@2016senior I agree, letters of recommendation can be/are the difference maker like that admissions officer said. But I would be surprised if they made up more than 20% of the application at Vanderbilt or any school for that matter. 20%, or even 10% is still huge in any admissions process though and probably often makes the difference between acceptance or rejection. Imagine if you gave a basketball team 10% more points for every shot they made, they’d win just about every game. On the other hand, if you gave 10% fewer points for every shot that team made, they’d probably lose just about every game. The same concept would be true for the college admissions process. A candidate would probably have a very hard time getting in without that 10% of the application, but that same candidate would probably have a fairly easy time getting in with the 10%.
However, one could argue in that every part of the admissions process can be the difference maker. ACT/SAT scores, GPA, extracurricular activities, interviews etc. They can all be deal breakers and it’s very difficult for one to get in if they do horrible in any of those areas.