Vanderbilt has a Mid-50% ACT range of 33-35. Does this mean that a 33 is treated the same as a 35?
No it means that the mid-50 is 33-35. There is no mathematical equation for colleges that evaluate admissions holistically.
If I made a 33, should I retake??
I was reading on Vandy’s website the article about the mid-50% and I believe that also includes that about 400 are accepted who get under a score of 29 into the freshman class about each year.
Also - can someone please let me know if you have known anyone / or yourself have gotten in with a lower act score (especially if you are applying to blair)? I want to apply ED1 for blair violin performance but I have a 26 as of now but i will be studying extremely hard to get my score up lots in june and july, I have 4.29 weighted gpa and lots of good ecs , it’s just this act thing that’s really worrying me. thanks everyone !!
Just as a data point, my kid got rejected with an ACT of 35. 4.25 approx weighted GPA, CS major.
@ Sophia Lewis Think of it this way. If 100 kids applied to Vandy, 25 of them would have an ACT of 32 or below, 50 of them would have an ACT in that 33-35 Mid-50% range, and 25 of them would have a 36. Unless you have a strong “hook,” you really want to be targeting to be in either the top quartile (36), or the upper end of the middle-50% (35, maybe 34 if your extracurriculars are great).
Given how much importance Vandy seems to put on test scores, I would say that there is a big difference in a 33 vs. 35 in terms of how the Admissions team would regard those scores. I know it’s “holistic admissions,” but that 33-35 range is extremely high. And with Vandy running a major SEC athletic dept, many of the kids in the lowest ACT quartile may be recruited athletes or other “special” categories of admit.
Blair is a program that definitely factors in talent and proficiency in the arts. wishing you the best as you work on your ACT. Suggest you get the Real ACTS and study the heck out of the answers to each section after you take each exam. The answers teach you the faster way to come to your conclusion. Learn the test inside and out. Work on your weak links. ACT rewards completion of each section so it is a test of endurance and perseverance. Take one open book test, then “work it” re the rest of the book’s real tests which does require use of timers etc. Once you feel you have done your best, move on mentally. ALL Vandy applicants must also have match colleges (financially and academically) because Vandy is swamped with high stats applicants. Good luck finding your niche for your college studies!
Blair student here! The average admitted score for the Blair School is not as high as 34, I think it was 32 for the class of 2020 and then they stopped announcing it at the annual assembly because I suppose that seems unimportant. However, there are definitely a couple of people in my year who got in with a 27 or 28, which is kind of like a recruited athlete getting in with lower scores I suppose. That said, I and most of my peers had test scores high enough to get admitted to not only the top conservatories, but other top colleges and university, HYPSM+ included (I know a great many people who turned down HYPSM to come actually) so you’re doing the right thing to try and get your scores up. I would aim for 29 or 30 at the ABSOLUTE lowest and then once you’ve got that, focus hard on your audition. Violin is hyper competitive due to the strength of the department and the quality of the faculty.
Foremost tips: pick a strong concerto that you can blitz, apply ED I or II if you can, and then the main use of your test scores will become assessing whether or not you can survive Vanderbilt and the AXLE requirements academically. If they want you for violin, they’ll take you - the ACT is just a box to check, so give them a reason to feel confident that you could do well in the CAS/Peabody/Engineering classes you may take.
Good luck to you! Feel free to PM me if you have any other Blair-specific questions.
Point of reference, our daughter got into CAS for 2022 with a 33 and 3.75 (no weighting in her school) and no real hook (no sport or legacy, etc.). There’s no reason to believe you need more than this to have a chance.
Similarly, some athletes have lower than average ACT scores also.
Thank you so much for your very helpful information @Senior2016M !! I want to pm you (sorry this is so late) but for some reason it will not let me allow you to do so. I’d like to ask a few questions about the audition process, music reading test, test scores & concerto, ed1, applicants etc. if you could, let me know how I can pm you. 
thank you so much, again.