<p>I think that what ultimately “saves” Vandy grads that apply to graduate schools is that you have kids, who although may have suffered the grade deflation at Vanderbilt, are generally kids who have tested better than average on standardized exams. When they take the various exams for grad schools, GRE, GMAT, etc, I would bet they tend to perform better than average. Hopefully, that dosen’t sound too egotistical. So, if their grades are in the ballpark, median-wise, better than average board scores put them back in the running. If true, is it better for a high SAT kid who is thinking about grad school to go to a school maybe that has less strict admission qualifications?</p>