Chance for Scholarship?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

<p>Just wondering if someone with expertise when it comes to Vandy admissions could let me know if i even have a chance to be considered for a (merit) scholarship, provided i even get in which is hard enough to begin with. I know there are a couple different ones and I'm not sure which ones I qualify.
I currently reside in NY (just moved) but will be attending the same school in NJ come senior year.</p>

<p>SAT: 2340 (740 CR, might retake in october to get it up...not loving that idea though)</p>

<p>GPA: 99.5 W on a 100 scale, 3rd / 350 in class</p>

<p>APs: Geography (5), World History (3), Computer Science (5), Calculus AB (5), Chemistry (5), US History (Probably 5), Calculus BC (Definitely 5), Physics B (Probably 4), Taking next year: Stats, Psych, Spanish, Biology, Art History, English Lit, English Language (None are self-studied)</p>

<p>Recommendations will be very good.</p>

<p>ECs: I work with mentally disabled kids, am EXTREMELY involved with my church (lector, altar server, altar server trainer, CCD teacher, CCD curriculum advisor. church is a big part of my life.) have a (admittedly clerical, has nothing to do with learning/teaching, i just do it to make money) job at a high-end math research and college tutoring center, doing a research project with a math Ph. D who works at my school next year, another big part is that I play chess, rating is 2000 USCF (very good, but there are better), won quite a bit of money (not sure if i should include that though) and many awards. i only learned how to play chess at the end of my freshman year. Captain of my school's chess team who are 2nd in the state and first in the division. i'm in NHS and am a national merit scholar (i think...i got a 230 on my PSAT, but haven't heard anything about that). though all this stuff points to a mathy sort of person, i find i'm more interested in humanities/writing. i write very well and hope to communicate that through my essays.</p>

<p>If theres anything i'm missing that would help you help me, please let me know and thank you so much for even taking the time to read this!</p>

2

<p>I consistently find it interesting how many posts include a line similar to “i write very well and hope to communicate that through my essays”. Has anyone ever seen a post that indicates strong academic qualifications and ECs but ends with an anticipation of poor essays?</p>

<p>I am certain that your applications essays will involve far more effort than a simple posting, but your writing style does not suggest that you write well. You have multiple grammatical errors, run-on sentences and a overly casual style. Your essays will need to convey your involvement with your church in a manner far more effective than stating “EXTEMELY” - even if in all capitals.</p>

<p>Now that I have finished my rant, I will acknowledge that your academic credentials are competitive. However, the merit scholarships are only offered to the top few admitted applicants. It is essentially impossible to predict how these top candidates will be assessed and ranked.</p>

3

<p>I wouldn’t mind such a condescending tone if your criticism was actually constructive or if you didn’t spell extremely wrong while commenting on my grammar. Nonetheless I appreciate the final paragraph. This is why I normally restrain myself from posting anything</p>

4

<p>Constructive criticisms from my previous post:</p>

<p>1) Focus on your writing style, even in informal settings
2) Emphasize specific achievements in your ECs
3) Work hard on your essays
4) Be realistic because merit scholarships are so competitive and necessarily arbitrary</p>

5

<p>I am a CV scholarship recipient this year for the college of engineering and will be a freshmen at Vanderbilt once August comes around so I might be able to help a bit. </p>

<p>You certainly look very qualified and my best advice I can give you is to really convey your story about yourself in your church in a very engaging manner. I wrote my main common app essay about a chemistry lab and edited it heavily to convey a true, emotional story about perseverance to show my growth from that experiment. It does sound a tad boring when I just summarize it here, but my actual essay was pretty passionate and “exciting.” Just be yourself in your essay and write in a story-telling style to show rather than just tell. Hope this helps you.</p>

<p>Here are my stats.</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (800 CR, 800 M, 760 W)
ACT: 35
SAT II: 800 Chem, 800 Math 2, 770 Biology M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Unranked (probably top 5% of 770)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chem (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP English Lang (5), AP Biology (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus with Linear Algebra, Spanish 4, AP Computer Science, Honors Essay Writing, Survey of Western Humanities, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Statistics, Advanced Chemistry. Everything was AP/Weighted.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): US National Chemistry Olympiad Honors - Top 150 Nationally, USA Biology Olympiad Semifinalist - Top 500 Nationally, AIME Qualifier in Junior Year, Chemistry State Champion in a State Science competition, National Merit Semi-Finalist.</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Bowl (Captain), ICTM Math Team, NSML Math Team, WYSE Science Team, Local orchestra, JETS Engineering Team, Kung Fu student.
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Library Volunteer (~200 hours), School Academic Tutor (~100 hours).
Summer Activities: Dancing, traveling, summer courses, etc.
Essays: I thought they were genuine and really showed who I was.
Common App Main: Best essay I’ve written.
EC Short Answer: Not as good as my common app main.
Teacher Recommendation: Both were excellent.
Counselor Rec: Didn’t see it, but probably pretty good.</p>

6

<p>Thank you both very much! Very helpful and I appreciate it.</p>