Chance me and I'll be your best friend

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

<p>Current senior (white male) in competitive, elite, private HS, applying ED 1</p>

<p>Stats-
GPA: 3.41/4.0 (UW, my school has no weighted GPA) <em>this is mostly due to poor frosh grades, but I have an upward trent throughout HS</em>
SAT: 1540/1600, 2280/2400 (800 CR, 740 M, 740 W)
SAT 2's: 750 Math II, 700 Lit
AP's: 4 on Bio, 3 on AB Calc (totally spaced on studying for this one lol), yet to take Psych, Lit, and Latin</p>

<p>Curriculum-
Frosh: 4 Honors (Math, Science, English, Latin), 1 Regular (History), Studio Art I and II, no AP courses were offered
Soph: 4 Honors (Math, Science, English, Latin), 1 Regular (History), Photo/Video I and II, no AP courses were offered
Junior: 2 AP (AB Calculus and Biology), 2 Honors (History and Latin), 1 Regular (English, solely because there are no honors/AP english courses offered for Junior year), 1 Independent Study in Creative Writing
Senior: 3 AP (Latin, Psychology [functions as my history course], and Literature), 1 Honors (Physics), 1 Super-Honors (Multivariable Calculus), 1 Regular (Engineering), 1 Independent Study in Creative Writing</p>

<p>EC's/Jobs-
Writer, editor, and founder: School satirical newspaper (Frosh through Senior)
Founder and co-captain: Ultimate Frisbee club/sport (Frosh through Senior)
Founder: My own delivery company <a href="Junior%20through%20Senior">I started up my own mini-company delivering food from places without delivery so I could earn some extra cash on the side</a>
Participant: HS Lacrosse (JV as a Frosh and Soph, JV/Varsity as a Junior, expecting to play Varsity as a Senior)
60+ hours of community service</p>

<p>Misc-
Attended the University of Virginia Young Writer's Workshop this past summer
Working on getting my short story published in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine</p>

<p>Application-
-My "slant" or "angle" with my app is based on my love/skill for/with writing
-Main essay is very good, I wrote about how I came out of my shell with the help of The Flea (my school's satirical newspaper) and used some cool, quirky anecdotes that makes it very memorable
-EC essay is about the Frisbee club/sport (I had written about The Flea for my main essay, so I didn't want to sound repetitive). Wrote about how I was a founding member of the club and how, even in the face of rejection from the athletic director, I still fought for the club/sport to be created
-Teacher recs are phenomenal, as I have one teacher who is helping me publish my short story (he's an english teacher) and has gotten to know me very well over the past year and a half. He is thoroughly impressed by both my writing and my character. Oh, and he's also the leader/coach of the frisbee club/sport. The second one is a math teacher I have had for many years, and he has seen me struggle, work on improving myself, and then finally succeed.<br>
-I attached the latest (and funniest) copy of The Flea to my application, so whoever is reading my application will be able to see my wittiness/humor firsthand</p>

<p>YES, I know my GPA is kinda low for Vandy. However, seeing as it is UW and isn't atrocious (it's basically a B+/A- average), I am hoping my scores will be able to cover the deficit and that my strong EC's will help make a case for me. </p>

<p>SO, do you think I have a shot?</p>

2

<p>Forgot to add that I am from NJ</p>

3

<p>my advice to you as you face your application season is to be pleased and happy about your test scores. Write 1-2 sentences on your lack of maturity as a freshman re studying (no brainer…you are not alone–don’t dwell on this), and focus entirely on promoting your personal match/Fit (careful selection of match between you and your college) so that your obvious love of writing is a very personal match with each college.<br>
If your family doesn’t need financial aid, you won’t have a problem getting admitted to a fine college even if the chips don’t fall in your direction at Vanderbilt. All colleges want good writers. Some colleges have more of a history of producing writers or writing juried journals than others.<br>
Judging the odds of admission with your test scores and your grades isn’t easy anymore re predicting waitlists vs admission. And it is a waste of time with a 12% admission rate. Your job now is to communicate where you will contribute in Vanderbilt, not in general but specifically. Why Vandy classrooms? </p>

