<p>My first college visit was Vanderbilt, and before visiting I wanted to go to Vanderbilt because of basically its name, reputation, and the fact that it was in the south. I was set on applying early decision without even visiting the school just to increase my chances (yes i know wrong way of thinking). But I visited the school, and ABSOLUTELY FELL IN LOVE WITH VANDERBILT!! I loved the campus, and I was on the tour entitled PreVu, and the tour guide was absolutely wonderful. Despite her major (engineering) is something that I wouldn't pursue, I still felt she did a wonderful job promoting all aspects of the school and not just the engineering aspect. I got the feeling that Vandy students are INVOLVED with people other than themselves. I also happened to like the Dean of Admissions, and I thought he was funny (he said if you took the SAT and ACT more than six times combined to just not bother sending the scores to Vanderbilt, but to list it as one of your extracurricular activities). I thought that was funny.<br>
Anyways, the problem with visiting Vanderbilt first was that every other place I visited was blah in comparison. I left Furman, which is known for its beautiful campus, thinking it wasn't as beautiful as Vanderbilt. I went to Emory, and I hated the way the campus was, and the people there seemed too involved with themselves rather than with other people. The only school that cheered me up was Wake Forest, but I still am so attached to Vanderbilt. I know i'm being annoyingly picky.<br>
But I was just wondering if you guys could reevaluate my chances and tell me what else I can do to really get the admissions committee to accept me.<br>
I took the New SAT again, and I got a 2040 (best combined from the two times I've taken the SAT), with a 650 on both math and verbal, my writing was a 740 from the previous time i took the New SAT, but it was a lot lower the second time (620). Vanderbilt says they require the new SAT, so I'm hoping my 740 will help me even though my other math and verbal scores are extremely low.<br>
I've already posted my stats on a different thread, so I won't really go into that, but I have a 4.75 weighted GPA and a 96 unweighted GPA. I will only graduate with 8 APs, but its the most that I've taken in my class. My school offers 11 APs, but the other 3 I wouldn't have taken would be like Spanish (because I take AP French), Physics (I've already taken AP Bio and Ap Chem, and I really won't have time for Physics, especially when I have a deep dislike for it), and I haven't taken AP Studio Art (because I can't draw). So those are the only 3 I haven't done. Anyways, it seems like Vandy cares a lot about class rank. I am definately 3rd in a class of 38 (possibly 2nd), because everybody takes easy classes (meaning non-AP) to boost their GPAs, and thus their ranks. So if you guys wouldn't mind taking the time, what do you think of my chances now early decision? (remember I am Asian haha).
Just for outside information, I understand I will need to have creative essays, and I am a pretty good writer, and I can be creative. I also will have one really good recommendation simply, because one of my teachers knows me extremely extremely well and won't just say that I care about my grades. I also am applying to Peabody, and when i was at PreVU, they said that if you apply to Peabody or Engineering you should have some sort of background in it. For Peabody, they said you should have some background with children. The only thing I have so far is that in 9th grade I was a boys and girls club volunteer, but since then my volunteer work has been centered around a hospital. I was involved in organizing a kiddie court in a Tennis Fiesta, and I tutor every week for National Honor Society, and senior year I'll be a Pooh Pal to a first grader. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to best convey that I like being with children (i know this last sentence sounds fake, but I really do like children, I just haven't spent a lot of time with them!)
Thank you guys so much, I really do appreciate it.</p>
<p>Dear Shopgirl:
I will repeat what I said to you on the previous thread. You have a lot of good qualties and your stats are in line with other Vandy students. If you will have good grades, essays, and recommendations, then why try to get into Peabody when that is not really where you want to be? If you try to make yourself look like you belong in Peabody with a lot of "fake" impressions, your plan might backfire. Personally, I think you have a better chance by being honest with yourself and the admissions committee and pouring out what's really in your heart instead of trying to convince admissions and yourself that you want admission to Peabody. In any event, have backup schools and don't convince yourself that you will be unhappy anywhere else. By the way, Wake Forest is not that easy to get into and I hear that once you're there, it is really hard. It is beautiful, however. Good luck.</p>
<p>apply early decision and write an extremely interesting essay, something that will stand out and make people remember you. Apply on your strengths.
