Vanderbilt- dream school or sure banker?

<p>I think I posted a thread like this on the JHU page. Sooo.. I applied to some ivies, Stanford, Duke.....big dreams for an engineer!!!! However, I decided I needed some sure bankers...fallbacks... So I applied to JHU and a liberal arts college...I think Lafayette.... Some1 also told me Vanderbilt is wonderful and is a sure banker so I applied esp. Since it had merit scholarships and no common app. supplement essays... However, JHU and Vanderbilt....especially Vanderbilt seems to be much higher than I thought it was. Pls, I want to know if it's actually a sure banker or another dream school/ hidden ivy... The following are my credentials- 2000 SAT......2100 SAT SUBJECT.......103 TOEFL...... 4.8/5.0 GPA..... head-boy of my secondary school... 6 other extra curricular activities with 4 community services....and good writing skills. So pls, can I be at least 80% sure that I can make it to Tennessee or do I have to pray like a prospective Yalie. Pls, some info. Much appreciated</p>

<p>Vanderbilt is definitely not an easy school to get into. The academic level of Vanderbilt is something you can find at only a few schools in the Southern US. </p>

<p>It’s a dream school to many and has very competitive admissions. You haven’t provided enough information to properly chance you, but I can tell you for sure it won’t be ‘a banker.’</p>

<p>Suggest you (OP) look at the stats about the Vandy admitted pool, especially the GPA and SAT score numbers (which are the easiest to compare between different schools). Now compare those with Stanford, Duke, et. al. That just might lead you to the conclusion that Vandy is highly competitive.</p>

<p>Vanderbilt and JHU are reach schools for nearly all applicants and only somewhat less competitive for admissions than the Ivies. Also only 1-2% of Vanderbilt students win merit scholarships. Vanderbilt’s entering class will be in fact a class of “equals” in ability and therefore all of them would qualify for merit in some American colleges. Instead, Vanderbilt is able to offer generous need aid based on income and asset formulas. This is one reason there are over 28 thousand applicants: Vanderbilt’s financial need program is better than most colleges in the USA. Applicants in their top quartile re stats and grades are denied all the the time as they make room for some students who provide other attractive leadership and academic qualities. Vanderbilt’s level of difficulty re admission is very similar to Duke’s. Please apply to both academic and financial safeties. Few schools have need blind admissions for international students. Lafayette is a very fine liberal arts college but I doubt their finanical aid is comparable to Vanderbilt. If you are interested in engineering, hope you are considering widening your net. You can easily look up the admission stats of the last class at Vanderbilt, which has been one of the most difficult schools to enter in the nation with an applicant pool that has more than doubled in size in the last 8 years and admission stats that are very very high.</p>

<p>“sure banker”…hmm, this sounds maybe British or something? Where are you from? </p>

<p>If you are curious about admissions statistics for 2011 and 2012 for different colleges and universities, you can look at the data published by the New York Times.<br>
[Colleges</a> Report 2012 Admissions Statistics - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/college-admits-2012/]Colleges”>Colleges Report 2012 Admissions Statistics - The New York Times)</p>

<p>OP is an international … TOEFL score gives it away. By the way, that is an excellent TOEFL. I am betting you are from India or Japan.</p>

<p>Chuksy,
The bottom line is that you are an international student, and the fact is that schools choose domestic students over and against internationals when they appear to be equally qualified. I know this because I am a parent of two international students in college. All the schools you mentioned are reach schools for all applicants. You sound like you are not familiar with Vandy. It is an ivy-caliber school, and it is like hell to get admitted to Vandy these days (I am sure it is tougher than some of the lower ivies and Hopkins). The basic information you gave tells that you must be an excellent student, but I am sorry to say that your stats are not as impressive as some of the elite international students who got admitted to Vandy. You may still have a chance. But my honest advice is that you better apply to some other fine schools where you could have better chances than Vandy if you are looking for a safe school. Good luck.</p>

<p>As an international student in the class of 2016, I can confirm that admissions for international students is very, very competitive. Last year, they accepted only 3.5% of international students who need financial aid. That is lower than the general admissions rate at any college in the US. Having said that, Vanderbilt provides huge financial aid to admitted international students. Most of my international friends have received more than $50,000/yr in aid.</p>

<p>Your stats, while pretty good in general terms, are quite average (SAT score a bit below average) for international students at Vandy. So no, Vandy will not be a “sure banker”. If you are looking for safeties, Vandy is not one of them.</p>