Worth it to apply ED?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

Recently, i visited Vanderbilt for a PreVU day and absolutely fell in love. The woman who gave the Peabody school presentation showed me that’s where I belong. To make it even better, it gives me 20k more in aid than many other schools I’ve looked at, making it very affordable for my family. It is definitely my number one school as of now, and the more I read about it, the more I like it. However, I don’t know if I have good enough stats to make it worth it to apply ED. My guidance consular hasn’t been much help in giving me guidance, so do you guys think it’s worth it for me?

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 34 C, (32E 36M 33R 35S), 35 if you superstore
SAT HBKJGX: Physics: 610, Chemistry 720, US History 710, waiting on Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Weighted GPA: 4.59
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 13/204 (top 10%)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics 1 (3), Chemistry (4), APUSH (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Calc AB, AP Lang, AP Government, AP Statistics, Honors Spanish 5
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Presumptive National Merit Honorable Mention
Bronze award for service sophomore year, gold junior year

Subjective:

Extracurriculars:
Volleyball 4 years (freshmen, jv, two years varsity, captain as a senior)
Softball 4 years (freshmen, jv, two years varsity hope to be named captain)
Key Club 4 years (most amount of points/volunteer hours recorded as a junior)
Harvard Model Congress 2 years
Student-Principal Advisory Committee 2 years
National Honor Society (2 years)
Club Volleyball (3 years)
Travel Softball (4 years)
PGC Leader (very competitive peer leader program for juniors and seniors only in my hs) (2 years)

Job experience:
I babysit a lot, at least once a week during the school year, and for a few weeks during the summer I babysit for a family for 4 hours everyday.
I umpired for little league softball this past spring

Volunteer:
Have been volunteering in the pediatric wing at a local hospital 2 times a month since last summer
Volunteered throughout this past winter and during the spring when I didn’t have softball after school twice a week for an hour each day tutoring ESL children at a local elementary school, I also tutored a freshmen boy during my study halls every week
In the summer I volunteer for 12 hours a week for three weeks at the same elementary school helping ESL and special needs kids
In the spring I volunteer for a few hours each Saturday morning helping kindergarten girls learn how to play softball, also helped coach a team and give pitching lessons this past spring
Various other activities throughout the year, such as special olympics bowling events through Key Club

Summer Activities: Volunteering at the
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Most likely will be around 7-8, have a few different ideas, probably centered around my love of helping children
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
(Predicted)
Teacher Rec #1: 9, Junior English teacher, started off the year not doing so well, but I worked very hard and spent a lot of time in extra help with her, though I still was only able to end with a B+
Teacher Rec #2 8, Biology teacher junior year, most involved in the class, asked a ton of questions, really loved the class and I think she saw that, excelled overall int he class
Counselor Rec: 8, she’s a bit crazy and we’ve had some issues because she always thought i was taking too hard of classes, but I’ve been able to prove her wrong and I think she respects my hard work
Additional Recommendation: none
Interview: hopefully

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Child Development in the Peabody School
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
School Type: small-medium sized public (roughly 850 total) but in a very wealthy, upper middle class area
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 100-115,000 but
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Thanks for reading! Do you think it’s worth it for me to apply ED?

2

You would have a very good chance at getting in ED. You would still have a solid chance at RD depending on the quality of your rec letters/essays, but you might get hit with a waitlist or rejection since it’s less predictable and seemingly more rigorous.

If you and your parents have looked into the net price calculator and are comfortable with committing to that financial aid situation, and you’re sure it’s your number one choice, it would be worth it. You would move from a solid, could-go-either-way RD applicant, to a very likely ED applicant.

3

Definitely apply ED if that’s your guaranteed first choice and if you’re satisfied with the net price. I think you can get in.

4

Your SAT 2 scores are kinda low, but I think if you really work on your essays you’re in.

5

I think you have an awfully good chance. Remember that nothing is a guarantee. But if forced to bet on your ED odds, I’d bet admit. A deferral is the worst they’ll throw at you - 99.999% sure you wouldn’t get rejected ED. If it’s your first choice, I would absolutely go for it :slight_smile: GOOD LUCK!

6

If you would choose Vandy over any other acceptance – HYPSM, other Ivies and equivalents (of which Vandy is one…) – and if the NPC indicates that you and your family could afford it without taking on too much debt, then yes, go ahead and apply ED.

Just make sure you prepare a list of other reaches/matches/safety(-ies) that you like and can afford, just in case Vandy doesn’t work out.

7

I think the above advice is something to consider, but you have already fallen in love with Vanderbilt and feel good about going there. Do not make the mistake of acquiring a lust for one of the HYPSM, which are not only potentially more expensive for you (or at least comparable), but far more selective. You are not a super dooper competitive RD Vandy applicant. ED, yes, but look at the RD statistics from 2020 on the Vandy admissions blog - unreal. So, if you fall in love with HYPSM, then go ahead and consider it, but do not apply SCEA/REA/EA to one of them and then waste your early plan at Vanderbilt. If your heart truly says Vandy, and you can afford it, don’t risk it.

8

You have an excellent chance of being accepted to Peabody ED (imho).

Peabody is a bit different from Arts and Sciences in that the adcoms like to see that you have already demonstrated interest in the field to which you are applying. Peabody doesn’t allow any “undecideds” regarding major of interest (although they do allow you to change your major after acceptance), so adcoms are trying to pick the best people for each program of study.

Your extensive volunteering with children, focused primarily on education, is what will really stand out and impress the adcoms. Your excellent test scores, GPA, and other ECs will demonstrate that you will be an asset to the Vanderbilt community.

