Chances at Vanderbilt for rising senior ?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

I’m a rising senior girl and am very interested in Vanderbilt- what are my chances for ED and RD?

GPA- 3.91
ACT- 32

W-34
M-27
R-36
S-32

Honors science and language throughout HS
Standard math
My school doesn’t offer AP or honors humanities classes

Classes I didn’t get A’s in:
B in algebra 2
B+ in honors physics
A- in geometry
A- in honors chem

EC’s

  • Captain of cross country team
  • leader of poetry and writing club
  • summer school volunteer (over 100 hours)
  • peer writing tutor (40 hours)
  • journalism intern for neighborhood magazine
  • winner of a national scholastic writing award
  • speech team since freshman year and captain of speech team

Hooks: I speak Spanish and Italian and am a first generation American

2

Your GPA is fine. Your extracurriculars are fine. Your ACT score is a tad low. It’s still possible, but it would be far more likely if you brought up that ACT math to at least a 30-31. Then you’re composite would improve to a 33 and you’d be more in the running. ED you’ve a good shot. RD, it’s just unlikely with that ACT score, but again, not impossible. Then again, you ARE a first gen American which is a plus, but Vanderbilt tends to look for higher scorers for whatever reason.

I’d do a touch of math prep and sit the ACT one more time and start writing some powerful essays. A good college essay is normally written and then read and edited and proofread and given feedback upwards of 50 times. I must have read my college supplement essays at least 20-30 times each, once every day or two starting in August/September until they felt like only I could have written them, and once I knew that they were elegant and revealing. That’s the key I think.

If not Vanderbilt, odds are somewhere wonderful will want to welcome you to campus, not the least of which could be your state school’s honors college. Look at other schools as well, because it’s the biggest crapshoot imaginable these days! Good luck to you.
Feel free to PM me if you want some recommendations for other schools you should consider, based on your major, interests, and aspirations.