<p>White male from Maryland suburbs of DC
3.7 GPA
AP: 5 World History, 5 Environmental, 4 on Macro and Microecon, 4 on Government
SAT: Math: 680, Verbal: 700
EC: jobs, NHS, pres. of school club, extensive travel, voluinteer in local political campaign.
Recs: will be good, but not extraordinary because teachers are overwhelmed
Essays: will be well-written, but not creative or unusual
Considering ED</p>
<p>Thanks for considering.</p>
<p>I don't see a reason why you should get in, but I don't see any reason why you shouldn't.</p>
<p>Can you please be specific about why you answered the way you did?</p>
<p>Well, I don't see a strong application here. Granted, there could be more info like rank/percentile, types of classes taken. However, there is a real lack of passion in your ECs. A 3.7, while strong, is nothing compared to what you'll be dealing with in the RD or ED pool. Also, things like "extensive travel" don't mean anything to colleges unless you did something profound with your time. I'm not saying you won't get in, but I just think your applicaation will be lost in the 20,000+ others that Vanderbilt sees every year. College admissions is a game. No matter what people say. Sometimes, you just have to stand out, and from the info here, I don't see you doing that. Sorry to be so flippant, but I hope you'd rather have someone be honest than telling you "yeah, sure you'll get in..."</p>
<p>Of course honesty is appreciated. I've just been reading your posts. You sound extremely knowledgeable about college admissions. Do you work in the field, are you a student or a parent? I am a parent, and I was trying to be honest too. The essays he will write will undoubtedly be gramatical, but they won't knock anyone's socks off. Nothing against Vandy, but if he had the writing skills to neutralize his GPA/SAT, he probably would be choosing a very different type of college than conservative, conventional Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>I wouldn't consider myself an expert in the field of college admissions, but what I do think I have a sensible understanding of the process. Thank you for the complement though. Yeah, as a student applying to many schools this coming fall, I feel that writing essays is going to be key for kids seeing as the general trend in size of application pools is increasing at every school, even Vanderbilt. However, it is a great school and I wish your son luck.</p>
<p>mirimom--</p>
<p>vandy got about 13k apps last year not 20k. admit rate in the low 30s.</p>
<p>what school is your kid applying to? what passion/interest is your kid going to contribute to vandy? (very important) admits are holistically done.</p>
<p>you have a chance. let them know your interest</p>
<p>vandy isn't that conservative on one hand/yes it is on the other</p>
<p>Sorry to offend about the number of apps. I wasn't speaking in exact figures. Thanks for having my back musictoad. And by the way, most private schools admit on a holistic basis to begin with, that is not something exclusive to Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>musictoad is using the acceptance rate for class of 2009. Also, back in Feb., when the 2010 initial number were published by The Vanderbilt Register, the number of applications was >12,000, a 4% increase from 2009. Not sure if the 2010 acceptance rate number has been published yet, as I don't recall having seen it, but the talk around the Feb. time frame was an overall acceptance rate in the mid to high 20%s due to increasing yield and ED applications along with increasing overall apps.</p>
<p>From what you posted, the application seems lackluster. Why does he want to go to Vanderbilt? What can he contribute to the community?</p>
<p>I didn't post his application, I posted his stats. I very much appreciate feedback, but I'm the mother of the applicant, not the applicant. How much of his sparkling personality, brilliant intellect, and earnest commitment to social justice he will be able to convey in his application is anyone's guess. His stats are "lackluster" compared to those who usually post on college confidential, and my friends and I are always wondering whether the posters are just braggarts or whether the schools really have more applicants with perfect GPA/SAT/ACT/AP/IB scores who are gifted athletes, musicians, leaders, and paragons of virtue in their religious communities than they can accept. My son is just a normal, smart kid, and he won't walk onto any college campus and revolutionize anything about it. He'll join a couple of things, make some friends, take hard courses, and get good grades. That's it.</p>
<p>i'd say take a lot of what you read with a healthy dose of skepticism.
