Good luck to everyone applying to Vanderbilt this year! I wanted to provide some information about the admissions process.
Make sure you create a MyAppVU portal to access your decision: https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/myappvu/ . You should have received an email with log-in info to create your portal.
Interviews are not assigned automatically. You have to fill out a form requesting a CoRPs Alumni Interview in your applicant portal (MyAppVU).
--- Take advantage of the information Vanderbilt Admissions provides on their website (admissions.vanderbilt.edu) and departmental websites when preparing for your interview!
There is no "button" to click to view your decision. It will immediately show your decision and have a link to a pdf copy of your decision letter. Make sure you are ready to view your decision before logging in.
I was admitted RD last year (and attend another school,) but feel free to ask any other questions you may have about the application process! My school has sent students to Vanderbilt in the past so I’ll do my best to answer any questions you might have about the university, though again, Admissions and current students are the best source of information!
I know the colleges are saying admissions are SAT optional, I can’t help but wonder how optional they truly are. My state has been locked down so tight, that my son has only taken the SAT once and unable to take in person prep course. There hasn’t been in in-person school since March. He just got his first SAT back it was only 1310. I know his score would have been much better than this under normal circumstances. Vanderbilt is his first choice then Carnegie Melon and WashU. What is your opinion on SAT optional and should we report? He is retaking SAT in December but who knows if it will get cancelled.
We are in Massachusetts and my two never were able to take the SATs. I don’t believe in early testing; I’m a traditionalist. My oldest did spring of junior year and fall of senior year—2 times total. So that was our plan for the next two. They took the PSATs as planned fall of junior year, registered for the April 2020 SATs, and then everything fell apart. College Board cancelled them basically on a rolling basis. My two registered for May, June, August, and September, and each time they were cancelled in our state. That was that.
Since schools are saying they’re truly test optional, they are not going to judge if you don’t have scores. Even for kids who were able to get a test in, if your son didn’t automatically submit the scores, then I’d let it be. These are unprecedented times, and in the end, everyone has done the best they can under unusual circumstances.
If the schools are planning to evaluate students without test scores, then I’d just go with that. You can be sure selective schools will be analyzing the data this year to see if SATs/ACTs truly helped in admissions decisions for previous years. (And you can be sure the College Board will be lobbying up a storm to keep this cash cow mooing after this year with schools that may waver.). Good luck to him—although wherever he lands, he’ll be happy.
ETA, I’m not at all an admissions expert. Consult with your son’s high school counselor to see what other kids at his school are doing. Sticking with my last line though—so many kids thrive in lots of different schools. Make a decision, be content with it, and know that he’ll do great almost anywhere.
Thanks for the great advice OMG I didn’t know that the decision showed up right as you log in to the portal… I’ll be bracing myself before then LOL. Also, I emailed the CoRPs Alumni Interview program and they informed me that due to COVID and the timing, the alumni interviews won’t be available for ED1 applications. Not too worried though, since it wasn’t required or anything!
Hi! Vanderbilt is a long reach “Hail Mary” school for me, haha. I have a 3.96 UW and a 31 Composite 32 Superscore on the ACT. Should I submit these scores? I know that they are low for Vandy, but I’m wondering if it would hurt my odds to not submit them since they aren’t horribly out of range. Thanks for any help!
I wouldn’t submit your ACT. Even with the superscore, you’re below the 25th percentile which means that submitting the score will probably hurt you. If your ECs and course rigor are pretty bad, I would consider sending the ACT but otherwise, I wouldn’t.
I would submit SAT/ACT for this year if they fall in the 50%+ range for recent years. Otherwise, I wouldn’t. Vandy is very stats-heavy, so I imagine that for those submitting this year they’ll need to be extremely high. Otherwise, it will offset their common data set.
