Hi, I’m currently a junior at a private college-prep high school w/ a very hard curriculum. I take 6 all honors and AP courses: honors english, honors math, honors science, APUSH, AP art history, and AP latin. My GPA is 3.8 unweighted and 4.35 weighted. This year I am on track to get all As and A-s. My guess is that I will finish the year with 3 As and 3 A-s, but I will obviously work hard to achieve more As than A-s. Freshman and sophomore year I did get a B+ in honors math, but our grading scale is not 10 points so I had 91 averages but those are not in the A range at my school:( I am a 3 season athlete, a girl scout working on my gold award (like eagle scout award), I swim and lifeguard during the summer, I am doing an independent study at school. I haven’t taken the SAT yet but I my goal is around a 1450 and eventually, if i can, a 1500. If I apply ED, which I think I probably will, can I get in??? some other schools I like are Wake Forest, UVA, Notre Dame, Davidson, etc. But I am in love with Vandy and would rather go there, so any tips, etc?? please help!! thanks!
You probably have a good chance to get into Vanderbilt and your other schools. Just make sure you do well on the SAT (try to get it above 1500 if possible), write terrific essays, and keep those grades up. Also, apply ED1 to Vandy if it’s your number one school.
Thanks for the help, I appreciate it!
Just try to get your scores up. SATs are tests that you can get good at with enough practice.
If you’re coming from a top college prep school then you’ll get some leeway grade-wise; you’re probably alright as long as you’re in the top quartile. However, you’ve got to be able to back it up with high scores on the standardized measures as well, meaning 4s/5s on your APs, maybe a couple of 750+ SATIIs, and a solid SAT obviously (1500+ is reasonable for a goal since it fits within the accepted class profile, but the higher the better). Of those, the SAT is most important, so get a prep book or two and take some full-length mock exams. I’d probably plan on reviewing hard over winter break maybe, and then taking it for the first time in the winter/early spring, so you have time to plan for re-takes.
Vandy parent here and I am pretty sure SATIIs are not requested by admissions. Check their website. Also, you may want to try the ACT since some kids do better with that test. Vanderbilt is a great school and provides an excellent all-around college experience. Applying ED will give you a boost. Good luck!
@Sam-I-Am it’s not required but it can certainly help
one comment I would make re your college short list so far is that these colleges are not equals in financial aid based on need. If this is a non-issue for you, fine! They are all special, worthy institutions. My sons applied to all but Notre Dame at various times in the past, but we as parents were a bit lazy and uninformed about true college costs for the first son, and we were much smarter the second round. UVA for in-state students is obviously the best deal or the deal of the century for in-state students if you can get a seat. Competition for the out of state seats is tough. With over 30 thousand applicants and No Loans in your financial aid package (see: reason for over 30 thousand applicants) Vanderbilt is a high reach for anyone even with perfect or near perfect test scores. That does not mean you should not apply to Vandy. It means that the competition of worthy students is intense and not predictable re outcome. Davidson is one of the rare LACs on the SE that can offer very generous need packages scaled to your ability to pay. Before making your list, have that serious pow-wow with your parents and make sure they realize that they have to fill out both FAFSA and all supplemental financial aid forms required. Lastly, for most people who are not savants but are very focused students, you really need to devote yourself to practice exams at home on standardized tests. Once you feel you are doing your best, quit worrying about it and focus on what is in your control like essays and recommendations. AP test scores also matter. You have worked hard in high school. Always be prepared to go to your honors flagship when applying to reach colleges like Vandy, UVA and Davidson. good luck. You can examine the applicant class of last year by going to CollegeX.edu and type in Common Data Set in the search window.