while there are bright incredible uber applicants, there are many applicants who aren't obsessed or packaged. i'm watching the packaging right now of two kids in my kid's hs class--to the tune of 30k. i will be delighted if they get rejected---yes, i know it's mean, but the parents are jerks/insincere/social climbers etc.</p>
<p>i think your son's stats are statistically within the norm for applying to vandy. depending on what he says in his essays and his recs he'll get in.</p>
<p>two years ago i had the oppty to hear a presentation from VU that utilized anonymous but actual apps. you would be shocked at some of the recs that very bright kids received--some of these teachers are clueless as to the impact they have (or maybe not so clueless!). make sure your son gets a great one and if a teacher can't provide a guarantee that he'll write such, find another. ask upfront. it's critical because the adcom is looking for insights into your kid.</p>
<p>another very critical part is the essay. many were like nails on a chalkboard talking about a dead relative's impact on their life--and while maybe true--just felt boring and "lifeless" (ha). be genuine in why you want to attend. you get to the point with one more sob story and just want to scream.</p>
<p>you could readily see the difference in those accepted and those denied.</p>
<p>It's nice that you and your son have essentially chosen vandy not because you think it's a great school, but because you're stuck with it since your son can't realistically get into a better school, "Nothing against Vandy, but if he had the writing skills to neutralize his GPA/SAT, he probably would be choosing a very different type of college than conservative, conventional Vanderbilt."</p>
<p>Vanderbilt's mean SAT this year was 1400, and will most assuredly take another jump when your son applies. That will place him well below average and without anything (athletic abilities, musical talents, etc.) to compensate for such, you and your son should be thrilled if Vanderbilt were to accept him. Vandy is far from a safe bet and is definitely a reach. Considering I've had friends who had 35's on the ACT (in case you don't know the conversion, it equates to a 1560-1590) who were waitlisted, good luck to your son.</p>
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"Nothing against Vandy, but if he had the writing skills to neutralize his GPA/SAT, he probably would be choosing a very different type of college than conservative, conventional Vanderbilt."
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<p>English is one of the strongest undergraduate majors at Vanderbilt. It is the birthplace of the "New Criticism" -- a dominant mode of textual analysis. Historically, it is also famous for literary groups such as The Fugitives and Agrarians because so many of its members went on to become prolific writers (ie. Robert Penn Warren). The current faculty is very highly-regarded with several best-selling authors such as Tony Earley. If your son excelled at writing why would you want a "very different type of college"? Why not take advantage of some of the best professors in the country in a small, intimate classroom setting?</p>
<p>Wow -- I obviously touched a College Confidential nerve. Mr./Ms Whodunnit, who cares about mean SATs? It's not the mean that matters, and since you're so high and mighty, one would think that you would understand that. I am an adult, long finished with college, and thus I am not applying anywhere. I won't feel "thrilled" or honored if Vandy accepts my son, I'll feel happy for him, since it's where he wants to go. Cut the snobbism -- Vanderbilt is not filled with future nobel laureates or extraordinary scholar-athletes, no college is. Extraordinarily brilliant people are rare, and it is so obnoxious to pretend that 25 to 50 colleges in America are populated solely with geniuses. Vandy is a fine school that is very conservative. And thanks to the last poster for informing me about its proud literary history.</p>
<p>Actually mirimom, I'd put our scholar athletes head-to-head with any other institution, highly ranked or otherwise. The rest of your post is just silly and more proof of why the parents ought to stick to the parental areas of CC. Post crap and you’ll get crap. Ruffle feathers and you shouldn't get the ire up when you get yours ruffled in return.</p>
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Vandy is a fine school that is very conservative.
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<p>The student body at Vanderbilt is moderate -- split around 50/50 democrats and republicans.</p>
<p>Wouldn't that make it conservative as far as top universities go?</p>
<p>yes -- schools like yale, brown, etc are 70%+ liberal</p>
<p>The New Criticism, Agrarianism and The Fugitives were a long time ago. Vandy undergrad is a place for spoiled rich frat-happy Southern white kids. I went to law school there and my brother went undergrad there and he was very similar in profile to mirimom's son. He hated it. My nephew is similar and hated it as well. Mirimom, no offense, please, but if your son is committed to social justice, his fellow undergrads at Vandy would drive him up the wall. What about Oberlin or somewhere like that?</p>