<p>Then do the same thing at your other colleges in their essays. Make your essays edit out to be personal to each community. Here is what I would say to you as a parent. Close this ID down and quit posting things here that make you identifiable. You don’t know who is reading these boards. This is like dating 5 girls and they all want to go to the prom with you and the girls only vaguely accept that you are playing the field. Very awkward for an 18 yr old who is trying to be sincere but you must court several colleges at once. It is your job to do so, and to find out the best things about each college and to state why you would be an asset to each college community.</p>

<p>It’s ok to be open re being from a private school in Jersey or the Mid Atlantic area, but otherwise maintain your privacy on this board. Why? Because you must apply with full on sincerity to several colleges, all great colleges, perhaps none better than or less than Vanderbilt. You will find that students/alum/parents on these boards will help you if your questions are more specific. We all realize Vandy is not your only application but we challenge you to write essays that reflect your due diligence on life at Vandy.<br>
So, google Robert Penn Warren, The Fugitives. Go to insidevandy.com and see if you think you could improve the writing in their not very famous humor publication…I think it is the Slant. Read The Orbis and The Torch online. Get a feeling for things as they are and dream of where you would publish. Get into the English Dept and Communication dept websites (Vandy is a bit unusual re having a Communications major).<br>
Good luck where-ever you land.</p>

4

<p>Judging the odds of admission with your test scores and your grades isn’t easy anymore re predicting waitlists vs admission. And it is a waste of time with a 12% admission rate…</p>

<p>Faline2, your help is always appreciated. OP is applying ED1, so the admit rate is almost 24-28 %. does that change his chances.</p>

5

<p>thanks for the help faline2, much appreciated. the one thing bad about vandy is the lack of a supplement (i feel like i’m the only senior saying that a supplement-less college app is bad lol). i wish i could showcase my love for vandy and how i’m going to contribute in a more direct fashion.</p>

<p>i am also considering plenty of other options on par (academic-wise) with vandy. however, vandy (in my mind) is a clear-cut favorite, but i do not want to have a sense of false hope and waste my very strategic ed application on a school that i do not have a realistic chance of getting in to. am i a competitive applicant to vandy for ed1??</p>

6

<p>This is a news to me, Vandy doesn’t need asupplement.</p>

7

<p>thats what i said, vandy doesn’t need a supplement, but i wish it did</p>

8

<p>one way to address the limitations of the essays is to apply to the merit scholarship program. Essays there are demanding but your essays will be read whether or not you are a top candidate re stats.<br>
Vandy Media brings in a few accepted students in early before orientation to get them up to speed on the equipment protocol and the tasks of running the Hustler and the other media outlets–TV, radio. But our son wasn’t selected to come early for that training…his high school record was spotty re media and kids who had been editors adn writers got those training spots. However, he just kept showing up and soon was he was published reporting on many topics.</p>

9

<p>Oh, sorry re the grammar above…was falling asleep when typing above at the hotel across from Vandy near Centennial Park. Our son is a senior and due to illness and a death in our family, we didn’t see him much this summer or show up to help move him in his dorm in August. This is fall break weekend…a lot of the students didn’t leave but we are grabbing a few hours with our son in Nashville.
I wish I could predict OP’s chances in the ED round, fatherofm, but I am not qualified to make such judgments since I do not really grasp how much of Vandy’s ED round goes to students who will fill certain slots in the community. I can only suggest that your best weapons are sharing who you are with style and sincerity. If you feel that you don’t have enough opportunities to introduce yourself with the essays, do what is in your power. Meet with your references, don’t make them wonder Why Vandy? Fill them in on Why Vandy with specifics (this student OP could talk about Vandy’s rather fine Communications dept and Student Media program). Communications is not a major at some of the peer institutions and it is a rather demanding major at Vanderbilt, and one that sometimes dovetails with other programs like HOD programs at the former Peabody undergrad. But Communications can be combined with many other majors. Read up on Vandy mags online and get a sense of current goals and opportunities on campus. Make sure that who you are in terms of culture, family origin and values comes across. Vandy creates a class of great diversity each year. Every family has a story. Your spark as a student needs to come across. Most of all, always have a safety college you respect and will attend with pride. Our sons were Virginians and would have been proud to attend our flagship colleges and with this attitude April becomes something you can face with the right attitude.</p>