Official Vanderbilt Class of 2020 Results Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Vanderbilt Merit Scholarship:

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments:

Just remove the ‘a’ in the bold, size and color in your decision.

MODERATOR’S NOTE: Please only post results using the given format so that this thread can serve as a valuable resource for future applicants. There is another thread provided for discussion, congrats, etc. Non-result posts will be deleted.

2

I would assume people who got admitted through Mosaic or other scholarships should be able to start posting their decisions now.

3

[asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted MOSAIC[/color][/size]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2130 740M/740CR/650W (didn’t send in time)
ACT (breakdown): 34C 36CR 35E 34S 32M
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/660
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (4), Psychology (5), Physics B (4), Biology (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus/Intro to Differential Equations, AP Gov, AP Stats, Dual Enrollment Spanish, Dual Enrollment English, Architectural Design
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Scholar, AP Scholar

Vanderbilt Merit Scholarship: No

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):


[QUOTE=""]

Taekwondo for 10 years, instructor for 2.5
JV Tennis 9,10,11 (Captain 10, 11)
Varsity Tennis 12
Road cycling 2 yrs
NHS
Job/Work Experience: Internship at wealth management firm summer before senior year
Volunteer/Community service: 300 hrs at cat shelter and for my second grade teacher
Summer Activities: Instructing and internship
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
CA essay 6/10, wrote in 2 days, couldn’t focus much
EC essay 9/10, copied and pasted from Brown application (Brown had 150 word max, Vandy had 150 minimum, kept it at 150) very concise and well written as a result of Brown’s word limit.

[/QUOTE]

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Average
Teacher Rec #2: Average
Counselor Rec: Average
Additional Rec: No
Interview: No

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major: Econ
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Huge public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 75,000-100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first gen

Reflection

Strengths: Everything but essays
Weaknesses: essays
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Because I’m Mexican
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted UCSB Regents, IU Bloomington

General Comments: After submitting my common app and rereading my essay I thought that I would be lucky to get in anywhere, now I’m so thankful that I have at least one acceptance from a top university his early on, it takes a lot of stress away. I applied on Jan. 4 only because they extended the deadline to the fifth and I accidentally took too many prescription pain medications that I had left over from my surgery (they looked like my melatonin pills, then I got a little weird, then I decided to apply because yolo). In hindsight that’s the best mistake I’ve ever made. Just cast a wide net when applying, maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

4

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2240 770M/740CR/730W
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9ish
Weighted GPA: 4.3
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/over 730 students
AP (place score in parenthesis):4’s on 4 different AP tests, one 5 on history, and didn’t pass calc ab. (LOL)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: 2 english classes, ap econ, ap gov, h chem

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with distinction, congressional, scholastic art and writing
Vanderbilt Merit Scholarship: NOPE
Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):


[QUOTE=""]

Speech and Debate 9-12 (Captain 12), a lot of other debate stuff
School specific club (9-12) held positions since sophomore year and ended up as president
Got into prestigious program at state capital
Model UN (10-12)
ASB (10-12)- elected position senior year
some other school orgs
Job/Work Experience: paid internship at non profit for refugees, internship at city hall, other internship as well

[/QUOTE]

Volunteer/Community service: Sunday school teacher, food bank, art teacher
Summer Activities: Internships, debate camp

Essays (rating 1-10, details):


[QUOTE=""]

CA essay pretty good- but alone would not have gotten me into the school
EC essay 10/10 LITERALLY MY HEART AND SOUL

[/QUOTE]

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: IDK
Teacher Rec #2: IDK
Counselor Rec: Average pretty sure
Additional Rec: Just beautiful- I started crying when I read it ahhhhhh
Interview: Nahhhh

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major: Anthropology/Ethnic Studies
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: HUGGGGEEE public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 100,000<
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): LITERALLY NOTHING

Reflection

Strengths: extracurriculars, essay (i guess, since my goals in life are pretty specific and I have a lot of passion for the field of study)
Weaknesses: test scores and sooooo much more
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I honestly do not know what made me stand out from all the other Asian applicants that are more qualified.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Waitlisted Wash U. in St. Louis, Deferred UChicago EA

