties make those all-nighters and heavy workloads more manageable. There are many days when kids will just enjoy the sun, have BBQs, toss around the frisbee and then at night chill as a group and watch movies/party. Also – everybody here likes to read (whether they admit it or not). Kids just arent arrogant about their accomplishments and the student body isnt cut throat. (If you are looking for pseudo-intellectual kids who sip cappuccino in Borders while reading Nietzsche/Foucault all day go elsewhere). There is a sizeable amount of preppy/athletic/good-looking kids but they are not snobby at all. In short, if you want to hang out with down-to-earth kids, who are goal-orientated and care about their work but like to have fun too then you should check out Vanderbilt. I wouldnt trade schools for anything.</p>
<p>s’vrone - Which classes did you look into?</p>
<p>I sat in on an elementary Chinese course and a second-year calculus course.</p>
<p>I guess I shouldn’t have expected much from the Chinese course since I’ve lost faith in group foreign language classes, but the math class made me worry. The students in it did not have a good grasp of algebra and whined in class directly to the teacher about having to compute a very basic and short Maclaurin series.</p>
<p>Look at which classes you’re talking about. elementary chinese and a calc class that many people take simply because of requirements. You should’ve stopped by some advanced level courses or at the very least an intro class like bsci 110b.</p>
<p>That’s true. However, the only courses on the list I was given were basic courses.</p>
<p>Still: You’d think by the time that people got to college that they would be able to do algebra and keep their whining out of the classroom.</p>
<p>There are whiners everywhere; I’ve certainly met my fair share. It’s obvious that their strengths lie elsewhere…far, far away from math. heh. Either way, don’t let that reason be your only deterrent away from Vanderbilt. There are many people who are strong in math as well as other subjects. Who knows, you may find that those same whiners and incompetent mathematicians are actually breathtakingly brilliant in other subjects. Just like you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, leave open the possibility that those students have more to offer than what you’ve seen.</p>
<p>By second year calculus do you mean 170B or 175? Because a variety of people have to take those courses who don’t very much enjoy math. And there is one thing a lot of people at university will whine about - things not in their major field. I don’t personally have a problem with it, but a lot of people say “where will I ever use this!?!?!” and give up. Anyway, I’d think you’d find that everywhere.</p>