<p>heathergee - Don’t let the whole “J.Crew/Ralph Lauren” thing phase you. It’s a stereotype, and while there’s some truth to it, it certainly does not characterize the Vanderbilt student body as a whole.</p>
<p>To whoever asked: I got my letter by mail.</p>
<p>And yeah, I know it’s not a HUGE deal, but I also got into UNC where that doesn’t exist at all, plus it costs less. So I guess we’ll see after my visit to UNC next week.</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted
Stats:[ul][<em>] Fee Waiver Used? No
[</em>] SAT Reasoning (by section): CR 750 M 780 WR 800
[<em>] SAT Subject tests: Chemistry 800 US History 800 Math II 800
[</em>] APs: Chemistry, Biology, English Language, US History, Physics C, Calculus BC, Micro and Macroeconomics, French Language
[<em>] GPA, Weighted and Unweighted: 4.28 out of 4.30
[</em>] Rank:1/145
[<em>] Number of Apps from Your School: 9
[</em>] Other stats: AMC 12: 115; AIME: 5
[/ul]Subjective:[ul][<em>] ECs listed on app: Habitat for Humanity, Summer Exchange Program, Medical Research, Varsity Tennis, Science Bowl, Eagle Scout
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Irrelevant
[<em>] Essays (subject and responses): Very good I thought
[</em>] Teacher Recs: Excellent
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Very Good
[</em>] Interview (feel and general location): None
[<em>] Hook (if any): Maybe the research. I dunno.
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul][</em>] State or Country: GA
[<em>] School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Private. Fairly Competitive
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Income Bracket: $200,000
[</em>] Gender: Male
[li] Why you think you were accepted or rejected: Good SAT and some awards[/li][/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: I received a Dean’s Select Scholarship for 3/4 tuition.</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted
Stats:
Fee Waiver Used? Yes
SAT Reasoning (by section): N/A
SAT Subject tests: N/A
ACT: 29
APs: None offered at my school
GPA, Weighted and Unweighted: 3.88, 4.14
Rank:6/360
Number of Apps from Your School: 2 I think
Other stats: </p>
<p>Subjective:
ECs listed on app: Habitat for Humanity, NHS, Band, Youth Orchestra, President of environmental club, Adopt A Highway, Choir, State DECA
Job/Work Experience: 25 hrs/week
Essays (subject and responses): Heartwrenching
Teacher Recs: Decent
Counselor Rec: Very Good
Interview (feel and general location): None
Hook (if any):
Location/Person:
State or Country: MO
School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Public
Ethnicity: White
Income Bracket: ~ $25,000
Gender: Female
Why you think you were accepted or rejected:
Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: Vandy financial aid rocks.</p>
<p>SAT I: 2200 (740 CR, 750W, 710 M)
SAT II: 760 MathII, 740 MathI , 690 Chem,
GPA 5.0 weighted
Rank 1/295
Other Stats: AP: 5 Calc AB, 4 Gov?t Pol Sci, 4 Euro Hist; 3 Chem, 3 Eng
Teacher/Counselor Recs probably good
State: NC
School Type: Public, not very good
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
EC?s: Captain, Varsity Cross Country. Captain, Varsity Soccer. President, Junior Civitans (school service organization).
Awards: Top Student Athlete of the Year. Top French student. All-State Cross Country.
Hook: None
Other: Rejected from H,Y. Waitlisted WUSTL</p>
<h2>Hi, I was rejected from VU, but I can’t figure out why…Can you guys offer me any ideas from reading my resume, which I have posted? Thanks a lot.</h2>
<p>R?sum?</p>
<p>I. Community Service/ Volunteer Service
- Six Wings: 121 hours (Since end of 10th grade; includes 2 week-long mission trips)
-Animal Shelter volunteer: 100 hours (Since beginning of 11th grade) - Boys & Girls Club tutor: 10 hours (Since beginning of the 12th grade)
-Summer PSAT Prep Class: 25 hours (I organized it and helped teach it the summer after 11th grade)
-School PSAT Prep Class: 46 hours (Student leader; 12th grade)
-Habitat for Humanity: 10 hours (Summer after 11th grade)
-National Honor Society: I am not sure how many hours I have (Since beginning of 12th grade).
