<p>Hi - So, i love everything about Vanderbilt! I really want to go here but I am afraid I'll get rejected. </p>
<p>Freshman year, i had a 3.7 UW GPA both semesters, Sophomore year, 4.0 one semester UW and 3.8 the other UW. However, I REALLY messed up everything Junior year, and I got a 2.8 UW GPA first semester, and 3.5 UW second semester. I am going to apply EARLY ACTION. I haven't received my SAT scores back but I'm expecting 700 + in each category based on practice SATs/tests. I have a lot of extra curricular's - Journalism (editor for two years), ASB student leadership, started a mentoring club, did club swimming three seasons, in other clubs, volunteer time around community, camp counselor, and hoping to get an internship this summer for journalism, if not - i will work. </p>
<p>I was wondering if A) you guys think i have any chance whatsoever! B) if i apply early it will increase my chances or i should wait until regular decision C) if i select a more uncommon major in addition to applying early, it will increase my chances even more! even though I would have no interest in continuing that major if i got accepted! </p>
<p>ADVICE PLEASE! HONEST ADVICE!</p>
<p>A) I’m not sure, I don’t really know about admissions anymore. Just put your whole heart into it and make sure your essays establish you as a person instead of a set of numbers.</p>
<p>B) if Vanderbilt is the place you want to go don’t make the mistake of not applying early decision, it will definitely improve your chances</p>
<p>C) I think the main decision that affects your acceptance is which school you apply to, CAS is probably statistically easiest to get into.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>A) Vandy is very hard to predict. If it is your dream school you should give it a shot. If there was a reason or something you learned from your first semester junior year put it in your essay and try to make something positive out of this.</p>
<p>B) It is definitly an advantage to do ED I or ED II. Keep in mind it is early decision and is expected to be binding if you are accepted. This means you are expected to accept the financial package offered. This is a little less of a problem with Vandy as they tend to be generious.</p>
<p>C) Statistically Engineering, A&S and Peabody students are very similar. Since A&S (CAS) is the largest they tend to have a slightly higher admit rate (I’m not sure if that hold true every year).</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>thank you all so much!</p>
<p>as far as grades go, i had a 3.85 W gpa by the end of junior year which was probably around a 3.4 or 3.5 UW, and i was waitlisted but then admitted.</p>
<p>im not sure what chance there is of being accepted but its bigger than the 0% chance if you dont apply at all!</p>
<p>your grades junior year will hurt you at Vanderbilt, not because you are unworthy but because there are too many applicants with clean transcripts and nothing to “explain.” </p>
<p>That said, you should keep your chin up and apply to Vandy and to schools that would be happy to land you that are less selective. Tons of fantastic, brilliant people had rocky high school moments, ditto tons of successful people earn a 2.8 at Vanderbilt for the first time in their lives because their priorities get skewed briefly. One way to look at this in a healthy manner, is that you are less likely to be one of those guys with high test scores who makes errors in study allocation time in college…you had a wake up call in high school. </p>
<p>Opportunities for your career can be equally sunny if you ace your college years whether or not you are at a school with Vandy’s low admission rates. Consider yourself to be immunized from “freshman follies” at college. </p>
<p>To put your best foot forward on your applications, work hard to earn the respect of your reference letter writers and to be forthcoming with them and to present them with realistic match colleges. </p>
<p>Secondly, and this is true for people with 4.0s in high school as well…think hard on the “intangibles” that you bring to a college community and make sure that the admissions staff can comprehend your best qualities from your essays. </p>
<p>People are admitted to selective schools every fall who are interesting people but whose transcripts are less competitive than the next guys. This happens because of intangible attractive qualities in an entire application. ie you are way more than your one semester of lower grades. Believe in your future and respect the adults who are going to do their best to support your applications by providing clear helpful information to them when you ask for a letter of reference.</p>
<p>best of luck.</p>
<p>I think you meant Early Decision, not Early Action. Please make sure your family is on board with the consequences of applying early to a binding contract. </p>
<p>Not applying is functionally equivalent to getting rejected. If that is where you want to go, go for it. Have confidence when writing your essays. Good Luck</p>
<p>Since you have so many dream schools, applying ED is a bad idea. </p>
<p>If you need financial aid, you don’t get to compare offers; you have to take it or leave it, and you don’t know if your other dream schools will actually beat Vandy’s offer if you turn it down.</p>
<p>If you don’t need financial aid, it’s a looooong time from December to August/September, plenty of time to regret your decision since you don’t have a favorite dream school.</p>