Hi everyone! I am creating this thread for all the transfers to Vandy in fall 2020!
hellooo!!! wassup people!
Here are my stats:
current school: Rhodes College, Memphis, TN
GPA: 3.97/4.0
Major: economics, minor: Educational studies & computer science (undeclared yet)
Intended major/minor at VU: economics & HOD (human and organizational development)
Credits completed at time of application: 71
High school stat:
GPA: (I’m not sure because we were using different grading scale, but mostly A’s and A-'s)
TOEFL: 105/120 (I’m an international student)
SAT: 1460 (reading: 670, math: 790)
SAT subject: Math II 800, Physics 790
AP: Calculus BC 5, Psychology 5, Statistics 5, Microeconomics 5
Award: only one scholarship for academic achievement from econ department.
(and some random awards from high school that don’t really matter)
Additional experiences: (in the order of commitment)
• ASIA multicultural organization e-board
• e-board on one of the biggest volunteer organization at Rhodes
• student employee, 10 hours/week at College Events
• A Capella soprano & taking one-on-one voice class
• Econ tutor
• Lobbyist for TISL (Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature) Rhodes College chapter
and some volunteers here and there
Rec letter:
academic: my advisor and another professor
professional: my supervisor
personal: a friend from Vandy
Reasons for transfer to VU:
- More prestigious and recognized, academics-oriented, more outstanding professors of various fields
- Stronger academic atmosphere,
- more rigorous and career-oriented courses
- Research opportunities for undergraduate students
- Greater diversity of student body
- Childhood education and HOD in Peabody college are not available at Rhodes
- Nashville: a beautiful and vibrant city (I took a summer course (cs 1101) over the summer. I really loved the city)
My future plan/interests/expectations for & after college:
- Data analyst, financial management, economic research
- Educational policy, education administration, educational entrepreneur
- Freelance blogger: help people overcome stress and depression, develop healthy lifestyle and find positivity in life
- freelance world traveler
Questions:
- I am still thinking about applying to another 1-3 schools just in case I do not get into Vandy eventually. I am very sure about Vandy because it is the only one I have been to so far (maybe I should visit some other schools???). Do you might have any recommendations of other universities based on my interests?
- Will VU professor’s rec letter be more convincing and helpful? I did a summer class at VU and the professor agreed to write me one. But there are also many other awesome professors in my school. I am a little conflicted. Can some current student help me answer this question?
Thank you guys for reading this! Please let me know if you have any advice or recommendations! Any help will be appreciated!! And I am happy to talk more with any current student or future transfer students or anyone else! Thanks!
@dwl00 - bro, you are fine. inhale and exhale. also it seems that gpa and extracurriculars vary for vanderbilt so relax.
you might wanna be more specific when it comes to why you wanna go to vandy because you have many points. only slight downfall is that you are an international student so that might be a slight hiccup. other than that, dont worry bout your stats - ur good. 
@heyigotnoclue heyy thank you!! I am kinda nervous that i will not get in, so i am planning to apply to a few other schools at the same time.
And yes I do feel like I need more specific reasons targeted at Vandy! Do you have any advice? (I am an Econ major and cs & education minor) 
Thank you!!
Are you transferring, too?
@dwl00 i got waitlisted last year so I am reapplying. hoping that waitlisted students get a slight leg up.
for me, I don’t think I’m… how shall I say… errr…up to par? to give advice on how to get in because getting into colleges through transfer is a crapshoot these days. So, we are different because I am coming in from a community college and out of state. I will also be a economics major (maybe that economics with history combo).
the only advice im giving is to avoid cc for like “rate me and my chances to get in” because at the end, you will find yourself in a big wormhole that you will struggle getting out of. obv if you want to share, no one is going to stop you but you are already a great student and comparing yourself to me (i can speak for myself lol), you are already a leg up on the fact that you are coming in from a four year and you have excellent stats
stats wise - if you want to know bout me, message me privately if you want 
side note - data analyst may sound great and have great perks but seeing how they are working like 15 hours a day, it’s pretty insane. shadow someone (because that is how i found out) and find out if that is REALLY what you want.
it scared me after shadowing someone for a month - gotta say, they have no sleep and that is important - dont mean like sleeping in but the average 6 hours a day. sorry side rant.
hahaha that’s true! I wasn’t planning to ask people to chance me anyways but thank you for saying that
i want to dm you but i couldn’t find anyway to do it. I think it’s because i am a new member that hasn’t replied 15 messages yet ;(
Good luck with reapplying!
