Chance Me? RD

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
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<p>GPA: 3.7 (rigorous curriculum, top 100 hs, #1/2 in NJ)
SAT: 2020 ....Math - 670 CR - 640 W -710 (retaking. aiming for 2150)
SAT 2: Math 790 , Chem 690 (retaking aiming for 750)</p>

<p>Junior Year AP's: Microeconomics (4), Calculus AB (3 i got an A in the class. teacher was very surprised and she is writing my rec. oh well), </p>

<p>General Curriculum 9th to 11th: 3 yrs honors physics, 3 yrs honors chem, 2 yrs honors bio 3 yrs spanish, 3 yrs honors history, 3 yrs honors lit, lots of required engineering classes (b/c i'm in the eng. program), lots of science related electives </p>

<p>Senior Year Course load: Linear Algebra & Differential Equations, AP Physics C, AP Chem, IB Spanish 5, World Lit II</p>

<p>E/C: Internship w/ Orthopedic Surgeon, Hospital Volunteer, Teacher's Assistant for summer classes kids K-8, Camp volunteer for kids with mental illnesses, battlebots board member, president of club aimed to help autistic children, Freshman and Sophomore Soccer, and member of SouthAsian Club and World Hunger Club</p>

<p>aimed major: biomedical engineering
no hook, out of state, middle class, ethnicity - asian
also will be applying for regular decision b/c i will be taking tests up to november.</p>

<p>can i get a general idea of my chances please & possibility of merit aid?
thanks for your time!</p>

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<p>Vanderbilt is a reach for you and for most applicants due to high numbers of fully qualified applicants. I like the fact that you are retaking your exams. You have to prove that you can study material and test well on it on those SATSubject exams (nice job on the Math hope it was the Level 2 exam which engineering students choose to take).<br>
Are you bilingual? just wondering about your verbal score. If so, make sure to explain in your essays.<br>
Merit aid is for the top 1-2% of applicants or for people with unusual back stories. Instead, focus on your Estimated Cost of attendance based on family income and get very very realistic about the reality that you will in all likelihood be required to pay this baseline amt. Keep in mind that final packages offered at every school are quite unpredictable but few schools offer need packages with No Loans. (Vandy has a No Loans need package). Few schools are Need Blind…another factor…in choosing their final class. (Vandy is Need Blind). Whatever you do, do not throw away the opportunity for honors programs in your state colleges. Private colleges are expensive.<br>
One of my sons added 200 points to his final SAT in October of his senior year. Another son aced the ACT more than the SAT. If you can find the energy…by all means consider the ACT which might play more to your ability to test well. If you have the stomach for this…get the Red book of Ten Real ACTs…do an open booked test slowly than start on timed exams. The ACT rewards completion of long sections and good time management but it is less tricky than the SAT.
You still have two or three sittings to do testing. Buckle up and do your best…then you will have peace of mind that your test scores were your best effort.
Good luck</p>

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<p>Wow what a great and helpful reply. And you pretty much nailed the points that I’m very concerned about. Yes it was the math 2! It’s funny how I make silly mistakes on the SAT math (when I should be getting an 800), and do really well on the Math 2 my first take. I plan to retake Chem in October, and possibly bio! You’re right about buckling up, I definitely am as my parents work really hard to make sure I have everything to succeed. With a brother at a well-known college, paying half-tuition 30k a year, a younger sibling on the way to college in a couple years, and a business that is doing very poorly money is really an issue. I hope they don’t think just cause we own an expensive property that we can afford full tuition, because at it’s slow progress it will take dozens of years to pay the investment off. </p>