You will love Vandy. Good luck. It is a beautiful campus.</p>
<p>As someone who lives in Nashville and applied to Vanderbilt, I was told by my parents to stress your advantages: really knowing the school. In your essays, don't just talk about what the basic stuff when you can show that you really care about the school by listing specific examples. You've been to Vandy, love Vandy and it can naturally be expressed, which can help seal the deal. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thanks everybody for all of your replies. Sometimes its easy to forget that honesty and interest are just as good qualities in an applicant as are GPAs and standardized test scores. I am constantly at this site as I love Vanderbilt, and any information is truly helpful to me. Thanks so much again for everyone's time and effort!</p>
<p>what is sooo good about vandy, i swear i never knew it was a legit top 25 school before i came to these boards and US NEWS. No one talks about it in Cali or the east coast (i got wealthy cousins on the east coast and i asked them about some schools, vandy was one of them).</p>
<p>I haven't been accepted to Vanderbilt. I've only visited and fallen in love with it. But I can tell you that Vanderbilt is so good, because it offers an Ivy League education but with a close knit student body or so it seems. But it does depend what region of the US you live in. Obviously most people know the IVYs, but I didn't know about other good schools until recently. For example, I live on Hilton Head Island, which is in South Carolina, and I hadn't heard of Pomona in California until recently. I also had never heard of Haverford, Williams, or Swarthmore. So it just depends what part of the US you live in and where other kids from your school apply.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is a solid school, albeit it still is working on becoming a truly national school to the same degree of other "top 25" schools. I can second that there are several schools I'd never heard of (I'm in Tennessee) when I got on these boards, most notably Columbia.</p>
<p>Anyway, Vandy is the best school in Tennessee by far, but I cringe when people compare it to Harvard and whatnot. Let's just say it's one of the top schools in the Southeast, along with Duke, Emory, UNC, and Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>you never heard of columbia? that's fine. I know many southerners who have never heard of vanderbilt before even though thier state borders tn. </p>
<p>About the harvard of the south, I don't think it is comparing the academic standards but rather the appearance and atmosphere vandy has with harvard's.</p>
<p>I hope I am not giving people the impression that I think Vanderbilt is Harvard. I was just simply trying to say if you want to stay away from Ivy League schools for whatever reason, Vanderbilt is a good school to look at. I realize there are other good schools to look at in the south like Duke, Emory, and Rice. I just like Vandy, but I know it's not Harvard, Yale, or Penn. Sorry if I gave that impression, I just really like the school.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is a very popular university with my school (mainly cuz its known as a good school + rich kids, we send about 7-8 each year). Your stats are very much in line with those who were accepted from my school. One of my close friends was accepted with a 1310 Sat (your new sat, when leveled, is higher than 1310). I think you have a great chance. You seem to have had a steady track in high school, congratulations on your accomplishments. My friends absoluetly loved it there. Apply ED and truly stress that it is your absolute #1 =P</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouragement! I think I'm going to take the ACT as well though, but its not just to boost my scores. I've been getting a little frustrated with colleges, because many seem to think that the old SAT and the new SAT is the same test. Prior to the 2004 school year, there was a huge hype about the writing, and then some colleges decided to take the old SAT. I know Vanderbilt requires the new SAT and said something about using the writing portion to evaluate the following years classes. But Emory and many other schools said that they would compare the verbal section of the new SAT to the verbal section of the old SAT. This is completely wrong. On the new SAT you can get away with knowing less vocabulary, but you have to be pretty sharp with your math skills. Also taking a test with a third section can affect your overall score. For example, sitting for a basically 4 hour test is tiring. It would be easier to sit for the old SAT and then sit for a 1 hour SAT II Writing Test. I was a little frustrated with the admissions guy at Emory who firmly believed that the new SAT and the old SAT were exactly the same.</p>