@heyigotnoclue oops sorry i forgot to tag you for the last message.!
That’s a great suggestion. I’d like to know more about your shadowing experience. Could you try to dm me please?
hey guys me and my friend from Tulane are both applying to Vandy for transfer. I wanted to ask if it is more competitive for low income students… do you guys know?
Need blind for certain. Vandy Financial Aid ranks #1 or #2 for a reason. They are superb to work with.
As a matter of fact, I know Vanderbilt Admissions and Vanderbilt Financial Aid do not communicate on applications.
My daughter applied to Vanderbilt and her mother did not even submit the Financial Aid package (unbeknownst to my daughter), because my ex-wife incorrectly assumed Vanderbilt was too expensive to afford. Vanderbilt Admissions accepted my daughter, so they had no clue what the financial situation was. My daughter enrolled and paid the deposit.
The Vanderbilt Financial Aid chased my ex-wife down to get her to apply for financial aid after my daughter was accepted and confirmed she was attending! No way, Admissions could have known finances.
@bloomfield88 thank you so much!! I was worried about it affecting my application. I’m less nervous now haha.
Hey everyone, first time here. Just wanted to say with a 35 ACT, 3.8 high school GPA, 4.0 college GPA, I was feeling really confident about my admissions prospects until I started going through these threads–holy crap! I can’t believe so many people with the same stats or higher than me have been rejected! Is it really just a lottery at this point? I seriously regret looking at the rejection threads, because now I’m kinda depressed.
@RichMilwuakee08
Once you get into the <15% admit rate you have to meet certain minimum (i.e. excellent) criteria to get a seat at the poker table. Then, you just hope the dealer deals you a full house. The only way to increase the odds is to play several hands (i.e. apply to several reach schools).
I have two kids enrolled at Vanderbilt right now. We still have no idea why some unis rejected and others accepted. I can report they are both ecstatic they chose to attend Vanderbilt. I never in a million years thought they would end up at the same university.
I have a good friend who sent one kid to Duke, one to Stanford and one to Harvard. She said the one accepted to Harvard was denied by Stanford and Duke. The one accepted to Stanford was denied by Duke and Harvard. Similar situation for the one at Duke.
You have the excellent stats, so you should have a seat at the poker table. Play a few different hands.
@bloomfield88 Thanks for getting back to me. You have TWO kids at Vandy? Wow, you sure must have done something right! May I ask, in that case, what their academic profiles looked like and what you think specifically helped their applications the most? The reason I’m asking is that something tells me it comes down to framing (through essays and extracurriculars) once you reach a certain level of quantitative qualifications, and it would help me to know what an essay/extracurriculars/hook that gets someone into Vandy looks like.
Neither ever shared an essay with me. They did everything on their own and an essay is too personal to even let me read, I guess.
Hmm, it is a headscratcher as to why this school yes. That school no. Vanderbilt yes.
They are very different kids with different ECs. No legacies. Not a penny in donations, let alone millions.
I think the main difference between a Vanderbilt yes and at least a couple of the rejections, was I am positive being Asian Americans really hurt them at some schools. You do know how some colleges effectively take an Asian ACT score and lop off a few points. I really don’t think being Asian was an issue at all for Vanderbilt Admissions.
@bloomfield88 I just realized I gave you a weighted GPA with my school’s weird weighting system. It looks like I actually have a 3.697 GPA–is that disqualifying or significantly worse? Will that by any chance be rounded up, as in will their system recalculate that directly as a 3.7 or will the admissions officers at least think “3.7” when they read it? With a 35 ACT score, I wonder if the 3.69 changes whether I meet the basic “bar” for being seriously considered.
Sure, a 3.8 is better than a 3.7, but your 4.0 in college will count more than the 0.1 (or 0.103 to be exact) difference between those two numbers in high school.
Just put in your best effort on the application at Vanderbilt and elsewhere and see where the chips fall. Easier to say than to do, I know.
@RichMilwuakee08 - inhale and exhale - you are FINE. Have confidence you will get in. If it makes you feel better, I had a 1300 SAT and i got waitlisted. I suck at any type of tests (not a disorder, just hate that life’s decisions are based on one test)
@bloomfield88 - so, from what i have heard, and this is just me, i was told that when you APPLY, you are needblind but when you are WAITLISTED, then you become need aware. again, i dont know if that is true but from what the last year’s College Confidential, it…kinda seems true. again, dont take my word for it