General Comments: I was so surprised when I got my admission letter in the mail, especially since I don’t have perfect test scores and a meh gpa (especially compared to so many high achieving Asians out there). Honestly, college admissions is such a crapshoot, and rejections say nothing about your ability to contribute to campus life and your merit as a student. I don’t know if I’ll go to Vandy, but I am just so excited that I GOT INTO COLLEGEEEE WOOOOOOOOO. Just speak from your heart, and everything will be OK. I think that the one thing that might have made me stick out was the fact that I geeked out in my CA essay, which means that the admissions people probably liked my personality. (I GUESS). CONGRATS TO EVERYONE ELSEEEEE

5

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2200 750M/750R/700W
ACT (breakdown): 34C 35E/34M/35R/32S
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.685
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/110
AP (place score in parenthesis): (5) Human Geo, World History, Music Theory, English Lang - (4) Calc AB - (3) several self-taught exams.
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: (AP) Calc BC, Lit, Seminar, Psych - (Hon) Orchestra, Music History, Chamber Winds
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, All State band (FL) on bassoon 3 times (chaired 1/5 once, 2/5 twice), few other state level music awards

Vanderbilt Merit Scholarship: I don’t think they’ve been announced for Blair applicants yet.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout, SPL, few other positions over the years), 3 different EC orchestras, fencing, FM radio DJ (nonprofit)
Job/Work Experience: Lots of paid gigs, working in the family business
Volunteer/Community service: Worked on 11 Eagle Scout projects (counting mine), countless hours playing in community theatre orchestras, volunteering some for my radio station.
Summer Activities: Online and local college courses, mostly. Some slightly competitive audition-based music camps.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
CA - 9/10. Spent a good bit of effort on this one.
EC - 6/10. Eh. Interesting content, but not particularly well-written in my opinion.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Slightly above average (my guess, I didn’t see it).
Teacher Rec #2: Great content, but not exceptionally well-written.
Counselor Rec: 9/10. My counselor loves me.
Additional Rec: 9/10. He’d known me for 7 years, so there was a lot to draw on.
Interview: N/A, but I did have a lesson with the bassoon professor and we got on wonderfully.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major: Bassoon/Earth and Environmental Science
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Small audition-based arts school
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 60-80
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Comparatively uncommon instrument maybe? Otherwise none.

Reflection

Strengths: Blair School of Music doesn’t really operate the same way as VU as a whole. The professor loving me and having a decent audition probably went a very long way.
Weaknesses: Fewer leadership positions than most competitive applicants.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Wake Forest and a few safety schools, deferred at UChicago, yet to hear back from some Ivies.

General Comments: I was not expecting to get in at all, so it was a very pleasant surprise. It really is just a crapshoot (like everyone says), so don’t let it dishearten you if you don’t make it. If you can, try to make a personal connection with the faculty; I’m almost certain this was a major factor in my case. Congratulations to all the other future commodores out there!

6

Decision: Accepted MOSAIC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2160 (two sittings) 760M/690R/710W
ACT (breakdown): 32 35E/32M/31R/30S (33 Superscored with one other test)
SAT II: 670 Math II, Biology M 650ish
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Weighted GPA: 4.55
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lang (3), APUSH (3), AP Calc AB (1)- lol did not send any scores
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit- (if you’re a junior take comp 1), AP Gov, Pre- AP Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Commended, National Academy of Future Physicians Award of Excellence

Vanderbilt Merit Scholarship: Nope- I didn’t even send in a rec letter :))

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Volleyball (Co-Captain), Student Council (Minor Offices), HOSA, Key Club,
Job/Work Experience: CVS
Volunteer/Community service: Over 100 hours this year. Some stuff with the city and hospitals
Summer Activities: Science camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9- I liked it
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 8- I don’t really like teachers, but I am a good kid and read over one of them.

