I am currently a junior in high school, and Vanderbilt is number one on my college list. I am hoping to apply ED. I am not quite sure what I want to study (maybe interested in psychology or neuroscience) but I would like to try out different subjects to see what really interests me. I am torn between A&S and Peabody…how different is the first year curriculum for the two schools before you choose a major and is it easy to switch schools?
If I am torn between the two schools, is there one that I should definitely apply to? Is it easier to get into one rather than the other (acceptance statistics, etc.)? Any help would be appreciated!!
I am a high school senior so I can’t say too much about the actual programs, but I got into Peabody RD this year. I was planning on applying for A&S rather than Peabody (and HOD), but I talked to my admissions counselor at Vanderbilt and she recommended applying for the smaller college if it fit me. I recommend looking at the majors Peabody offers and specific tracks to see if they fit your interests. I looked into past acceptance rates, and it looked like Peabody also had a higher acceptance rate. However, I think that Peabody admits by major, so I don’t know how telling that is.
From what I’ve seen, A&S has a stricter core curriculum, which could be a good or bad thing depending on you. Also, what the curriculum looks like at Peabody is going to depend on whether you’re doing HOD or Education. You won’t be able to switch until after the first year, so that is something to keep in mind. However, you can double major across the schools.
If you are torn, definitely apply to Arts and Sciences. Peabody is much smaller and harder to get in to. Students can transfer between colleges, though I do not know how frequent that is.
Disclaimer: I’m an incoming First-Year student at Brown who declined his admission to Vanderbilt Arts & Sciences RD, but my advice should still apply.
Even though there might be slight variances in acceptance rates between the different schools, Vanderbilt as a whole is difficult to get into. Rather than focusing on which school might be easier to get into, I highly recommend that you apply to whatever major best fits your application profile (extracurricular activities, essays, letters of recommendation etc.) and you are able to explain to Vanderbilt Admissions how that the university as a whole and the specific department’s resources will allow you to achieve your goals (from your essays but also from how you’ve utilized your school’s resources,) but also how you’ll be a future graduate that they’ll be proud of.
I highly recommend that you apply ED to Vanderbilt if ALL of the following are true:
You LOVE Vanderbilt and would 110% attend if admitted.
You're confident that you can present a well-thought out and crafted application by the ED Deadline of November 1st.
You and your family can afford Vanderbilt if admitted (run the financial aid calculators if applicable.)
In Vanderbilt’s case in particular, the University Catalog (https://www.vanderbilt.edu/catalogs/documents/UGAD.pdf#admission ) states that “it is Vanderbilt’s practice to admit or deny Early Decision applicants; in rare cases, applicants may be deferred to the Regular Decision pool.” This is an advantage compared to other schools that may defer huge percentages of their ED applicant pool or don’t outright state that they give preference to ED applicants, but make sure you’re applying to Vanderbilt because you LOVE the school, not its brand name or prestige.