<p>Aww aimee that sucks. I’m sure you’ll get into another college you’ll love.</p>
<p>Alihaq717- Why do you have other threads stating you have a 4.4 unweighted. One where you said you failed two classes, another saying you didn’t fail but got 1 D and some Cs?</p>
<p>Whereas other threads say you have a 3.5*</p>
<p>4.4 unweighted? That’s not even possible. I have a 3.5 weighted including senior year grades, but a 3.43 for freshman-junior year. In any case…</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (800 reading, 800 math, 760 writing)
ACT: 34 (did not submit)
SAT II (if submitted): math II: 770
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.0, possibly lower, but not too sure
Grades in AP/IB/honors classes (if applicable): Mostly Bs, some As, some Cs
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A, but probably top 25%
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Lang (5), Enviro (4), USH (3), Calc AB (3, self studied), Microeconomics (4, self studied), Macroeconomics (3, self studied)
Senior Year Course Load: full AP course load: AP Physics C, AP Government, AP Biology, AP Literature, AP Economics, AP Calc BC
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): national merit semifinalist</p>
<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars: various cultural clubs (SASA/MSA), debate, speech, model UN president, DECA officer, bio Olympiad, tennis, track, etc. nothing too great
Volunteer/Community service: hospital/food shelter work, nothing too special
General Essay (subject and personal opinions on it): about my cousin who was born this past year with down syndrome, very heartfelt and the people who read it said that it was amazing
Second Essay (subject - and personal opinions on it): N/A
Teacher Recommendation (only if you saw it): didn’t see it, but assuming good
Counselor Rec (only if you saw it): Decent
Additional Rec (only if you saw it): N/A
Interview: N/A
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Northern VA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: competitive public, was ranked in top 100
Ethnicity: Asian, Indian
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): None
Reflection</p>
<p>Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: probably the fact that I had perfect math and reading scores on the SAT helped me a lot (since vandy puts the most weight on those two sections) and my essay.</p>
<p>I honestly cannot believe I got in considering I almost failed two classes my sophomore year, but I guess things have a way of working out. Let’s go Vanderbilt Class of 2015!</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/749453-2350-sat-4-4w-gpa-amazing-recs-ecs-but-failed-two-classes.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/749453-2350-sat-4-4w-gpa-amazing-recs-ecs-but-failed-two-classes.html</a></p>
<p>^^ you said you have a 4.4 right there…</p>
<p>That was me during sophomore year wondering if I had any chance in hell at my dream school (Harvard) if I pulled my grades up and got that SAT score. That was the year I nearly failed two classes second semester, but instead I was given a D in one (AP Stats) and a D- in the other (Honors Physics). However, I moved to a new school and those grades were combined with my first semester grades, resulting in a C in AP Stats and a C- in Honors Physics. </p>
<p>The 4.4 w comes from the fact that my old school used a different grading system, where only the top 45 credits are used in calculating GPA. Because I had taken a lot more classes than required (with no lunch) I would be above the 45 credits and thus my two near-failing grades would have been disregarded. However, I moved to a new school that did not have the same policy but instead combined first and second semester grades into one grade, which ended up to my advantage because colleges wouldn’t have to see my Ds in those two classes.</p>
<p>*Ironically, I was very close to guessing my actual SAT score (I predicted a 2350 with a 1600/1600 m+cr yet I actually scored a 2360 with a 1600/1600 m+CR). This was probably due to my hopes of making up for my abysmal gpa and came from studying so hard for the test.</p>
<p>alright i know im missing something but the blog says:</p>
<p>“As of today we have 24,730 applications for first-time freshman admission. This number represents a 14% increase in applications from last year and the highest number of applications in Vanderbilts history. We are fortunate enough to select our Class of 2015 from a diverse pool of students who are both academically strong and socially engaged. As with previous years, we will have an incoming class of approximately 1,600 students who make their first-year home in The Commons at Vanderbilt University.”</p>
<p>with about 25,000 applicants and 1,600 admitted, isnt that like 7% acceptance rate lol.</p>
<p>idk i know im missing something. just wondering,</p>
<p>I think they mean 1600 will choose to enroll out of however many people they accept, which is usually substantially larger than the number enrolled.</p>
<p>College–
the acceptance rate can be a little higher due to the fact that Vanderbilt anticipates that not all admitted students will matriculate. It goes along the lines of “yield,” which all schools that are conscious of their admissions like to play with. They want to make sure that they completely fill a class by accepting more than they can hold (at least from what i’ve heard, i’m no admissions officer), and then go to the waitlist if they have room still.</p>
<p>I’m not an admissions officer or expert… by any stretch. So that’s just my thoughts on the matter.</p>
<p>boymom: Sorry for the super late post. But I still haven’t fully committed to Vandy yet because I haven’t received a financial aid package. I will decline the offer of admission based on insufficient funds if I feel I did not receive enough and would rather make a go for other schools. But honestly, I don’t expect much from Vandy. If they hand me 20k I’ll probably accept because I know at Wash U and UC they essentially don’t hand out any money.</p>
