Vandy Chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I would be applying ED2

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 33 (M:35; E:35; R:32; S:31; W:32) one sitting
SAT II: Math II: 700 USH: 710 (probably wont send these)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): My school doesn’t do UW but weighted is 3.71 (obviously my largest flaw, but strong upward trend)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): only one I might send would be a 4 on APUSH
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Micro, AP Macro, AP AB Calc, AP Physics II, AP Lit, Honors Latin IV, Transformations
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Student Investment Fund 10,11 (Founder/President),
Varsity Golf 10, 11,12 (Co-captain),
World Affairs Club 9-12 (Chancellor),
Stock Market Club 9,10
Crew Team 9
Environmental Awareness Club 9, 10,
National Junior Classical League 11,12 (Consul)
WR Teen Board 11,12 (Officer)
RMHD Teen Board 9-12 (Officer)
NHS 11,12
Tutor for Middle School Students 12
Ex Libris Club 9,10, 11

Job/Work Experience:
-Summer Intern at a Private Equity Firm the summer after my Junior year
-Worked at a Veterinarian’s office the summer after my Sophomore Year

Volunteer/Community service: 375 hours cumulative since 9th grade

Summer Activities:
-Was 1 of 40 students chosen nationwide to attend TCU Investor Challenge for one week and take business classes taught by Professors at the University
-Have participated in the UT Dallas Online Top Trader Nationwide Competition for the past 2 summers and placed in the top 10 and 15th respectively of over 100 participants
-Went on a community service trip to new orleans the summer after my freshmen year to help rebuild the wetlands

Essays (rating 1-10, details): (9/10)- wrote about how I first became interested in trading stocks at a young age and how that hobby manifested itself into a much larger part of my life

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10- English teacher loved me and I consistently received A’s in the class
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10- Latin teacher, I was an active participant in this class and always maintained high grades
Counselor Rec: I don’t see why it would be lower than an 8/10
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: n/a

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Double Legacy, Grandfather and Uncle both attended Vanderbilt

2

bump

3

please give me some feedback. thanks

4

You have a good shot

5

Don’t make another thread please

6

As somebody else applying to vanderbilt (who probably has a worse chance than you) your shot at getting in seems iffy. You’re just below average in the gpa, test score, and ECs are good but average for a school like Vandy. You also don’t really have a substantial hook because I think legacy only applies in ED1 as a hook (and not a huge one at that). Right now your chances are about as good as the acceptance rate IMO but with killer essays and recs, you might have a shot.

Annie is right though, maybe chill with the threads for a bit.

7

@Alundari Thanks for the feedback! One thing though; I’m certainly below the average for GPA but for my ACT and I really below the average? I think a 33 would put me at Vanderbilt’s average if not even a little bit above the average.

8

bump

9

I’d say 33 is just about exactly average. Vandy’s required test scores are known to be pretty high.

10

The 33 might be average, but that GPA is probably on the low side.

11

@NickFlynn what about my ECs, I know they aren’t great but do you think they could at least take some of the focus away from my GPA?

12

Honestly, there’s nothing there that says “Hey, we have to have this guy!” but there aren’t any obvious weak points other than the GPA, so you’ve got a shot. The family connection can’t hurt, even if not technically considered legacy.

It’s all on your essay, supplements and what you can do with them, IMO.

13

Nothing “compensates”. They look at your whole application. If you ticks the boxes for the standardized tests, the ECs and write a very good essay with the good recommendations you think you have, it can offset your GPA, especially if you are showing a good upward trend. It doesn’t eliminate the issue but as an entire applicant, I’d say you are competitive. Not having a rank probably helps not highlight the GPA further.

14

@NickFlynn @HuzaifaElahi thanks for the feedback