Like many of you, my dream school is Vanderbilt University! I am apply to Vandy ED 1 Here’s my background…
Competitive public school in Texas
UW GPA: 99.831 (4.0)
W GPA: 100.31 (4.0
rank: 31/378 (top 8%)
ACT score: 25 (extremely low I know… my SAT is not any better. I have spent so much money on test prep it frustrates me. However, I am taking the October 22nd ACT)
Extracurriculars:
Class of 2017 President (10th,11th and 12th grade)
-Founded a program designed to aid lower income students with college prep (I implemented an ACT/SAT course at my high school that will be free for students who are unable to afford outside test prep). In addition, I created a non-profit in coordination with a private, locally owned, test prep company, that will serve other lower income families with test preparation in my area.
-National Honor Society
-Spanish Honor Society
Girls Senior Executive Committee: Co-chair of fundraising (12th) (This is a student run organization to organize a 3 event evening for the senior class) (We raise a budget of 50K)
San Antonio Guatemalan Endeavor (Assisted top doctors in my area in over 114 pro-bono surgeries in Guatemala--over 1000+ hours of community service)
National Charity league
Essay
Really good talked about Guatemala
Recs
Both recs will be great!!
I know my counselor really well and she is writing about the organization I founded and how I implemented the ACT/SAT class at my high school
My partner in starting the non-profit is writing a rec letter for me as well
IMPORTANT INFO
----My grandfather established the Ultrasound Division of the Department of Radiology at Vanderbilt U.
I don’t think the grandfather part will affect your results that much given your ACT score. With an ACT score like that, admission counselors will start to think that, even if they admit you, you won’t be able to keep up with the academics here.
But if you can raise your score to like a 32+, I think you’ve got a fantastic shot.
UNC-CH is a very tough admit for OOS applicants. It would be a reach.
Vandy seems to be focused on test scores more than some of its peers, so definitely shoot for 30+ – the higher, the better. I know kids get in with <30 ACT but probably nearly all of them have pretty strong hooks.
Vandy likes tippy-top ACT/SAT scores. My observation is that they prioritize them over grades. Unless you can get the ACT up to a 33+, or if you are a recruited athlete, it’s probably not going to happen.
You should look at schools that are test-optional or test-flexible. Or schools that really, truly prioritize grades or that look more deeply into a candidate like you who has low scores and high GPA.
In terms of test-optional admissions, there are some very good schools that don’t require test scores. I encourage you to do some reading on them to see if any might be a fit for you. You certainly have a strong UW GPA. Here are a handful to get you started:
Bowdoin
Smith
Wesleyan (CT)
Bates
Holy Cross
Bryn Mawr
Wake Forest
Brandeis
I really hate to hear that you are so hard on yourself when you have done such a fabulous job in high school and clearly perform much better than shown on standardized test scores. You can have a wonderful college experience without Vanderbilt if you do not get a dramatic uptick in your test scores this fall. By the way, I think we all thank you for making the effort to get college prep advantages to students with less opportunity. On a side note, please don’t post any information here that could identify you. You will want your anonymity if you want to vent and if you want to take more of a look at other colleges…it is your right and it is normal to court them all --and to change your mind a few times.
Even kids with over 34 on the ACT are also not going to get into Vanderbilt-- and some with lower scores will get in. It is a trendy to use the phrase “exquisite self-care” skills for middle ages adults dealing with tough patches in life. But it is true that life is so tough that you have to learn early on to look out for yourself…and that means being talented at more than being ambitious and hard-working (like you already are): it means learning to make decisions that lead to also upping your game in your mental and emotional health.
The key to winning this year as a senior is to be incredibly generous towards your classmates in their efforts and outcomes…and to dig deep enough to stand ready to be satisfied with your match college. This is also true for every student who has top quartile test scores at reach colleges like Vandy. They also MUST be smart and smart means being ready to cheerfully attend your match college (financially as well as in admit stats). And to view reach colleges as well…reaches. I have been around long enough to see bright students who attended our state’s flagship colleges succeed amazingly well, and I honestly don’t see a difference in their outcomes and the outcomes of those students who went to a private colleges–not if the student had focus and drive and that inner light where they could embrace their college and love the people that made their college run. Wherever you matriculate in August…you must give your loyalty and your all to that school, to that set of teachers and mentors. If you do, you will be rewarded throughout your life.
