<p>Hello all! I am currently a sophomore at a four year university and am planning on applying to Vanderbilt as a transfer for my junior year. I will not be applying till the beginning of next semester (around Feb/March of 2014).</p>
<p>I am getting an early start on the process because I want to maximize my chances of getting accepted. This way, I can do everything in my power this upcoming semester to better my chances. </p>
<p>I have already read through multiple Vanderbilt transfer threads (and they have been a great help!) but I want to get a little more in detail and personal. With that said, anyone who has been accepted to Vanderbilt as a transfer will you please share with me your experience with the process? How you approached your essays? And what hooks you had that you believe helped you gain acceptance?</p>
<p>Also, anyone familiar with the transferring process, your input is welcome too!</p>
<p>they don’t have a supplemental essay. I just sent them the same essay every other school got w/the general transfer application and it worked out…no need to cater it specifically to Vandy…if you’re applying for FinAid you need to submit all that stuff in late Jan/early Feb</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply @yolocholo and huge congratulations. Do you mind sharing your stats?</p>
<p>Like yolocholo, my essay was general rather than Vanderbilt-specific, and I gained admission as well. A strong essay is written in your own voice, and it highlights specific reasons why you want to transfer. For example, I wrote about how my old school lacked a sense of community because it was located in a large city and many students rented apartments in different areas of the city rather than living on or near campus. The most important factor that admissions counselors will look at is your College GPA, so make sure you keep it as high as possible while still taking a good variety of courses. That said, Extra-Curriculars and Letters of Recommendation and High School stats will also play an important role, though high school stats are not as significant for junior transfers as they are for sophomore transfers. Here are my stats in case you want a basis…</p>
<p>High School:
GPA- 4.00 (4.2 weighted)
ACT- 28
ECs & Work Experiences- Bass Fishing Club, Foreign Language Club, Busboy</p>
<p>College
GPA- 4.00 (after 6 trimesters, so like you I was a junior transfer)
ECs & Work Experiences- Students for Education Reform, Concession Stand Employee</p>
<p>Also note that financial aid at Vanderbilt is very generous. I was extremely happy with my aid package.</p>
<p>Good luck! Admissions is steadily becoming more and more difficult for both freshman and transfer applicants, but if you are a strong applicant then I am sure you have a good chance!</p>
<p>I applied to several schools while I was trying to transfer out this past semester. Overall, Vanderbilt’s application process is the most rational and painless out of the other (top 20) schools I applied to. For example, Vandy believes in evaluating college work because it is the biggest determinant for how you will do the next 3 or 2 years. I’ve always thought of other school’s policies as odd contradictions. Many schools realize and accept the difficulty levels differ for secondary institutions and balance that by making gpa cutoffs for certain schools. For example, a student coming from Exeter with a 3.5 and a kid with a 3.9 from a public school in Hawaii are on the same playing field. With that said, these institutions seem to hold a lack of credibility for certain schools, but then through the transfer process hold these academics higher than actual college level course work. That has always seemed ridiculous to me. Apologize for the rant but it’s something that I have a lot of respect for in regards to Vanderbilt. They recognize this and believe your college work is of the upmost importance. This means that, especially as a junior transfer, you’re going to need high remarks. 3.7 or higher is ideal.
Vandy does not have a supplemental essay, which un-nerved me at the beginning of the process. HOWEVER, I contacted my admissions officer(Jessica Fourinash, I hope you get her she is awesome. She must be pretty good to say that about an admissions officer) and told her I felt that the application was not personalized enough. She told me I could send her a supplemental essay on why Vanderbilt was a right fit for me. In the end, I never sent the essay because it was right around finals time and I had too much on my plate.
I really don’t know what else do say. If you have any other specific questions it would probably be easier than me rambling on about my experience. </p>
<p>My stats:
Current School: Top 100 Public University
Entering as: Sophomore
High School GPA: 3.1 W - I took all APs, but didn’t see the significance in wasting time on busy work. I focused on ECs that I enjoyed more.
