For Vanderbilt, I had the opportunity to interview two people, Christiana and Rozi! I strongly recommend you to check out their responses if you're interested in Vanderbilt because I learned so much from them! Thank you so much Christiana and Rozi!
CHRISTIANA
I was extremely lucky enough to meet someone who loves Vanderbilt as much as I do! Want to know why Christiana loves Vanderbilt so much? She can talk to you all day! She is so sweet and an amazing person! Read her interview to learn some great advice and why Vanderbilt is so amazing! Thank you Christiana!
How would you describe the weather at Vanderbilt? Does it frequently snow? What would advise students to bring when coming to Vanderbilt?
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"for me, the weather is PERFECT during the fall. i love hot, sunny days, and in nashville i think it stayed in the 80s-90s up until october. november was pretty cool, and then it finally got chilly in december. i had mostly summer/fall clothes my first semester, and then during thanksgiving break i brought some winter clothes from home to vandy for the remainder of the semester."
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"second semester, i was only there until march obviously, but it was a mild winter. through jan and part of feb i wore a winter coat most days, and it rarely snowed. towards the end of feb and through march it was still chilly but there were a lot of weeks where i could go without a jacket, and even a few weeks/days when i would wear shorts and a t shirt out."
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"so in summary, it does get cold in the winter but never really below 20s."
What do you think makes this Vanderbilt unique from other schools you applied to?
"i could rave about vandy allllll day."
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"location. nashville is absolutely the PERFECT city for college students. there are cheap concerts and big name concerts basically every day of the week, there are AMAZING and super cute places to eat and drink coffee, there are tons of different neighborhoods to check out - each with a different vibe, there are super fun karaoke bars, and there are really pretty places to hike and explore nature. its never ever boring. and its also really neat bc belmont is right by campus and lipscomb is near campus too, so nashville has a huge college student population if you wanna make friends outside of vandy."
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"the people. vanderbilt is a hard school to get into and the classes are very challenging i wont deny that, but the collaborative environment is like none other. your friends and classmates WANT to see you succeed and its such an enriching experience to be friends with and learn from really creative and highly motivated students who ARENT trying to compete with you and arent toxic and just want to see you succeed and be friends with you. literally EVERYONE is friends no joke, like i dont hear about any types of weird drama or people looking down on others or talking badly about other people because everyone actually really loves and respects each other, its kind of insane and everyone is super super diverse. there are insanely talented musicians, there are D1 athletes, there are people who volunteer all over nashville, people who are already working in hospitals and labs as freshmen, people who have worked with congressmen and politicians - everyone is talented and gifted in very unique ways and its really exciting to know that the people you go to school with are world changers."
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"but also vandy is constantly ranked in the top 3 happiest schools, and top 2 for how much students love the school, and i thought that was BS but its SO so true- everyone i know loves vanderbilt and its truly a joyful environment."
What is your major and was it the major that you wanted to focus on since high school or did it change?
"my majors are currently poli sci and vocal jazz studies. that’s honestly probably going to change lol - i went into vandy as a public policy major but then changed to poli sci (bc it requires less econ and the poli sci department is phenomenal) and added jazz - i might change it to major in jazz and HOD and then minor in poli sci."
What inspired you to work hard to strive to get into your dream school, Vanderbilt?
"oooo definitely my parents bc they invested a lot into me so i wanted to work hard and make them proud. also i just loved nashville and vandy and visited my freshman year so i always knew i wanted to apply, and nashville itself definitely motivated me to work hard to get there."
ROZI
Ever heard of a high school in NYC named Stuyvesant? It's ironic if you didn't! Rozi is from Stuy and currently attends Vanderbilt! Her responses are so helpful and I definitely recommend checking her out if you're interested in learning more about Vanderbilt! Thank you Rozi!
How would you describe the workload? Do students study at home during the weekends or go out and relax with their friends?
"The workload is super manageable especially for a Stuy student. When teachers in Stuy say they’ve prepared you well for college, it definitely applies here. Vandy’s motto is “work hard, play hard” so students do end up going out on weekends but I have never seen anyone get looked down upon for not going out. You’ll also find friends who would love to chill in your dorm with you too if you don’t like to go out! They definitely understand going out and Greek Life isn't for everyone and I’ve never felt like it was ever forced upon me."
What is your major and why did you choose this major?
"I’m a Human & Organizational Development major and a Business minor. Back at Stuy I was always really interested in psychology and economics and HOD was the perfect blend of the two."
What do you think makes Vanderbilt unique?
"I think what makes Vandy unique is it’s high academic standing (there are really prestigious yet caring professors here) and a more social environment. Part of that is because Vandy is an SEC school yet a top-15 private university so there’s so much opportunity to not only get to know your professors but also your peers."
What’s your favorite class?
"My favorite class has been Business Management with Professor Garnett Slatton. It really changed the way I see businesses and how they function from a strategic lens. He’s also a pretty great professor who knows so much and cares so much."
How would you describe your first-year experience at Vanderbilt!
"My first-year experience was amazing. One of the things Vanderbilt does right for almost everyone is the first-year (Commons) experience. The first-years are all in one part of campus (the Commons) where you get to foster house community, get to know other first-years really well, and they arrange a bunch of programming and events for you!!"