Vanderbilt admissions reality check

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in to respond to the PPs who are wondering why there’s so much interest in Vanderbilt.

For us, it’s not about the Alabama game. It’s that it fits all of DC’s criteria:

- strong academics, including includes majors and programs that interest DC (For us, “strong academics” means it meets our family’s broad cut re academics. From there, we’re focused on fit, not relatively small differences in rankings/prestige);

- beautiful, leafy, “traditional” style campus

- big sports to watch and a good club/intramural sport scene, including DC’s sports (both watching and playing are hugely important to DC)

- good weather/sunny in winter

- “Goldilocks” size (7,000 undergrad)

- not a hotbed of campus politics

- easy access to a navigable city but not actually IN the city

- enough off-campus food/shopping options in case DC ever feels stir crazy on campus

No one asked for this Vandy mom. The question is about what students Vandy is admitting and whether that’s changed in recent years.

I’m not a Vandy mom. My kid hasn’t applied yet (and will do so RD because of the uncertainty.)

I was responding to the multiple posters who literally asked why people were so interested in Vanderbilt anyway … and then guessed it was because of a single football game this past weekend. 🙄

Personally, I’m really frustrated with the school’s current approach to admissions. It seems opaque at best, and I can’t imagine why anyone would waste an ED on them … if if it fits all the kid’s criteria (like mine.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Do you hear yourself? What an insufferable human. Gross.

+1. It's the same old anti "woke" commercial every post seems to devolve into now on DCUM. And for the people claiming Vandy is attractive because of top sports, note baseball won a NCAA championship in 2019, but beyond that bowling is the only successful sports program.

Honestly, it is completely valid to want a college environment that isn't heavily influenced by politics, in either direction. I have political views that I am very vocal about, but my kid who shares the same views would not want a campus environment that is consumed with politics. She can still express them, advocate for them, etc without it being a day-to-day issue on her walk to class. It isn't anti-woke, it is a desire to engage in those "woke" issues/advocacy on her own terms.

Well-said. We’re a very progressive family, both in terms of our choice of work and our community commitments.

DC seems to share these values but does not want to live in that type of a campus community for four years. Different strokes for different folks.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, it is completely valid to want a college environment that isn't heavily influenced by politics, in either direction. I have political views that I am very vocal about, but my kid who shares the same views would not want a campus environment that is consumed with politics. She can still express them, advocate for them, etc without it being a day-to-day issue on her walk to class. It isn't anti-woke, it is a desire to engage in those "woke" issues/advocacy on her own terms.

Name 5 T30 schools where this is currently an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in to respond to the PPs who are wondering why there’s so much interest in Vanderbilt.

For us, it’s not about the Alabama game. It’s that it fits all of DC’s criteria:

- strong academics, including includes majors and programs that interest DC (For us, “strong academics” means it meets our family’s broad cut re academics. From there, we’re focused on fit, not relatively small differences in rankings/prestige);

- beautiful, leafy, “traditional” style campus

- big sports to watch and a good club/intramural sport scene, including DC’s sports (both watching and playing are hugely important to DC)

- good weather/sunny in winter

- “Goldilocks” size (7,000 undergrad)

- not a hotbed of campus politics

- easy access to a navigable city but not actually IN the city

- enough off-campus food/shopping options in case DC ever feels stir crazy on campus

This is actually a huge selling-point for Vanderbilt right now among local Jewish families. Many want their kid to go to a college that won't indoctrinate them with anti-Israel hatred and far-left politics. However, they want their kid to have a more prestigious degree than a random flagship southern school.

Vanderbilt is one of few elite private colleges that isn't hyper-political. In fact, Vanderbilt draws students that want a respected degree without having to be around wannabe activists all the time.

add Duke and Wake.

Wake? It is not even close to the top 20. Different conversation.

Which makes it a good target for high stat kids shooting for Duke and Vanderbilt in part because of their campus culture and southern location.

No, the schools are not at the same level. But we all recognize the unpredictability of the process these days.

(Even further off topic - what’s the true safety in this sequence: Duke, Vanderbilt, Wake, and ???)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Honestly, it is completely valid to want a college environment that isn't heavily influenced by politics, in either direction. I have political views that I am very vocal about, but my kid who shares the same views would not want a campus environment that is consumed with politics. She can still express them, advocate for them, etc without it being a day-to-day issue on her walk to class. It isn't anti-woke, it is a desire to engage in those "woke" issues/advocacy on her own terms.

