<p>Caucasian
Male
Jewish
NJ
top 10 NJ ranked Public HS. </p>
<p>I'm a sophomore now, realizing that college is around the corner, i picked up my poor grades this marking period to mosly A's and some B's.Before this however, i struggled in some classes due to lack of effort. Last year I got some C's and a D average in Algebra 2/Trig.But truly believe I have turned it around and next year will hopefully make the honor or high honor roll, bringing my GPA up to about 3.2 or 3.3 cumulative. I really am open to learning whatever I can. i've been impressed by Vandy for a while. My stats are very low for Vandy in general but I did see on CB that there is 25% of students below 3.5 GPA. is there anything I can do to raise my chances?
Very intrested in one of these three majors: Business, Psych, Communications, or perhaps Sports Management.</p>
<p>My projected stats are:
3.2 GPA (not sure about w/UW, I take honors english this year-senior year, expecting to take AP classes senior year (Calc,Psych,Gov,Econ are possibilities)possibly taking honors history next year, and definetely taking honors business management next year)
SATs should be over 2000, i got a 1550 in 7th grade with no prep and not learning most of the material, and again with no prep got a 210 on my PSAT this year.</p>
<p>ECS:
Bowling Team Junior-senior year
Member of deca Junior-senior year
HS Rec basketball 4 years
Summer Camp Counselor 4 years
Big Brother Program participant
I worked as an Assistant at my mom's Real Estate Agency for a few years.</p>
<p>Alright thanks. I really believe I can pull off at least a 3.7 for next year. Will this put me in the running if I explain myself in essays, etc.?? Im a big fan of Vandy since visiting the campus a few years back.</p>
<p>To be honest you have less than 10% chance of getting in. People with that low of GPA’s have hooks like was stated earlier, or an outrageous SAT score(2300+) or 35 or 36 ACT. You are likely to have a subpar SAT score(below 2100) and a very very subpar GPA, with no unique qualities that admissions offices look for. Sorry</p>
<p>Oh for heaven’s sake, don’t listen to that nonsense. Of course you have a chance. Vast improvement in junior year would make you an excellent candidate. Admissions committees are familiar with kids who wake up junior year and start getting serious – my kids’ friends attest to that. Take the hardest classes your school offers, get good grades, prepare for SATs and you will be competitive with anybody. Getting As junior year after low grades in 9th and 10th is far better than As in 9th and 10th and a relatively weak junior year. You’ll see plenty of kids (and their justifiably proud parents) on this board who never got anything less than an A, ever. That kind of kid is extremely rare. Don’t even think about them. They get in anywhere and everywhere, and have to choose between HYP and $$$ anywhere else. They are as unusual as a top athlete. There is a lot of hype in college admissions and it’s not as hard to get into “top” schools as many kids think. Don’t give up without even trying!!</p>
<p>your PSAT 210 with zero prep is a good predictor that you can shine on standardized testing…some kids can ace those exams without prep…not my kids.</p>
<p>my sons self prepped for exams at home…try doing a Search on the Xiggi method on this board to get some ideas on how to focus on putting out your best results on the SAT or ACT…personally we believe in self prep rather than paying for review classes…you must understand an exam thoroughly to do well on it unless you are a rare bird</p>
<p>He says he can get a 3.7 next year. Getting a 3.7 all three years with those average (average for Vandy) test scores probably wouldnt be enough to get in. Mirimom lets stay realistic.</p>
<p>I would agree that GPA matters a lot for admissions decisions at Vandy and he is a long-shot but Vanderbilt, like all great institutions will read an application wholistically, and like mirimom, I prefer to point out to a new applicant their job of focusing on putting together the strongest application possible with who they are today. He should be looking at the common data set on admitted stats and he should be realistic and consider Vandy a Reach…and he should be applying to match colleges…however his profile is still forming…and as parents we are urging him to work on the next year with everything he has got</p>
<p>high test scores could show them that your were just slacking, then maybe write one of the essays about the moment you realized you had to change, and the steps you have taken to prove your good enough. its slightly cheese, but shows all the right qualities. rec letters could comment on how much you have grown and improved. my main suggestion would be to work as hard as you can the next few years. take all the honors/AP classes you can, and keep up your extra-curric. thats all you can really do. so much of the admission process is out of applicants control. just do your best and hope for the best</p>
<p>/\ thats one of the problems. My school/guidance counselor won’t allow me to take some Honors/AP classes unless i meet their obnoxious pre requisites; only A average students can take the given classes, which I obviously don’t have at this point. I am in Honors English and am appealing to AP Gov and Honors US and am taking HOnors Business Management as well.</p>
<p>You go to a public school and therefore can force yourself into whatever classes you want. If you do take that route, just make sure you know you can shine (not just believe) and am willing to work harder than you ever have to do so. You have two years to prove yourself. This is your chance. Vandy isn’t good enough to have roulette admissions, so if you don’t get in, it’s because you weren’t good enough.</p>
<p>I got in RD this year. I go to a really rigorous private school. My GPA was around a 3.6 cumulative (weighted) when I got in, which isn’t great. My SAT was a 2310 and I think my essays and interview went really well. However, my grades really were an upward trend. I had horrible grades (3 Cs) freshman year, lots of Bs sophomore year, but a 4.2 both junior and senior year (only one B+ over those 2 years, the rest were As), so I’m pretty sure they noticed that.</p>
<p>My son had the exact same thing as the OP but got in ED. He had O.K fresh soph years but really stepped it up his last two years all over 4.1 and 4.2 GPA’s. He also went to rigorous private school. I think they do notice the improvement. Go for it. His GPA was only 3.76.</p>