<p>Hello there children: (just kidding I am going to be a Senior in a Texas High School next year)</p>
<p>I have a 32 Composite on the ACT (English 35, Reading 32, Math 32, Science 30)
I am around top 10-15% in my class of 560, and I will have taken and passed 6 AP classes (BC Calculus, AP US History, English III/IV, MacroEconomics, Govt, Environmental Science) while still taking the highest level classes available to me. I hold an internship right now, am an officer of my Finance academy at my school, attend Young Life, play varsity basketball, mentor... yada yada yada</p>
<p>Question 1: Basically, HOW DO I GET INTO VANDERBILT?
I plan on taking the ACT again, but if my aim is to get admitted into Vanderbilt, what score should I shoot for? My SAT score was 1980, but that was long ago. Any other advice for getting into Vanderbilt would be greatly appreciated. Of course, being from Texas, I will also be applying to UT.</p>
<p>I got waitlisted at Vanderbilt with a 32 ACT…the problem I think I had in a lot of my applications is I didn’t show a lot of interest in my supplement essays…that’s my biggest regret b/c the schools I showed interest in my essays, I got in to. I know my personal essay was killer but I didn’t take into account the supplemental essays…make sure they are as good as your personal essay! It didn’t help that Vandy was a last second application so me getting waitlisted was fantastic =) Best of luck to you!!</p>
<p>I would retake the SAT and take some subject tests. Of course, the best thing to do would be to apply ED but your scores might not be good enough.</p>
<p>If you REALLY want Vandy I would advise applying ED. My D was waitlisted with a 32 ACT, 4.0 uw, great ec’s and all. Due to the convenience of the common app Vandy and other top schools are receiving 25k applications for the 1 -2k spots available for freshmen. I really don’t think all those essays get read after they’ve found enough top applicants to fill the spaces.
Good luck to you.</p>
<p>It will come down to your essays. You need to show interest, personalize the essay to Vandy and talk about how its the perfect fit and how you plan to contribute to the school.</p>
<p>Essays ARE very important, but will they even get read if they aren’t in the first several thousand match applicants received? Looking back, I really believe that applying ED gives you a better shot. If you apply RD you are more likely to get lost in the shuffle considering the volume of applications they receive at that time.</p>
<p>timeflew,
I can assure you that the essays are read. One of my kids worked in the admissions office for 3 years, had close friends who worked there as student workers as well, and one friend is an admissions counselor now.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear that every application is read. However, I still think that if funnysac really, really wants to go to Vandy applying ED would be an advantage. </p>
<p>There were LOTS of kids with dream resumes waitlisted at Vandy this year, and I have to believe that it was at least in part because lots of other kids with dream resume’s had sent in their applications earlier. When they already have a huge YES stack, are counselors really going to spend as much time with later applications? Perhaps yes, but why not apply ED and lessen the odds of getting lost in the crowd later? </p>
<p>I think this is true for all of the tow 20 schools since common app came on the scene. </p>
<p>2VU0609, do you have any advice for funnysac and other prospects on how to stand out in a crowd of high stat applicants? Any inside info that can help them?</p>
<p>When my kids applied the applicant pool was much smaller. Both the child who worked in admissions and the good friend of that child who worked there as a student worker and for a year following graduation (not the admissions counselor) used to joke that they weren’t confident that they would be admitted several years later. ED is a distinct advantage.</p>
<p>Funnysac…I would agree to a certain extent with what has been said. If Vanderbilt is your first choice, and financial aid is not an issue, apply ED. If, on the other hand, $ is a concern (perhaps you’re budgeting for grad school as well) or if there are schools you like slightly more, apply RD. My D loved Vandy and always thought she’d wind up attending; however, at the time she applied, there were a few schools she also really liked. Her argument was if she applied ED, she might always wonder “what if”. Suffice to say, she did RD. Like TimeFlew’s D, she was waitlisted with VERY, VERY impressive stats/ecs/essays. It was a bit of a shock, to be honest. (She was also waitlisted at most all of the ivys.) So, in hindsight would she have done things differently? Probably not. She did get accepted at some great schools, and after dome recovery time, she’s now very excited about the school she’ll be attending. For what it’s worth, here are a few things you might consider when making your decision:</p>
<p>A) Certain schools/colleges within Vandy are easier to get into than others. You might think about this when applying.
B) You’re from a heavily represented state, so competition will be more intense.<br>
C) RD rate dropped this year to 13+% from 20 something percent last year. </p>
<p>Thanks to all for the help, it was… helpful!</p>
<p>@jc40: what schools/colleges within Vandy are easier to get into? </p>
<p>and thanks for the statistical data… I’m facing the same dilemma as your daughter with deciding (although possibly prematurely) whether to apply ED or RD.</p>
<p>retake your ACT with as much prep as you can stand this summer at home…use the Red Book …32 is a score to be proud of but you might as well see if you can gain a couple of points</p>
<p>do not consider Vandy anything but a reach…this is due to numbers of applicants only and is zero reflection on your abilities. </p>
<p>get to know Vandy and only apply to the college within it that makes absolute sense for your future…and make sure your essays are specific to Vanderbilt </p>
<p>love love love and respect your safety colleges and match colleges. only apply to colleges you can attend with pride. Visualize yourself making life long friends at match colleges…attend classes there as well as at reach colleges. Realize that there are scores of colleges with professors as fine as the professors at Vanderbilt and there can be advantages to attendeing colleges that are less selective than Vanderbilt. Doing a fab job at a match college can result in fine grad school choices. </p>
<p>We were very lucky because our state colleges in VA are outcomes that are easy to live with so our sons were prepared to stay in state, but don’t neglect your match college in your affections. </p>
<p>Give your heart to your application essays to all.</p>
<p>My son got into Vanderbilt this RD year and quite frankly we were shocked, they had a 16.3% admit rate this year and my son’s GPA was so-so. He did have a 2250 on the SAT and 750 or better on all his SAT II’s. I did not read his application so I can only assmume his essays were good. He decided to go to W&M because they have an IR major and he likes their club rowing team. Anyway, I say go for it, you never know.</p>
<p>Retake the ACT??? a 32 is the 99th percentile, so I am not sure retaking it will increase your score. I think admissions officers in general do not understand how the ACT is curved. A 32-36 are all in the 99th percentile.</p>
<p>I’m pretty confident that college admissions officers completely understand how the ACT scores work. And even though 32 through 36 may all be the 99th percentile, a 34 is still better than a 32.</p>