<p>Excuse me, it is a 33. That makes it a lot better huh, in addition to everything else looking just like a normal Vanderbilt applicant who likely also has higher stats. What was a reach because of the “normal” ECs becomes a larger reach because the ACT is in the bottom quartile of admitted students. Would they fit and perform well at Vanderbilt, probably. Will they probably be selected, no. It pays to be at least touching one of the quartiles (or in between them) when applying to selective schools, especially if the EC’s are fairly typical for students applying/enrolled there. It’s really difficult to tell which schools really, really care about elements of essays and supplements of an application (if the school has it) and those who care far more about the statistics and incoming credentials. Beyond a certain threshold, certain schools can care about both almost equally, but I would at least always make sure I touch to the mid-50 range of either admitted or at very least, enrolled students (which is like a 32 at Vanderbilt, not terribly far from 31 indeed, but still) if I have stereotypical EC’s (which could be good, but just are indeed stereotypical) ECs and no hooks. Good essays will probably not save many students like this who are not up to par in stats for some schools. </p>