Vanderbilt ED1 Discussion Thread Class of 2021

@Dreamitdoit

Yeah you’re good on stats for EDI, as long as you are in the top 10% of your class for class rank as well. 34 is a very solid score in the EDI pool.

How important is Class rank? I have a 35 ACT (33 Math 36 Reading 35 Science 35 English) but I am 188/530. 3.3 UW, 3.7 W

@kramerismynamer

It depends; so class rank is pretty much the stand in for grades/GPA, since high schools can differ so greatly in rigor. But class rank still isn’t taken out of context.

If you’re coming out of a super rigorous, elite private or magnet school like Exeter or Stuyvesant/Bronx Science or something, then that will be taken into account. Or, if you have a major rising trend. Or URM.

But if you’re coming out of an average high school and have gotten the same grades the whole time, it could be a big admissions obstacle. Your ACT is very good for the EDI pool, so you’re not sunk by any means, but you should make sure to have letters of rec showing that you’re a good student, good essays, and some solid EC’s to back you up. Admission is possible but not likely. For context, in the class of 2020 EDI pool, 91.1% were in the top 10% of their graduating class. (http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2016/02/class-of-2020-early-decision-summary-statistics/)

My rising trend is pretty major, going from like a 2.7 freshman year with no AP’s to a 4.5 with 4 AP’s (Calc, Physics, Lang) my Junior year and I do have a pretty good explanation why (cancer) it was poor my first year and half. Funny thing is exeter wait-listed me ahaha

@kramerismynamer

You’re fine then, just make sure the adcoms are aware of that circumstance. Best way would probably be to have your guidance counselor or one of your teacher recs mention it, or you could have some reference to it in your personal statement.

Is a 31 on the ACT alright? I ran out of time on the math!

@Doodleloodle Depends on where you are applying, but a 31 puts you in the 96th percentile nationally (you scored better than 96% of test takers) which is pretty darn good

@Doodleloodle

31 is a bit on the low side for the EDI but it isn’t out of the question. If the rest of your app is strong you’re probably fine, or you can still take the October test for EDI if you want another shot at improving it.

@kramerismynamer @fdgjfg
Thanks for the input guys! I really appreciate it!

just sent in my app!!! :-SS

Any international students here? I’m an Indian possibly applying ED1 to Vandy, and I have a few questions.

I’m an international student applying ed1 too @mysterygirl11, what questions do you have?

I submitted my application 2 weeks ago and I could not be more excited/nervous to hear back! Six more weeks of waiting!

Just submitted my application !!! wish it was dec 15th already…

Submitted my application last night! For those of you who submitted earlier, how long did it take for your application pieces to show up on the application checklist on MyAppVU?
Edit: typo

@2017senior mine took about a day

@2017Dreams about 2 days

I’m applying ED1 to Vandy, can somebody chance me?

SAT: N/A
SAT II: N/A
ACT: 30 (Math: 21, Reading: 34, Science: 28, English: 36)

GPA (Unweighted) - 3.46 (Weighted) - 4.03 (NOTE: my classes are all honors or AP, and I had one slip up with a C in pre-cal. Everything else looks stellar, and my AP classes all have 100s or near 100s. I’m also like the 2nd highest ranked black male in my school, I may be the 1st but there’s one guy who rivals me)
Class Rank: 154 out 506
Attending: Public School in Tennessee (NOTE: my school is the most highly regarded public school in Tennessee and has an insane amount of competition at the top; just this year we had 18 of the 22 national merit semi-finalists in the entire city…)

AP scores:
Psychology (4)
Language (4)
Seminar (3)

Senior Year Courses:
AP Government
AP Japanese (NOTE: I have been taking japanese classes since the 6th grade)
AP Research
AP Literature
Honors Physics
Honors Intro to College Math
Honors Economics/Study Hall (Teacher’s Assistant for AP Language)

Extracurriculars:

  1. School Magazine (10th - 12th) one year as regular staff, one year as social media director, current year as editor
    (NOTE: i made it my mission to save our school’s magazine bc it had fallen into obscurity after 52 years; even some admins had forgotten it existed, so i worked really hard to get it back on track these last 3 years. we host coffeehouses monthly to create a space for student expression, and celebrate student art/writing/etc in our yearly magazine)
  2. college prep program designed to help underrepresented kids get opportunities outside of the city (10th - 12th)
    (NOTE: i am on this programs student executive board, and I was selected to do a special program where I helped lead 9 bright kids on a wilderness expedition for 2 weeks. many of them hadn’t ever left the city and i had to step up and be their role model. now I meet with these kids monthly and help mentor them through their freshman year of highschool to make sure they stay on the right path)
  3. Student Council Executive Board, Senior Commissioner of Activities (12th) (i organize all events for the senior class including community service and work with the administrators and class officers to help push policies/petitions. the presidents and the sponsor say I’m the best senior commissioner in the last 4 years)
  4. Church Soccer (from 9th to 11th grade I played a season every fall; had to stop because of how busy my senior year was)
  5. Work (Party Bus; my sister’s dad took a bus and recreated it. He knew I needed help with money so he offered me a job to manage the consoles on the bus; i’ve been working weekends and partial summers there since 9th grade.)
  6. Japanese Club (9th -12th) (we interact with exchange students and learn and celebrate japanese language/culture)
  7. a leadership organization designed to help keep young black boys on track, help them succeed to college, and help them become leaders within their community. lots of community service through this organization. (11th/12th)
  8. links organization - this is actually for women but they created a special section that has an emphasis on black male youth because theres a big problem with them not succeeding in my area; they help us with leadership as well.

Volunteer:

  1. Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 11th/12th
  2. local zoo’s halloween function 11th
  3. school’s green team, cleaning the school and collecting recyling every week 11th (had to stop because student council took the slot)
  4. Martin luther king jr day of service cleaning up the poorer portion of the city 11th (plan on doing it this year as well)

Honors:
National Honors Society (11th/12th)
Distinguished Honor Roll (9th - present)
Citizenship Award (9th - present)
Honorable Mention in Tennessee’s Letters About Literature
AP Scholar

How I Spent my Summers:

  1. Vanderbilt Summer Academy (writing course) , local college honors camp, local high school’s honors camp (writing course) (2014)
  2. Vanderbilt Summer Academy (writing course), Rhodes College Summer Writing Institute, Kenyon Young Writers Workshop (2015) (NOTE: i was gone almost all summer doing all of this)
  3. Vanderbilt Summer Academy (writing course), Deer Hill Expeditions (this was the expedition thing I was talking about) (2016)

Race: African American
Sex: Male
First Generation College: No, mother went to college. Father dropped out of college and is currently unemployed. I rarely see him.
Intended Major: Sociology
Hooks: URM, single parent household, love for writing/expression(?)

is there another vandy ED 2021 thread? last year’s was much more active

nah, its the only one I think. I guess the class of 2017 isn’t as excited about vanderbilt?