<p>It sounds as if you are being a little flippant towards Early Decision. Early Decision is not a, “the financial package is good, but maybe I can get better somewhere else” situation. Vanderbilt by participating in Early Decision promises to meet your financial obligation deemed by the FA application information. There has to be a SIGNIFICANT change in financial situation between applying and accepting. If your situation has not changed, there is no way around it. Not only that, you are expected to withdraw your application from other universities upon hearing your acceptance.</p>
<p>Wanderers, i don’t think that that is an entirely correct statement. You have the ability, under the Early Decision agreement, to wait until you receive your financial aid package before you accept the offer of admission.</p>
<p>It IS binding, yes, however if it is not financially possible to attend the school given the financial aid that the school offers, you can decline the offer of admission. </p>
<p>A girl from my school was accepted to Vanderbilt this year in the ED1 wave. Her parents have property assets from her grandmother, but they still applied for financial aid. She didn’t receive any from Vanderbilt, and the parents decided that $240,000 is too much for them to afford, given their assets are in property. So she declined the offer of admission and is waiting on regular decisions.</p>
<p>I do agree with you that it is a serious matter, and paupopew may be a little too nonchalant about it, but you can be released from the commitment if a school doesn’t meet your needs, even Vandy.</p>
<p>There’s a difference between financially incapable and financially not as convenient. I’m willing to bet the person from your school was anticipating she might be able to accept the Early Decision acceptance and knew she would have to apply to others.</p>
<p>Did Vanderbilt officially release her from her commitment?</p>
<p>I’m with wanderers on this one. ED isn’t something you can just use to boost your chances. You make the financial decision BEFORE applying ED. The financially unable is for egregious circumstances, like, a parent losing a job or something. I feel bad for the kid whose spot was taken away by the person who did ED without considering the financial implications first.</p>
<p>Sorry guys, if you think I’m offending the ED agreement. But if I feel like the financial burden is too much I’m not going to accept admission. I’d appreciate it if you guys just accept my decisions as mine instead of giving me a morality lesson.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt did release her from the commitment. (Confirmed with her tonight at a school event).</p>
<p>paupowpew,</p>
<p>Did Vanderbilt not send you an estimated award with your acceptance letter or close to the time that you received it? Did you turn in your CSS profile and FAFSA in a timely manner? ED1 applicants got estimated award letters in with their acceptance letters. I am not sure what they did with ED2 applicants. You are correct that you need to be able to see that before fully committing. However, you may want to call the financial aid office and get an idea since your matriculation deposit is due on Tuesday, March 1st. </p>
<p>Many people will say not to apply ED if money is a factor. I personally believe that if you have an idea of what your aid will be and you can swing that then it is okay to go ahead with ED. Prior to my daughter applying, I contacted the Vandy financial aid office and asked them if there is an online calculator that would give me a somewhat accurate estimate. They pointed me in the direction of the College Board’s calculator using the Institutional Method. When my daughter received her estimated aid letter, it showed that the CB calculator was pretty much right on. I didn’t check dollar for dollar but it was in the range I expected. So, my advice would be to contact Vanderbilt and find out when you will receive your aid letter and also try the CB calculator. It should be pretty close as long as your numbers are close to accurate. Just be sure you include everything.</p>
<p>In addition, please understand that people aren’t trying to give you a lesson on morality. You and your parents signed the ED agreement knowing that it was binding and if accepted you would be expected to matriculate. Vanderbilt is counting on this. The people you are encountering in this thread willingly signed the same agreement and those that were accepted followed through on their commitment. ED is not meant as a way of comparing prices. </p>
<p>I do get a sense that you have a bit of buyers remorse though and I understand that. It is VERY scary to think of the cost to attend a school like Vanderbilt especially since it clearly wasn’t your first choice and probably still isn’t. I have no idea what your financial situation is, but I will tell you that Vanderbilt is very generous with their grant money. I hope everything works out for you.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt, and all schools, know the historic acceptance rates of their ED financial aid offers; it is not 100% and they don’t count on 100%. The reason the final decision is left solely to families, without question, is to encourage needy top students to apply ED to their number one choice schools. </p>
<p>A student who turns down an ED offer is taking a chance that RD offers may be no higher, especially considering that the ED school may want the student more than RD schools do. Such students are not prized for the money the school locks in at ED time!</p>
<p>Runningmom,
No, I did not receive any estimation with my acceptance letter. I called them yesterday after school to ask and the OUA asked me to be patient as not all acceptances have received financial aid packages. He/she also said on the phone that they will help me tomorrow (Friday) if I have not received my package by then. And getting released from ED for the 3 people who I know have declined admission in ED is no problem. They just sent in a cordial letter essentially saying that due to financial burdens they would not be able to attend.</p>
<p>when you are admitted ED somewhere, you’re supposed to withdraw applications from all other schools. Have you not done that?</p>