<p>Does Vanderbilt have a supplement to the common app? What is it like?</p>
<p>TIA.</p>
<p><a href=“http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/forms/CommonApp2011_FINAL.pdf[/url]”>http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/forms/CommonApp2011_FINAL.pdf</a></p>
<p>This is last year’s supplement. It is my assumption that this year’s shall be very similar, if not the same.</p>
<p>Am I missing something or is there no additional essay???</p>
<p>There is no additional essay. At least not for this past year.</p>
<p>Interesting. Is Vandy the only top 20 school that doesn’t require a supplemental essay?</p>
<p>And their application cost is significantly lower than other top schools. I guess that’s one of the ways to attract applicants, although people may agrue that point.</p>
<p>Hey–Vanderbilt was not even on my daughter’s radar (even though I am a grad) but fall of her senior year Vandy mailed a paper application to her, unsolicited, and when I saw there wasn’t an additional essay I convinced her to apply for the heck of it (she hadn’t visited at that point). She got in, toured campus & loved it and they offered her the best FA package of the 5 schools to which she was admitted; she is now a rising junior, Dean’s List and enjoying school! You never know how it will work out ;-)</p>
<p>I do remember a smile coming across my D’s face at Vandy’s no supplemental essay application. Their ADCOM seems to do just fine without an additional 60,000 essays to read.</p>
<p>I wish I could hit the “like” button for LHS Carey’s story. In a similar vein, our son put Vandy as “last” on his list because he was hung up on wanting to be on a campus with less Greek life. The recession hit his fall term senior year (rendering private pay schools further down our affordable list) and I asked him to apply to Vanderbilt’s merit offerings in December, after the shock of watching the crash subsided a bit, and assured him that Vandy/Nashville as a combo offers a healthy life for independent students (we lived there twice as adults and grad students ourselves).
Sooo…he had to get an extra recommendation or two for the merit programs during the last few days of senior fall, which was unpleasant for me at least since it was clear to us he didn’t want to go there and in fact we had not even taken him to see Vandy till MLK weekend senior year. (Hated asking overworked, exhausted teachers to write letters for kids who are wishy washy and not completely devoted to the college in question). To my surprise, his reference writer declared that she was positive he had a good shot! (not true my friends on CC, he had the usual 1-2% shot, but blessings on her regardless because she wrote him a wonderful recommendation.) </p>
<p>I was around when he hit send that last night at midnight because I was reading out my credit card numbers for his fee. As all seniors become once they hit “send” on their reach and match college apps, he was bleery and had so many permutations going in his head re how things would play out that he put Vandy out of his mind. We did take him to see it in January and what do you know, he realized that the scope of the campus felt great to him…big school with big resources and small classes in a truly fun city. </p>
<p>One late night in March, we saw on CC that people were posting that they got their rejection emails from the CV and Chancellor’s apps, and son went to bed, expecting his upon awakening.
About 10am the next day, I realized that if he had not gotten rejected, he might have been selected. And indeed he called me that morning from school with an acceptance letter as a Chancellor’s Scholar. </p>
<p>Now that the entire class at Vandy has top test scores, grades etc, it always surprises me that more students don’t do the merit essays. It is true that Vandy’s financial aid is excellent for those who will require much financial aid in grants but for families looking at flagship colleges vs full price or closer to full price…it is my opinion that everyone who has something to say or to express about how they might use a four year education at Vanderbilt…should do the merit essays --as if they are supplemental. When there are 28 thousand applicants of near equals, the essays allow you to speak and to introduce yourself even if only serving to help you re admittance decisions.</p>
<p>Tired seniors can sometimes shun yet another onerous essay challenge. I remember my eldest going cross eyed at the essays at the U of Chicago and at Brown eight years ago. But my advice is to stay home winter break and let them rest a few days and tackle these rewrites and essays the last days of December. You have to create some peace and some space for thinking and reflection so do not over plan this winter break seniors in high school. Make room for your mind and thoughts. Throw your hats in!</p>
<p>We met a few kids on our admitted student’s visit that had a similar story…only applied to Vandy because it was a Common App school and didn’t have a supplemental essay…only when they received their financial aid package did they decide to visit! These were kids choosing between Cornell, Cal, Notre Dame, WUSTL, and in my own son’s case, Carnegie Mellon SCS (one of his top choices), and Duke. </p>
<p>I agree with Faline…I felt the merit scholarship essay gave him a chance to sell himself. He didn’t get the scholarship, but it might have earned him a second look. </p>
<p>@APkid3…Duke only had a one paragraph essay on their supplement.</p>
<p>I am an incoming Freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, and I submitted a supplementary essay despite no requirement. My local Vanderbilt admissions officer stated that the admissions committee may or may not review the extra essay; but it can’t hurt sending one if you already have one written.</p>