<p>-Founder and president of Interact club at my school
-member of NHS
-vice president Science Honor Society
-I built gardens at a daycare for homeless kids
-spent a month in Alabama helping many charities
-VERY involved with quartets/music. I've had many significant performances.</p>
<p>AP National Scholar Award
PhysicsBowl Top Scorer
Changemaker's Award</p>
<p>I didn't list all of my EC accomplishments, but it's strong. I have a couple more awards too.
I'm very worried about my SAT/ACT; I've taken SAT four times and this is the highest I can get it.</p>
<p>For financial reasons, my parents are forcing me to regular decision.</p>
<p>*First you need to change your user name…how about Vandygirl?
*Your SAT M/V 1420 is within the 25-75% range.
*You have some leadership and community service.
*It’s a plus to be a musician.
*So yes you have a chance but there are no sure bets at Vanderbilt or any of the most selective schools. Don’t focus on one dream school. Make a list of 3-4 great schools you would love to go to then give it your best shot. Good luck.</p>
<p>It seems to me that someone needs to teach you how to brag about yourself. Based on the OP, your most impressive credential is AP National Scholar. I assume that this means you completed 8 AP tests with an average score over 4. This is a great accomplishment for a senior and you have done it already as a junior. However, you don’t elaborate on the rigor of your course load anywhere.</p>
<p>Similarly, your EC accomplishments might be strong, but that is certainly not reflected in this list. You “built gardens at a daycare” and “spent a month in Alabama”, which may have been tremendous feats but sound more like a nice vacation. I appreciate your brevity in your post, but become eloquent in your apps.</p>
<p>Don’t list your test scores first - they are the weakest part of your application. Humility is generally a wonderful virtue - with the notable exception of college applications.</p>
<p>I didn’t want to be detailed enough that a Vandy admissions officer sneaking around college confidential could match my application to this thread! </p>
<p>My high school is extremely competitive and yes, I did make above a 4 on all of the AP exams I’ve taken. By the end of my senior year I will have taken seventeen.</p>
<p>I am definitely detailed in my application and, like I said, I believe I have strong ECs which I choose not to say here.</p>
<p>If Vandy is actually your dream school and you apply ED you have a pretty decent shot. With the way admissions are going, as an RD applicant, it’s hard to say, but that score could hurt you.</p>
<p>dukegirrl, in all sincerity, please resign this screen name and open a new one. Taking on a name of a reach college is just folly, and will generate distractions and ambivalence when you visit other wonderful college pages here. I have a Vandy son and a Duke grad (who had a huge crush on an Ivy where he was rejected…and son never seemed to grasp how very small his chances were statistically). Yes, they are blessed with their alma maters but they realize that they could have had equally wonderful experiences elsewhere including colleges lower n the USNWR list. This is not personal, and I perfectly understand big fat crushes and hope that your ECs will be your ticket…quite possible, and you are wise not to post your ECs here! Don’t give up your privacy on these boards!<br>
Why? Because you must court several colleges with equal integrity and you are not going to win the support of your readers with a name affiliated with one college. Everyone at Duke was shocked to get in at all or had rejections elsewhere, and Duke was not their dream outcome…ditto at Vandy. Prepare well for the endgame and your best bet is to love and respect yourself now, put your effort in your recommendation letters (be fair and informative with your writers and let them know you respect your match colleges), your final updates on your fine ECs (this can go on past Winter break), and doing a good job being a senior.<br>
Your ambitions will only help you succeed in life whether or not you get into Vandy/Duke. Reality is that your test scores will be forgotten the day you hit college, and the game goes back to zero and you have a proven track record of high comprehension and performance in the classroom.<br>
Chances of admission to Duke are very scarce indeed, and I know a couple of people who were National Merit Scholars with 35s who did not get admitted to Vandy. The key to this ridiculous game of admissions is to keep your head, maintain your self-esteem and visualize yourself doing a fabulous run at your match college. Then any reach college admission is unexpected…and many students will turn down reach colleges and go with a better financial deal (my Vandy son did not attend his favorite college admit because the financial picture there was grim for our family). There are scores of people that will get into Vandy but will attend Chapel Hill, UVA or UGA or their state flagships. In April, many many people will come up with Plan B for financial reasons and kudos to them in this horrid economy. Time to forget about testing when your SAT and ACT are similar. The adcoms understand that your transcript and ECs are significant factors. No one is saying you can’t do the work at Duke or Vandy but if you want a reality check, go back to last spring and look at the posts the days decisions come out. Make sure you “Attach to your Match”. This is true for everyone.</p>
<p>Vandy gets many applicants with stats and ECs similar to yours. Basically, it selects it’s admitted students from these applicants. Given acceptance rates I think it’s fair to say that many with similar stats are accepted and many (perhaps even many more) are not.</p>
<p>One thing I know is that statistically, your chances for admission are infinitely greater than if you don’t apply. So – getting in your application and hoping is all you can do.</p>
<p>Your scores are a bit low. I think Vandy places a ton of emphasis on them, because I know lots of people with low GPAs but good scores who got in. (like me)</p>