Vanderbilt University…Way more than just Statistics
Over the past month, I have had to fortunate opportunity to train as Tour Guide associated with the Office of Undergraduate admissions. I have been shadowing tours for weeks and most recently was able to co-lead a tour with one of our veteran guides. I was quite nervous before co-leading my first tour as the responsibility of leading and talking to a group for over an hour seemed like a daunting task at first. That said, I was surprised how friendly and genuinely interested the prospective students and their parents were in hearing what we had to say as guides. Of course we have to know all the statistics about this and that on Vanderbilt’s campus, but it was a real relief when parents and students wanted to know the insides and outs of the life here at Vanderbilt. I’m really glad they ended up asking those things because at the end of the day, the personal anecdotal stories are what seals the deal for many. Statistics about diversity and per capita expenditures can only go so far; I was personally sold on Vanderbilt when I talked with a few students about their satisfaction with the campus environment, city of Nashville and interaction with professors.
Read below to find out more about how Vanderbilt may be right for you…and how you can have the opportunity to come up with the next million-dollar invention.
Many schools like to boast how much money is funneled into certain programs to make them sound established and successful; while Vanderbilt definitely has the financial and administrative support to back just about any endeavor one can imagine, I cannot stress enough how important individual relationships with professors and administrators have been so far in my career here. By no means am I trying to disrespect those that appreciate laundry lists of statistics about programs. What I am trying to say is Vanderbilt has the balance right in my opinion. The institution has the money to do anything they want (i.e. research and organization sponsorship) but has never seemed too caught up in statistics and self-promotion to lose sight of what’s important – and that’s to keep moving forward. What I mean by their continuing effort to move forward is their focus on passing on the legacy of education to each generation of students that come through the doors of this wonderful place. I really feel like this university trusts me with its resources and truly believes that I can go out in the world and achieve. To me that is more important in my education than to know my school has billions of dollars… (Incidentally we have both J). My point is that I have been seeing more and more that undergrads are not only given opportunities to start growing and take on a role in our society, but encouraged to do so. Many a time I have heard of undergraduate students feeling condescended by the institution they go to, as they feel like stereotyped “babies.” I do not feel this way at all at Vanderbilt. In fact, I feel more mature than I ever have in my life, feeling like a professional in an environment of other professionals. I know my professors and administrators are technically “above” me in terms of hierarchy, but they do a pretty darn good job of making us feel like we are on the same level academically and socially. To give a quick example of undergraduate research at work: an undergrad came up with a composite material to make the new First-Year Commons dorm walls out of. Students can insert tacks into the walls because upon removal…the walls REASEAL THEMSELVES. Yea it’s THAT COOL! If you come visit one day ask a tour guide to show you this awesome new technology! Hope to see you on campus for a person tour soon!
