Vanderbilt vs. Georgetown

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Sylvester

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Hello, I am a transfer (rising sophomore) student that was admitted into Gtown and Vandy, however I am having a tough time deciding. I failed to get into West Point for the second time so I would appreciate any insight into the ARMY ROTC programs at either school. Can one program be “better?” Thanks!
 
The programs are bound to be different, as each ROTC program is. Start by exploring their respective websites and reaching out to the staff of each unit with any questions you may have.
www.vanderbilt.edu

Homepage

www.vanderbilt.edu
rotc.georgetown.edu

The Nation's Premiere ROTC Battalion - The Hoya Battalion

About The heart of every Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) battalion is its cadets, and five separate academic institutions comprise the Georgetown University Army ROTC program, fondly called the Hoya Battalion: Cadets, young men and women who volunteer to serve, become officers through a...
rotc.georgetown.edu rotc.georgetown.edu
 
I think the Hoya battalion has won some awards in the past 5 years or so. I don’t know if Vanderbilt has but it seems they have a great program too.
I went to Georgetown as did my son’s mom. My son is starting at Vandy in August and will be part of AROTC. We are all super excited for him.
It does seem like Vandy (and Nashville) are on the rise over the past decade. Georgetown has fallen in national rankings since I attended (from ~ 15 to ~25), as has its basketball team!!! Unless you definitely want to work in policy or politics, I would take a good look at Vandy.
 
Remember that the officers in charge change, as do the cadets. So culture and direction and practices can change also. And reputations are strange things: It takes an hour to get one and a lifetime to shake it. As others have said, better to pick the school first and make the ROTC unit secondary. If you’re happy at the school, chances are you’ll be happy in the unit. The other way around, maybe not so much.
 
Choose the school, not the battalion.

They're both excellent schools but quite different in terms of their strengths and the surrounding environment. Georgetown is going to have a much heavier emphasis on international relations and anything related to politics. For STEM subjects Vanderbilt has the edge.

As to the social environment, Vanderbilt / Nashville will be more balanced ie more intellectually/politically diverse than Georgetown. Vanderbilt's student body is a bit more diverse academically as well: it comprises not just STEM and liberal arts but also a top-notch School of Education and an excellent School of Music.
 
thibaud said:
Choose the school, not the battalion.

They're both excellent schools but quite different in terms of their strengths and the surrounding environment. Georgetown is going to have a much heavier emphasis on international relations and anything related to politics. For STEM subjects Vanderbilt has the edge.

As to the social environment, Vanderbilt / Nashville will be more balanced ie more intellectually/politically diverse than Georgetown. Vanderbilt's student body is a bit more diverse academically as well: it comprises not just STEM and liberal arts but also a top-notch School of Education and an excellent School of Music.
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Those are good points. Gtown has little hard sciences / engineering but one thing it does offer is an undergraduate business school, but business may not be the most useful major choice if you will be going into the army for at least 4 years (get an mba later).
You really should visit to see the campuses. Georgetown has done an amazing job of adding buildings to a small campus. It’s still quite beautiful. But the Vandy campus is the perfect size, about 3x the size of Gtown and consequently much more grass.
 
thibaud said:
Choose the school, not the battalion.

They're both excellent schools but quite different in terms of their strengths and the surrounding environment. Georgetown is going to have a much heavier emphasis on international relations and anything related to politics. For STEM subjects Vanderbilt has the edge.

As to the social environment, Vanderbilt / Nashville will be more balanced ie more intellectually/politically diverse than Georgetown. Vanderbilt's student body is a bit more diverse academically as well: it comprises not just STEM and liberal arts but also a top-notch School of Education and an excellent School of Music.
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It was a long time ago, but I was born and raised in Nashville and graduated from George Washington University. My high school was literally on Vanderbilt Campus and both my parents and sister went to Vandy.

@thibaud basically has it right, but I would add a few things:

Each school Is the academic tip top of its cohort of schools—Vandy in the SEC and G’town in the big East.

Both schools recruit nationally and actively pursue a diverse student body. However, Vandy is still a decidedly Southern School and G’town, an Eastern school. G’town is a Jesuit school and Vandy has a very proud Divinity School which feeds mostly into the mainline Protestant Churches.

