Vanderbilt chancellor's scholarship or full ride to UNC

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Greetings!!!

I’m a high-school senior, and I’m trying to decide which school to choose. I have the Chancellor’s Scholarship to Vandy which is full tuition, but with my need-based aid I wouldn’t have to pay anything at all, and with UNC I wouldn’t have to pay anything either. I’m so happy to have this sort of problem, but it is a little stressful considering these are two AMAZING offers.

So, I thought I would ask the forum I’ve been stalking for the last few months haha. Give me your thoughs, and what you would do if you were in my situation.

Btw, I want to work in marketing or public relations in the future!

Things I love about Vandy:

-The Chancellor’s Scholarship is HIGHLY selective, and I feel like it could open a lot of doors for me.

-The student body seems to be very happy!

-I love Nashville (has great job opportunities + it’s an overall fun city)

-I think it is maybe more prestigious than UNC?

-Private school + less students = more opportunities

Things I don’t like about Vanderbilt

The amount of Gen-Eds/the AXLE program seems a little excessive…

-I’m not a big fan of how much things revolve around greek life

-I hear that a lot of students are in the 1%, and are somewhat classist?

-The major that I applied for isn’t as targeted to my career plans as UNC, but it’s close enough.

Things I love about UNC:

-I REALLY love their honors program. The smaller classes are amazing, as well as the priority enrollment, and Cobbs dorms are gorgeous. I also really love the honors study abroad program!

-Its public relations program is AMAZING!! The classes are so very hands on, and I’ve talked to a bunch of alumni/current students and they feel/felt very prepared for their careers after UNC.

-I love the pride that Tar Heels have for UNC!

Things that I don’t like:

-I don’t like that it’s over 80% in state students… it somewhat bothers me almost that people may be coming in with friend groups, and I’ll feel maybe alone or almost as if I made the wrong choice because “everyone knows each other” (although I know that isn’t true).

-I feel that Chapel Hill is too small for me, as I’ve always envisioned myself going to a bigger city for college.

-I hear there students are very stressed because of grade deflation?

Let me know what you all think!

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Congratulations - no matter which you choose, it’s a grand slam either way!!

While I believe you are financially constrained, any way you can get to both?

It is true, Vandy is a short uber ride from downtown - and you’re in west end and by music row - and not far from agencies. Chapel Hill is also - not far from Raleigh - not Vandy close but how often will you really be leaving campus?

As for the “instate” vs. more diverse - I suppose it’s true but it’s a big state and they’ll be coming from all over.

I don’t know about more opportunities at Vandy - because it’s smaller and private. You might talk to a student ambassador or two - that’s an assumption, I just don’t know.

You could find advertising / pr experiences anywhere but if that is a field of study you want, I assume you are talking about the Hussman school at UNC ? Or something else? Not sure you can replicate at Vandy.

Honestly - you can be happy at multiple schools - so this is really one - you win either way.

That’s truly an awesome achievement. Congrats to you.

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Go to Vanderbilt. It sounds like a better fit based on the reasons you stated.

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Thank you so much! I totally agree! Both situations are honestly beyond ideal. I hope to visit Vandy during Mosaic, and maybe UNC that next week!

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Thank you for your input!

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Congratulations! This is amazing!

This is really going to depend on which school you like better.

My daughter went to UNC (OOS) and you are right that there is a big instate presence. It was hard for her at first, but she made friends from all over the country/world and loved the school. She had plenty of opportunities: research positions and several publications, close relationships with professors (still friendly with them), internships, various presentations, travel with professors, leadership positions etc. Academically…she had a wonderful education and was very, very happy. The work was perfect and she did not find any grade deflation- she studied and did very well. She was not interested in Greek life and never saw it (it was off campus).

My D’s friend at UNC (also OOS) was in the school of journalism and had plenty of opportunities as well, including internships with well known news organizations, internships in DC etc.

Vanderbilt is a wonderful school- gorgeous campus, top university, Nashville, etc. My daughter loved it initially but came to realize it was not the right fit….for HER. There are plenty of happy students who think it is right…for them.

I would like to congratulate you again as you make your decision. Good luck choosing between these two wonderful schools!

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Thank you so much for sharing you and your daughter’s experience! I feel like the biggest factor moving forward is going to be visiting the campuses for sure.

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I think if you’re not interested in Greek life then UNC is better. Sounds like it’s better for your major too. I think UNC is more well known than Vandy, too. Both are great schools. UNC has students from all 50 states and countries around the world. If you’re friendly it’s pretty easy to make friends.

Chapel Hill is a smaller town but with a concentration of cool. Nashville would be great if you love country music because that’s not a big thing in Chapel Hill. Lots of other great music in Chapel Hill though. It has one of the best independent music venues in the country. And, of course, Nashville is not only about country music and has tons of other stuff going on.

I think if you can visit both schools things will become clearer for you. Congrats on your achievements. That is really something to be proud of! You’ll get an excellent education at either school.

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Both excellent options. I’m a fan of location location location for undergrads. Happy students do better than unhappy ones.

I think now that you are visiting both schools as an accepted student, this will be more clear to you.

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Thank you for your insights!

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I hope so! Thanks!

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If you’re interested in winning football and basketball teams than UNC is clearly the better choice. UNC vs Duke is much more competitive than Vanderbilt vs Tennessee when it comes to college sports rivalries. But, the SEC (Vanderbilt’s sports conference) is far superior to the ACC (UNC) with respect to overall athletic talent.

Otherwise, the Nashville environment offers more opportunity compared to the “Research Triangle” in terms of entertainment, food diversity, interesting and creative people. Nashville is probably about the same as the “Research Triangle” when it comes to internship opportunities. Obviously when it comes to music, there is no comparison.

Otherwise, Vanderbilt attracts students from all across the country so it’s probably more geographically diverse vs UNC. The school invests heavily in campus infrastructure. It’s finishing up on several spectacular residential colleges totaling $700 million and is in the process of a major athletic complex upgrade so maybe there’s hope for Vanderbilt football in the future.

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Thank you so so much!

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Congratulations! You have a great problem!!
My daughter is a junior at Vandy. She is not involved in Greek life, is definitely NOT part of the 1%, and LOVES the school. She is currently in Germany for spring break as part of a course, and all of the expenses are covered by Vandy tuition. (She could also have gone abroad for a full semester, or a may-mester, and it would have been covered as well)
With your interests, and wanting to have fewer requirements, you might consider majoring in HOD at Peabody. That major could work well for your career goals, and would have fewer gen eds/AXLE requirements.
She has made close relationships with faculty, gotten involved in a variety of activities, found wonderful friends, and is having a wonderful 4 years. She has found the environment to be supportive, collaborative and is able to balance academics with a double major (not STEM), activities, an on-campus job and social life, with a 4.0 GPA. (Yes- she sleeps!)

That said, it sounds like UNC also has a lot to offer, including a specific Public Relations major.

You cannot go wrong. I suggest talking to current students and visiting if you can.
See if you have a gut feeling about one of the schools.
They are both wonderful, and you will be successful with either choice.

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Visit, then decide.

You like the prestige & location of Vanderbilt; you love the academic aspects of UNC.

Your concerns are Greek life focus and wealth of Vanderbilt students and the lack of geographic diversity at UNC.

Although your concern about existing friend groups/familiarity at UNC is a legitimate concern, the school has a large number of students while the Honors College is composed of about just 10% of each incoming class which should lead to making new friends quickly , therefore both the largeness of UNC and the smallness of the Honors College should help to rectify/address your concern in this area.

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Thank you so much, and I’m so happy to hear that your daughter is having such an amazing time at Vandy!

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Will do!

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