<p>I would contact Vanderbilt if you can’t get the page to work. There are some merit scholarships that require a specific application, but I think the majority are screened for automatically from among all the applications. No special essays, recommendations, etc.</p>
<p>But as I said, there are a few that will require extra effort on your part, so contact them and get the details.</p>
<p>I think way too many people are hung up on rankings. Also, in my experience Vanderbilt appeals to students who are not “narrow” in the sense that some engineering students are. VU engineering tends to get a lot of students who are interested in other fields, and avail themselves of the opportunity to take music or other humanities classes; a lot of double majors with math as well. </p>
<p>Professors teach, and they are very involved in the undergraduate program. You may have a freshman “general engineering” lab that is run by graduate students under the advisement of faculty. It is a small group, though. Other than that, classes are taught by faculty. The ones my son sat in on while visiting campus were very small, and featured a lot of give and take between students and faculty.</p>
<p>I can’t answer your question about “fitting in”, although I am inclined to think you would have no problem as an engineering major. Try to visit.</p>