Teacher Rec #1: 8.5
Teacher Rec #2: 7.5
Counselor Rec: 6- She’s a dunderhead but I am one of her favorites somewhat.
Additional Rec: 9- sooo pretty written by my mentor who is practically my best friend/sister
Interview: didn’t have one

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:Yup
Intended Major: Medicine, Health, and Society
State (if domestic applicant): The South
Country (if international applicant): Merica
School Type: Public ~ 2,000
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 160,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: Overall I am a pretty strong applicant so it just mattered if the fit was both ways and it certainly was. Vandy is definitely one of my top choices because it is in a city and the south. Great academics I am in love with the Medicine, Health, and Society major if the money is there I am there.
Weaknesses: Of course my scores could be higher and I could have won higher leadership positions and awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected MIT- lol I know I don’t even know why I applied but I really wanted a tube and I got invited to the WISE program. Accepted- Cornell, some unofficial acceptances

General Comments:
Give your resume to someone and ask them what really stands out or looks lk wow ivy potential. Then try to make sure those are the first things seen or that come out. Also since the only essay written is about a club or extracurricular activity make sure that thing is something your will pursue in the future or can deeply purse even more at Vandy. Mine was about a cultural awareness club

7

Decision: Accepted- not sure why I got my decision on March 10th… did not receive any scholarship.
regular decision, btw

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2180 reading: 670 math: 770 writing: 740
ACT (breakdown):did not take
SAT II: bio: 680 math II: 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.65-3.7 ish
Weighted GPA: 4.2
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank or do percentiles
AP (place score in parenthesis):AP Gov (4) AP World (4) AP Bio (4) AP Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Music theory, physics, lit, orchestra, AP Calc AB, AP Stat
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Scholastics, National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar, Beta convention

Vanderbilt Merit Scholarship: L O L none. Not complaining though.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Beta (VP) National English Honor Society (Secretary) tutoring club (pres) fundraising club (pres)- vague so that my identity stays hidden! NHS member. lots of violin- principal second of school chamber orch, all state, youth orchestra, state competition winner, GHP. art- placed in scholastics regionally and beta convention nationally
Job/Work Experience: lol none
Volunteer/Community service: 500 hours I would guess
Summer Activities: lol none
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App- 8 on a good day. Vandy supplement- 8 Basically a self reflection and sort of like a diary entry. Personal Statement- messed up big time… about my intended major. Tried to seem passionate. 6? Didn’t know it wasn’t supposed to be a full out essay and I probably came across as a try hard, haha. all of my essays were about my intended majors, although I did of course try to show my personality, etc.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: AP Lang- we are very close. probably would give the rec a 8.5/10
Teacher Rec #2:I honestly don’t know. She seemed very interested at times but indifferent about deadlines and was quite honestly a little bit flakey. 5-6/10
Counselor Rec: We talk a lot but I don’t know if she likes me.7/10
Additional Rec: violin teacher. Literally worship her. She is my idol. 10/10.
Interview: none.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:yes
Intended Major: Bio and violin
State (if domestic applicant): GA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity:Asian
Gender:F
Income Bracket: <200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: I visited Vanderbilt in the summer (demonstrated interest maybe?). I contacted the professors a lot and we were very close.
Weaknesses: GPA, SAT, some of the recs, personal statement
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: all of my high school extracurricular activities showed that I was extremely passionate about the majors that I chose. I am sure that the proactive approach I had and constantly contacting professors also played a role, although it might’ve actually been a detrimental one.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted: UGA
waitlisted: none rejected: none
waiting: lotsa lotsa schools

General Comments:

8

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (breakdown): 2230 (740 CW, 760 M, 730 W, 11 Essay)
    [    ] ACT: 35 (36 E, 36 M, 33 R, 35 S)
    [] SAT II: 790 Math II, 780 Chemistry, 800 US History
    [    ] Unweighted GPA (4.0 scale): 4.0
    [] Weighted GPA (4.0 scale): N/A
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/219
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC, Chem, Microecon, Macroecon, US History, World History, Comp Sci, Eng Lit, Psych, Physics C: Mech, US Gov, Stats (all 5s), Eng Lang (4), Bio (4)
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
    [] Senior Year Course Load: Organic Chemistry, Modern (Euclidean) Geometry, Game Theory, AP French, AP European, AP Human Geo, Choir
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): HiMCM Finalist

