<p>So, I did not do too well freshman/sophomore years of high school, but junior year was great. Huge upward trend.</p>
<p>I'm white a white girl from a large public school in central Florida.</p>
<p>I have around an unweighted GPA of 3.5 and weighted 4.0-4.1
Top 12%
I will be top 10% after 1st semester with a higher GPA (3.6 uw)
Shooting for at least a 2100 on SATs come October
AP World = 4
AP American History = 4
AP Lang = 4
AP Euro = 4</p>
<p>5 AP classes senior year and 1 community college class.</p>
<p>Total of 9 AP classes and all honors classes when available.</p>
<p>Community service will be at least 3 hours a week. </p>
<p>A few clubs, not an officer of anything.</p>
<p>I hope to paint myself in my applications as a lover of literature (which is true). This can also somewhat explain my lack of involvement in clubs.</p>
<p>I know a guy who applied from my school last year with an UW GPA of 3.8 and didn't get accepted... Not the best SAT scores though.</p>
<p>Would it be helpful if I had an administrator who attended Vandy write me a letter?</p>
<p>Any advice would be appreciated. Yes, I'd be interested in applying ED here.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, CC! I AM A LOST FOOL WITHOUT YOU!</p>
<p>Vanderbilt will be a reach school. The upward trend in grades is definitely a plus. Vandy likes to see leadership roles in your activities (as do all the top schools). One of the reasons is that this shows a higher level of commitment and participation. Is there some way you can demonstarte this in your application? Maybe something you do outside of school. It seems that the vast majority of students that get accepted have stong EC’s and if not, they have very high academic marks. ED would be a plus but make sure you are 100% sure Vandy is your top choice and that you will be comfortable (able to pay) with whatever financial package they offer (this last part is very important).</p>
<p>The best advise I can think of is to also find some match schools that you can be enthusiastic about along with your reach schools and “safety” schools. While Vandy is great (I’m biased as I think Vandy is The Best) there are other great schools which I’m sure would love to have you (I’m not saying that Vandy will not). The application process can be very stressful but try to have some fun and look at all the great possibilities. I tuely believe that there is more than one right place for everybody so please don’t limit yourself by focusing all your attention to one place. I am certain that if you look around find schools that you think will fulfill you both academically and socially and get enthusiastic about those schools, then next year you will find yourself in a great school. Best of Luck!</p>