PSAT:206 (National merit comended?)
SAT:2220
ACT: 35 (one sitting)
SAT II U.S. History: 760
SAT II Math Level 2 (IIC): 760
APUSH:5
AP Calc AB:4
I have a pretty rigerous course load but don’t want to get too specific with that EC’s due to recognition purposes, but they would be considered good to excellent mainly in the fields of politics, music, religion and athletics
Essays and Recs are going to pretty pretty solid as well, i go to a very small school so my teachers know me pretty well and like me alot.
Looking for a chance mostly based on stats. Vandy is my ultimate dream school and Ill be applying ED I in a couple months, any input is appreciated and id be happy to chance back
Happy to hear that Vandy is a favorite place for your application. You have a better than average chance although ridiculous as it is an ACT of 35 is common in the application pool of 30 thousand people. So what are the things you can do? Well, of those 30000 some can’t actually afford their estimated cost of attendance. So be sure your family CAN by doing the work early figure out your FAFSA and CSProfile. Some of the 30 thousand do not really want to move to Nashville and go to Vandy but would consider if accepted. Are you more keen on Vandy? Why. Be very specific in your essays. In fact, never write an essay and send it to all your colleges. Personalize all of them. Sit down with your college references by appointment and share with them your take on your odds of admission. (very unpredictable!!). We did this, and to my shock one of my son’s reference writers wrote the most incredible letter ever on why my son would be an asset to Vandy or a good match. Do NOT expect high school teachers to have the time to personalize their letters of recommendation UNLESS you make it short sweet and clear with them Why Vandy. They get that you can’t count on any school like Vandy, and make sure to tell them about your other likely admissions and hopes. Is there some way you are planning to use Vanderbilt that is refreshing and smart? Every college is different. But they really really care about their academic paths you may pursue. You don’t have to promise your first born child if you change paths.
What personal values from your ethnic roots, family values, or regional outlook will make you a refreshing person on campus? Don’t be a stranger. They only have 10 minutes to think about you.
Never exaggerate anything. Who you really are is good enough. Best of luck. Our son’s freshman roommate was a very hard working guy who majored in Econ, did a lot of pickup basketball, was keen on Vandy sports and did his parents a favor by graduating a semester early to save them $. He also got work as an RA, was good to new students and saved his folks $ that way as well. Hard working very pleasant Orange County guy.
thank you so much for the advice! As far as the personalization, if they had a “why vanderbilt” essay, I could probably fill up about 50 pages about why its perfect for me, but unfortunately theres no place to do that and really accentuate that “fit” argument. So considering that the common app essay can’t be school specific and teacher recs are one to all schools, what else could I do to stand out to them?
Applying ED is the “ultimate form of demonstrated interest” (a quote taken from Vanderbilt’s site re: admission and the waiting list). ED = 45% admission rate in 2019; regular decision was 9.5%.
Suggestion: personalize the Vanderbilt specific essay(s) with … what exactly interests you about the university, the specific college (out of the 4) you are applying to, Nashville, etc. If you’ve visited, tell them what you liked best. If you haven’t visited yet, what places/experiences are you most excited about.
The ED acceptance rate this year was around 21 or 22%, not 45%.
As far as the supplement essay, you can (and perhaps should) use it to throw in your “Why Vanderbilt.” I don’t mean to disregard the prompt, but talk about an extra curricular activity in light of Vanderbilt. For example, I talked about how a certain EC developed my interests and then tied it in with how Vanderbilt could further develop/allow me to explore those interests. Your main focus should still be the EC-- I only mentioned Vanderbilt in the final paragraph. I also never explicitly stated something like, “This is why I want to go to Vanderbilt,” but the reader would have no problem understanding that what I mentioned was part of my “Why Vanderbilt.”
