UF has 20% Pell grant students, while Vanderbilt has 19%. Not a big difference here.
However, Vanderbilt does have 35% attending with no financial aid or scholarships.
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I suspect OP in the real world will find themselves confronted with the reality of having to interact with affluent people. In fact there is a distinct possibility OP may aspire to join that socio economic class in the not too distant future.
This student was accepted because they are perceived to have the skills and abilities to succeed. I assume they have the incremental maturity and ability to navigate the social realities of Vandy and the world at large.
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Per Vandy’s CDS, 46% are full pay. Per Florida’s CDS, only 33% are full pay, but note that full pay at Vandy is a much bigger nut, i.e., wealthy families.
For example, study group friends are going out to dinner and clubbing Friday night, but OP can only afford dorm food. (Same issue with Columbia & NYU.).
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By finals of my freshman year I had learned more from my affluent classmates (and dormmates) than I could have possibly learned in a lecture hall or seminar room.
I chose a topic for a research paper- and struggled with it. Couldn’t find enough primary sources to flesh out my argument. Three different librarians struggled to help me. Recommended secondary sources but cautioned “they have their limitations in this context”.
The kids from prep schools? They made a list of three topics they were interested in, showed up at office hours and asked the professors, “Which of these will make the most compelling topic?” The professor nixed the two that had limited sources and voila- problem solved.
I was struggling studying for finals. There was one exam (a survey course) which covered way too much material that was possible to review. Lots of all- nighters. I thought that asking for help was a sign I didn’t belong there. Prep school kids showed up at every review session, first to raise their hands if they didn’t understand something, in bed by midnight confident that they had prepared what they needed to know.
And on and on and on. I may have been top banana at my huge and very diverse HS, but I spent my years there avoiding grownup contact. That’s what you learned. Guidance counselor wants to see you? There’s a problem. Math teacher asks you to stay after class? You flunked a quiz. The “rich kids” didn’t view the world that way. They learned that professors are there to help you. Deans are there to navigate the university when a professor can’t help. Housing office is there to fix things when they break, and food services is there to make sure you are getting the right nutrition plus treats that you enjoy.
Only an idiot goes to college to avoid adults. But that idiot was me until I saw that there was an easier path.
And don’t get me started on senior year and how the affluent kids went about looking for a job. By then- I had learned my lesson! I was second in line the day Career Services started resume reviews, I was third in line to sign up for on-campus interviewing, and I was the first person to ask one of the career services counselors, “How would you describe a degree in Classics when interviewing for a corporate job?”. Answer- “I have exceptional research and analytical skills; I write concisely and can assimilate lots of complicated information into a compelling narrative; I have terrific persuasive skills which I have already demonstrated since you’ve agreed to interview me for a role doing ABC.”
I don’t think avoiding affluent kids is the right strategy here.
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I was that poor kid that attended a rich kid college.
It wasn’t always easy or pleasant but it provided the foundation, contacts, vision and opportunity for me to aspire and achieve “bigger” things. I would suggest OP not allow their current situation to dictate and limit their future.
Go for it, you have earned the shot.
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Dinner out can be an issue but clubbing won’t be (at least freshman/sophomore years). Dinner out issues also exist at public universities (parents on these forums with kids at flagships have complained about the problem 
) More generally, a top college will have students with money who may spend it in Greek life, an apartment with all the amenities, Spring Break in Barbados… It’s an adjustment at all colleges, it’s annoying for sure… but I’m sure OP has gotten over it a long time ago and it won’t be everyone. (Not to mention you can be rich and aware that not everyone is.)
For the important problems a FGLI student is likely to encounter though (such as what Blossom described) Vanderbilt will be more supportive and will have more resources.
Even wrt entertainment, Vanderbilt will have tons of free/low cost options on campus, it’s not like 20% students are marooned with nothing to do on weekends
Families who are full pay send their kids there for a reason even if they could pay much less at a flagship and OP earned the right to benefit from these tangible&intangible benefits -especially since we know FGLI kids are those who benefit MOST (much more than upper middle class kids) from that choice.
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And I was that poor kid attending a public university…but my roommate’s family were multimillionaire business owners. I’m not making this up. I honestly never really knew her family wealth until many years later when she got married. She was down to earth and also understood my financial constraints, jobs etc. There is nothing wrong with being around wealthy students when you are not. Many are very down to earth and humble…and helpful!