Subjective:

  • [] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate (Captain), Mock Trial (Captain), NHS (President), Jazz Choir, Show Choir, All-State Chorus, Tennis
    [    ] Job/Work Experience: N/A
    [] Volunteer/Community service: Summer Camps at the Science Center (it’s basically my job)
    [    ] Summer Activities: Above
    [] Essays: I thought they were good. My common app essay was about Show Choir and how I feel about performing. It was very personal and most of the people that read it cried (Is that good? ;))) I honestly don’t even remember my other essay. I think it was about Debate. Maybe.
    [    ] Teacher Recommendation: My math teacher likes me and has had me since 8th grade but I don’t know if he would have gushed over me (8, maybe?), my English teacher ADORES me and wrote an amazing letter (9-10), my Debate coach said that I am going to change the world and the lives of those I meet so that was pretty cool (10)
    [] Counselor Rec: I go to a medium-sized school but I am on fairly good terms with my counselor because I take a lot of classes at the local college. (8)
    [    ] Interview: Interviews are often my strong suit, and I definitely charmed my interviewer pretty quickly. She was an adjunct professor at the university where I take math and science classes so she was impressed by the fact that I had been taking classes there already.

Other

[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Chemical Engineering
[] State (if domestic applicant): IA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: High
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Maybe that I’m from an under-represented state? I doubt that counts for much…[/li][/ul]

Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: My scores and grades are pretty good, and my essays were nice.
[] Weaknesses: I always felt that I could have done more volunteering but I really only had the time during the summer, when I got to work at the Science Center.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred: I think that I had really good test scores and grades and that I was able to show my personality really well through my essays and interview.[/li][/ul]

**General Comments: **I actually received word of this about a week and a half ago because I received a Cornelius Vanderbilt scholarship. So that was pretty cool. To be honest though, I’m from the Midwest and I am honestly not that familiar with Vanderbilt. I’m going to need to take a good hard look at it before I make my decision, as I have another pretty alluring offer at WashU.

9

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): None submitted.
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II (place score in parentheses): None taken
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank/Percentile: 1/500
AP (place score in parentheses): None submitted
IB (place score in parentheses): None submitted
AP + Dual Enrollment Courseload: 18
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, AP Economics, AP CalcI AB, AP Gov’t, Drafting 3, Drafting 4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction,

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): FBLA VP, Treasurer, Mu Alpha Theta President. VP, State technology officer
Job/Work Experience: Started my own web development company, two internships
Volunteer/Community Service: 150+ hours
Essays: idk
Teacher Recommendations: Good
Counselor Rec: New Counselor
Additional Rec: Good
Interview: Good

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Comp Eng.
State/Country: USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
Strengths: Recommendations, EC, GPA
Weaknesses: ACT
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ACT
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Duke, Princeton, Stanford, UPenn
Accepted: UT(Austin), UF, UCF, USF, FSU,
Waitlist: Notre Dame
Rejected: Vanderbilt, Northwestern
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Can’t accept everyone, congrats to those who got in.

10

@nolanconcepts I was rejected too, pretty much identical stats.

11

Rejected. 33 act, 3.6 gpa, international that needed lots of FA. Rejected at northwestern as well

12

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1930 (620R 680M 630W)
ACT (breakdown): 30 (32G 31M 28R 27S)
SAT II: Bio E-720
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.1(terrible, but I have a huge upwards grade trend)
Weighted GPA:4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 7% at a 5/10 rated public high school
AP (place score in parenthesis): didn’t send
IB (place score in parenthesis):none
Senior Year Course Load: 7 AP’s, 2 honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing major

Vanderbilt Merit Scholarship: none

Subjective: 3rd place in district for drone championship

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):VP+co-founder of tech club, founder+pres of enviro club, Keyclub rep
Job/Work Experience:none
Volunteer/Community service: 588 hours
Summer Activities: none
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 6.5/10, wrote it the day of thinking it was perfect, but i read it again today and it didn’t look too appealing
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):didn’t read, but I’m assuming they weren’t too amazing

Applied for Financial Aid?:no
Intended Major:environmental science (thought id have a better chance since I’ve done so much for the environment and had explained things explicitly in my interview
State (if domestic applicant):FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: garbage public school
Ethnicity: asian
Gender: male
Income Bracket: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):nah

Reflection: My interview had gone really well. I went in depth of what i’d do at Nashville and described the ecological specifics. my gpa and test scores definitely held me back. I feel like a complete idiot for applying to all these hard schools. My confidence had really gotten to me.