-Over 300 hours of pure volunteer service.</p>
<p>II. Athletic Achievements
9th grade 10th grade 11th grade
Cross-Country 11th place @ state 7th place @ state I didn?t run XC, but
meet. meet. trained by myself</p>
<p>Track 3rd place in 2-mile 3rd place in mile & 1st in mile & 2-mile<br>
@ district meet 2-mile @ state meet @ state meet</p>
<ul>
<li>I hold the school records in the 2-mile, 1-mile, and 5k</li>
</ul>
<p>III. GPA and Classes
-3.75 GPA (as of the end of junior year)
a. 9th grade: honors Geometry
b. 10th grade: honors English II, honors World History, honors Algebra II, honors Chemistry
c. 11th grade: AP U.S. History, AP English Literature
d. 12th grade: AP English Language, AP Biology, honors Calculus (pending principal?s decision to change to ?AP? status), Spanish III
-Summer after 11th grade: I took the Intermediate Spanish II class (most advanced one available) @ Tarrant County College and got an ?A.? </p>
<p>IV. Test Scores
-PSAT: 224 (currently at the national merit semi-finalist stage)
-2230 w/ combined best scores (800 critical reading; 750 writing; 680 math); 1480 M+V
-AP U.S. History Exam: 5
-AP English Literature Exam: 4 </p>
<p>V. Academic Awards and Competitions
-AP U.S. history student of the year (11th)
-Anatomy and Physiology student of the year (11th)
-3rd place in both Chemistry and Astronomy @ Regional Science Olympiad
-TAPPS academic meet district champion and state qualifier in literary criticism and spelling (11th)
-TAPPS academic meet district champion and state qualifier in spelling and Spanish.
-Will attain school AP distinguished scholar status at graduation.</p>
<p>VI. Miscellaneous Information
-Started a ?we come to you? pet sitting service at age 12 as an option to kennels
-Became a vegetarian in the seventh grade (age 12)</p>
<hr>
<p>This was just a general overview…for referencing in filling out apps.</p>
<p>oops…I just saw that I had “semi-finalist” for National Merit. That’s old–I have moved to National Merit Finalist.</p>
<p>Also, the running stuff just says that I got 11th and 7th at state XC meet freshman and sophomore years, respectively. Also I placed 3rd in the two mile and mile in state track meet my soph year; I placed 1st in those races my junior year.</p>
<p>Yeah that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Maybe you didn’t show enough interest. I dunno but I’m sure plenty of other schools will want you given your impressive resume.</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Domestic</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<ul>
<li>SAT: 2250</li>
<li>SAT Subject Tests: Chem:790; Mathii:800; Bio (M): 740</li>
<li>GPA: 4.0 uw</li>
</ul>
<p>Major awards/ECs: internship, volunteering, tutoring</p>
<ul>
<li>Essays: I’m ashamed of them.</li>
<li>Teacher Recs: I’m guessing good.</li>
<li>Counselor Rec: decent.</li>
<li>Interview: went amazingly well.</li>
<li>Hook (if any): none.</li>
</ul>
<p>Personal:</p>
<ul>
<li>Location (State or Country): TX</li>
<li>Ethnicity & Gender: asian female</li>
<li>Major strength/weakness: difficult courseload and internship/ essays</li>
<li>Your thoughts on your decision: I’m really happy because this is totally unexpected, but now I have to decide between MIT and caltech… which is going to be a very hard decision to make.</li>
</ul>
<p>Waitlisted</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>ACT:27</p></li>
<li><p>GPA: 4.214 weighted 3.75 unweighted</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Major awards/ECs: internship, volunteering, tutoring</p>
<ul>
<li>Essays: I don’t remember honestly</li>
<li>Teacher Recs: good</li>
<li>Counselor Rec: good.</li>
<li>Interview: went pretty well</li>
<li>Hook (if any): URM</li>
</ul>
<p>Personal:</p>
<ul>
<li>Location (State or Country): MD</li>
<li>Ethnicity & Gender: Black Male</li>
<li>Major strength/weakness: I dunno</li>
<li>Your thoughts on your decision: I actually thought I would have gotten in but I didnt really want to go there anyway</li>
</ul>
<p>Decision: ACCEPTED!!!</p>
<p>Stats:
? SAT: 700CR 700M 750W
? SAT IIs: 740 Math IIC, 660 US History, 660 Literature
? GPA: 92 UW
? Rank: Top 33% of class
? Other stats: 5 US History, 4 World History, 4 English Language
Subjective:
? Essays: All very good
? Teacher Recs: Outstanding, glowing, amazing
? Counselor Rec:.Outstanding, glowing, amazing
? Hook (if any):
Location/Person:
? State or Country: Texas
? School Type: Private?One of the top schools in the state
? Ethnicity: American, Jewish
? Gender: Male
Other Factors:
? Extracurriculars: Newspaper editor-in-chief, youth group regional vice president, Volunteer Work, Work Experience
? Why I think I was accepted/deferred: strength in all areas of application
? Other thoughts:</p>
<p>Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:
SAT: 2382
SAT IIs: Spanish 800, Chemistry 800, US History 790
GPA: 4.0 unweighted (school doesn’t do weighted gpa)
Rank: 1 of 152
Other stats: AP US Government and Politics 5, Chemistry 4, Spanish Language 5
Subjective:
Essays: Honestly, I thought they were quite strong.
