They love to tout that low (and ever decreasing) admit stat I bet. Maybe next year 45,000 will apply regular decision, then 50, etc.
3.95 UW - 5 APs, 4 DE, the rest were honors and went test-optional
ECs - heavy on leadership, social justice, and community service
Essays - 9/10, just trust
- friendly reminder: try not to compare stats cause everyone is different :))
Yeah, and honestly, stats donât seem to mean much. Obviously people need to meet a certain threshold, but above that I donât see much correlation to acceptance/waitlist/rejection. It seems more telling to hear what state someone is from, what major, whether they had any âhooks,â and whether or not they applied ED as all of these factors seem just as important as stats.
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I completely agree. Thereâs more to admissions than just stats. Thatâs why colleges love to use the annoying word âholisticâ review. Beyond grades, itâs important to showcase the best in your essays, ECs, and letters of rec. For things that you canât control - like geographic location, âhooksâ, and major - just have to hope that it works in your favor.
I completely agree. There is no reason for the schools to withhold this information. I especially love the schools that have âtransparencyâ as one of their âvaluesâ and then do this. SMH! I would love to see applicants unite and get the National Association for College Admission Counseling enforce their âNACAC Guide to Ethical Practice In College Admissionsâ which states waitlist information should include âthe historical range in numbers or percentages of students offered admission from the wait list and the availability of housing and financial aid with an initial wait list offer.â
For future âportal astrologists,â I feel compelled to offer my Vanderbilt 2027 input.
Iâm a Vanderbilt grad and former alumni interviewer for Vandy. Caucasian, middle class, Mid-Atlantic.
For you stats junkies, D23 had the following: 4.0 UW, 4.8+W, IB Diploma, 770V/740M SAT, 5s on all AP Exams, 1000+ volunteer hours (concentrated on her proposed major), 2-sport Captain, good/great recommendations, exceptional other ECs, NHS, blah blah blah, etc. I honestly thought D23 would be a shoo-in at Vandy. We naively and optimistically applied for the Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship!!
D23 was outright rejected.
Fortunately, D23 had lots of other options, and is happily going to an Ivy League school this Fall. This is not a sob story.
But, as someone who has followed Vandy admissions information for many years, and who has seen those getting in from our area, I offer this advice â Vandy is currently fixated (!) on their SAT/ACT scores. They are abusing this period of test-optional admissions to boost their average scores for admitted students.
D23âs 1510 (or, at least, her 740M) was not enough for her to qualify for Vandy. For those like D23, unless you have a 1550+ SAT, Vandy wants you to go test-optional. That way, they will preserve their exceedingly high SAT score averages for admitted students for their USNews and other rankings. Meanwhile, they will admit other students that apply âtest optionalâ but have wonderful backgrounds and experiences.
Again, I am only offering this as future advice to students in D23âs situation. Fully understanding what we know now, D23âs application to Vandy would not have included her SAT scores. Do with that information what you willâŠ
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Did your D23 apply ED? Glad she ended up with other great options but I totally understand your frustration and disappointment!
I got admitted with 1500 and my brother less than 1500. I am not URM. Canât make a general statement like that.
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Thank you for sharing this. I know this process is not rational nor logical but our daughter also applied and we thought our question would not be if she was admitted (we considered that a âfor sureâ) but rather if our family could afford for her to attend. She sounds similar to your daughter (without the legacy hook), 4.0UW, 34 ACT, female âathlete of the yearâ for her class, EIC for school paper, Academic all American for lacrosse⊠blah blah.
Rejected. She is from the PNW which we thought couldnât hurt. No connection to the school but she is a âtypicalâ high stat kid white kid from an upper middle class family in a suburb that doesnât match their target applicant we know. With no connection to Vanderbilt, she may have sounded a bit âgenericâ in her approach. She really didnât know a ton about the university but on her own she decided it might be her place. She is going to an out of state flagship on a nice deal but this year was a doozy for her in terms of what we all expected.
Did someone in admissions tell you this or just conjecture?
First of all, for those who were admitted with less-than-average test scores, congrats! You achieved at a level where numerous others fell short.
Was out with a buddy in admissions at a rigorous, highly-regarded prep school couple nights ago. He basically said that âVandy is now, relatively speaking, harder to gain admittance than a couple of the ivies.â I recognize that this sounds very Captain Obvious, but I would put Vandy in the top 7 toughest major universities in the country at this point.
Maybe Top 5. Btw, I think @757Senior post kinda checks out. This has been the experience of friends and DCâs classmates over the past 3 years.
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