Official Vanderbilt University Fall 2013 Transfer Thread

[anontransfer93]

College GPA: 3.75 with 42 credits at the end of this semester
High School GPA: 3.15 weighted (I hate bringing this up..and I feel like you and I are in the same boat here.. Didn't try very hard & didn't change this until senior year)
Test Scores: I actually haven't taken the SAT but my ACT score is a 30
EC's: Phi Eta Sigma Freshmen Honors Society, Psi Chi, Student Government Association, College Republicans, nursing program for inner city schools, United Way, Community Service chair for one of these committees
Volunteering: Lots of random stuff, as well as volunteering with Vanderbilt.
Current School: very large in-state public university

I would be applying to A&S!

[beachlover15]

Wow, your ECs look really good! I'm sure you stand a great chance of getting in.

[anontransfer93]

I'm very worried that my low high school gpa will hurt me. What year are you currently?

[beachlover15]

So am I, esp. coupled with my low SAT scores. This is my 4 semester, although credit-wise, I'm still a freshman. You?

[sometransfer]

I got accepted as a transfer to Vanderbilt last fall with a 3.0 in high school, a 4.0 in college (one semester of work), and a 1970 superscored on the SAT. I also took random, easy, fluff courses outside of my major, but Vanderbilt is different from other top colleges because they want a broad, liberal education rather than a specialized one. Vanderbilt admission counselors also focus most of their attention on college-level work, meaning they also weigh letters of recommendation more.

So yes, transferring into Vanderbilt is a joke compared to trying for any school in the top 15. The 30% transfer acceptance rate is often twice or three times as high compared to peer colleges, and the applicant pool is also often twice as large than other top 20 colleges, so the quality of the average applicant is inferior. The financial aid here is also immense for students in middle to lower income brackets, the same no-loan policy freshmen get. Since Vanderbilt aims to enroll about 200 transfer students a year (meaning they accept around 350), which is a lot more compared to other top 20 colleges. The transfer acceptance rate will drop in the future because more students apply for transfer, but they keep the number of acceptances around the same. I like to estimate double the freshman acceptance rate, which was 14% this year, as both are going down.

Source for everything above: Vanderbilt Admissions Blog

[davidthefat]

I guess I'll give applying to Vanderbilt a second thought. I might apply as a computer science major.

My stats are as follows:

High School GPA: 3.25

College GPA: It better be a 4.0 (Lowest possible at this rate is around 3.8. 45 Credits when I apply)

ACT: 32
E: 30
M: 34
CR: 32
S: 30

Current EC: IEEE (Robotics), Student Government, Programming Club, CS Capture the Flag.

[anontransfer93]

Do you think it will go against me if I've made a C+ in one of my classes? I've made all A's/A minuses, plus a B+ in Biology 101 (but I made an A in Bio 102) and the C+ in a difficult language class. But I'm also taking another language class and am looking to pull an A. Or am I just over thinking this?

[beachlover15]

I doubt ONE C will hurt too much, esp. if it was a difficult class. Just try not to get a second one.

[anontransfer93]

I'm surprised more people haven't commented on this thread. Looking back at threads from last year there seemed to be more activity around late October.

[beachlover15]

I'm surprised too. Hopefully more people will flock here and we'll be able to compare stats.

[anontransfer93]

I'm so stuck on what to include in my essay. Has anyone started?

[davidthefat]

The question is why you want to transfer out of your school... If you can't even answer that, why are you even looking to transfer?

[anontransfer93]

I honestly don't want to make it look like I'm putting down my current school... I'm trying to find ways of saying Vandy is a better fit

[beachlover15]

That's exactly my problem. It's pretty hard to not knock your school/hometown when you're trying to explain why you wanna leave.

[anontransfer93]

When are you planning on submitting your application? Also, does anyone even mail in hard copies anymore? I was planning on doing that. I don't mind writing everything out, it just gives me piece of mind knowing a physical copy is there. Weird I know but oh well!