I am writing this thread on behalf of my sister, a member of the Class of 2019.
My sister did not choose to commit to Vandy for the C/O 2019 and instead chose Duke. It ended up being a matter that our parents pushed her towards and now she is immensely regretting her decision. In all honesty, Vanderbilt was her dream school and now she fears that she missed out on a wonderful opportunity. Additionally, finances played a role in the decision but she received several scholarships after the reply deadline that evened out the financial aid between the two schools. I was wondering if any knew of an instance where Vanderbilt (or any other example) would allow her to change her mind this late in the game. Would contacting the admissions office make a difference? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much
Contacting Admissions office is the only way to know for sure. Doesn’t hurt to ask but it’s probably too late. She could always transfer. From what I have read, it is unusual that Duke’s aid was better than Vanderbilt.
“received several scholarships after reply deadline”??? Seems very odd. Why would a school offer scholarships (several!) AFTER a student has failed to reply to admissions offer?
As for advice on the situation itself, I would say that it is highly unlikely that she can still be accepted. Contact her admissions advisor, and she might be moved to the top of the waitlist somehow.
I made the decision between Vanderbilt and Duke myself, and they are very similar in my opinion; they are not interchangeable, but similar enough that if she likes one, she should also enjoy the other. If she still doesn’t like Duke after attending, transferring would be very easy since she has already been accepted, as long as her grades are reasonable after freshman year.
FYI - Vanderbilt closed their waitlist for the Class of 2019 about a week ago. Contacting Admissions is the only option but understand the chances are extremely slim.
Outside scholarships will first reduce your costs by about $2000. After that, outside scholarships will start reducing the amount of need-based financial aid you receive. If your aid packages were need-based, the only way an outside scholarship could “even out” the finances would be if they completely surpassed the need-based financial aid offered by each school.
as the parent of a Vandy 13 grad and a Duke 09 grad, I would encourage her to A. write her admission officer at Vandy offering to take a place should one occur and to forfeit her deposit to Duke (this is unlikely to work as other people who chose the waitlist will be given priority, but you never know and you might wish to reference this as a transfer applicant) and B. embrace Duke and don’t look back, and do NOT spend freshman year with your eyes on a transfer that may never happen.
Everyone at Vandy and at Duke had other wonderful options and other “lives” at other colleges that they forfeited. And Vandy and Duke are not perfect places with “everything” to offer anyone.
I don’t know what her intended major might be. But that would be a possible attractive reason to be accepted as a transfer should Vandy provide something unique she is seeking sophomore year.
Even so, I would encourage her to invest deeply in Duke rather than pine for Vanderbilt which after all is Still There and available for grad schools. I much prefer Nashville as a host city but there have been a few advances for living for women at Duke since Duke son graduated.
I think it was horrible when only male affilation groups were given “territory” in dorms which was the case at Duke, Wake Forest and other colleges a few years ago-- and that forced women to be “hosted” by men on campus all the time. A subtle but sexist practice that remained because frats were given campus “real estate” and sororities were not. Women’s sororities now have equal claims to “turf” in buildings and believe it or not my Duke frat son was upset by this loss of male dominance in the buildings themselves. So entitled, those men! (Duke has a rather grand campus and there is always a scramble for the best buildings). So I love this new equality and consider it to be progress for women. There are also coed affilation living groups that are not Greek at all. I would strongly suggest that she apply for a FOCUS group if it is not too late. Duke son dearly loved this experience which is cozy and sort of like a liberal arts college for a semester of freshman year with lots of access to wonderful professors and in some cases the entire FOCUS class will be in your dorm (but not as roommates). Join something as a freshman. Duke does have spectacular sports but also spectacular Arts that come to campus constantly. Duke son attended all the arts events anyone could possibly attend as well as being a diehard sports fan.
Don’t be one of those students who attends a college pining for another. Every person to your left or right at Vandy or Duke had other crushes and other dreams as well re college selection. Your sis’s problem is an embarrassment of riches so she should make all her decisions re showing ongoing interest in Vandy with a smile on her face and no drama. (think of the thousands who were not admitted to either school and be thankful she has this 1st world problem)
This would be very unethical in my opinion. Perhaps she should attend Duke for a year before deciding to transfer if she still feels like it isn’t a good fit.