Teacher Recs: I wasn’t allowed to see them, but I’m sure they were superb.
Counselor Rec: I wasn’t allowed to see them, but I’m sure they were superb.
Hook (if any): Studying with Professor Carol M. Swain at Vandy.
Location/Person:
State or Country: KS
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: South Asian
Gender: Female
Other Factors – Extracurriculars:
- Kansas Future Educators of America (10-12, Officer - 12)
- Foreign Language Club (Member 9-12, Secretary - 12, Vice-President - 11)
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes (Member - 12)
- History Club/Junior State of America Chapter (9-12, President - 12)
- National Honor Society (11-12, 12 - Secretary)
- Blue Crew (9 - Member)
- Student Government (Class Secretary 9-12, Stu-Go Historian -12)
- Cheery Street Youth Center helper (12)
- C. Healthcare Center volunteer (10-12)
- Sunflower Girl’s State 2006
- Junior Statesmen Stanford Summer School 2006
- Varsity Tennis (9-12)
- Debate (12)
- Select Ensemble (10, 12)
- Select Choir (12)
- Women’s Ensemble (9)
- Jr. City Commissioner (Founder and Intern - 12)
- “Jr.” Law Intern at Sokolosky Law Firm(Summer/Fall 2006)
- Target (Cashier on Saturdays and Sundays)
- C. High School - after school tutor (10-12)
- Private Piano lessons (4-12)
- Give piano lessons to grade school students (9-12)
- Private Voice lessons (8-12)
- Sing for the residents of the C. Healthcare Center once a week (10-12)
- C. Community Theater Musicals (11-12)
- C. High School Musicals and Plays (11-12)
- Southeast Kansas All-District Choir (10, 11, 12)
- Southeast Kansas All-State Chori (10, 11, 12)
- Jr. Chairman of the Bangla Association (Youth President 10-12, member 9-12)
- Jr. Lions (12)
- Jr. Rotary (12)
- Jr. Bank Board (12)
- I prepared my annual Christmas meal and took care of an underprivileged man in dire need this past Christmas (2005). This Christmas - a holiday that my family does not celebrate, considering the fact that we are Muslim - I prepared a hearty meal for an underprivileged man, and bought him a new bicycle to travel around town, rather than walk far distances. I have supplied him with a place to stay, and convinced my father to provide him with a job out our motel to make a living. I have been preparing Christmas meals for the needy since my freshman year of high school.
- NCCC Honors Conference’s 2006 National Honor Society guest speaker. I lead a discussion on the influences of pop culture on today’s adolescence.
- Attended the 2006 LeadAmerica Conference
- Attended the Fall 2005 National Youth Leadership Forum on Law</p>
<p>Honors:
- Kansas Honor Scholar (Senior year)
- Scholastic Honor Roll (4.0 on 4.0 scale)
- Freshman Student of the Year Award - Physical Science
- Sophomore Student of the Year Award- Honors English 10
- Junior Student of the Year Award - Chemistry
- Academic Letter for being on the Scholastic Honor Roll three consecutive years (4.0 on 4.0 scale) (2005/2006)
- Academic Pins (2004/2005, 2005/2006)
- Lettered for Varsity Tennis (2003-2006)
- Sunflower Girl’s State 2006 - House of Representative Award
- Junior State of America Stanford Summer School 2006 - I was honored as the Class Speaker/Valedictorian.
- Mid-America Music Festival for Regional Piano Competition - “I” rating (April 17, 2004; April 16, 2005; April 15, 2006)
- Fort Scott Community College Music Festival for piano “I” rating (April 24, 2004)
- Missouri Southern State University Foreign Language Field Day (April 2004 - 2006) - 1st place Spanish II Vocabulary, 1st place Spanish III Vocabulary, 3rd place Spanish III Reading Comprehension, 3rd place Spanish III Poetry Reading, 1st place Spanish IV Vocabulary, 3rd place Spanish IV Reading Comprehension, 2nd place Spanish IV Poetry Reading.
