<p>I'm currently a rising senior at one of the top high schools in Texas. I am 17 and of the Indian ethnicity. I live in Austin Texas. I am aware that Vanderbilt is a reach school for me but I was wondering is it out of the question if I apply ED? Please let me know what you think. Thanks!</p>
<p>My Info:</p>
<p>ACT: 32</p>
<p>GPA: 3.7 UW - 4.4 W</p>
<p>Courseload: Taken 8 AP classes so far, planning on taking 5 more next year. </p>
<p>SAT II: Math II 660 - US History 630 - English Lit - 600 (Taking these three again, will
probably be much higher)</p>
<p>Class Rank - my school does not rank outside of the top 10% but I would say I am safely in the top 25%</p>
<p>Extra Curricular:</p>
<p>Currently Interning at the District Attorney's office with the D.A. This hopefully will be a large hook mainly because of my interest in criminal law which eventually would be my interest in Law School. I deal with multiple criminal cases there and receive large amounts of experience there.</p>
<p>3 Year Varsity Lacrosse - Lettered 3 Years</p>
<p>Eagle Scout</p>
<p>National Merit Commended Scholar</p>
<p>N.H.S</p>
<p>Model U.N</p>
<p>Debate</p>
<p>Over 50 hours volunteering at community library</p>
<p>Rec Letters - Planning on getting them from my AP Comparative Governement teacher and my AP Physics B teacher. Also will get one from my counselor but this is a little tricky because she is retiring this summer so she is not writing letters...so I'll just get to know my new counselor as soon as possible </p>
<p>I would call it a reach but it’s certainly not out of the questions. The internship is a big plus. Breaking into the top 10% would really help you.</p>
<p>Class of 2016:
Middle 50% ACT: 33 – 35
Percentage of students in the top ten percent of their graduating class: 96.35%
Average rank in class (% from the top): 2.77%</p>
<p>one of my sons didn’t get serious about his test scores till he was almost 18. Brain matured? I dunno. Finally started buckling down to SATII and SAT test prep in the summer before senior year. He added 200 points to his SAT. If you test in October, November and December, you might surprise yourself. Spread the SAT2s out!! Don’t take but one at a time if you can. Retake your ACT. Some test sites have an ACT September date if I recall correctly…ours didn’t but yours might…Prep Prep so that you are happy that you did your best. When other son got the same score twice on his SAT, it is time to “quit” and accept and move on to applying to match and reach colleges based on your total package. Be proud of who you are and aim for good schools not necessarily only schools with top prestige or rank. Do not underrate match colleges. The waitlist for the Vandys and more selective colleges are full of totally qualified students who will excel in college. You are already one of those people. Don’t ever make the mistake of not recognizing that many match colleges are superb places of learning. good luck</p>
<p>I think Vandy is still in consideration for you. I too had a 3.7 UW (worse if you didn’t look at classes like Gym, music, etc). I think you should definitely focus more on your test scores in the next year.</p>
<p>I would point out that if you submit ACT scores, you do not need to submit SAT Subject Tests. I believe the consensus is that if your SAT II scores are lower than 700, they will only hurt your application. Work on bringing your ACT score up first, to the exclusion of spending any time on the SAT II.</p>
<p>Also, I believe you are overestimating the importance of your internship at the DA’s office. If you have put in hundreds or even thousands of hours doing significant, non-menial work, be sure that this is reflected in your application. You might even want to ask your supervisor at the office to write an additional letter of recommendation for you.</p>
<p>Finally, your ECs feel a bit light to me. Varsity lacrosse is good, especially if you can point to ways that you train year-round for the season. Similarly, Eagle Scout can be great if you remain involved twelve months per year. In my experience, however, Debate and Model UN are short term activities that don’t require much time. 50 hours volunteering at the library translates to only one or two hours per week for just one school year. Remember, depth of activity is more important than simply increasing the length of your list of acitivities.</p>