<p>Currently, my chances are only average, and indefinite on acceptance to Vanderbilt, but I have heard that applying Early Decision can up to triple your chances of being accepted, and their net price calculator puts me in a very comfortable financial position, so I would have no trouble paying.</p>
<p>So, I want to know, as someone who would interested in either a Business or Engineering major, what about Vanderbilt is so great that I should apply Early Decision? (P.S. I love the campus, the price, and the feel to the school, but I want to know more academically why I should go there over say, Notre Dame for business or Georgia Tech for engineering)</p>
<p>ED doesn’t triple your chances, that’s a great example of drawing the wrong conclusions from statistics. ED applicants do have higher acceptance rates, but they also self-select quite well. Want proof? Here are the stats for the 2013 ED admits, compare with all admits (no significant difference):</p>
<p>3,248 ED applications
Middle 50% SAT: 1400-1540
Middle 50% ACT: 32-34
% in top 10% of HS class: 93.43%*
Early Decision Admit Rate: 21.18%</p>
<p>Whether or not VU fits you well is of course a personal decision. Both Eng & A&S have strong reputations, and require students to work hard if they want to do well. That said, GeorgiaTech is also very good, just different. Not quite as nice a campus or environment, perhaps. I don’t know much about Notre Dame.</p>
<p>Once you’re considering elite colleges, unless it’s like HYPSM which are in a league of their own, academics shouldn’t even be a big consideration. The differences between schools like Vandy, Rice, ND, Cornell, Duke etc. in terms of undergraduate academics are negligible. Employers aren’t going to differentiate between them, and the name on your degree won’t mean anything after a few years after graduation anyway.</p>
<p>Finding a school that fits is what is important. These four years could just be a transition between school and a career, or they could be the best four years of your life.</p>