College GPA: 3.8
SAT/ACT Scores: 28 Def lower than the freshman norm at Vandy
SAT II Scores: None
Significant ECs: </p>
<p>-High School Debate Captain/Two time national qualifier (finished in the top 30 teams in the country)
- 3 year law intern in high school
- President of Young Dems at my High School
- Radio DJ at my current school
- an editor for the News section of the radio station
- An intern at a domestic violence center near my current institution </p>
<p>Hooks: The main reason I got into Vandy was the difficulty of my course work. I took almost all upper level courses during this past year, including several 600 classes. I worked hard and Aced them all. </p>
<p>I’m also studying at Cambridge this summer towards my intended major.</p>
<p>Recs: One was probably alright from a TA and the other my high school debate coach who has known me for over four years.</p>
<p>Do you mind me asking what type of school you attended before being accepted to Vandy?</p>
<p>Yeah I’m really trying to focus in on the tone/voice I am going to use in my essay. However, I am going to write a Vanderbilt-specific essay. My GPA is solid and I am hoping it will only go up this next semester. Thank you for giving me specifics, it truly helps to get a better idea of how previous transfers approached the process. </p>
<p>Congratulations on both your admission and financial aid! I have a few friends who attend Vandy and they received extremely generous aid packages. I don’t even go to the school and I could go on and on about how wonderful it is.</p>
<p>I completely agree with you regarding Vanderbilt’s differences from the rest of the top 20 schools, and all schools for that matter. I truly admire them for the consideration they take when evaluating transfer applications. The school really does hold something special that separates them from the rest, even from the ivy’s. I have a few friends who attend Vandy whom I visited twice this past spring semester and both of those visits finalized my decision about applying as a transfer. The environment and community it assumes is one I don’t think you can beat. </p>
<p>I am planning on writing a Vanderbilt-specific essay. I want to be sure they know I am extremely interested and have every opportunity possible to explain why I believe Vanderbilt, specifically, is the right school for me (without overdoing it of course). So do you think a specific “why transfer” essay is enough? Or shall I make write a more non-specific essay, still a bit tailored to Vanderbilt, and then a more-specific supplemental essay? And Jessica Fourinash is my advisor as well! It’s great to hear good things about her. I have already contacted her but only with general questions. </p>
<p>My high school GPA is a little low as well, around the same as yours (non-weighted I believe). However, I had a significant amount of AP and honors classes too. I am just hoping that the significant increase in GPA from high school to college, my EC’s, and a kick-ass essay will be enough.</p>
<p>I agree with Shawshank. Your main common app essay should be general reasons you want to leave. Idk if you read the basic guide to transfer students available to you on the forum, but the common app essay should have concrete justifications for you transferring. For example, my courses don’t challenge me or the quality of education and resources are not good enough. I’m not saying you shouldn’t explain a social dilemma, but make sure your reasoning is diverse. You can do one of two things. a.) if you’re only applying to vandy, add why the school will help. For example, the anthropology department at my school got cut and Vanderbilt will be able to provide me with the education I will need for future pursuits… blah bblah blah… you see what I mean. b.) Just write a very objective common app that could be sent to any school and then send a specific essay to Jessica through email. EITHER WAY when mentioning Vandy you should make it very detailed and specific. Research departments and the faculty members in those departments and why you would want to take classes from them. These “why x school” essays need to be as specific as possible. Admission counselors want you to show your interest as much as possible. If you need a point of reference, I would be more than okay with sending you one of my essays.</p>
<p>Makes complete sense. I will definitely take heed in your advice when writing my essay/essays. I would appreciate it very much if you could send me one of your essays, it would be a great help. Thank you a million times! The only problem is I do not have fifteen posts yet so I am unable to PM. How do you want to go about this?</p>
<p>post more and pm me</p>