I like to post here because one of my two sons is a Vandy grad, and I lived in Nashville twice near Vandy…and with my husband when he was there for grad school. We love Vandy…but it is not all that. No school is really everything. If you can afford to pay what is considered your family’s estimated cost of attendance at any college and want to go ED…use that little boost in admission rates, go that route carefully. (although the admission rates are higher ED at reach colleges, the ED students and the RD students don’t look much different from each other on paper). You just happened to come of age during the time Vandy has a huge number of applicants…so the ED group and the RD group and the wait list group are pretty much interchangeable. I remember when my first son applied to Vandy as a reach college. There were only 11 thousand applicants. Quite a radical change in ten years. So, to all readers. Attach to your Match. Apply to your reaches.
I think you need to add safety schools to your list. You don’t know how the schools will react to the discrepancy between your GPA and ACT. I have a question. There’s just a hair’s difference between you weighted and unweighted GPAs. Did you take a rigorous program? Honors? APs?
You are getting good advise here OP. So far I only see reaches on your list.
Go to the CDS of each school and look at how your stats compare to the most recent class attending. There should be a breakdown of the test score range with the percentages. For example- SAT CR 700-800 60% of the class.
No stats are not the only thing they consider but it gives you some idea of what the school is looking for.
I have to agree that Vanderbilt seems to be focusing a lot on test scores right now.
Apply to some reach schools but they should not make up the majority of your list.
I tried to help my friend’s D develop her list last year. She was adamant about applying to a lot of reach schools. I could not convince her that those schools were reaches for her or for practically anybody. She was CAPPed at UT and only got accepted to her safety and her match. And those were schools that I had convinced her mom to have her apply to. This was someone who had worked incredibly hard for her grades and extracurriculars but just could not get into the upper test score ranges. Guess what? She’s now at her match and doing great.
BTW, my friend’s D was URM. I will also vote for looking at test optional schools. My friend’s D was also interested in schools similar in vibe to Vandy- I had suggested Wake Forest. She nixed it though.
Wake Forest is an excellent, excellent school. They have been test optional for a while. Also lots of school spirit for sports. I am friends with three fine graduates of Rhodes in Memphis as well…another excellent private college. Furman University in Greenville SC is my alma mater and they have gone test optional recently. Greenville, SC is now a destination city in the south with a lot of vibrancy and charm. Speaking of charm, perhaps you ought to look at the College of Charleston. Charleston is just a great place to be. If you are expecting to require need based aid, these schools are not able to guarantee No Loans in their financial aid packages. (This is when the cost/benefit of the flagship state university starts to look like an excellent plan.) And the No Loan guarantee is why Vanderbilt, Washington and Lee and Davidson Colleges now have tons of applicants and reduced admission rates. I wish more colleges had the ability to offer financial aid free of loans.
I was automatic into A&M, I applied to UGA, SMU… I have taken 8 AP classes throughout H.S. I assume the low change from UW to W is that my does not inflate grades
That is great that you are already in at A&M. We are in Virginia, and it amazes me how well VA Tech grads do in the job market. Honestly, since the recession all students need to look hard at where you finally matriculate in terms of if that university does the job for you regarding a reputation for students who succeed in their initial foray into the workplace and/or in providing you with a rigorous foundation for later admission to strong graduate schools. Virginia Tech for example has incredible networking and lifelong school spirit that is undeniable. There are subtle things that matter in regards to the institution where you pledge your first four years of college. For example, if you see yourself in business, MBA programs want applicants who have already been employed a while. As much as I personally love a strong liberal arts education, keep your eyes on the prize of financial independence, finding work after you graduate and on having done difficult enough undergraduate work to get a berth in graduate degree–all without debilitating debt. This takes the Long Game. In this economy, everyone should be looking hard at what they can afford to spend for not only undergrad but for grad school.