The main difference is that Vanderbilt has a more diverse student body than WFU.
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@Publisher Agreed. Unfortunately, the more diverse the school, the more difficult the admit for a white, suburban female student.
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I agree that Vandy is more diverse.
As far as which school seems “quieter,” I can only go by my observations on the days we visited. The Vanderbilt campus was quite active, while Wake was not.
This doesn’t mean the WF campus does not get busy. It just was not on the days we were there. We visited the school 3 times, and to me it really had a different feel (opinion only).
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Pandemic visits make this a problem. Campuses are all likely quiet so it’s hard to get a grip on what life is like on campus during regular times. It’s like visiting during summer but then also not being able to go into buildings. There is info to be gathered just by walking on campus but you almost have to try hard to envision kids there.
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FYI: As far as campus visits go, be aware Vanderbilt’s 2020 Graduation Ceremonies (postponed due to Covid last year) are now scheduled to be live May 1-2.
Final Exams May 3-10.
Vanderbilt’s 2021 Graduation Ceremonies are now scheduled to be live May 15-16.
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We visited these schools with D20, some more than once. If there is anything I can try to answer from pre-covid visits, please let me know.
Wake
BC
Richmond
Middlebury
Davidson
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Hopefully, Vanderbilt will view talent such as dance as another type of diversity.
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I just saw on a webinar that Colgate had an 103% increase in applications this year. I had thought that was a match for your D but might now be more of a reach.
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I think the Colgate numbers threw everyone off this year. Colgate was actually a slightly easier admit during ED, then the RD numbers came out. They are one of the schools that are going to be difficult to figure out for a year or 2 until they settle into a pattern. Because this year looks nothing like any other for them.
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What did she hear from Denison?
Yes. Forgot to update here. She was waitlisted! No one from her school with her GPA has ever applied. They’ve taken every last student in the past (8-10 a year) all the way down to B- GPA and 1150 SAT. Her waitlist offer says “Although we had to make some difficult decisions, we ca assure you that our review of your application was thorough and you are a top candidate.” Then goes on to tell her that, if she takes the WL spot and is accepted, she would get $20k per year.
No one has ever seen this before! A WL with a merit offer. Naviance is all green checks below her icon. She did not meet with the AO when he came to her school and did not do the optional essay. The lesson learned it - demonstrated interest is even more important this year!
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How much are they offering for an outright rejection ?
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My daughter was accepted to Denison for spring but waitlisted for fall with $22k merit. She didn’t do the interview or the supplement but did submit an art portfolio.
She also applied to Wake (which after reading this thread will not be a good fit for her), Skidmore, University of Rochester, SUNY Fredonia (in with Presidential Scholarship), and her sister’s school, Haverford. It’s going to be a long few weeks!
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Does your school have a relationship with Denison? Denison’s AO comes every year to our school. Most kids who apply meet with him. D’s GPA and ECs were just different than anyone else who applies from her school. She did not check the box for spring acceptance. I’m pretty sure they just thought she wouldn’t enroll. I told our guidance counselor and she wasn’t surprised at the WL but thought the merit offer was something she’d never seen before.
And good luck to your D!
Crazy, isn’t it? I think they are very worried about predicting yield this year.
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^^ I’ve said this elsewhere on CC, but with covid, these schools cannot end up over enrolled. It used to be that if that happened, the larger singles and doubles became doubles and triples. That’s really not likely to be an option in the fall. WL allow schools to fill up to, but not over, the limit they can accommodate. So my prediction is also that we’ll see more WL decisions this year and in many cases, more WL action in late spring.
While it seems odd to WL a student and say “but if you get off the WL, here’s your merit package”, it makes it far easier for the student to know if that WL spot is of interest. If they have a better offer elsewhere, in terms of how much they like the school at that price, no need to join the WL. And the school wins too because they aren’t making a bunch of calls in May to kids who say “oh, now that I’m seeing the price tag, that’s not enough merit $ to make you interesting to me.” A win win.
But I didn’t think Denison was a top contender for OP anyway. Love watching the odds develop!
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No, there is no relationship whatsoever between our school and admissions at Denison (or probably any school outside of our region with an acceptance rate below 80%). We are a very small, rural public school in western NY (my daughter’s class has fewer than 20 kids). When my older daughter was looking at Haverford our GC had never heard of it (he probably hadn’t heard of Denison, either), nor had any student applied ED before. If they are going to college most attend either community college or a regional SUNY. A few will go to a local private school. And then probably 25% enter a trade, the military, or the work force.
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Got it. I think it’s likely that Denison couldn’t draw a conclusion about whether your D would enroll. In our case, since they know our high school, they could make a more accurate prediction.
First post! With D19 also at Bowdoin and S22 beginning his journey, this is a really fun and helpful thread.
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