If internships interest you, particularly if related to military/national security, then DC is your place. In DC you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting someone you know, love or hate, from the news. Many of them are on University faculties when their party is out of the White House. Imagine C-Span as your classroom. My freshman year Poli Sci professor was a Retired career Foreign Service Officer and former acting Ambassador to India. He was an unofficial advisor to Tip O’Neil, long time House Speaker. The class met at 6:15 pm and he inevitably arrived half lit, having just left “Social hour” at the Speaker’s office. We knew that whatever they talked about would probably be on the front page of the Washington Post the next morning. His former student was my boss when I was an intern in Lloyd Benson’s office.

In Nashville you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting someone deeply involved in music. My son was a handy violinist and fiddler. When we visited family in Nashville, I would take him to a jam session on Sunday night’s at a place called the Station Inn. It was open to everyone and I mean everyone—from my 12 year old to someone who looked like he/she just fell off a Greyhound Bus. At one of these sessions, Jerry Douglas, the world’s foremost Dobro player, walked in and joined. No one batted an eye. Nashville is also a world class business center, so internships abound there as well.

If you like college football weekends, Vandy is in the SEC and G’town is in the Patriot League (FCS). ‘Nuf said.

We have known a number of kids from here in Nebraska to go both places and never heard a discouraging word. Both our DS’s applied to and got into Vandy, but neither chose it, much to my chagrin.

Congratulations on earning these opportunities.
 
Watching this with interest and enjoyment.

I would stipulate Vanderbilt has better access to decent BBQ. That is not a frivolous factor for some.

Both are fine places, and as I commented earlier, it’s where the best fit and feel is that may be the deciding factor.
 
cb7893 said:
I was wondering how long it would take for you to show up.

How’ve you been?
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I'm good. I've been teleworking since March 10, and that's been more interesting with a toddler in tow, but things are good, especially with the state of things in the larger community.
 
LineInTheSand said:
Vanderbilt, and go to Nashville Predators games.
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This is overall great advice and a great place to watch the storied franchises of the hockey world like the Blackhawks and Bruins come to town and watch super heroes like Patrick Kane, Brad Marchand and essentially every starting Bruin what real hockey is all about. The Predators players like to look at the Championship rings of the Blackhawks and Bruins players. :biggrin:

Besides, Nashville had sooooooo much other stuff going on. Of course that could be distracting as well but based on the fact you were accepted at these two universities, you're obviously very smart and probably know how to take care of your priorities.
 
Capt MJ said:
I would stipulate Vanderbilt has better access to decent BBQ. That is not a frivolous factor for some.
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This ^ x 100.

We should also stipulate that DC has better access to an endless supply of Blue Crab and Oysters (when in season).
 
BigMac said:
Gtown and Vandy, however I am having a tough time deciding. I Can one program be “better?” Thanks!
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Georgetown School of Foreign Service grad and Washington DC native here--this question might depend on your interests. Georgetown is hands down the better choice if you have any interest in defense strategy, intelligence, and international operations. In Washington DC, your ROTC unit has access to amazing mentors at the Pentagon. Georgetown has an unparalleled depth of masters degrees programs attended by officers from all services and you would have the same faculty teaching some of your undergrad classes. The language training is superb--you can pick up a second language in a year if you're willing to take a 5 day per week class. When DS visited the George Washington NROTC unit prior to USNA Summer Seminar, several members had just come back from an intelligence briefing that would never have been an option for their peers at Vanderbuilt. That said...I work for HCA Healthcare headquartered in Nashville and have been travelling there for business for 16 years. It would be a pretty fun place to go to college! :cool:
 
BigMac said:
Can one program be “better?”
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Same end goal of butter bars. Hopefully someone who is familiar with either school's AROTC program will chime in soon with specifics. But great info above about making sure the school, campus, etc. is the right fit for you. What do you plan to study? I agree with everything @Therese_In_Denver said above. The only downside to Georgetown is the dorms, but hopefully you'd be living off campus soon enough!
 
Jarhead713, been meaning to ask: Is that avatar a drawing of Holden Caulfield? Are those ducks / is that his duck-hunter's hat?
 
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