<p>Last year, as a senior, I applied to Vanderbilt RD the day before the applications were due. I really didn't know where I wanted to go to school or what I was looking for. I applied because I knew the school was well regarded, and they had sent me scholarship information.
As I awaited my admissions decision I researched the school and grew to love it.</p>
<p>As a result, I was very disappointed when I was wait listed and subsequently denied admission. This gave me a great opportunity to attend a missions and leadership school this fall, and now am looking to apply ED to Vanderbilt for next year.</p>
<p>Essentially, during my application process last year, I fell in to the rut of focusing on grades, test scores, etc, merely going to school for the sake of grades rather than to learn and do my best. </p>
<p>Being wait listed opened my eyes to this and renewed my love of learning. </p>
<p>Would this be a good direction to go with my essay?</p>
<p>Not really. I’m being serious when I say this: you’d be better off going with a cookie-cutter topic like trying to raise awareness for X issue. It worked for thousands of Vanderbilt students before you, and it’ll work again in the future. Being unique makes you an interesting person; being unique does not get you into college.</p>
<p>I think you are asking a legitimate question: how can I restate my interest in Vanderbilt and explain why I am back again with a new application in a new year. I agree with you that this question will be in the reader’s mind and should be answered. However, I think simple and honest goes far. They read a lot of applications.</p>
<p>I suggest you do address this in a forthright manner but don’t make it too poetic or dramatic. Perhaps one of your references could explain your new focus, or perhaps a short essay will allow you to explain while also talking about how you used the last year.</p>
<p>My kids wrote their own Common Application questions. </p>
<p>I think you will want to write a fresh essay, and not overly count on “how much you want to go to Vanderbilt” as the core of your essay. </p>
<p>Hundreds of denied applicants really want to go to Vanderbilt. </p>
<p>Instead, focus on what you bring to the campus on a social and extra curricular ground and focus on what you will gain at Vanderbilt on an academic ground. </p>
<p>good luck! Make sure to also “love” a couple of other colleges with better admit rates. Vanderbilt is a wonderful place but there are other wonderful colleges out there.</p>
<p>Unless Vandy’s transfer app has changed, the essay is actually “Why do you want to attend.” When my D applied in high school, her essay was not focused on that at all. She was accepted but chose a different school. She decided to transfer for sophomore year & her essay focused on why she turned down Vandy the prior year, why she decided to transfer, why she felt Vandy was the right school for her, and what she planned to contribute to the campus community. She was accepted, so it must have been okay.</p>