Vanderbilt is the best university in Tennessee, the US and probably the world

No college hunt is complete without a pile of brochures (either virtually clogging up your inbox or physically cluttering your kitchen counter) that outline the reasons that each school is better than all others. And yet we never know how reliable these brochures are with their flawless landscape pictures, athletic action shots, and blissfully happy student candid photos.

Fortunately, Vanderbilt University not only excels in academics, but also in its ability to keep it real.

We are the happiest college students in the nation

The Princeton Review has ranked Vanderbilt University students the happiest in the nation, two years in a row I might add. But you don’t even need the score charts to be sure of that.

Just by walking through campus during a busy time of day, the school spirit is overwhelming.

Free/cheap concerts… ALL the time

It’s Music City, for crying out loud! I have classmates who went to the CMA’s just because it was nearby!

In the past five months alone, Vandy students have seen Sam Hunt, Tim Mcgraw, Aaron Carter, Borgeous, Passion Pit, Cold War Kids, Jana Kramer, and Dierks Bentley within three miles of campus and without paying a single penny. Rites of Spring every April has featured artists such as Chance the Rapper, Steve Aoki, Delta Rae, and will be featuring Future in just a few months.

Then, of course, you have the infamous County Music Awards just down the street every November you can pop into on a study break – it’s no big deal.

In addition to a zillion recording studios and Carrie Underwood appearances, Nashville is also rich in history and college-age entertainment. Nashville is the state capital, the home of many Civil War monuments, and the site of the Hermitage…but that’s mainly for when your parents visit and they want proof that their 60 grand is actually being put to good use.

Dierks Bentley at $0.00.

We work hard AND play hard – smart is cool, geek is chic

Out of the 12,567 students enrolled at Vanderbilt for undergraduate or graduate education, 12,567 of them are (at least to some extent) nerds.

But nerds will rule the world, and Vandy will have a lot to brag about in the next twenty years.

Getting your first C was traumatizing. But that reality check was a character-building necessity. You just had to remind yourself that a 3.0 at Vandy translates to a 4.0 at many other schools. And even if you don’t graduate in the top 1%, future employers and grad school admissions departments will still be grateful to see “Vanderbilt class of _” on an application.

Once Thursday night hits, you’ll find frat row and the local bars just as packed. You might even see students at the library bright and early Friday morning studying away, still in their crop tops and booties from the night before. We can’t pick always pick playing over studying, but we make it work.

A single snowflake in the forecast guarantees a snow day

Tennessee provides a perfect middle-ground with regards to weather. If you can’t stand temperatures below 70 degrees, go to Florida. If you can’t live without your snow, check out New England. If you want to be able to do this…

We live for the rare days when we wake up to find a few inches of snow have covered the ground, and the whole campus has shut down. What you won’t see during a “Snowstorm” is salt on the sidewalks or more than one tiny snowplow on the roads.

However, you will come across grade-A igloos, sledding down the middle of 18^th Ave, and students sneaking into the football stadium.

 

Campus is beautiful all year long

Um, hello, have you seen our campus? Just put your phone in your pocket for, like, five minutes and you’ll realize that the pictures in the admissions brochure were most definitely not photo-shopped.

Not going to lie, sometimes it’s impossible to get to class without stopping to take a picture of Peabody Lawn. Walking through campus more often than not feels like being in a breathtaking fantasyland that has come to life out of a magazine.

Don’t be surprised if you catch students watching the sunset from the tops of residence halls or studying out on the lawn from dawn until dusk.

And no, you cannot accuse me of exaggerating (at least not about the campus) because these pics came straight off my iPhone.

You don’t have to speak Greek to make friends

At Vanderbilt is that Greek life is something but not everything.

Living in the Commons with over 1600 kids your age makes it impossible not to connect with classmates. With orientation week, Commons Mix-Ups, Anchor Dash, and countless other freshmen events, you’ll find BFFs and then, if you so choose, you’ll find sisters/brothers of insert-three-Greek-letters-here.

Experiencing the SEC: black and gold go with everything 

Vanderbilt’s football team is nothing to brag about (no offense boys, I’m just voicing the rants of my floor-mates).

Our sports teams may not always perform with the greatest finesse, but there’s no doubt that we love our Commodores. Football season will be full of endless little black sundresses, cowboy boots, body paint, stickers and endless chants of “ANCHOR DOWN”.

You’ll never have to walk into a Vanderbilt event and worry about being blinded by neon oranges, garish reds, or nauseating greens…at least not on our side.

Existing as the only private university in the Southeastern Conference means we get to experience the craziness of huge state games.

AND, surprising as this may seem to y’all, there are other sports besides football. As I recall, our beloved Commodore baseball team is one of the best in the country, and our girls tennis team is the best in the country.

Today, tomorrow, and forever GO ‘DORES!!