When you have upwards of 30,000 applicants, it’s pretty easy to be holistic and still largely accept students with very high test scores. There are a ton of very well rounded applicants who also scored in the top 1% on standardized testing; in fact, they’re probably even more likely to be well rounded.
A student with a strong profile but only 29 ACT was probably rejected because there were a large number of applicants with strong profiles and 30+ ACTs. That’s just the way it works.
Does anyone know if it means anything to have received a letter of acceptance in February? I was surprised to find an acceptance letter in my mailbox because I applied regular decision.
That’s weird.
@intowishin @cauldroncastle They sent MOSAIC invites.
@Benzy50 That makes sense.
Our son got an official acceptance e-mail to vanderbilt / Blair on Friday. (02/13/15) He is regular decision, not MOSAIC. It seemed weird to us too. It was a pleasant surprise though!
Accepted to Vanderbilt yesterday! Pleasantly surprised to get the MOSAIC invite as my Valentines present haha.
Is there an acceptance thread? My sister is thinking about that school for next year and wants to see her chances.
dearest stanfordhopeful…you need a new handle. 
all good. Glad Vandy is in your mix now for April. best.
@intowishin Are you MOSAIC? My son is not. I guess it shouldn’t matter why a regular decision / non-MOSAIC acceptance was sent, As long as there is not some screw-up. 
I know this is the ED1 thread and I will be glad to delete this post. (I am a new member and think I should leave creating the ‘official’ RD thread to a more senior member.) But… @nwtlr1, Our senior got an acceptance e-mail this weekend, Regular Decision, not MOSAIC. It was dated from early January. So I don’t think it is a screw-up.
@nwtlr1:
Yes, I’m MOSAIC! Sorry for any confusion-- I had never heard of the program before, so I wasn’t sure if that was the reason my acceptance came early.
@Zen2015:
Congratulations! Is he/she a recruit?
Vanderbilt’s my dream school… little worried about my chances however. Hope to apply in two years. What were the GPAs and test scores that got accepted on here? I’ve yet to take my tests, but have a 4.8 weighted, 3.9 unweighted. PSATs were top in my school for first time, 175 total, in the 92 national percentile. My parents keep telling me I won’t get in, but after looking at the averages, I feel as though I have a chance.
@allison1225 You can find past stats of people who applied on this site. Just a reminder that these days, lots of factors go into college decisions so you can never be sure of your chances.
Btw, someone should post a RD discussion thread?
@allison122 look beyond scores. Decisions are holistic, although it does seem Vandy is in love with claiming a high # of NMF in each class (215 PSAT or so, depending upon your state). Evaluate your passions, make an impact on your community through something that is of interest to you, be more than academic. It’s like a stool – you need at least 3 strong legs of equal value to be a top candidate. A 4 legged stool is even better – athletics, academics, arts, community…. you decide the legs, but pursue your passions, and allow your essayist to reveal your voice. A boy in our town with a 27 ACT was accepted to Harvard Early…. QuestBridge and a giant hook. So….
@allison1225 I was accepted to Vanderbilt ED 1 this year! I have a 3.85 UW/ ~4.23 W GPA, and scored a 2360 on the SAT.
My daughter (accepted ED1) received a beautiful Vandy envelope in the mail today! Anyone else?
@Living61 I did as well. Nice car sticker!
Does anyone know where the part is for the counselor letter of reccomendation? Or does that fall under the “invite counselor” part?
Yes, it is the “invite counselor” part. Unless your school has Naviance, in which case Counselors and teachers upload their recommendations there.