Vanderbilt Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

<p>I'm currently in my junior year of high school. I am an honors student who is taking all honors classes and one AP class this year. Vandy is my top choice as of right now. </p>

<p>Freshman year:
A in all classes except for an 89 in Physical Science.
Involved in Marching Band (cymbal line), Jazz Band lead guitarist, Chorus, Literary Trio, Beta Club, one theater production, and church praise band. </p>

<p>Sophomore year:
All A+.
Involved in Marching Band (cymbal line), One Act (Biddy in Miss Havisham's Great Expectations), All-State Chorus, Literary Trio, Beta Club, and church praise band. I was very involved in theater and was the sound and lights specialist for musicals. </p>

<p>My Junior year:
Marching band VP, played snare (solo snare) in Marching Band, Beta club, Student Council VP, All-District Band (Principal Mallets), all A + in first semester, Math Team, One-Act Region Champion (lighting and sound technician), A in APUSH first semester, planning on taking another AP next semester, work as lifeguard at YMCA, tutor afterschool, Premier Chorus group, and planning to volunteer at the hospital this summer. I am working on creating a club that will work to give all funds to an anti-bullying charity. </p>

<p>I did two years of All-State chorus during middle school as well.
My GPA as of right now is 98.7.
My class rank as of right now (they never refresh it unless you ask) is 27 out of 289.
My high school is one of the top 5 in the nation. I live in a very small town in the South and am female. </p>

<p>Also, I will take multiple AP classes in my senior year and run for drum major, section leader, or president in band. Probably One Act, All-State, Literary, All-District Band, Student Council, Beta, multiple AP classes, and more. I may be voted as most talented by my peers, no guarantee though. </p>

<p>I plan to either major in music production, music technology, something with music, or double major in music and mathematics or music and film studies. I have a passion for music, and I have no problem with auditioning or having an interview with Vanderbilt. </p>

<p>Any advice/information will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Wow, a 98.7 GPA with one B and you are almost out of the top 10% at your HS. Do you attend a private boarding HS? It’s unusual to have a top 5 HS in a very small town in the south.
Your HS profile is good. Work on the SAT/ACT’s this year. Good Luck</p>

3

<p>Your application looks good to me. You’ll need to make sure your test scores are in the ball park. Take both the ACT and SAT. You only need to send one, so send the best unless they are both stellar.</p>

<p>I’m sure the Spirit of Gold Marching Band would be happy to have you. S is having a great time with the band and looking forward to the Compass Bowl this Saturday.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

4

<p>It isn’t a private school, it is a small public school. I would love to be a member of their marching band if I am accepted. Thank you so much for the responses!!! </p>

<p>Bump</p>

5

<p>The SAT/ACT will tell. At least, it did this year for ED. 32 seemed to be an important number with the many applications Vandy had. You’re a good fit for the band and music majors, but so are a lot of other applicants looking at the city of Nashville in Vandy’s backyard. You look like Vandy’s kind of go-getter; make sure those standardized scores match and hope for the best.</p>

6

<p>I have a friend who said the Blair Music school is much easier to get into than the others. Is that true? </p>

<p>Also, I have never taken a lesson in any instrument and I can play almost anything that I can get my hands on, and I give lessons as well. I’ve taught myself how to read music and I hope to perfect it at Vandy.</p>

7

<p>I don’t know about Blair being easier to get into. Sounds like Nashville is just the place for you. It is full of autodidacts, if you believe the press</p>

8

<p>Blair is a little less competitive in terms of test scores, but there’s also an audition component.</p>

9

<p>I’m confident in my audition abilities if asked to audition. If I want to double major in music composition and film studies, would I have to complete a different application process or something?
Thanks for all of the information!!!</p>

10

<p>It’s the same application. Even if admitted to Blair, you can take courses and declare a second major or a minor in any of the other schools.</p>

11

<p>Okay. So what are the odds of me being accepted if any of you can guess?.. I understand that the acceptance rate is decreasing each year and that worries me!!</p>

<p>Bump</p>

12

<p>As a junior it’s too early to worry about your odds of admission. You should:

  • pursue your passion in life…adcoms like to see this
  • keep your GPA high
  • work hard for the SAT/ACT take both and send the higher of the two
  • look for leadership opportunities
  • look for ways you can improve your school and community
  • have a list of several universities you would be happy at (never put all your eggs in one basket)
  • talk finances with your parents
  • aim for Vanderbilt but understand it’s a reach for everyone
  • consider ED if Vandy is your first choice
  • write a great essay this summer
  • enjoy your family and friends</p>
13

