The College Solutions team recently sat down with Rebecca to catch up with her after her first semester at Vanderbilt University.

How are you liking Vanderbilt so far?

I LOVE college so far! Getting to meet so many amazing people from all over the country/world has been incredible, and I’ve made so many amazing friends. Vanderbilt also always has so many events going on, from football games and tailgates to speaker series and club events, I am constantly busy!

What are you enjoying most at Vanderbilt? Is anything surprising?

Vanderbilt has an incredible freshman experience which helped make for a smooth transition here. The entire freshman class lives on the Martha River Ingrams Commons together in 10 different houses, and the school is constantly putting on different freshman events. There is a “Commons Cup” which runs throughout the year where each house can win points at events like kickball, volleyball, frisbee, and everyone gets really into supporting their house. Each house also has a signature event once a week, my house having “Hank Hangs” which is where we all get together in the lobby and basically eat catered dessert, play Just Dance/Mario Kart, and just hang out. Vanderbilt is a mid-sized school, so I was surprised how many people I would get to know in such a short amount of time which is something I have to thank the whole Commons experience for!

Have you had a chance to explore Nashville? Is it strange living in a very different region of the country?

Yes! Nashville is such an exciting city, it’s honestly impossible to get bored here. My friends and I love going to Hillsboro, which is a neighborhood right next to the freshman campus with lots of coffee shops, restaurants, and clothing stores. Hillsboro and the other areas surrounding the rest of campus give Vanderbilt a “college-town” feel despite being located right in Nashville, which is something I love about the school. On weekends my friends and I usually explore the Gulch, 12 South, Germantown, or go for runs in Centennial Park which is all right by campus. The Nashville music scene is AMAZING. I’ve spent many weekends going downtown with my friends to listen to all the live music on Broadway or going to one of the many concerts happening each night. Nashville is different from Boston, but I wouldn't say Vanderbilt feels super “southern” at all which surprised me.

Is your experience what you expected from college?

It’s everything I had expected and more! I had never actually toured Vanderbilt before committing to go there because of Covid, so I wasn’t sure of what to expect from Nashville/the campus before getting there. It definitely feels like the traditional college experience which is something I really wanted.

Which of your classes are you enjoying the most?

I am really enjoying my Human and Organizational Developmental class called HOD 1250, Applied Human Development. This class combines different physiological principles and applies them to real life, which is super interesting to me to take academic knowledge and see it in action. Our latest paper consisted of interviewing another classmate and conducting a “Life Story Interview,” in which we got to learn about their whole life and then analyze their development, seeing how certain events in their life affected them later on.

Have you gotten involved in any extracurriculars yet? Do you think you might rush a sorority?

I am currently involved in Dance Marathon, which is a club that raises money for the children at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. I am on the family relations committee, which means I get to work directly with some of the “miracle” families and their children at the hospital. I am also a part of Women in Business, which is a club that has great networking events and speaker series.

At Vanderbilt, rush doesn’t officially take place until the spring semester, but we have had lots of sorority events this fall. This mainly involved visiting all the houses and talking to the girls from different sororities to get a feel of what Greek life is like. After going to all the rush events, I now plan on rushing in the spring because I think it would be a great way to meet more upperclassmen and just gain another support network on campus.

Do you know yet what you might want to major in?

Right now my main major is Human and Organizational Development, and I am considering a double major in Computer Science. It's very popular to double major/minor at Vanderbilt, which I loved because I could easily study different fields that did not necessarily relate to each other. The Human and Organizational Development major is unique to Vanderbilt, and it focuses on finding solutions to human problems in organizations and communities. Part of the major includes a semester-long internship or “capstone” experience in one of 6 major cities, in which you can explore interests at different companies Vanderbilt has connections to. The HOD major is the most popular major at Vanderbilt and drew me into wanting to go there.

What did you find most helpful in researching and applying to colleges?

I found reaching out to students currently at the schools I was looking at most helpful in the college search process. This gives you an insider view of daily life at the school and helps you grasp what going to school at the university is like beyond a typical tour or info session.

STUDENT STORY: Freshman Year at Vanderbilt