Strengths: Interview, extracurriculars, senior year courseload, grade trend
Weaknesses: unweighted GPA, test scores, maybe essays
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: gpa and tests and maybe essay
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

Accepted: UMiami, UMinnesota Twin Cities, FSU, USF, UCF, FIU
Rejected: BC, GAtech, JHU, somehow Boston University

Awaiting: Emory, NYU, Fordham, Baylor

13

I honestly though that my ecological club would’ve gotten me in. I’ve done so much through it- 72 members, helping out my local nature center, building a greenhouse for my school, going to states to compete for my project, etc.
overall im really upset because im not getting in anywhere

14

@charmander007 Hey don’t beat yourself up. Can I be in your club, it sounds awesome?! I started a club too, Frequent Acts of Kindness and it didn’t help me either. But that’s okay because we did it out of the goodness of our hearts. You sound like an incredible person and its truly their loss. I was rejected with very similar stats, but I’m awaiting USC and Rice University. Maybe we’ll both end up in Texas. Really though, I feel you and I’m so sorry. Keep your head up, you’re going places no matter what school you go to. I have a lot of room to talk because I’d just roll my eyes if someone told me that, but we have to start accepting the truth: we’re amazing and our future is as well.

15

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Not Sent
ACT (breakdown): 34 C 35E 35M 32R 36S
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 U.S. History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89
Weighted GPA: 4.76
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Valedictorian (My School has like 30)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro 5, AP Spanish Language 5, AP Calculus AB 5, APUSH 5, AP English Language 5
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: 6 APs and 1 Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction, Presidential Volunteer Service Award, Scholar Athlete

Vanderbilt Merit Scholarship: none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Spanish Club (VP), NHS, CSF, JV Golf
Job/Work Experience: Tutor (for pay), Presidential Campaign 2012, Fellow on Congressional campaign 2014, Intern on City Council Campaign 2015, Interned in Congresswoman’s DC office (Summer), Interned in Congresswoman’s District Office, Intern State Senate Campaign 2016
Volunteer/Community service: Boys Team Charity, President of Senior Class
Summer Activities: Boys State (State Senator), Georgetown Summer International Relations Program, Belize SLP
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 10, Extracurricular: 7 (kinda short)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:10 (APUSH teacher)
Teacher Rec #2:10 (Spanish teacher, runs Spanish Club)
Counselor Rec: 10 (know her personally)
Additional Rec: 10 (from Congresswoman, didn’t know her beforehand)
Interview: I thought it went well

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Large, Competitive Public School
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Test Scores, Recs, Essays, Extracurriculars
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Got a B first semester sophomore year,
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Washington, Wisconsin, UCSB, UNC-Chapel Hill, Michigan, USC, and UCLA, Waitlisted: Wash U, Rejected: Northwestern

16

Decision: Accepted (Engineering)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Best Sitting: 2210 (730 CR, 760 M, 720 W), Superscored: 2270 (Didn’t send)
ACT (breakdown): 35 C (34 R, 35 M, 34, R, 36 S)
SAT II: 800-Math II, 780-Spanish, 760-Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 5.0/5.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus BC (5), English Lang (5), US History (5), Spanish Lang (5), Chemistry (4), Biology (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP Physics C, AP Spanish Literature, AP English Literature, AP Economics, Honors Linear Algebra/Multivariable Calculus (Taken as Dual Credit)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar With Distinction, National Merit Commended, Top 15 Regional Chemistry Exam, National Spanish Exam Gold Medal

