Vanderbilt admissions reality check

[Anonymous]

If it makes you feel better, DD has a friend who got in as a Sophomore transfer who would not have gotten in a high school, went to a school akin to Tulane freshman year. I think they are pretty transfer friendly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the college counselor is discouraging your kid, I would listen.

This....
maybe someone in past few years went back on an ED agreement? Or they admitted a lot for a few years, and no one attended...if so, it can have a lingering effect for next few cycles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looked up our Naviance stats for you. From NYC private school

(25-75 range)
GPA: 3.78-3.91
SAT: 1440-1540
ACT 31-35

Lower than many. I think they take who they want. We dont have a lot of posse or athletes.

Naviance section is down right now that shows how many admitted. (That's weird) but it's a few every year.

ED makes a big difference there. If he wants it, I think they should go for it. But that's my parenting philosophy more than college admissions knowledge.

I bet lots of those are test optional...

Maybe, but the GPAs would be included and 3.78 is strong from our school, but below what naviance looks like for Ivies, etc

[Anonymous]

Same poster, I’ve had four members of extended family attend Vandy within past 15 years or so, different sides of family so only one was legacy. They all really liked school. Outcomes were solid but not amazing (one is in a non-physician healthcare role, two in business jobs, not IB, and one attended a law school outside the top 20). There is definitely grade inflation at Vandy.

Looked at Vandy with my own child, and experienced multiple parents of current students berating admissions officers during info session about sibling legacy and then correcting student tour guides (this was during Family Weekend). At this point in time, I think the school is over rated.

[Anonymous]

I looked at the data with the college counselor from our top private school and with almost every other top 20 school there is literally a GPA line (which varies by university but stays consistent between applicants to the university). So much so that if you are top3-5 in the class or have a GPA over XX.XX you can pretty much count on getting into your choice of HYP. Not Vanderbilt. They are the one outlier. College counseling says that they can't figure them out.

[Anonymous]

it was the one school where my own baseless idea of the school was so different than the actual school once I visited.

BUT .. I believe in supporting kids who have a good chance. What are we teaching our kids when we say, go for the safe bet. This is in many ways the last real decision we guide and I say follow your heart.

Let's be honest, this kids ED2 or RD options will be just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does Vanderbilt value in applicants and how do they evaluate fit? Kid really wants to ED but school counselor steering my kid away from vanderbilt ED, indicating high rejection rate of top students in past and unpredictable outcomes. Strong ny private school with excellent college placement but few kids accepted by vanderbilt in past, relative to other top schools. Kid has strong grades/test scores/EC in academic area of interest (although u don't apply by major there). Maybe my kid reflects what they want, or maybe not? Trying to assess if worth the ED or try for somewhere else with more predictable track record from our school. Appreciate any insight and experience from others.

DD rejected ED 2 but TO with high grades and IB Diploma. Girl from her class going who had high test scores and grades. I know worked at country club as waitress and on sports so nothing crazy.

[Anonymous]

a lot of this stuff is decided on the whim of a 25 year old reader with two days of training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does Vanderbilt value in applicants and how do they evaluate fit? Kid really wants to ED but school counselor steering my kid away from vanderbilt ED, indicating high rejection rate of top students in past and unpredictable outcomes. Strong ny private school with excellent college placement but few kids accepted by vanderbilt in past, relative to other top schools. Kid has strong grades/test scores/EC in academic area of interest (although u don't apply by major there). Maybe my kid reflects what they want, or maybe not? Trying to assess if worth the ED or try for somewhere else with more predictable track record from our school. Appreciate any insight and experience from others.

Strong Private with excellent college placement and counselor steering you away? You are looking for advice from an anonymous online forum that you’d use to override that recommendation?

Sure. Go ahead and have your kid apply ED.

[Anonymous]

eh, my kid goes to a very strong private school and we have a team of college counselors. the school invests in it. and yet, some are better than others even here.

also, that team wants what's best for the pool. they ultimately answer to admin about the entire cohort. so they lean into brokering and protect their downside, two things I care nothing about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is fascinating because our Big3 also told us that Vanderbilt is the most unpredictable top15 school they deal with. They can generally predict the Ivies, Northwestern, Chicago, etc. but Vanderbilt is a complete crap shoot, regardless of how impressive a kid is (and how high their grades are).

My very high stats kid gave him/her 3 schools and he/she advised against Vanderbilt in favor of the other two.

It isnt a top 15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:a lot of this stuff is decided on the whim of a 25 year old reader with two days of training.

This… always remember the audience. Know who your regional admissions officer is and what demographic they likely represent. True for any school.

[Anonymous]

I keep reading that Vandy is playing a weird game right now - trying all sorts of things to push themselves up the rankings.

For better or worse, this increases unpredictability. I’d listen to your counselor and ED elsewhere. If that doesn’t work out, apply to Vandy along with your DCs other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same poster, I’ve had four members of extended family attend Vandy within past 15 years or so, different sides of family so only one was legacy. They all really liked school. Outcomes were solid but not amazing (one is in a non-physician healthcare role, two in business jobs, not IB, and one attended a law school outside the top 20). There is definitely grade inflation at Vandy.

Looked at Vandy with my own child, and experienced multiple parents of current students berating admissions officers during info session about sibling legacy and then correcting student tour guides (this was during Family Weekend). At this point in time, I think the school is over rated.

+1
Not really getting the many posts about this school all of a sudden. Is it because they won a game? So bizarre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep reading that Vandy is playing a weird game right now - trying all sorts of things to push themselves up the rankings.

For better or worse, this increases unpredictability. I’d listen to your counselor and ED elsewhere. If that doesn’t work out, apply to Vandy along with your DCs other schools.

The private school kids we know (non-DMV) who successfully got into Vanderbilt in last cycle:

ED admits - big $$$ families or national ranking in individual EC/sport were admitted ED; some deferred to RD (and then admitted)
RD admits - the same kids who REA to ivies, but were deferred also end up getting into Vanderbilt, Northwestern and Duke RD (so great stats, stories, passions, leadership).