Name 5 T30 schools where this is currently an issue.

Columbia
Northwestern
Yale
Penn
Harvard

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in to respond to the PPs who are wondering why there’s so much interest in Vanderbilt.

For us, it’s not about the Alabama game. It’s that it fits all of DC’s criteria:

- strong academics, including includes majors and programs that interest DC (For us, “strong academics” means it meets our family’s broad cut re academics. From there, we’re focused on fit, not relatively small differences in rankings/prestige);

- beautiful, leafy, “traditional” style campus

- big sports to watch and a good club/intramural sport scene, including DC’s sports (both watching and playing are hugely important to DC)

- good weather/sunny in winter

- “Goldilocks” size (7,000 undergrad)

- not a hotbed of campus politics

- easy access to a navigable city but not actually IN the city

- enough off-campus food/shopping options in case DC ever feels stir crazy on campus

This is actually a huge selling-point for Vanderbilt right now among local Jewish families. Many want their kid to go to a college that won't indoctrinate them with anti-Israel hatred and far-left politics. However, they want their kid to have a more prestigious degree than a random flagship southern school.

Vanderbilt is one of few elite private colleges that isn't hyper-political. In fact, Vanderbilt draws students that want a respected degree without having to be around wannabe activists all the time.

add Duke and Wake.

Wake? It is not even close to the top 20. Different conversation.

Which makes it a good target for high stat kids shooting for Duke and Vanderbilt in part because of their campus culture and southern location.

No, the schools are not at the same level. But we all recognize the unpredictability of the process these days.

(Even further off topic - what’s the true safety in this sequence: Duke, Vanderbilt, Wake, and ???)

Elon?
Richmond?
Dickinson?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Honestly, it is completely valid to want a college environment that isn't heavily influenced by politics, in either direction. I have political views that I am very vocal about, but my kid who shares the same views would not want a campus environment that is consumed with politics. She can still express them, advocate for them, etc without it being a day-to-day issue on her walk to class. It isn't anti-woke, it is a desire to engage in those "woke" issues/advocacy on her own terms.

Name 5 T30 schools where this is currently an issue.

Columbia
Northwestern
Yale
Penn
Harvard

💯

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in to respond to the PPs who are wondering why there’s so much interest in Vanderbilt.

For us, it’s not about the Alabama game. It’s that it fits all of DC’s criteria:

- strong academics, including includes majors and programs that interest DC (For us, “strong academics” means it meets our family’s broad cut re academics. From there, we’re focused on fit, not relatively small differences in rankings/prestige);

- beautiful, leafy, “traditional” style campus

- big sports to watch and a good club/intramural sport scene, including DC’s sports (both watching and playing are hugely important to DC)

- good weather/sunny in winter

- “Goldilocks” size (7,000 undergrad)

- not a hotbed of campus politics

- easy access to a navigable city but not actually IN the city

- enough off-campus food/shopping options in case DC ever feels stir crazy on campus

Agree with all your points except the bolded. It's very much in the city, albeit not a city that looks like downtown Boston

My memory is that the Vanderbilt campus is at least a few miles away from downtown Nashville.

There’s no city traffic cutting through campus and very little tourism or non-student foot traffic on campus, either.

Yes, the campus is surrounded by busy-ish streets with restaurants, hotels, and shops. But these are not the tall office buildings or rowdy tourist areas I think of as the “city” of Nashville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in to respond to the PPs who are wondering why there’s so much interest in Vanderbilt.

For us, it’s not about the Alabama game. It’s that it fits all of DC’s criteria:

- strong academics, including includes majors and programs that interest DC (For us, “strong academics” means it meets our family’s broad cut re academics. From there, we’re focused on fit, not relatively small differences in rankings/prestige);

- beautiful, leafy, “traditional” style campus

- big sports to watch and a good club/intramural sport scene, including DC’s sports (both watching and playing are hugely important to DC)

- good weather/sunny in winter

- “Goldilocks” size (7,000 undergrad)

- not a hotbed of campus politics

- easy access to a navigable city but not actually IN the city

- enough off-campus food/shopping options in case DC ever feels stir crazy on campus

This is actually a huge selling-point for Vanderbilt right now among local Jewish families. Many want their kid to go to a college that won't indoctrinate them with anti-Israel hatred and far-left politics. However, they want their kid to have a more prestigious degree than a random flagship southern school.

