<p>I have gotten my 5th email from vandy telling me about the school, why I should apply and whatnot. </p>
<p>I was told that this is just a ploy to get more applicants/money, and that it in no way indicates Vanderbilt interest in me or increases my chances of acceptance. </p>
<p>Is this true? It seems very cruel to lead someone on just to take their money, boost your acceptance rate and then reject them.
I really don't want to apply if they are just enticing me so they can screw me over later on. </p>
<p>Posterguy–I think you’re taking this wrong. Vanderbilt, like any school, is trying to broaden its applicant base. They must have found out some things about you that makes you a good potential applicant. Take it as a compliment!</p>
<p>The money for the application in the scheme of things is too small to matter. That’s not why they want you to apply. In order to find real gems, you’ve got to do a lot of prospecting. Consider yourself a gem waiting to be discovered! Conversely, think of yourself as a prospector looking for gems. Vandy might be that gem for you!</p>
<p>And of course, although they are inviting you to apply, that does not increase your probability of admittance at all. If you view a rejection as being screwed over, then don’t apply, because even though I’m sure you’re an excellent student, with a 10% acceptance rate at Vandy, there’s still a substantial chance that you won’t get accepted.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is extremely common practice among most private universities these days, especially if you’ve scored well on the psat/sat/act. It’s not just Vanderbilt. Students can end up feeling duped when they are rejected by a school that marketed to them so heavily. The best approach is just to ignore the email “noise” from Vandy and other schools. Instead, figure out your chances for the schools that interest you by comparing your stats with admitted students from your high school (via Naviance) as well as the college’s current freshman profile, which is almost always available on its website.</p>
<p>Pretty common amongst top schools. Hell, Harvard sends out entire applications in the mail to people who have never expressed any interest. Kinda new for Vandy. It’s unusual to be contacted that many times… Perhaps something about your profile indicates a good fit for Vandy? Either way, I wouldn’t take it to seriously. Vandy just wants their name out there and is trying to reach people who might not otherwise apply.</p>
<p>Vandy is ranked #58 in CompSci I think. Not incredible, but good. Obviously better schools out there for CompSci, but Vanderbilt has a lot more to offer than just that program ranking.</p>
<p>I didn’t even score very well on the sat relative to Vanderbilt standards. </p>
<p>Could it have something to do with me being African? I can’t think of any reason for an elite like Vanderbilt to want me to apply so badly. That is why I am so sure they will reject me if I do, perhaps they read my scores incorrectly…</p>
<p>call Vandy and ask to speak to your admissions representative and feel him or her out about vandy’s interest. If he or she doesn’t know who you are, that might tell you something about Vandy’s interest. This could be a good opportunity, and a phone call might tell you if it’s worth pursuing. Always give people the benefit of the doubt, OP, and check them out. Sometimes they’re genuine. Good luck. Oh, there’s probably quite a few people in this forum who would like to know your outcome :+)</p>
<p>that’s just a graduate school ranking. I would assume it’s decent for undergrad if only because of the engineering school. Usually the departments that “support” decent engineering schools end up solid themselves. I wouldn’t let that rank dissuade anyone unless a certain caliber of research project or something (meaning, that the engagement in that particular department is maybe more important than what else is going on at the school; you know, the person is really into it) is really important to the person. In such a case, I would maybe look into more engineering biased schools.</p>
<p>When you take the PSAT or the PLAN test, the schools receive the information that you took the test–they don’t receive your score or any information about your grades. From that information, they know that you likely are a good student, because only motivated students take the PSAT and/or the PLAN. This gets you on the mailing and emailing list for the top schools, who really know nothing yet about whether you would have a chance for admission. Once you are on the list, the mailings continue until you graduate. So, unfortunately, although the mailings make you feel as if the school really wants you there, they really just indicate that the school has identified you as the type of student (one who takes the PSAT or PLAN) who ordinarily applies there. My son, who is a B+ students, regularly gets mailings and emails from Yale, Columbia, Penn, etc., although we know he’d have no chance of admission there.</p>
<p>My daughter gets emails from vanderbilt, seton hall and numerous others and I do believe it has some relation o her act score. Always get more each time she takes it. Seton offered a fee waiver to apply. If she had a dollar for every augastana college contact she’d have her first year at college paid for. She gets emails on average of two per day and the same in the mail from schools she has not contacted and in some cases has never heard of.</p>
<p>Posterguy, you said you are from Africa, correct?
It is very likely that you are among students from a target region for the admissions office. Vanderbilt has been seeking more internationals, and is trying to diversify our international students community (there is a clear predominance of Southeast Asians and Chinese students over other nationalities on campus). And I suppose they might be a little more flexible regarding their standardized test parameters when reaching out and admitting intl. students from target regions.
Don’t be skeptical, especially if you are an international. Trust yourself.</p>
<p>I’ve got 9 emails from Vandy within the last two years (7 being from this year). While I am from a relatively desired/needed region (Hawaii), I’m not taking it as meaning too much. What I’m assuming is that the emails mean that I scored well enough on the ACT, SAT, and PSAT to be considered for admission at Vanderbilt, but not much more. </p>
<p>Remember, once you score at a certain range, your scores won’t hold nearly as much value as other parts of your application. I’m going to echo dayisdone and assume that your getting emails because 1. you’re from a desired region and 2. your score DO stand a chance.</p>
<p>My son got email/snail mail from Vandy encouraging him to apply; I assumed it was due to decent PSAT/PLAN/ACT scores, and perhaps because his sister is a junior there. I was hoping he would apply, since for middle class families like ours it is one of the most generous schools around with financial aid, but he has no interest in being in Nashville, even though he would overlap by a year with his sister. He got a t-shirt from U of Chicago and never even expressed any interest in going there!</p>
<p>I am not sure about the racial tolerance in Nashville honestly.
Unfortunately I cannot visit and I have never been to the south so everything I know about TN are things I have learned on the Internet or from others.</p>
<p>Googled a lot of previous thread on CC and a lot of people say there is a lot of self segregation in Vanderbilt, something I am really not used to.
Hopefully you guys can offer some input</p>
<p>I think you are reading far too much into this. These emails are just marketing/advertising and are apparently successful in your case - it seems you would not otherwise have gone this far in considering the school. Vandy, like all schools, wants to drum up as many applications as it possibly can. The fact you are on this email distribution list does not imply your chances of admission are higher than any other applicant. </p>
<p>If your test scores are low for Vanderbilt, don’t let these emails fool you into thinking your scores don’t matter or will be overlooked. Vanderbilt is holistic but successful applicants tend to have very high scores and be near the top of their HS class. </p>
<p>Being African and/or black (from your posts your status is not clear) may help you a bit in admissions, but those are far less important factors than your academic qualifications.</p>