<p>I understand that one of the Featured Threads discusses this, but that thread did not satisfy my curiosity and I was not sure if the information still held true today.</p>
<p>Does being an Asian individual help or hinder in acceptance to Vanderbilt?</p>
<p>Does being born in a different country help or hinder in acceptance to Vanderbilt?</p>
<p>I will be applying ED2 but I have not submitted my application yet. Can anyone reading elaborate on the acceptance chances between ED1 and ED2? People have been telling me that the ACT scores for ED2 are higher on average, but I have heard contradicting information for that as well. Please let me know.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance; looking forward to all replies.</p>
<p>Academic ability and potential are the primary factors in any admissions decision, supplemented by leadership, extracurriculars, service, etc - a whole host of factors. It is true that race is considered in admissions, but I don’t think being an Asian will “hurt” you. The admissions office is not biased for or against any race, and it will never put two applicants up against each other in decisions and go one way or the other based solely on race.</p>
<p>Are you an international student, or born in a foreign country but now a resident/citizen of the US? For international students, admission is a bit trickier because financial aid is need aware and not need blind (meeting 100% of demonstrated need) as it is for domestic applicants. So, the racial/ethnic/geographic aspect of being an international student won’t hurt you, but your financial situation might. That is completely dependent on your individual situation. If Vanderbilt really wants you though, I don’t see financial need hurting you even as an international student (this is my personal opinion, I have no data to back it up). The application deadline for Vanderbilt merit scholarship applications has also been extended, so if you are an international student and anticipate financial aid being an issue, I would encourage you to apply for those as well. It can’t hurt.</p>
<p>I don’t think Vanderbilt releases separate stats for ED1 and ED2, but I do think it’s harder on average to get in with each successive pool. ED2 will probably be harder - this includes test scores - than ED1, but certainly much easier than RD.</p>
<p>Good luck! If you have anymore questions just ask.</p>
<p>From Vandy’s demographics, it would appear that fewer Asian students apply to Vanderbilt than other top schools. In that regard, it may put you at an advantage. Its effect on your admission chances within Vanderbilt is pretty difficult to determine and I would imagine whatever most people say about it is just speculation.</p>
<p>You can see the school has been growing in popularity with Asian students as people begin to realize that Vanderbilt isn’t some southern bastion for rich white kids like it may have been some 40 years ago.</p>
<p>@impressionistic I’m a permanent US resident and price is not a huge issue to me. I am asking about the difference in ED1 and ED2 because, intuitively, I would think that the ED2 pool would be about the same, if not easier, than the ED1 pool. The reason being, those students very interested in Vanderbilt and who have a very large interest in the school (probably crafting their own apps for the school). The students applying for ED2 would be people rejected from their ED schools, like me or those who decided they wanted to apply to Vanderbilt later; the regular pool seems like it would be the most competitive for sure. I think at worst, the pools will be equal, but if you see any flaws in my thought-process or if I am missing anything huge, please let me know. Thanks in advance and I appreciate your earlier response.</p>
<p>@Pancaked Thanks for the source! I was born in a country (in South America) but I am not of that race. My parents lived there for a few years but both are Asian. I left my race out of the Common App, but I am sure that the admissions committee will be able to very easily figure out I am Asian. </p>
<p>Are you a current student at Vanderbilt?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance and for your responses so far!</p>
<p>It’s pretty much impossible to definitively discern any differences between ED1 and ED2 because Vandy lumps both rounds’ data together for ED data. However, I think most people agree ED2 is harder than ED1 but easier than RD. The reason is with ED1 Vandy hasn’t filled in the class at all. It’s a blank slate. With ED2 and especially RD, it can see where there are “holes,” so to speak, in the class and fill them in. If it really wants more kids who have perfect rank, test scores, more leadership, performing arts, what have you, that was missing from ED1 admits, it’s going to start filling that in with ED2 and RD. That being said, you definitely have a much higher chance ED2 than RD because the class is less filled and Vandy wants to have a lot of ED kids who are committed to the school (the RD yield rate isn’t great). At any rate, you can’t change anything in this process, so there’s no point worrying about it. Trust you have a good app that reflects you and the work you’ve put in to get here, and leave it at that. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>There is no “figuring out” that you’re Asian. If your race is not included on your Common App, it should not play any role in admissions. Simple as that. Your name might suggest you have Asian heritage but you must understand that this has no meaning to the admissions office. All that matters for them is demographic data, and if you don’t check off one of the boxes, you’re neutral in the demographics data. </p>
<p>You can see from that demographics page that relatively few “race unknown” students are accepted. I would imagine that’s only because most students disclose their ethnicity, not because it affects your chances in any way.</p>