DD accepted Vanderbilt (Peabody-Cognitive Studies major with a double major in MHS in Arts & Sciences) over Yale. We had a very similar financial situation to yours, and Vanderbilt’s financial aid package was superior to Yale’s by several thousand dollars.

As others have said, just make sure Vanderbilt is really your “first and best love” before applying ED.

9

I forgot to mention in my post, each of the four Vanderbilt schools has a certain number of merit scholarships to award. Some of these DO go to ED applicants, and I think you’d actually have a shot at getting one from Peabody. CERTAINLY don’t count on it, they’re super competitive, but it’s most certainly a possibility for you.

10

Thank you all so much for responding!

@Senior2016M especially, thanks for all the advice! Do you know where I can find information for those scholarships? So far i can only find Peabody graduate level scholarships.

11

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/scholarships/
right-hand side you’ll see CV, ingram and chancellor’s.

12

They are in the middle of the pack for Vanderbilt stats wise in RD (not bad, because just based upon stats, Vanderbilt is almost impossible to gain admission to), and Vanderbilt is much more stats. sensitive than even HYPSM which have similar stats and certainly other places that rank very highly with lower stats like Stanford. However, I don’t know many other elite schools that offer a serious equivalent of Peabody to undergraduates. Maybe Penn, Cornell, or Chicago have something like it (or larger school like USC, Berkeley, or ones with more blatant pre-prof. offerings like ND)? The OP shouldn’t be randomly lusting after HYPSM if the atmosphere and academic offerings at places like those are not even similar to Vandy’s. The top tier Ivies (and Ivy Plus) are not a fit for everyone believe it or not and I wish people would stop giving them applications “just because”. If they have actually fallen in love with Vanderbilt over other schools they visited, I would apply ED IF they can afford it and then look at a serious contender that fits that may have an ED2 round.

13

Both my girls applied to VU, the oldest RD (she was waitlisted, ended up going to State U for a year, then accepted as a transfer). The younger one applied ED, got accepted. Its a MUCH smaller pool you’re competing against. Still a daunting task, but if you’re sure I’d go for it. Their scores were almost identical, volunteer, experience very similar. <u oldest was higher ranked in her class, slightly higher GPA, one point lower ACT. Because My middle had gone for weekends, visited classes and clubs/events with her sister she knew 100% that was where she wanted to go. We were comfortable with it because the financial aid was so good (like you, it was better than any other schools). One has graduated and starting Med school, the other will be a senior. Both have been very happy with their decision. As parents, we are thrilled with how much they’ve grown and been challenged and feel that the research opportunities are unparalleled at this University (for education and medicine, in particular).

14

Vanderbilt is a reach school regardless, but you are in the range so definitely worth it to ED 1 for your best chance (23.6% vs 8.8% for class of 2020). Peabody is also slightly easier to get into then A&S and Engineering which is another boost.

https://virg.vanderbilt.edu/virgweb/fb.aspx?show=2

Vanderbilt also appears to like high test scores. Your 34 is great (they do not superscore ACT, so send your highest composite). Also, they don’t require subject test scores so only send if very high percentile ranks because they will be considered if you submit them. I’m not sure I would submit any scores below 90th percentile since they’re not necessary and don’t strengthen your application. I also would only self report AP scores 4 and above.

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/sat/sat-percentile-ranks-subject-tests-2015.pdf

Your GPA is good, especially in context with your rank. Both in the range. And you have meaningful ECs and leadership, which really make sense for a Peabody app. Definitely apply for their three signature merit scholarships and definitely take advantage of ED 1.

Also, Vanderbilt generally doesn’t defer ED. It accepts/rejects.

15

@twicearound Thanks for the correction about deferrals! I found out after I told OP that it was an accept/reject thing at Vanderbilt for every admission round. Which I think is better - deferrals at HYPM make it agonizing. Stanford does it right, since many many deferred applicants get in RD.

16

@twicearound I am curious your comment on the Vandy not requiring subject test scores so only send in if very high percentile ranks. You mention not sending in scores below 90th percentile. I was told that for my daughter, along with her 36 ACT and 6 AP tests (all 5s) she should send in her SAT subject scores and NOT worry about the percentiles. She happen to score 790 on math 2 and 770 in Chem (both are 77th and 80th percentiles, respectively). I was told that anything above 750 is amazing and not to worry on the percentiles for those tests. Even getting a perfect 800 on the Math 2 was a 81%…not sure I agree with you…Do you have any further thoughts??

17

@hcmom65 the students who take the subject tests are self-selecting since only the most competitive schools require/recommend subject tests. As a result, the percentiles are much more skewed than the SAT I since so few students take these tests. Your daughters scores are great and I would send them in along with self-reporting the AP scores. Scores of 700+ are definitely not going to be the reason for a rejection.

18

Thank you @sophie9999 I guess I would wonder that if she has a 36 ACT and perfect 5s on her Ap exams if sending the SAT 2 in would be “bad” if NOT required. She has a 770 in world history too. I just think it shows excellence in a well rounded individual. ( the WH is the 90 the percentiles I think).

19

@hcmom65

The general rule of thumb is to just send anything 750+. Your daughter is fine. have her send in all the scores. They’re all quite good. Having 2 good test scores in the same subject is better evidence of being a good student than having 1 good test score in the subject, and will be viewed as such by adcoms.

20

@hcmom65 Those scores are wonderful! Not sending them would be such a waste, as they would secure her competitiveness against all other candidates in the quantitative sense. She can go ahead and stop worrying about tests now - time to focus on essays and shaping the application’s narrative. They’ll take a good look at her with scores like that.