Day in My Life at Vanderbilt University

Attending informational sessions about colleges and universities is nice but what if you were given the inside scoop on a day in the life of an undergraduate senior at a top 15 university in the nation? If this intrigues, keep reading for information about my Tuesday at Vanderbilt University.

My Morning at Vanderbilt

I usually wake up around 9 am to start getting ready for the day. Due to the pandemic and my seniority, I do live off-campus in an apartment with my amazing roommate. Recently, Vanderbilt has been building more residential colleges to push for most of the on-campus housing as we are a residential college. I expect that there will be a slimmer chance of students living off-campus in the future due to these new housing projects.

My morning routine consists of checking my phone, showering, maybe eating breakfast, and packing lunch. At times I may be up earlier to finish up assignments. As a second-semester senior, I am taking a light course load which allows me to not have classes on Mondays or Fridays. I work as an Office Assistant in the Spanish Department and my first shift starts at 10 am, so I plan to leave the apartment at 9:40 am at the latest. This allows for parking and walking to the building.

Although my apartment is only a 20-minute walk to campus, I prefer to drive due to saving time and the likelihood that I must run errands between or after classes. Vanderbilt is a campus where you will walk a lot. As a first-year, most of your classes are on the main campus but the Commons, where first-years live, is not on the main campus. The commons is on the Peabody campus where you could be walking as much as 20 minutes from your dorm to your next class. This did help keep the dreaded freshman 15 at bay I will say. I always suggest comfortable shoes. The campus also is not drivable, so although I drive to campus, I still walk to wherever I need to go around campus.

A Day at Vandy

I am blessed enough to work in a department that allows me to work short shifts in between my classes to get hours in. After my first short shift, I am off to my first class, General Physics II which starts at 11 am. Since I am premed, this course is among the prerequisites for applying to medical school. Although my majors are Psychology and Medicine, Health, and Society. This is a STEM lecture hall class with around 200 people in attendance. The professor is like no other and has adopted a small group approach where the 200 students are divided into these groups and assigned a learning assistant that takes attendance and serves as a personal resource as well. Class engagement involves note-taking and group work. I have adopted digital note-taking via my iPad and Apple Pencil. This style of note-taking has become very common, especially in STEM settings.

After my class ends at 12:15 pm, I quickly return to work where I eat my packed lunch and complete any tasks until my next class at 1:15 pm. Luckily this class is in Wilson Hall, which is about a 3-minute stroll across the lawn from the Spanish department where I work. Wilson Hall is home to the Psychology and Neuroscience Department. I am walking into Social Psychology, another 75-minute course. At Vanderbilt University and many others, courses offered for only 2 days instead of 3 are 75-minute sessions instead of 50 minutes.

Having one hour to walk from Physics to work, prepare and eat my lunch, and make it to my next class on time is still a feat at times. I still love my schedule, nonetheless. This is the first and last time of my undergraduate career that I will have no Friday courses or no courses on a weekday for that matter. Social Psychology is an interesting branch that focuses on why people exhibit the behaviors they do and how it affects them and others. The professor has an interesting approach to the course by implementing a mix of video clips, small group discussions, and “social experiments.” Don’t worry; the experiments are ethical. There are about 35 people in this class and the room is more like a traditional classroom except for the fact that our chairs can spin and move about freely. 

Social Psychology ends around 2:30 pm and then I am off to my last class of the day, Maternal and Child Health, an MHS Special Topics Course. By this time, I am a little tired and most likely need to take a bathroom break. Unfortunately, I only have 15 minutes between the end of social psychology and the start of my last class so I must be swift. On the other hand, the class is also nearby in the building on the other side of my job. I usually head straight to the building, Calhoun Hall, and take advantage of the private restroom on the balcony. Sometimes, I may stop at my job to get a snack from the vending machine such as a coffee beverage or can of soda. Once I am ready to head to class, I opt for the elevator which takes forever because of busy the building is. Did I mention how the MHS major is the largest out of the whole College of Arts and Sciences? Calhoun Hall houses said major and other courses as well. 

Once I am all settled into class, I am ready to learn about a very intriguing topic. This is a new course that has not been taught before by a postdoc. In this class, I do best with mostly listening and jotting down a few notes here and there. My roommate and I take this course together and sit together consequently. After class, I feel pretty tired after enduring 3 75-minute-long lectures and need some sort of mental break before anything else. I head back to my apartment where I will have a rejuvenating snack and relax while watching an episode or two of television. 

An Evening at Vanderbilt

Since it is Tuesday, I will have to prepare for my one class on Wednesday, Physics Lab. Currently, it is most likely after 7:00 pm. I may decide to eat dinner with friends at a cool new restaurant or cook something for myself. Then, I will buckle down and pick a quiet spot to complete my homework and other work for the rest of the night before it gets too late.

Although I live off-campus this year, I still indulge in the many study spots on campus. Not only is every building open access to students to utilize, but there are also various quiet spaces to have peace. Vanderbilt has nine libraries on its campus for students to study, use technology, check out books, and receive assistance. You will find many students studying in the dining halls as well during and after hours. My favorite study spot is in Alumni Hall. When I lived on campus my sophomore year, It was conveniently across the lawn from my dorm. It also was very quiet and had comfortable seating along with booth-style seating to promote individuality. This place was a hidden gem for so long and thus perfect for achieving maximal concentration and minimal distraction. Over time, I have noticed that the spot has become more popular and thus it has lost its original ambiance, unfortunately also would like to point out that there are plenty of local coffee shops within walking distance of the campus for those times when you want a change of scenery. 

All in all, Vanderbilt is the definition of a working hard, playing hard environment. The school is rigorous but we Vanderbilt students love to have fun and engage in activities outside of academics. There are over 500 registered student organizations on campus as well as many other ways to occupy your time. It is all about finding that balance and working on time management. You do not want to miss out on all that the university has to offer.

Do you want to attend Vanderbilt University or a university with similar offerings? If so, allow PathIvy to help you today so that we can steer you on the path to making your dreams come true.

Written by Bethsahida Harrigan, PathIvy Vanderbilt University Ambassador