<p>I am the last person who wants Vanderbilt to be a transfer-hating school, because I am a transfer going there in about two months. But, look at the statistics for a second. With Vanderbilt’s transfer admission rate (31% in 2011) almost twice as high as the freshman admission rate (16% in 2011), I have to suspect transfers are treated as less intelligent than their peers. After going through the whole process, I see someone with low high school grades (like myself) could have sneaked into the school after one lucky year in college. Someone accused me earlier of making Vanderbilt looking like a cutthroat academic community. At top 20 universities where prestige is a major factor for prospective applicants, students should care about how selective each type of admission is. (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12590080-post9.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12590080-post9.html</a>)</p>
<p>Similar situations happen at other colleges, where getting into a specific school is much easier than most of the others. Cornell has ILR (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1017739-cornells-backdoor-way.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1017739-cornells-backdoor-way.html</a>) and Emory has Oxford College (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/9328279-post6.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/9328279-post6.html</a>). Even though you can make an argument for Vanderbilt transfers being just as qualified as their peers, I am confident some students have the opposite perspective. The InsideVandy blog confirms the widespread notion of transferring as a backdoor, but may be covering up the social stigma which comes with the process.</p>
<p>I doubt transfers want to share any negative experiences and make the school appear less hospitable than at first glance, while positive ancedotes are in large supply. Still, I continue posting in the hope of drawing one of them out so I can verify the social atmosphere at Vanderbilt. I sent in my deposit knowing I might face discrimination for my admission status, because I am willing to suffer for the opportunity to attend a very selective and prestigious school.</p>