2
2 years ago
Admissions Advice

Vanderbilt ED?

Hello All,

I am planning to apply to Vanderbilt for ED2, but I am concerned about my GPA - it is 3.78 UW (4.28 W), on an upward trend, and with the most rigorous course load (12 APs). Everything else about my application is competitive (35 ACT, National level ECs), however, I am concerned my GPA will be my rejection, as it is lower than the average and I am Out of state. Should I not apply to Vanderbilt because of this?

earlydecision
Vanderbilt
2
5

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2 answers

3
2 years ago[edited]

Hi, Thanks for answering these questions.

Yes, I think you have a good chance at Vanderbilt with ED2 despite your GPA is lower than their average admits. Why? Because your family is willing to fund your education without institutional grants. Vanderbilt like many top elites always wants a good % percentage of their enrollees to be paying students versus those on financial aid. Honestly, that is the biggest hook you have going for you with what you disclosed.

I do have a serious question for you. Are you not a bit concerned about the lack of diversity both in Nashville TN and Vanderbilt? I think Nashville is 3% Asian and Vanderbilt is about 10%. And it's not that dissimilar at other Southern region schools like Emory, UVA, Wake Forest, Duke.

In my own case, I purposely avoided applying to Southern or MidWest Schools because of the lack of diversity even though I'm a White Passing Bi-racial female. The 2 main cities I felt had both a better campus mix of race, gender, orientation, religion, were Boston, NYC, S.F., and L.A. I was less concerned about the student mix than having to live in a food desert where I couldn't get things I'm used to having in Portland Oregon like good Thai food, Korean BBQ, Dim Sum, Pho, and excellent bubble tea. There is only so much dining hall food one can tolerate and I don't consider eating at Chick Fil A or Chilis even a food option.

While these schools might not have the same admit rates, I do think they have just as much clout so I would also recommend looking into applying ED2 to these schools that are in much better cities.

-New York University

-Boston University

-Boston College (I'm not sure if they still have ED2)

-Tufts University

-NorthEastern

And for RD,

- University of Southern California

- UCLA

- UC Berkeley

To answer this correctly, can you please answer these questions:

1. Are you a person of color, BIPOC, Black or Hispanic, or Indigenous?

2. Are you low-income? Will you be applying for financial aid?

3. Are you a member of a marginalized group, such as having a disability, or LGBTQIA+?

4. What were your AP scores thus far?

5. What is your class rank?

6. Do you go to a public high school? or a private high school ? or a boarding school?

Thanks.

3
1
2 years ago

Hello. I think you should apply to Vanderbilt. Your GPA can increase since (I think) you are taking AP courses. Sometimes applicants are below a college's GPA requirement. So I think you'll be in the range of Vanderbilt applicants, since your GPA is close to their GPA requirement. I really think that your GPA should not discourage you from applying. Your course load and test scores look really great so you really should apply to Vanderbilt. You'll never know if you never try. Also, try to make a good essay, you can write about why you have that GPA or something that makes you see as a great fit for Vanderbilt (which I think you are) Good luck!

1
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