I was accepted to both WashU and Vandy as a transfer student. I am a international student from China. I really want to know which college is more prestigious or well regarded in the US. And, which one has better reputation in economics or finance?
I’d pick Wash U. It has a more ethnically diverse population than Vandy. And is considered a very good U. .
Their academic reputations are essentially identical. They rank among the top 20 or so universities in the US (out of about 3000). They are both just a few km away from the downtown areas of major cities (still small by China standards). Both have beautiful campuses and amazing students, faculty, and staff. Wash U would be less Greek (fraternity/sorority) oriented and probably more subdued, a little less overwhelming socially, I would imagine. Downtown Nashville (Vanderbilt) has lots of clubs/music and an extremely vibrant social scene. Wash U students seemed to hang out primarily at the Delmar Loop, a small little restaurant/retail area about a ten-minute walk from campus. You will have a great opportunity either way though. Good luck and enjoy the experience!
Delmar Loop
Downtown Nashville
D is a 2nd generation Asian American who is going to a Vandy in the fall, instead of MIT, U Chicago and Duke. While the full tuition scholarship is a big part of her decision, she also didn’t want to go to a school with too many Asians. Vandy has name recognition and great alumni network. But it is up to you to get out of Chinese student group and mingle. One girl we know is interning at Accenture (in her junior year with an Econ major) and she never had any trouble finding internships.
Besides the friendly atmosphere and nice kids, D also loves the food there.
Don’t know much about Wash U, other than D was waitlisted and it was raining all day she was visiting!
They are both excellent schools and have equally good reputations. I really liked Wash U (and not just because it was sunny when we visited). D liked it a bit more than she liked Vanderbilt – she thought that Vandy seemed more socially segregated between Greek and non-Greek. She also sat in on a class that she didn’t like at all and disagreed with pretty much everything the professor was saying. She liked Wash U’s campus, campus culture, its programs and its surrounding area better than Vanderbilt’s.
But you can’t go wrong with either school.
Bump
If I want to work in IB, which one is a better “target school”
Overall prestige and academics are very similar. Vandy is slightly better than WUSTL for IB, but both are semi-targets at best. It’s not like going to one school will give you a huge advantage over the other. Pick based on personal fit or cost at this point.
Both schools are world class in every respect. They are more well known in the US than internationally, but the education that you will be getting at either is as good as anywhere. Don’t put your energy into splitting hairs on reputation. There really is no significant academic difference. Socially and culturally they are somewhat different (i.e. Greek (fraternity/sorority) life (more prevalent at Vandy I believe), but it’s hard to recommend one without knowing what kind of environment would most suit you. Pick the one that feels most right in your heart.
Most importantly, it’s HOW you go to Vandy or Wash U that will make the difference. Work hard. Embrace opportunities. Learn from and with the amazing people around you–faculty, staff, and students. Get to know people who are different from you. There’s learning in that. Treat everyone with respect and dignity, including those who do not have the very fine opportunities that you will have at either of these schools. Be proactive in meeting with professors and going to their office hours. Line up tutors in your most challenging classes early your first semester, just for the help and opportunity to learn from experienced students. That’s much more helpful than waiting until you are struggling with a class. And have some fun, enjoy being young. That does not last forever. Godspeed!
We had looked at/visited Vanderbilt and Wash U for sciences, so not familiar with business programs. Do you plan to major in business or some other field? Wash U has the Olin Business School. It looks like Vanderbilt has undergrad business courses but not a major. This is from a quick look, so I’m not saying that definitively. If you are planning to major in business, are you accepted into Olin at Wash U? Some schools direct admit students into their business school. At other schools, students apply while at the school. Sometimes there are minimum requirements and sometimes the process is a competitive one. What’s your intended major?
to be honest, for IB, neither. it may be better to take a lesser overall ranked school for a better ranked program. UC Berkeley, USC, and NYU are lesser ranked schools but are more known in IB, especially NYU
@ANormalSeniorGuy Berkeley or bust right? OP only has the option between Vandy and Wash U. Pretty sure he knows that both are semi-targets for IB. How does bringing up any of those schools help him?
@ANormalSeniorGuy Not trying to be abrasive. But I mean if you read the first sentence in OP’s post, it says he is deciding between Vandy and WUSTL. Also the Berkeley or bust was a joke, since you advocate for Berkeley in every given situation, even if Berkeley has nothing to do with it. Yea, Berkeley is a great school, but different people have different circumstances, and Berkeley isn’t always the right choice. I am not hating on you. Just noticing a common denominator in your replies.
@Dontskipthemoose The pattern is there only because I comment only on things in which I think I have a valuable opinion (i.e. topics I know/am more familiar with such as colleges for business, college comparisons, etc in which I have done) and in those comments Berkeley is a usual answer as I only comment on things in which I have an answer. Call it selective commenting, but you are right in that Cal is not the best option for everyone. But in this case (and in most cases where I say Cal) it can be a great option for its business prowess.
The reason why I did not instantly assume these were the only options is that when it comes to IB specifically, many people instantly think that more overall prestige is better, as they know ivies are the most recruited, and so they assume that is the same all the way down so that its always better if you go to the number 15 school over number 20. I have seen kids ask about Notre Dame vs. WUSTL and they got into NYU Stern and because of the above notion they completely ruled out NYU. Its not uncommon.
Wash U. Vandy is very preppy and more conservative than Wash U. Wssh U is highly regarded and prestigious.
I visited both with my D about a year ago. Both are wonderful colleges with strong programs and beautiful campuses.
One area where they differ is safety. Vanderbilt is in a much safer area than WashU. While the WashU campus itself feels very safe, you need to be careful once you leave it. I would recommend against women visiting the Delmar Loop alone at night, and things get very sketchy 1/4 mile east of campus.
OP, do you have American citizenship or working visa? Or will you be relying on employer to help you with H1B? How are your interviewing and social skills?
IB is competitive even at target schools. From the competition perspective, I see banks picking American kids first…just in terms of working visa issue and easy rapport.
If I were you, I would have other career options and evaluate the two schools from all the options.
@SincererLove I think I will get green card eventually through investment visa. So I will not need work visa.