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Tennis (Captain, Varsity 3 years, All-Conference 2 years), Math Team (State Qualifier 2 years), Academic Bowl, Interact (1 year), Drug-and-Alcohol-Free Club (4 years), Marching Band (2 years)
Job/Work Experience: Youth Tennis Counselor, Instructor at Mathnasium
Volunteer/Community service: Peer Tutor at School (80+ hours a year)
Summer Activities: Work
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
CommonApp: 9.5/10, Worked very hard on it; some of my best writing

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Didn’t Read Them

Teacher Rec #1: Spanish Teacher
Teacher Rec #2: Math Teacher
Counselor Rec: Should’ve Been Good
Additional Rec: Coach
Interview: None

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Chemical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Midwest
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: >100 K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Single-Parent Household

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, Test Scores, EC’s, Awards, Well-rounded
Weaknesses: Didn’t participate in many engineering/technology activities or internships; not many major STEM awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I got lucky, I guess.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: University of Michigan, Vanderbilt, Illinois.
Waitlisted: Wash U, Northwestern.
Rejected: Stanford
Waiting for: UC Berkeley, UPenn, Brown, Yale

17

Decision: Accepted (Arts and Science)

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2260, 2300 single sitting, 2340 superscored
ACT (breakdown): 36 (36E, 35M, 35R, 36S), writing 11/12 all sections (so 31 on new scale)
SAT II: 800 on Math II, 760 World History and Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8, weighted 4.55
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a, assuming top 2%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on Calc BC, Gov, Human Geo, World History, Macro, Micro, Stat, Physics C Mechanics, Lang, Span Lang, US History, 4 on Chem, 3 on Physics C E&M
Senior Year Course Load: Discrete math (class after lin alg/diffyq), AP Biology, AP Spanish Lit, AP Lit, required classes for graduation
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none
Minor Awards: National Merit Semifinalist, Presidential scholars candidate, National AP Scholar, Silver in National Spanish Exam, regional math awards, state stock market awards

Subjective:

  • Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):*

(Internet gaming businesses): pulling in roughly 100k annual revenue, 40k profit
Model UN (Officer position): presided over several conferences, won the standard best/outstanding/honorable mention delegate awards
FBLA: Won #1 in state for computer-related competition, several #1 in district for math/calculations

Volunteer/Community service: School tutoring for roughly 50h, not much else

Summer Activities: Internship at university research institute - no paper, just software development. Lots of business activities.

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Common App - 8/10, about major leg injury
Intellectual experience - 7/10, mildly pretentious

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

US History - 10/10
Chem - 7/10 (B in class, Naviance wouldn’t let me reassign teachers)
Counselor - 9/10
Employer/business partner - 10/10, probably gave lots of good examples

Interview: Lasted for an hour, went pretty well.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Communication of Science and Technology
State (if domestic applicant): CO
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

** Reflection**

Strengths: Business extracurriculars (everything except revenue figures are easily confirmed on the internet)
Weaknesses: Mediocre science/math grades from sophomore year (Bs + 1C), average in-school ECs, lack of volunteer work
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Interesting extracurriculars + test scores
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Gatech honors

18

Decision: Accepted!! (Engineering)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2060 Superscored (ouch)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 9-10 (Private School): 3.7 | Senior year (Online school): 4.0
Weighted GPA:N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Didn’t share any of my scores
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Stats, AP Env Science, AP Lit (other non-AP electives)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NCWIT Aspirations (tech award) national runner-up (x2), NCWIT NY Winner (x2), She++ 2016 Fellow, Congressional recognition for singing, I listed some hackathon awards that don’t matter

Vanderbilt Merit Scholarship: N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

girls who code and a bunch of other groups (Ambassador and Rep), got to do something involving United Nations, mentoring girls in tech (Tutor and other things), CS club (Founder), CS club at Columbia U (founder), organized hackathon and participated in a bunch, flew out to Cali to respresent at techcrunch startup alley, created some apps, singer for school group, varsity lacrosse player (Captain)

Job/Work Experience:Intern at tech company, graphic designer for well knownonline group
Volunteer/Community service: Singer at Poor people’s dinner, habitat for humanity, and so on
Summer Activities: Girls Who Code summer immersion program

*Essays (rating 1-10, details): *
Common App (10/10): I made about 50 drafts of this (literally).

