<p>I didn’t like the idea of Vandy or Nashville either, at first. Now I have two kids at Vandy and everybody’s very happy. Maybe your mom is like me and always pictured you at a leafy New England campus (Vandy’s is just as pretty as any of them, though, and might be even prettier). Maybe she has misgivings about Bible Belt conservatism and academic quality in that context? I did and Vanderbilt has turned out to be nothing like what I feared it would be. </p>
<p>Based on what my kids say and what I’ve seen, the only real differences between schools like Brown and Vandy are social. Weather is also different, of course, but that’s not what your mother meant.</p>
<p>Academics are equal. Resources are equal. Size of the school, reputation of the school for purposes of getting in to graduate programs or getting jobs is equal. Admissions standards are pretty close to equal and no one could argue that the kids or faculty at one or the other is superior across-the-board (each school has relative strengths, but she knows that).</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is getting more and more like New England schools in terms of demographics, but that Southern thing is still alive at Vandy. What that means will only start a riot on this board, so use your imagination. For those who like that Southern atmosphere, however, it is a big factor in Vandy’s favor. For those who don’t like it, all I hear is that it is getting increasingly easy to ignore. In Brown’s favor is an atomosphere of “left-liberal ameliorism” and that is probably as big a deal there as the Southern vibe is at Vandy. I have no idea whether it’s easy to ignore liberal activism at Brown.</p>
<p>Which suits you?</p>