Hi! So I already applied, but I’m curious if I have a good shot of getting in or not. Only one person from my high school has gone to Vandy before and everyone else was rejected which makes me nervous. Any feedback would be great, thanks!
Objective:
SAT: didn’t submit, but I got a 1510 on the new SAT(740E, 770M)
ACT: 34C (36E 33M 32R 35S) My superscore is a 35, but Vandy doesn’t superscore right?
SAT Subjects: didn’t take, I didn’t even know these existed until recently (My school only focuses on the ACT)
Unweighted GPA(Out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.45
Rank: 6/674
AP: Human Geography(4), Chemistry(5), World History(5), Calculus BC(5, AB subscore: 5), Literature(5), US History(3), Physics C Mechanics(4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Computer Science, AP Statistics, Advanced Orchestra, AP Latin, AP Microeconomics, AP US Government, AP Language
Major Awards: I don’t really know what qualifies an award as “major”, but…
AP Scholar with distinction
Kiwanis Scholar
Gold on National Latin Exam
Silver and Bronze on other National Latin tests(vocabulary, etymology, history)
6th place in Latin Reading Comprehension test in national competition
Commended National Merit
multiple 1st places in state Latin competition(vocab, grammar, history, etc)
3rd place in mathematics in state Academic Decathlon competition
Gold medal performance on violin solo for state competition
1st place at state for certamen
Subjective:
Extracurriculars:
Latin Club(9-12)
National Junior Classical League(9-12, Webmaster for my state, on the state board)
Certamen aka Latin quiz bowl(9-12, team captain)
Symphony Orchestra(10-12, principal second violin)
Pit Orchestra(10-12)
Chamber Orchestra(10-11)
Academic Decathlon(11-12)
Spell Bowl(11-12)
National Honor Society(12)
Latin Honor Society(10-12)
Track(10-11)
Swim(11-12)
CASS(anti-bullying program)(10)
I lumped all of the Latin stuff in one category and did the same for orchestra in order to save room on my application.
Job Experience:
I worked at Subway for one year during my junior year.
Volunteer:
~200 hours
I volunteered at my school’s summer orchestra program for two summers and helped kids from grades 5-8 learn how to play the violin/viola/cello/bass.
I also volunteered at my school’s summer Latin camp and helped teach kids about Latin and the Classics. I did this for two summers as well
I did more volunteering but these two make up most of my hours.
Essays(rating 1-10, details):
CA: 7-8, I wanted to write about something that most other people wouldn’t, so I wrote about how I learned to solve the Rubik’s Cube. I was able to connect this to other aspects of my life, and I think the essay turned out pretty good. My AP Lit teacher said he liked it, but who knows what the admissions people will think.
EC essay: 8, Being a part of the Junior Classical League(JCL) was probably the best experience I’ve had in high school so i wrote about that. I found it really easy to write about, and I felt that I was able to show my personality and passion in this essay.
Teacher Rec #1: probably a 7, My AP Lit teacher wrote this one. He is also the coach for Academic Decathlon and Spell Bowl, so he knows me pretty well and likes me. He is also a really good writer, so hopefully he wrote a good rec.
Teacher Rec #2: 8, My Latin 1-3 teacher wrote this one. I had her for three years, and she is also the Latin Club Sponsor, certamen coach, and she is on the state board with me. She loves me and knows me well, so I think she was able to give me a good rec. The problem is that a lot of other people asked her for recommendations as well, so I don’t know if she was able to spend much time on my rec.
Counselor rec: Honestly I’d probably give this a 4 or 5. My school assigns like 500 students to each counselor, so I’ve only spoken to mine a few times in person, and we barely know each other. She made me fill out a sheet about me so she knew what to write about. This rec was probably very generic.
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid: yup
Intended Major: Chemical Engineering, but with an interest in Computer Science and Latin(I’m pretty indecisive)
State: I don’t feel comfortable disclosing this, but let’s just say I’m out of state and live in the midwest
School Type: large public
Ethnicity: Eastern European and South Korean
Income Bracket: ~30,000
Hooks: Is being biracial a hook? Because other than that I’ve got nothing.