Chance Me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

<p>Sex: Male
Race: Asian
Location: Memphis, Tennessee</p>

<p>Senior Year Courses:
Spanish 4
Calculus
Chamber Choir
Honors British Literature
Physics
Theology 4
Psychology </p>

<p>*My GD told me that I'm currently taking the most challenging courses and that I'm on my way to becoming valedictorian. My school does not provide any AP courses and only a couple of Honors classes per grade (it's a VERY small school with only 100 high school students)...but I've never had anything below an A on my report card.</p>

<p>ACT: 28
SAT: Will take soon
GPA: 4.00 UW</p>

<p>Activities:
Cross Country (10-12)
Track (10-12)
NHS Treasurer (10-11) and President (12)
House Captain (12)*
Spanish Club (9-12) (VP in 11) (President in 12)
Jefferson Awards Students in Action (11-12)**
Bridge Builders (11-12) (Leadership Board member in 11-12)</p>

<p><em>My school has a student-led house system similar to the house system in Harry Potter (replaces SGA)
*</em>Won the Mid-South Regional award for Best Community Service. Even earned a trip to Washington, D.C. and met the Tennessee Senators. </p>

<p>Work/Internships*:
Freshman - Intern at FedEx World Headquarters
Sophomore - Intern at both UT Medical Group and ReTrans, Inc.
Junior - Intern at Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation
Senior - PharmTech Lab Assistant at the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy</p>

<p>*All the money that I've earned from working goes straight to paying my high school tuition, and I've probably raised $5,000 a year (16 hours a week). </p>

<p>I'm sure that I can get stellar letters of recommendation from previous employers and my principal. I've been dreaming of attending Vanderbilt ever since 6th grade, and I plan on finishing my application next week for early decision. I'm just curious to see what you guys think. Please, don't be too harsh! :)</p>

2

<p>Everything seems fine except for your ACT score: a 28 falls below the middle 50% range for Vanderbilt (which is 30-34). This means there are more than 75% people admitted who have an ACT score higher than yours, and oftentimes the students that score in the bottom percentile are recruited athletes. Also, asians are usually expected to have very high test scores, although this may be less of a factor at Vanderbilt than at schools like MIT/Caltech/Stanford/Ivies. </p>

<p>Essentially, take the SAT and see how you do (make sure to do the best on the Math and Reading sections because those are the sections that Vanderbilt looks at the most) and retake the ACT. You need to get a better score, and then you’ll have great chances for admission.</p>

3

<p>Thanks! It’s just that I don’t do so well during standardized tests. Unfortunately, It’s usually the pressure that gets to me.</p>