<p>I plan to do studies after my undergrad, (med school maybe, if not masters) so if I have to pay full tuition at Vandy unfortunately I will have to decline. Because I’ll be busy in Oct and Nov with my SAT’s, Dec. 8 is the last option for ACT where things are less hectic. However, people say ACT w/ writing results probably will not arrive in time for me to check and decide what to send (SAT/ACT) by the Jan 1 deadline at most colleges. So I’m pretty unsure on what to do with the ACT part. I feel as though I would do well with the ACT because reading is a weakness of mine (and reading is less emphasized), while Math is a strongpoint for me (where it is more emphasized). Maybe I might have to suck it up and take the October 27 ACT if I want to give it a chance.</p>

<p>How’d you get a feeling I’m bilingual haha, poor CR reading score? I speak Gujarati, one of the many languages in India. I’m definitely including that in the langauge section of the common app. Where exactly do I include it on my essays? I’m definitely capable for much higher test scores, I just make silly errors, sigh. Thanks again for your time! I literally poured out my thoughts to you haha. Great to see a kind adult with experience help an anxious college applicant like me out!</p>

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<p>Remember Math on SAT is also at least partly a reading test. Math 2 test is pure math. Agree totally with idea of re-take on SAT. My son’s score increase form 2120 to 2270 (one sitting) the third time he took the test. A 3 on APO test AB. Wow, what happened. This seems inconsistent with rest of profile.</p>

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<p>I know, I talked to my teacher the instant I got my score. She said she’d include an explanation of my 3 in her recommendation, saying how I was one of her better students and score 4s and 5s consistently on practice tests, but I’m probably going to ask her not to to try to keep discussion of this 3 as little as possible. What do you think?</p>

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<p>You don’t have to mention the 3 on the AP test because I am pretty sure (99% positive) you do not submit your AP scores until after you are accepted, the summer after your senior year in high school.</p>

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<p>if you’re asian, as I am chances are low. why not try ED2 like i did?
don’t worry about lack of financial aid. if that’s an issue, you can opt out of the early decision agreement. i’m sorry, but from a couple of people in my area, RD is for people who actually deserve to apply for Ivy Leagues. (maybe 2200 or higher on the SATs?)</p>

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<p>You should seriously work on your test scores and secondly…address the issue of where to use your ED advantages, if you feel that you have to pay what you understand your parents will owe. Keep in mind that many colleges reduce the COA and consider the expense of your older sibling…and then again when your younger sibling begins college at the same time. </p>

<p>So your birth order may help matters. </p>

<p>It is a bad idea to throw away your ED if you know you can’t pay your COA if admitted or if you do not feel you are competitive at one institution with good aid but you might be sought after in another. It is also a bad idea to throw away the advantages of an ED application if you feel your chances of admission might be higher at another institution where your demographics may be more sought after.<br>
I realize these factors are very hard to quantify. The reality is that most colleges with superb “good as its going to get” financial aid are swamped with qualified applicants from a national footprint now. So you must have at least one good school where you are SURE you will be admitted and where you would go with a good outlook and attitude. Match schools are often just as demanding as super reach schools in the classroom.</p>

<p>Vandy was getting 11 thousand applicants in 05 when eldest was admitted…and now we are talking closer to 27 thousand. The financial aid for need based grants is a huge draw at Vanderbilt, ditto at its peer institutions. </p>

<p>Another question you should be addressing (privately) is how important is it to you to have a good concentration of Americans with roots in India in your class? Are you stuck on one climate and one region of the USA? Or would you apply to a college that requires a plane trip to attend?</p>

<p>If you are interested in engineering, I have to say that you should not make the mistake of under valuing public universities that are strong in engineering. Yes to privates like Carnegie Mellon and Yes also to Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and state flagship colleges with engineering tracks. Networking with a big alumni group can help in job finding. </p>

<p>The December 8 ACT is in plenty of time for RD but perhaps you have to check re ED2…there are methods to rush scores. </p>

<p>If you take the ACT, TAKE A PRACTICE EXAM often…the rules of the game are not at all like the SAT. Familiarize yourself with the test rules and feel of it. Get some rest the night before and go in there with all your energy. </p>