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Vanderbilt meal plan includes money to use at area restaurants specifically for this reason. My pell-eligible kid is at Vanderbilt and loves it there. He has friends with lots of money and friends there on full-rides; it’s fine. And, as mentioned earlier, Vanderbilt has a lot of money to throw around when it comes to things like funding unpaid summer opportunities, et. al.
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Checked US News 2024 college rankings as I am a bit surprised at the lack of respect for U Florida in this thread and the glorification of Vanderbilt University.
US News 2024 college rankings:
Vanderbilt is at #18 while U Florida is at #28–tied with #28 USC and higher ranked than Georgia Tech, U Texas at Austin, NYU, Illinois, Wisconsin, Boston College, and many other great National Universities.
No advantage in being a pre-med biology major at Vanderbilt compared to UF.
OP: This decision is yours and should be about you and your priority goal or goals.
P.S. OP: Because UF will accept all of your credits, you should be able to skip taking intro classes with large class sizes. This enables you to overcome the major negative of attending UF.
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This was one of the central results of the Chetty article on low income kids at “elite” colleges. According to the article, kid with the bottom 20th percentile by income who attended an “elite” colleges ended up in the 70th income percentile (on average), while those who attended a “selective public” ended up in the 60th percentile.
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(^ note that’s a $30,000 average difference per year… so that even if oP does less well than the average FGLI they’d recoup their expenses in a year and every year henceforth would be profitable.)
@ThinhT, congratulations for all your hard work which has resulted in such great offers!
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Have you had a chance to visit both schools while they were in-session? If so, what were your impressions?
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If you think you would be happy at either school, have you worked during the school year before? If so, how was the experience of balancing work with your school life?
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If you think you would be happy at either school and/or prefer Vanderbilt, have you asked Vanderbilt if they would reconsider their offer in light of the fact that you have a $0 parent contribution and have increased travel costs to get to Nashville AND the offer from UF?
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Although our situation is different from the OP’s, my S definitely felt like the poor kid among his Vandy friends, but he absolutely loved his experience. The resources were great and he was able to use his financial aid toward a semester abroad. He definitely feels that the connections he made and what he learned from his more knowledgeable peers about his industry were invaluable.
OP, hopefully you’ve had a chance to visit both schools. I’m sure you will enjoy and be successful at either. Even though I’m a Gator, I’d lean toward you choosing Vanderbilt.
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Typical offer from Vanderbilt would be based on full COA, so the 5k would include what OP has to pay for transportation, books, and miscellaneous.
@ThinhT : is that^ correct or is transportation on top of the 5k?
If so, have you been given work-study? (You can always request it - it just means you are a subsidized worker and would have priority for some on campus jobs, perhaps at the health center if you can work as a CNA.
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This. And in my experience, Vandy’s estimates for those expenses are very generous–i.e. it’s generally possible to spend less.
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Was going to bring up the meal plan issue also.
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With respect to OP’s situation, the difference in income–if any–would likely be eaten up by higher taxes, higher rent/home prices, and higher COL overall, therefore, this is not really a valid comparison. Additionally, OP intends to continue on to grad school, therefore, not relevant if the grad school is a school other than Vanderbilt.
OP: Any idea where you would prefer to live after finishing your education ?
Also, OP, a biology degree typically leads to low pay unless supplemented by a professional degree such as MD.
what’s the meal plan issue
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As @kokotg said, they inlcude money on the meal plan taht can be used at local restaurants. This allows students to still go off campus to eat and use their mealplan.
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Aside to clear that up because it may needlessly worry OP
[quote/] the difference in income–if any–would likely be eaten up by higher taxes, higher rent/home prices, and higher COL
[/quote]
Just explaining for @ThinhT : that’s not how taxes work, taxes don’t eat up the difference you earn when you earn an upper middle class salary, otherwise no one would bother earning more, no one would have an upper middle class lifestyle…
I’ve been in the low income tax bracket and in the high income tax bracket. I much prefer being in the high income bracket, even if it means nominally higher taxes. (For a very clear explanation, look up ‘vox how tax brackets work’ on YT.)
BTW, the Chetty study applies across the country not just TN.
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