Vanderbilt is one of few elite private colleges that isn't hyper-political. In fact, Vanderbilt draws students that want a respected degree without having to be around wannabe activists all the time.

add Duke and Wake.

Wake? It is not even close to the top 20. Different conversation.

Which makes it a good target for high stat kids shooting for Duke and Vanderbilt in part because of their campus culture and southern location.

No, the schools are not at the same level. But we all recognize the unpredictability of the process these days.

(Even further off topic - what’s the true safety in this sequence: Duke, Vanderbilt, Wake, and ???)

Elon?
Richmond?
Dickinson?

Do you mean Davidson?

[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.

It's "leadership."

Don't bother if that's not going on.

[Anonymous]

Vandy alum here-it’s a nice place but honestly it’s not all that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Honestly, it is completely valid to want a college environment that isn't heavily influenced by politics, in either direction. I have political views that I am very vocal about, but my kid who shares the same views would not want a campus environment that is consumed with politics. She can still express them, advocate for them, etc without it being a day-to-day issue on her walk to class. It isn't anti-woke, it is a desire to engage in those "woke" issues/advocacy on her own terms.

Name 5 T30 schools where this is currently an issue.

Columbia, Brown, Harvard, Yale, Berkeley and UCLA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMlXB0Tv1qY

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in to respond to the PPs who are wondering why there’s so much interest in Vanderbilt.

For us, it’s not about the Alabama game. It’s that it fits all of DC’s criteria:

- strong academics, including includes majors and programs that interest DC (For us, “strong academics” means it meets our family’s broad cut re academics. From there, we’re focused on fit, not relatively small differences in rankings/prestige);

- beautiful, leafy, “traditional” style campus

- big sports to watch and a good club/intramural sport scene, including DC’s sports (both watching and playing are hugely important to DC)

- good weather/sunny in winter

- “Goldilocks” size (7,000 undergrad)

- not a hotbed of campus politics

- easy access to a navigable city but not actually IN the city

- enough off-campus food/shopping options in case DC ever feels stir crazy on campus

This is actually a huge selling-point for Vanderbilt right now among local Jewish families. Many want their kid to go to a college that won't indoctrinate them with anti-Israel hatred and far-left politics. However, they want their kid to have a more prestigious degree than a random flagship southern school.

Vanderbilt is one of few elite private colleges that isn't hyper-political. In fact, Vanderbilt draws students that want a respected degree without having to be around wannabe activists all the time.

add Duke and Wake.

Wake? It is not even close to the top 20. Different conversation.

Which makes it a good target for high stat kids shooting for Duke and Vanderbilt in part because of their campus culture and southern location.

No, the schools are not at the same level. But we all recognize the unpredictability of the process these days.

(Even further off topic - what’s the true safety in this sequence: Duke, Vanderbilt, Wake, and ???)

My kid applied to all of these and his true safety was Auburn, honors program. He also applied to UGA but was waitlisted due to grade deflation at his HS. A top kid coming from a public school with an ultra high wGPA and commensurate stats could consider UGA a target or safety, depending. LOVE Athens ! and Auburn was a genuinely fun town and the honors program was sweet.

[Anonymous]

Current Vandy parent here - I didn’t read everything but baseline you need a prestigious national award and basically like 4.0UW. TO only for hooked these days it seems. 1530+ if submitting.

We usually get 3-4 admits annually from our private and last year we had 0 (my younger rejected) with like a bunch of ED1 and ED2s. All rejected, no waitlists, high stats kids not unlike prior years. Vandy does seem to be a crapshoot these days, I don’t see how ED1 even makes sense because anyone getting in could get into a top/better school. May as well shoot your shot at a higher ranked school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current Vandy parent here - I didn’t read everything but baseline you need a prestigious national award and basically like 4.0UW. TO only for hooked these days it seems. 1530+ if submitting.

We usually get 3-4 admits annually from our private and last year we had 0 (my younger rejected) with like a bunch of ED1 and ED2s. All rejected, no waitlists, high stats kids not unlike prior years. Vandy does seem to be a crapshoot these days, I don’t see how ED1 even makes sense because anyone getting in could get into a top/better school. May as well shoot your shot at a higher ranked school.

PP. Forgot to add probably all full pay from our school and several legacies. Someone earlier mentioned Vandy being rattled by rankings and I definitely agree.