- 3rd place at the Kansas National History Day Competition District 2 local competition Feb. 2006
- Bangla Association’s Golden Key for Leadership Excellence (Senior year)
- Kansas State High School Regional Music Festival (Small Group) “I” rating - April 15, 2005
- Kansas State High School State Music Festival (Small Group) “I” rating - (April 23, 2005)
- Selected to attend the 2006 LeadAmerica Conference
- Selected to attend the Fall 2005 National Youth Leadership Forum on Law</p>
<p>I even went to the alumni interview.</p>
<p>Why I feel I was rejected? You tell me. I have no clue. Vanderbilt was my number one choice. My dreams are completely shattered.</p>
<p>Wow. Paradise_Found - you shoulda got in. Unless you were “poisoned” in one of your teacher recs (unlikely), you seem to have fallen prey to “yield protection”. This is a school’s attempt to increase the number of actual acceptances they get compared to the number they offer (hence the “yield”). USNWR uses yield rate to help rank colleges. Harvard’s yield is around 80%. Vandy’s is around 25% (not really sure tho). Schools are sneaky - they will increase the size of the wait list to be sure someone offered off the wait list will accept. WUSTL is notorious for this (my D was waitlisted there but accepted to Vandy). </p>
<p>Schools may also reject “overqualified” candidates who they assume have applied to their school as a safety, all in the name of yield protection. Vandy adcoms might have assumed you were a shoe-in at a MIT/Stanford/Caltech and didn’t want to take a chance you’d turn them down. A shame it was your first choice. You’ll do great tho. You already have.</p>
<p>Just a question, how did you manage to get a 2382 on your SAT’s?</p>
<p>^ I was wondering the same thing as he was.</p>
<p>Also, I’m shocked you didn’t make it in. You have ALL of your bases covered. But SarahsDad’s explanation does make sense…</p>
<p>Ahh, sorry, I’m glad you caught that. That should be a 2380 (770CR, 800M, 800W) my apologies. Frustration has gotten me thinking loopy. I forgot ACT score, mine was a 30. I was also wait-listed by WashU.</p>
<p>Paradise–I haven’t a clue either. You are the top of the top it seems so I am mystified by their decision. I would have even thought you would be a good candidate for merit scholarships at Vandy. WashU is notorious for wait-listing top candidates while accepting many with lesser stats, but I would hate to think Vandy is resorting to those tactics. I know this isn’t standard protocol and I am sure the admissions office would not encourage this (and I may get slammed for even suggesting it), but in your case I would call or write and ask if they can provide some insight into that decision, particularly since Vandy is your 1st choice. You might even be able to approach it something like this: Vandy is my top choice and I am confused/disappointed by the rejection. Is there any possiblity of appeal and/or what might my options be to be considered as a transfer? Be positive in your approach and definitely not demanding and/or angry about the decision. If nothing else, it might make them take a second look at your application to make sure there hasn’t been some fluke mistake. In the meantime, I hope you have some other good options and can make this best of it. Good luck.</p>
<p>I have already written a letter actually. Sometimes, even good candidates are rejected. It just wasn’t meant to be. I got into my other three schools…University of Kansas, University of Tulsa, and Truman State University. At least I’ll still be going to college. I can always try to transfer, or try again for Vanderbilt Law School. I’m simply trying to stay positive.</p>
<p>Pardise,
I don’t want to add to your disappointment, but your statement “Sometimes, even good candidates are rejected” prods a comment. The MAJORITY of those receiving rejections from schools of this caliber are good candidates. The charge of the admissions staff is to build a community composed of scholars with different talents - athletes, musicians, debaters, etc. That means that many talented students will be disappointed as the result of the process. With your outstanding stats, I’m sure you haven’t experienced much disappointment in the academic arena, but with those abilities, you are bound to shine wherever you go. Good luck!</p>
<p>Stats:
Fee Waiver Used? Yes
SAT Reasoning (by section): N/A
SAT Subject tests: 730 US History, 710 Math IIC, 680 Physics (note, these are all off the top of my head; may not be 100% accurate, but close)
ACT: 34 (36 R/33 M/34 E/32 S)
APs: 4 US History, 3 English Language
GPA: UW ~3.6, W~4.1
Rank:School doesn’t rank
Number of Apps from Your School: 4
Other stats: 6’4" 180, 9% body fat</p>
<p>Subjective:
ECs listed on app: Football, Track, Debate, Newspaper, volunteer at emergency room, trained other volunteers at emergency room, physics tutor, grammar school tutor, etc
Job/Work Experience: None paid, did volunteer though
Essays (subject and responses): Lessons learned from getting demolished in school presidential election and why vanderbilt; both very strong
Teacher Recs: Very good
Counselor Rec: Didn’t see, but I doubt it was favorable
Interview (feel and general location): N/A
Hook (if any): N/A
Location/Person: Yay Area
State or Country: California
School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Elite Private, very competitive
Ethnicity: White
Income Bracket: over 100,000 (i dont know exactly)
Gender: Male
Why you think you were accepted or rejected: ACT<br>
Other Factors: 9% body fat; bench press 200
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: Either Vandy or UC Berkeley … any nice suggestions would be outstanding</p>