<p>I’m currently a sophomore at Skidmore College and I’ve been granted the option to transfer to Vanderbilt. </p>
<p>Coming in as a junior, I probably won’t join a frat, will this be a problem for me socially? I also have a tendency to drink copious amounts of booze, but I will be hoping to focus more on academics in my junior and senior year so I hope to avoid this. Are the the social pressures to drink at Vandy too great to withstand as I have heard?</p>
<p>I’ll be majoring in Psychology, any credible opinions on this department at Vandy?</p>
<p>I’m really into football and I’m looking to play in an intramural league, does Vandy have a decent intramural program?</p>
<p>I also have the choice of going to Tulane and I’m seriously considering it because I’m in love with New Orleans. Vanderbilt is better academically of course, but how would you rate Nashville compared to Nawlins? I know the frat scene is not quite as dominant at Tulane and this also attracts me.</p>
<p>I applied to Vanderbilt because Skidmore is cold and boring and full of trust fund hippies. I wanted a bigger school in warmer weather with top notch academics and more fun to be had. Will I be disappointed? Why should go to Vandy instead of Tulane?</p>
<p>Thanks to all in advance.</p>
<p>First congrats, both are good schools and you cant go wrong for what you are looking for. Vandy is an SEC School which means big time sports. Second, even though many on the outside think the frat scene is dominant at Vandy. Only 33% of the guys are in frats and all frat parties are open to the whole campus. I think the biggest thing to me is that everyone lives on campus. At Tulane, people stay off campus in apartments. I think on these two points alone make Vandy unique. Once you move off campus your focus is on apartment life and the local pubs thus smaller groups of friends. Vandy really pushes interaction with its students with a lot of on campus activities.
New Orleans as a town is totally different than Nashville. Nashville is a young developing town with a lot of energy. New Orleans is a old traditional town with great food. NO is hot and humid 3/4 of the time. Nashville is a good mix of hot and cool temp. </p>
<p>Good Luck on your decision.</p>
<p>You’re entertaining, I think you should go to Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>I don’t have a huge group of friends here and I generally I don’t like a lot of people. The forced social interaction thing, with all students living on campus, is a bit unattractive to me. I already feel like I’m living in a bubble here at Skidmore, but maybe since the bubble is bigger at Vandy it would be different. That’s partially why having the opportunity to live on my own in New Orleans draws me to Tulane. But again, it is tough to turn down a name like Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>By the way, I’m a fan of attractive girls, believe it or not, and I know Vandy is famous for this. What I’m not a fan of is slutty shallow girls and I’ve heard a lot of females at Vandy fit this description (males as well), but I don’t see how that could be the case with such high academic standards. I suppose all colleges have their share of bad reputations, but can anyone give me a bit more of an in-depth look at the student body?</p>
<p>And one more thing, is there a chance that I could get my own room (as in no roommate) coming in as a junior?</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>Hopefully the transition won’t be too bad for you. I’m not a guy, so I don’t know how that works with whole frat scene and deciding not to pledge. In general, I’ve heard that frats are hesitant to let guys into their parties who are not rushes/pledges/brothers after the first few weeks of school. The pressure to drink is only an issue if you make it one…don’t use the excuse that “the pressure is too great to withstand” to cover up for your own lack of self-control or willpower. I’ve never felt pressured to drink AT ALL.</p>
<p>As for the psych major, are you in A&S or Peabody? The Peabody school in general is incredibly highly ranked for its programs. I don’t know much about A&S Psych although I’ve heard it is more of a theory-based approach.</p>
<p>There is a good chance you could get your own room as a junior. There are singles in Kissam, Vandy/Barnard, Tolman, and Towers, which will all be upperclassmen housing next year. If you decide to enroll, just keep checking in with housing and they will probably make it happen for you!</p>
<p>TransferMal,</p>
<p>I’m in A&S. I’m not exactly crystal clear on what you mean by theory-based but I suppose I can talk to the department directly.</p>
<p>I don’t look for excuses for my lack of willpower, its just that as a guy, within some social circles, one can be the subject of substantial ostracism if he chooses to stay in and do work instead of going out and getting wasted every night. I’m just looking to find out what the case is with most social groups at Vandy (other than the frats) in terms of alcohol, but it is promising to hear that you don’t experience such pressures.</p>
<p>You need to check to see how many and what variety of psychology classes are available at Tulane. Their psychology department is not as strong as their science, engineering and business programs.</p>