Duke & Vanderbilt are unlikely admits for 99% of students, including your son. I don’t think that either one of them are out of reach, though. For students enrolling in the fall of 2022, Vanderbilt had 29% submit the SAT and 32% submit the ACT (source). For the same cycle, Duke had 49% submit the SAT and 37% submit the ACT (source). How much overlap there is between those who submitted both tests vs. just one test, I don’t know. Obviously, Duke seems to have a strong preference for seeing test scores, so perhaps that one is particularly less likely if going TO.
At Vanderbilt, on the other hand, at least 40% of enrolled students did not submit a test. They like students with leadership, and your son has that for Student Council plus captain of his sports team, prez of Latin club, etc. I’d think he has a shot.
I would only have your son apply to Vanderbilt if the following conditions are met:
You think he is emotionally and mentally healthy enough to receive a rejection (but that is true for any school he applies to)
He thinks it would be a good fit and he’d be excited to attend
He is willing and able to do his best on the application even though he knows he will likely not receive an acceptance.
He has at least one school on his list that he’d be excited to attend and is extremely likely to be admitted to (or has received an admission to already, ahem, Ole Miss).
If those conditions are met, I don’t see why he shouldn’t apply.
Guess what - if you get turned down, it’s ok. One doesn’t need to get into every school for which they apply. In fact, when you are seeking pedigree and in some ways you are, then you want someone to turn you down. Having only acceptances isn’t good - well except if no one in the country would turn you down.
Per CDS, Vandy shows 61% test submission and there’s always some dupes. Yes, those that don’t are likely athletes and unhooked but you never know.
Duke had a much higher % but their CDS is two years back.
Don’t forget, the 25th percentile means 25% got in below. Unlikely to admit, but worst case, they say no. No pain, no gain.
PS - the reason not to apply to either but where Emory makes sense - they don’t offer business and that’s a possibility for you.
I agree, and I also like Emory. I need to check whether they have football. I think maybe they don’t and that’s why it did not make his initial list. As a parent, I don’t think that should be key criteria, but I’m trying to follow his lead. I will see if he wants to add more reaches. He already has a lot of applications and it important for him to be able to do a good job with all the supplements
Haha! So sorry but the two schools his dad just really hates are Alabama and Tennessee (based solely on football, nothing to do with other outstanding merits of the schools). I went to UGA for law school and love Athens, but S24 has not gotten excited about the Dawgs, unfortunately. He may surprise me yet. He applied to Ole Miss without even telling me, so I have a feeling his application process may be full of surprises. It’s making me crazy! 6 months ago he was applying ED1 to Wake and the only SEC school on his list was UF.
Don’t get me wrong on finances, I absolutely appreciate merit money and we certainly will consider $ when making a final decision, but sometimes these threads get taken over by money and I have a pretty good handle on what various options are likely to cost.
For the OP’s student, Alabama would give a $24k scholarship, leaving a net price of $24k billed or $32k including the various unbilled costs (books, personal, transportation).
But Mississippi is already listed as a safety, and would give a $15.5k scholarship to the student. Net price after scholarship appears to be about $25k including billed and unbilled costs.
So if the student prefers Mississippi over Alabama, and Mississippi is less expensive after automatic scholarships, Alabama is not the automatic answer to every college question.
My son applied to Bama and didn’t say a word til he was accepted. We thought he was headed to Purdue.
Loved that he got his own room and bathroom shared with only one other. So he applied for that reason alone. Only went bcuz school required a college visit and friends invited him to tag along.
We have friends - the Bar Mitzvah was Gator themed and he was going there and only there - no matter what.
Sometimes the football alliances win out over common sense.
If he liked the Auburn campus, in my opinion Ms State is more similar.
But he has plenty he’ll get into already.
But schools like Richmond have football - but that’s the minor leagues, not the big time!!
Reading the thread I think Miami and FSU would do nicely. Especially if he gets into the Honors program at FSU. S21 is at FSU and loves it. We also liked Miami and a friend’s D just graduated. She’s the work hard, play hard type.
If he’s looking at smaller schools maybe a Charleston or Wofford might work.
Being in a capital might be helpful so FSU and South Carolina would be good options. I don’t see Emory or GT being good fits. S20 is at GT. Good luck.
Thank you, and I think you are right. Those are definitely schools that I think fit his work hard/play hard mentality. I would love for him to get in to SC Honors because part of him thinks he wants to go out of state, just for change. But I also think he would have great opportunities at FSU and in Tallahassee. But being in a Capitol city definitely would have great opportunities if he pursues the polisci route.
As a quick update, he has submitted applications so far to
Ole Miss
Auburn
Clemson
South Carolina
Georgia
FSU
He is working on
Florida
UVA
U Miami
TCU
Richmond
Wake
I am really proud of his progress on applications and he is genuinely excited about all of them, so I actually am really excited and happy for him too! It is a bonus that we will hear from most of them before Christmas
I believe he has solid list and will be happy with his acceptances. It is interesting that he decided not to ED1 to Wake. On the other hand, it is great to have options open and have choices. Good for him that he is excited for most schools on his list.
I agree it’s a good list. Our S started at Richmond but found it to be too small. If he’s looking at some of these other big state schools, I agree with the other comments that Richmond is an outlier regarding size. Also, it’s a self-contained campus, not walkable to anything, which made it feel even smaller for our S.
Thank you! I hope your son ended up somewhere where he is really happy. I appreciate the insight. Richmond is so beautiful and there is much about it that is appealing, but after being in a tiny school for 12 years, I think S24 is excited about going somewhere bigger. I just hope he likes the choices available to him in March, which is why I’m hoping a few smaller schools will get applications, just in case he changes his mind about a big school. Currently, he is very excited about his plan and I’m confident he will have several choices, so it certainly relieves some stress and anxiety for all of us.
Thanks, he is thrilled where he is, and he did come from a decently large high school. He has friends at Richmond that are super happy. It sounds like your son will have some great options.
Has he gotten any acceptances yet? I think he will love Auburn and if you haven’t toured yet be sure to plan a visit soon! The campus, student life and community spirit are outstanding! My son is a happy Sophomore there in pre-business. Message me if he has any questions or wants to chat with a student there from OOS.
We are very excited and trying to plan visits but this is the peak of his cross country season so visits aren’t possible for the next few weeks. I do wish we could go for a football game but that may not work. He does have plans to go to an FSU game with a friend.
He also has submitted complete applications to:
University of Florida
Florida State
University of Georgia
University of South Carolina
Clemson University
University of Virginia
University of Richmond
Texas Christian University
He is working on honors college applications and a Wake Forest application. I am very proud of his progress and acceptances so far. I imagine he may have a hard time choosing in the Spring, but that will be a good problem. He also is having a fantastic senior year so far and is really happy so I am feeling great!
Sounds awesome! Consider touring on a Monday-Thursday when more students are most active on campus, studying and going to class, so he can get to experience the true vibe of the campus and student population. Fridays aren’t as busy just to be aware. Good luck to him on making a decision!