EC (9/10): Wrote about how my internship made me realize exactly what I want to do in CS.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 From my AP CS teacher. She was so excited to write a rec for me and she’s written several for me in the past for scholarships and awards. I didn’t get to read it, but I’m 100% sure it was great because I’m so close to her.
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10 From my math teacher. We always play chess together and talk outside of school. He’s like my teacher buddy.
Counselor Rec: 7/10 I only knew her for a month or two. Never met her since I go to online school so I had to fill out the generic form. I wrote a novel for her though so I would assume the letter was decent hahaha.
Additional Rec: 10/10 From my employer at my internship. I got to read it and it was absolutely amazing I was almost in tears.

Interview: It was pretty good! Definitely not my best one, and I was a little awkward. The interview was one of those very informative ones. My interviewer just graduated from Vandy 2 years ago, and I could tell she really loved the school :slight_smile:

**Other **

Applied for Financial Aid?: Oh yes
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: 9-11 (Private) | 12 (Online School/Homeschool)
Ethnicity: Black/Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >30k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, Lived overseas for 5 years, mother only household, first gen American college, girl in STEM, low income, homeschooled, good “life story” (LOTS OF HOOKS).

Reflection

Strengths: EC’s, “life story”
Weaknesses: Scores, GPA
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m a hit for diversity. But I think schools see how passionate I am about computer science. I think passion is important. I also overcame a lot of uncontrollable adversity throughout my life (but mostly in high school), and didn’t let that affect my academics/CS career. I’m so grateful that I have the opportunity to attend Vandy. So many qualified people and deserving people don’t get this chance, and I definitely will not under appreciate it :slight_smile:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Boston College, Lehigh, Northeastern, Case Western, Rutgers, Georgia tech
Waitlisted: UChicago, Pomona
Rejected: none yet!
Waiting on: Ivys, Stanford, Duke, Carnegie Mellon, Swarthmore

19

@Hopefulcaligirl wow, thanks for your comment, I didn’t know people on CC had hearts lol. But yeah, we all have to face reality whether it is good or not and it just takes time to take it all in. Anyways, it’s just undergrad and all that matters is where I go for medical school. Best of luck to you, and thank you once again

20

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2260 (CR 740, Math 720, Writing 800)
ACT (breakdown): 36 (Reading 36, English 36, Math 34, Science 36)
SAT II: 790 Math II, 730 Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Weighted GPA: 4.58
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 4%
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), Lang (5), US Gov (5), Human Geo (5), Calc BC (5), Bio (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History, AP Stat, Debate Honors, Physics H, AP Lit, Spanish 3/4 H
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with distinction

Vanderbilt Merit Scholarship: Didn’t apply

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate (captain), piano, art, track & field, community service club
Job/Work Experience: Cashier over the summer
Volunteer/Community service: Boys’ community service club at school
Summer Activities: Summer job, trainee at state med school lab
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7/10 CA essay. I’m a very good writer, my Lit teacher edited it a couple times and liked it. It’s nothing over-the-top unique.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Probably a 9/10. My Lang teacher who I love and who really liked me and my writing.
Teacher Rec #2: 6/10 maybe? Didn’t really ask a lot of questions in class but she saw me improve my grade from an 86 first semester to a 91 second semester.
Counselor Rec: Probably fine. My counselor likes me a lot even though my school has 3600+ students so not really a close relationship w/ counselors
Additional Rec: None
Interview: Didn’t interview

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Psychology
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public HS (3600+)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 190k-200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, GPA
Weaknesses: Essay
Why you think you were accepted: Demonstrated interest, been requesting info since this time last year, attended admissions officer visits at my school, etc. I think ethnicity was probably also a factor.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Case Western, Tulane, CU Boulder.
Rejected from Northwestern, Pomona, WashU St. Louis. Waitlisted at UChicago.
Waiting on Brown, Columbia, Duke, USC, Rice, UNC Chapel Hill (deferred)