<p>Lastly there are liberal arts colleges that have deals with engineering schools for the 3/2 plan…however many students have a hard time saying goodbye to their friends senior year and moving on to their planned school of engineering. Nevertheless…this can be a very smart plan.</p>

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<p>I see. Test scores is going to be a huge deciding factor for my application. The other schools that I’m applying to with good shots are Northeastern, Lehigh, Georgia Tech, URochester (legacy), CMU (maybe), Tufts (maybe), UNC, 2 instate schools, Cornell and JHU (long shots)</p>

<p>But schools like GTech and VTech are great suggestions. Anymore you have?! </p>

<p>Thanks once again for your generosity.</p>

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<p>We spent money and time on schools our second son (we call him the Unlucky Recession year son)…was finally admitted to attend that he loved…but we had not faced up to the reality that we could not pay our estimated COA nor could we afford to take out a second mortgage as people used to do easily…in a market where housing values are dropping. So I know the temptations to apply and just hope for the best but do keep records of what colleges say are their practices and try to be realistic.
If your parents are experiencing uncertainty re their incomes, this can be challenging for you to figure out. For instance UNC is a good public school but it is too expensive for out of staters unless you know something I don’t know. I know that they cap out of staters at something like 15-18% of the student body by state law and that most of them pay inflated OOS prices. We live in VA and this is also true in VA…where upwards of a third of UVA is permitted to be OOS by our state laws. Lots of cash producing OOS students, lots of sad instate A students who can’t get a seat there. </p>

<p>Eash of the schools you mention has a completely unique financial aid history. My sons kept an excel chart as this got so confusing and you should read up on blogs to get realistic ideas. JHU is a great univ but I am not sure they can afford a No Loans Need guarantee. They are first in biomed, Duke is 2nd. But such a difficult path! I do not know what the OOS costs are at VA Tech but I heard they didn’t use their waitlist this year…nor do I know what OOS costs are at Ga Tech (legacy in our family) but likely better than at JHU …financial aid is so hard to keep up with at each institution but important to understand. LeHigh has some advantages re a more intimate college and very job oriented but what are their financial aid cut offs for income for need? URochester is a very good institution and if you are legacy, I would make sure to make a sincere application there.</p>

<p>Swarthmore is a liberal arts college with a strong engineering program that is small and I love Swarthmore but it is a hard admit. Good need aid though!</p>

<p>My personal dream school for engineering in a really humane and wonderful undergrad campus would be Rice in Houston. Very hard to get admitted, but they give what used to be 12 thousand dollar grants for merit off the top to a large segment of merit worthy students (my son didn’t get one) But we still love the place–what great residential colleges and what a campus. The advantages to merit grants are that you don’t have to worry from year to year what your parents will be assessed each year based on their annual FAFSA and CSS Profile. Merit money is hard to find in this economy. </p>

<p>But never ever underestimate the advantages of being an outstanding student in your state college…I have a nephew who had a very average GPA from VA Tech and he found employment…what a huge network. Ditto at VMI…networking among alum helps a lot re employment. Son who graduated from Duke…his friends who did ROTC are all employed as engineers in the Navy and very happy. There is a strong ROTC Naval program at Vandy as well that often has engineering students in it. just thinking outloud. Start a thread on good engineering schools and Public Schools which give deals to some OOS students…and read up. Good luck!!</p>

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<p>You are by far the most helpful, resourceful and generous CC’er I’ve met. Swarthmore has come to mind, but I kind of want a more lively environment and location. Beautiful campus but it’s a little too small for my taste. You’re right about UNC with its very slim OOS acceptance, but the atmosphere is perfect. I want a fun college experience with a great location that UNC has, but for some reason just like myself, so many OOS apply to the college (especially IVY-Bound students) so I’ll see. Unfortunately, my parents don’t want me to stray too far that would prob require a plane. Rice unfortunately falls into that category. Good advice about the thread will do. Thanks for all your help! May PM you in the future haha! Hope your children are doing well and best wishes.</p>