Vanderbilt University Class of 2023 Early Decision II Thread

Hey guys! I’m applying to HOD major at Vandy for ED2 and I thought maybe I should just start a thread. Feel free to post any questions and good luck to everyone who applied/is going to apply!

yup

What are your stats if you mind sharing ?

Hey! Just wondering if y’all are submitting the resume via the common app… there’s a few things that don’t fit into my activites section but not sure if it’s worth submitting my whole resume.

Hey ya’ll!

I’m debating whether to apply for early or regular decision. What are the advantages to ED 2 besides knowing earlier of your acceptance/rejection?

@all4lax Hey sure! My stats are kinda low for Vandy but I thought I’m just gonna share them anyway… International student here. Have a 34 act and 116(out of 120) toefl. 800 sat2 math 2. Have a 4.2/4 GPA. But didn’t submit any APs.
I hope my ECs and essays can help me with my low gpa:)

@striving123 Yeah I’m applying via commonapp. I’m kinda confused on what you mean by “a few things that don’t fit into my activities section” tho.

I am planning on applying ED2 to Vanderbilt this January. Before I start, thanks for taking the time to do this for me, I greatly appreciate it. Here we go…

Academics:
Act: 34 Composite (Reading: 36, English: 34, Math: 33, Science: 34, Writing: 8)
SAT: N/A
SAT Subject Tests: Took them, but did not turn out well, so I am not submitting them.
Class Rank: 1st quintile (My school ranks in increments of 20%, hence quintiles and I have about 220 kids in my grade)
GPA: Unweighted: 3.85 Weighted: 4.45 (My senior year grades are not included, but if they were, the GPA would be higher)
Course Load: Overall, not the most rigorous path at my high school. However, from freshman to senior, the rigor of my courses has drastically increased (along with my grades), ultimately giving me one of the hardest schedules available for my junior and senior courses. By the end of senior year, I will have taken 6 AP courses with almost all the rest being honors. I am not submitting any AP tests.

Distinctions:
-Honor Roll (All 4 years) and High Honor Roll - (2 years) (School recognition easy to achieve)
-Part of the #1 High School Baseball Team in the entire state of New Jersey
-National Honors Society (Junior and Senior Year)
-Spanish National Honors Society (Senior year)
-Spanish Seal of Biliteracy (Shows my proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking a foreign language)
-Bilingual (Not counting Spanish) - I speak English and Aramaic (Middle Eastern Language similar to Syrian)

Extracurriculars:
-Soccer - 2-year varsity letter recipient
-Baseball - 2-year varsity letter recipient and the team is currently ranked #1 in the state of NJ
-Karate/Martial Arts - Have spent 14 years studying martial arts. Have earned my black belt. Participate in numerous fighting and technique tournaments as well as co-instruct classes. I wrote about this and winning the state championship for baseball as my common app essay
-Soccer Referee - Have been an official for 4 years. I am a center and line ref for travel and recreational soccer.
-Volunteer Camp Counselor - Worked as a camp counselor for multiple camps during the summers of my high school years.
-Head counselor (paid) - Eventually became a head counselor at one of the camps I worked at and I was paid.
-Worked as a Landscape Laborer (Paid)- My Father owns and operates a landscaping business that I have intensely worked for over the last 4 years. I was a part of a 3-man crew that built walkways, installed sprinkler systems, conducted yard work, carried out construction, etc)
-Peer Leader - This is a select group of juniors and seniors that basically help freshman ease into the high school lifestyle. Each leader meets with a group of freshman each week for the entire year and gives them advice, answers questions, and familiarizes them with their surroundings.
-Member of Interact - Club that carries out numerous community service acts like toy drives, food baskets, fundraisers, etc.
-Member of the STEM league - An engineering and math competition team that travels to competitions and faces off against other schools in construction and engineering tasks.
-Volunteer Firefighter for my Town - 2 weeks every month, I go to my towns fire department and basically aid the firefighters. Also responsible for setting up town decorations (For example, for the upcoming holidays, I helped set up the town Christmas tree and lights around town).

Additional Info:
Gender: Male
Race: White/Middle Eastern
Did I visit?: Yes
Letters of Rec: Chem Teacher (Ok) and Computer Science Teacher (Great) and Guidance Counselor (Great)

@TTRan2 Your chances will be much better…

@TTRan2 It is not certaintly easier doing early decision 2 I heard. The ED 2 pool could be more competitive than regular decision and also have less spots since they are taken from ED I.

what is the highest your gpa can be… a 5.0? @yjliu

I think I am going to ED II to Vandy after getting deferred ED from Penn. I have a 97 GPA, 34 ACT (35 superscore) and am a 2-year EIC of my school newspaper. I’ve played 3 years of varsity basketball and started a local basketball training business my freshman year and have made +$10,000. I have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall and was violin II section leader at Area All State orchestra. I wrote my common app about my different leadership experiences in my activities. I think I’m just gonna apply to A + S but I’m not sure how much of a shot i have here, I’ve heard it’s similar to Harvard in its admissions process

I think I am going to ED II to Vandy after getting deferred ED from Penn. I have a 97 GPA, 34 ACT (35 superscore) and am a 2-year EIC of my school newspaper. I’ve played 3 years of varsity basketball and started a local basketball training business my freshman year and have made +$10,000. I have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall and was violin II section leader at Area All State orchestra. I wrote my common app about my different leadership experiences in my activities. I think I’m just gonna apply to A + S but I’m not sure how much of a shot i have here, I’ve heard it’s similar to Harvard in its admissions process

I don’t know if I should apply ED II to Vandy or apply regular. I applied ED to Duke and was rejected. I’m strongly considering. If anyone could offer some insight whether or not I should it would be greatly appreciated. Also, are subject tests recommended for Vandy because I’m submitting my ACT and my subject test are not great.

I scored 700+ on my three subject tests and my guidance counselor said if you’re applying to top schools with 700+ on them, submit them. I think I will submit mine to Vandy

i think unless it is like a 750 or higher it won’t help much. They can help but not hurt you and if they aren’t extremely high there isn’t a point in submitting them @pancakes142

@all4lax I honestly don’t know because my school doesn’t calculate gpa on a 4.0 scale so I just calculated it myself and it can be inaccurate.

@pancakes142 agree I say don’t submit them unless you score 750+

@Vaquita Hey I think you should think about whether Vanderbilt is your first choice and whether you really like the school or not, considering ED II is binding.

how many B’s did you get and do you have AP ? @yjliu