<p>To say that Blair is easier to get into than Vandy’s other colleges doesn’t really make sense. It’s an apples and oranges thing. After all, for virtually every non-Blair Vandy student, acceptance to Blair would not only be difficult; it would be impossible. But it really doesn’t matter. Blair is a music school with roughly 200 students, with a relatively few 50 spots, more or less, opening up each year, and more – and better – applicants applying each year. The proper admissions comparison for Blair is not Peabody (unless you mean the Peabody in Baltimore) or A&S, but other music schools. Right now, Blair has many serious professionally minded music students who have chosen Blair over schools like Eastman, Northwestern, Juilliard, etc. This year, prescreening requirements – a measure of the rapidly increasing quality and number of applicants – have been expanded to most instruments. So, Blair, as a music school, is not even remotely an easy admit for serious musicians, and it’s growing tougher every year. I say this not to discourage you from applying – and absolutely none of this is meant as a comment about your chances of admission (your academic and other accomplishments are impressive and I hope you apply) – but simply to say that Blair is a wonderful and thriving place …though as a secret back door into Vandy’s other schools, you should probably know it’s a pretty tiny door with some seriously picky bouncers standing in front of it.</p>

14

<p>Hey guys :slight_smile:
I am currently in my Junior year of high school at the top 7th school in the nation and 1st in massachusetts.
Stats:

  • top 15% of my class
  • 5 honors classes, 1 AP (will be taking 2 APs next year and a teacher’s assistant in my spanish AP class, something very prestigious at my school)
  • My GPA is a bit below Vanderbilt’s standards: 3.5 freshman year, 3.4 sophomore year, 3.7 currently (taking a heavier course load each year)
  • Sophomore year I had a medical condition that made my GPA significantly lower than it would have been (my doctor and my guidance counselor are both willing to submit proof, but will this really hinder my chances?)
  • 2150 on the regular SATS, 800 on the Spanish SAT II, 750 English SAT II
  • received an award for my outstanding performance on the National Spanish Exam
    Extra Curriculurs:
  • First flute in the very nationally recognized Concert Band and Jazz Band of my school (won’t be applying to the music school however)
  • 11 years of soccer on both town and school teams (not good enough to get a scholarship or anything off of it, but still planning on trying out for the team)
  • In the community service club at my school
  • President of the French Club
  • Volunteer helping low income families who do not speak english shop for groceries
  • Held an internship at a local company that specializes in educating people in the art of public speaking
  • Held an internship at the Boston University office of global admissions
  • Participated in my schools French exchange, which I applied for and got into
  • Have applied and gotten into two prestigious programs at my school: Peer Mentors and Middle School Outreach, in both I mentor a group of kids through the high school
    Extra:
    I am hispanic, and I am fluent in Spanish, Catalan, English, and French. I was wondering if this would help my application?
    Vanderbilt is my top choice and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how I could possibly get in?</p>
15

<p>alexmass: You’ll want to keep raising your GPA and taking as many AP courses as you can. You’re not particularly strong in either of these, but if you’re taking all the AP your school offers you’re doing fine. Definitely plan on re-taking the SAT. This is one area where you can really have an impact. Raise it to 1520/2300 and you’ll be in good shape. The languages and the outreach in particular could really help. Make sure you mention them in an essay or paragraph. Vandy loves ECs, it would appear. As your record stands right now, I would say you’re even money, but I haven’t seen those writing samples yet. Good luck. What do you plan to major in?</p>

16

<p>Thank you so much for your advice, jkeil911 :slight_smile:
My school offers a wide variety of AP courses but they are designed to be extremely difficult, so the majority of my grade does not take any and the most someone would ever take would be 3- but they would have to be really really crazy. I will try to take some more AP courses and raise my GPA though, so thank you!
And I plan on taking the SATs again in March, so hopefully I will see a large improvement.
I’m not sure what I’m majoring in yet, maybe communications?</p>

17

<p>AP courses are meant to be challenging, and so is Vandy. If you want to go to a challenging university, you’d do well to demonstrate that you can do well in challenging courses. Vandy is going to have a lot of reasons to like you, esp if you get that SAT up, but take college level courses to demonstrate you can handle the demands that Vandy will put on you. You’re no longer measuring yourself against your high school classmates but against the best students in the world. Do what they do and apply with at least 3 APs and plan on taking 2 more in the spring if possible. This ain’t Massachusetts anymore, Dorothy. You’re stepping onto the world stage. It’s some heady stuff. I don’t mean to contradict your guidance counselor, if I am, but do the very best, hardest work you can do, and don’t let anyone including your friends tell you what you can or cannot do because you’ve never done that before or because you’re hispanic or female. Take risks. You need to find out for yourself what you can accomplish. Work like you’ve never worked before and go to Vandy or Brown or Wellesley or anywhere else you work for because the world needs what you have to give. Don’t fret the major. You’ll figure it out. Study for those SATs. I want to hear you got a 750+750.</p>

18

<p>Evidently a full quarter of the admits in the class of 2017 had a perfect score… Pretty absurd… Glad I got in a few years back…</p>

19

<p>how would you like to decide who gets the scholarships out of that bunch?</p>

20

<p>Put all the applications on the wall and throw darts?</p>