Seems like a lot got in TO at Vanderbilt this year

Anonymous wrote:Kid is current Vanderbilt student and reports that they are surrounded by not-that-smart students for some reason. Kid is not in engineering or pre-med.

So, a good strategy might be to apply TO with an inflated 4.5w and a bunch of ECs that are available for purchase. This seems to be a winning formula for the time being. Don't submit that score because the school is looking for super high scores from the low percent who do submit scores. Doesn't mean they won't admit you, as kid's current experience demonstrates.

Could not disagree more with this

Anonymous wrote:Had above 4.0, IB Diploma, sports captain, editor of school newspaper, couple of good internships.

This is addition to above info. Also private school with kids with high scores.

Had above 4.0, IB Diploma, sports captain, editor of school newspaper, couple of good internships.

Anonymous wrote:Curious if anyone had success test optional to Vandy or WashU in ED1 or ED2 this past year?
If so, profile/stats?

My kids ACT is a 32....hoping it gets higher but not looking good. College counselor says its not submittable to those two schools.

My DD rejected TO at Vanderbilt ED2. Also had a 32.

Accepted off waitlist TO to Wash U. Didn’t ED there at all.

Don’t submit a 32 to either Washington University or Vanderbilt. It won’t help and may hurt

Anonymous wrote:Dont submit a 32 to any T25 school.

+100

Dont submit a 32 to any T25 school.

If great grades and a stellar national recognized achievement, vandy TO might work in ED.

Stellar recognized achievement required for ECs at Vandy.

32 is low for both schools. TO is risky in this environment

Kid is current Vanderbilt student and reports that they are surrounded by not-that-smart students for some reason. Kid is not in engineering or pre-med.

So, a good strategy might be to apply TO with an inflated 4.5w and a bunch of ECs that are available for purchase. This seems to be a winning formula for the time being. Don't submit that score because the school is looking for super high scores from the low percent who do submit scores. Doesn't mean they won't admit you, as kid's current experience demonstrates.

32 is a no go for both those schools.
TO to WashU (but honestly, why WashU, are there other options? Emory maybe?)

Anonymous wrote:Curious if anyone had success test optional to Vandy or WashU in ED1 or ED2 this past year?
If so, profile/stats?

My kids ACT is a 32....hoping it gets higher but not looking good. College counselor says its not submittable to those two schools.

A 32 isn't going to work for those two schools. But both accept super scores. If there's a particular section of the ACT where the kid is weaker, maybe really focus on that section and try to get that score up. I wouldn't submit anything below 34, ideally 35. TO remains an option at both schools for the time being, but the rest of the app really has to demonstrate academic rigor and high AP scores. Also, ED2 is very deceptive at Vanderbilt. It really doesn't confer much of an advantage over RD.

My sense - based on no data at all - is that Vanderbilt is a really tough admit these days. If you're going to shoot your ED shot with a TO app, I think WashU will have better odds.

What does the college counselor say about who is getting in?

Curious if anyone had success test optional to Vandy or WashU in ED1 or ED2 this past year?
If so, profile/stats?

My kids ACT is a 32....hoping it gets higher but not looking good. College counselor says its not submittable to those two schools.