Chances at Vanderbilt

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

<p>What are my chances of admission at Vanderbilt RD? Vanderbilt is one of my top choices and I've sent them several supplementary materials in addition to my application.</p>

<p>I'm a first-generation Asian-American (Chinese) and first in my family to go to college. I plan to major in cellular & molecular biology at Vandy in preparation for medical school. I want to be a physician/medical researcher.</p>

<p>My stats:
SAT I: 1440 (750 Math, 690 Verbal)
SAT II: 800 Math IIC, 770 Writing, 750 Chemistry
GPA: 4.00 unweighted, 5.075 weighted
Rank: 5 of 437</p>

<p>For midyear report - My first semester grades for senior year are all A's. My new weighted GPA will be 5.17 and my rank might go up 1 spot.</p>

<p>Senior year schedule: AP Biology (lecture), AP Physics C-Mechanics, AP Calculus BC, AP Macroeconomics/U.S. Government Honors, AP English Literature, AP Statistics, Biology Research/Lab Honors</p>

<p>Past AP's:
U.S. History - 5
Studio Art (Drawing) - 3
Chemistry - 5
English Language - 4
Calculus AB - 5
European History - 4</p>

<p>(so 12 AP's by graduation)</p>

<p>I also take classes after school at my local community college - 8 credit hours by graduation in general chemistry I, II labs, computer programming, and general psychology. (Taking psych this semester, got A's in the other 3 classes.)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
200+ hours of community service:
-nursing home/rehab center (3 years)
-math tutor for high school/middle school (1 year)
-volunteer at public library (1 year)</p>

<p>-Piano for 10 years - top pianist in S. Florida area - 22 performance awards in entire career (district, regional, and state levels), 9 consecutive superiors in solo, 8 consecutive superiors in duet, 7 consecutive honors in music theory, currently at highest difficulty level in both instrumental performance and music theory at the state level. I also placed first last year in the Messingschlager High School Piano Competition, the most prestigious competition in our area.</p>

<p>School Clubs:
-Mu Alpha Theta (Parliamentarian in 11, Historian in 12) - 10, 11, 12
-Future Med Club (Vice President in 11, President in 12) - 11, 12
-Science Club/JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society) - 11, 12
-National Honor Society - 12
-Pre-Law Club - 9</p>

<p>-Work part-time at parents' chinese take-out store - 4 years, 4-5 hrs/wk</p>

<p>-Attended FSU Young Scholars Program last summer - coursework in theoretical mathematics, modern physics, computer programming, and science ethics; research in Fluorine-21 Gamma Spectroscopy with physics dept.</p>

<p>Academic Awards: (not going to list music awards/honors - 50 total)
-2004 Miami Chinese Cultural & Educational Scholarship Recipient
-2004 Florida State University Young Scholar
-2004 National Merit Commended Scholar (209 selection index)
-2004 AP Scholar with Distinction
-2004 University of Pennsylvania Book Award
-2004 Outstanding Physics Award
-2004 JETS Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, & Science (TEAMS) Competition: 1st Place Regionals, 22nd Place Nationals; Division 7, FAU
-2004 Recipient of Who's Who Among American High School Students
-2002 Outstanding Academic Achievement Award
-2002 Award for Best All-Around Spanish Student
-2002 Academic Excellence Award in Biology
-2002 Award for Highest Average in Honors English
-2002 Outstanding Visual Arts Award
-2001-2002 Headmaster's Honor Roll</p>

<p>Excellent essays and teacher/guidance recs.</p>

<p>Supplements:
I also submitted to Vandy - general and music resumes, my research paper, evaluation from professors and research sponser at FSU, letters of rec from
my piano teacher and chem teacher (in addition to the 2 required ones), a audio recording of my playing (piano), and a CD of my artwork slides (5 years training in visual arts).</p>

<p>I also applied RD to:
Duke (my other top choice in addition to Vandy)
Brown (also a top choice)
MIT (super super reach)
Safeties:
Tulane (applied with the personal app)
UF
UM</p>

<p>Can anyone tell me about my chances at Vandy or any of my top choice/reach schools. Thanks for reading my long post!</p>

2

<p>You are definitely in. Have you visited campus?</p>

3

<p>feenotype - thanks for responding, I haven't visited Vandy yet but I do plan to later in April once I know of my admission decision.</p>

<p>Does anyone know of the qualifications for any merit-based aid at Vandy?</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

4

<p>i think merit-based aid is based partially on SAT scores...i remember seeing 1500 and above is when they start to consider you for merit aid (im not a 100 percent sure though)</p>

5

<p>ummm i thought it was impossible to go over 5.0 ... that sounds very bull shizzy</p>

6

<p>a 5.0+ is possible, at least in our school district. If you get a C or higher in a class, they add on 1.0 extra pts for honors courses and 2.0 extra pts for AP/IB classes. I agree that it is kind of wierd though - prob. inflating the GPA to counteract the fact that ppl are getting dumber.</p>

7

<p>leejwwc, I wouldn't be surprised if they went ahead and offered you admission in a few weeks so they can invite you to campus for MOSAIC-the multicultural student recruitment weekend-in March.</p>

<p>As far as merit aid goes, 1440 is a tad bit low. But you never know.</p>

8

<p>thanks a lot feenotype! I never knew my chances at Vandy were so good. I know that in the end, if I get into Duke or Brown as well, I would have a really hard time deciding between these schools. As I said before, I'm def. planning to visit once I know if I'm in. Is there a program at Vandy where prospective students can stay overnight and shadow a current student, and if so, is it by major?</p>

9

<p>Yes, there is such a program. I don't believe it is by major, but if you talk to the admissions office, I'm sure you could work something out if there is a student volunteer with your prospective major.</p>

10

<p>awesome! just found out my new rank today - its 3/437
I'm so happy, now my midyear report can help boost my apps a little bit.</p>

<p>Another question if you guys don't mind - how does Vandy compare to Duke? What are the similarities and differences: 1. academically, 2. socially, 3. financially</p>

<p>Also - would you say that NOT attending an optional interview is detrimental to your application? I'm not a very charismatic person and kinda messed up on my MIT interview by saying some dumb things. BTW, this would be for Duke and Brown.</p>

11

<p>Vandy rules and Duke sucks, that's all you need to know.... Just kidding, of course. Most people will tell you that Duke is 100,000,000x better than Vanderbilt, but I think that's just exaggeration. Other than the larger recongition that Duke has, I'd say there's no difference academically. Socially, Vanderbilt is southern school, while Duke is a northern school in the South. Being from South Florida, you'll probably experience a culture shock if you come to Vanderbilt as opposed to if you went to Duke. I'm not sure what you mean by financial. Vanderbilt is plenty loaded--just not as loaded as Duke, but Vandy is good with financial aid nevertheless; I'm guessing that's what you mean.</p>

<p>No clue about interviewing and such--none of the schools I applied to had an interview process...sorry.</p>